Fatty Follows, Old Shu Is a Good Person

After leaving Zhuanghe's house, we returned to the hotel.

I had a room to myself. As for Yin Wuyu, Gu Song would look after him for the time being.

Xu Qiuyan stayed in the room next to mine. She didn't rush back to her own room but followed me into mine. She closed the door casually, "What were you thinking just now?"

I handed her a bottle of mineral water, then took out the jade pendant I was carrying.

"Old Shu gave this to me. But as far as I know, only this thing can replicate Mirror People." I didn't say it directly, but I had already expressed my suspicion towards Old Shu.

Logically, after meeting Zhuanghe and learning the secret of the Mirror People, I should have called Xie Yi to inform him. However, I hesitated.

"So you want to investigate it yourself?" Xu Qiuyan was very smart.

I didn't say anything, but she continued, "I think you should tell Xie Yi about this matter and hear what he has to say, unless you don't trust him either. If that's the case, then there's no point for us to stay in the Ninth Bureau."

I was stunned for a moment. A smile appeared on her face, "I'm serious. If these people are unreliable, or if your suspicion is correct, then what's the point of them bringing us into the Ninth Bureau? What are their intentions?"

I narrowed my eyes. Her question was valid.

"Besides, making this call might resolve your doubts."

I nodded. She was right. If I couldn't even trust Xie Yi, then there was no meaning in us staying in the Ninth Bureau. We might even be used as pawns or cannon fodder for others.

I took out my phone and called Xie Yi.

After listening to my report, Xie Yi was silent for a few seconds before saying, "I'm in the Northeast right now too, about a two-hour drive from Harbin City. I'll be right over. We can talk when we meet."

After hanging up, I let out a long sigh. I could tell that Xie Yi took this matter very seriously, otherwise, he wouldn't have said he'd come over immediately for a face-to-face meeting.

"Alright, I'm going back to my room. I didn't rest well last night. I need to catch up on sleep. You should rest too."

Xu Qiuyan went back to her room, but I didn't feel tired at all. I felt my pocket for cigarettes and found only one left. I decided to leave the room and go buy some.

I couldn't remember when I started smoking.

Smoking wasn't my habit. The one who liked smoking the most among those three guys was Eccentric Song. Duan Hongbin also smoked, but he would play with the cigarette in his hand for a while before smoking. His addiction didn't seem strong; he only smoked occasionally.

As for Chu Ge, he didn't smoke. He said smoking was harmful to health. He was the athletic type and always opposed smoking. He was even very unhappy with Eccentric Song and Duan Hongbin smoking, saying they always made him inhale secondhand smoke, which bothered him greatly.

After getting off the elevator, I walked towards the hotel entrance.

The hotel also sold cigarettes, but the prices were higher than outside.

Since I wasn't in a hurry, I wasn't going to waste money.

"Give me three packs of Hong Zhongzhi," I said, handing over a hundred-yuan bill.

Although everyone preferred mobile payments now, I still liked to keep some cash in my pocket. I always felt that mobile payments weren't secure. I knew this might be my prejudice, but having cash on me made me feel at ease.

"Mr. Jiang!" A voice sounded beside me.

I turned my head and saw the round, chubby man.

Baozhengfo, Buddha Lord.

"Huh? What are you doing here?" I was very surprised. We had just met last night, but that was in Lin City. Now I was thousands of miles away in the Northeast.

The fatty smiled, "I'm here on some business."

How could I believe such a coincidence? "You're not following us, are you?"

This fatty gave me a mysterious feeling. He was a capable person, and even Duan Hongbin and Chu Ge were very wary of him. His appearance in Harbin City now, if it had nothing to do with me, I wouldn't believe it even if you killed me.

Although I personally thought I had some flaws in my personality, my intelligence was definitely online.

"That's right. Old Shu asked me to follow you." The fatty didn't deny it.

Old Shu asked him to follow us?

This made me wary. I had been suspecting Old Shu earlier.

"Don't misunderstand. Old Shu is worried about your safety. After all, you don't have any support now. If you encounter any danger, you might suffer losses."

I smiled, "So I should thank Old Shu properly!"

The fatty also smiled, "I still don't have a place to stay!"

I frowned. Did he mean that I had to arrange his accommodation? Since he was following us, he should know which hotel we were staying at. Couldn't he just get a room himself?

"You want me to get you a room?"

The fatty said awkwardly, "I have no money."

I widened my eyes. Someone like him would have no money?

"I really have no money. I left my phone on the plane."

I was speechless, but now I finally understood the real meaning of him saying he had no money. He probably had no cash on him. In this day and age, if you have no cash and lose your phone, you're in deep trouble and can't move an inch.

I smiled helplessly, "Alright, come with me. Coincidentally, I have an empty bed in my room."

I was staying in a standard room, with two beds in one room.

I didn't want to spend money to get him another room.

He didn't seem to mind at all, "As long as there's a place to stay."

He followed me back to the room and lay heavily on the bed. The bed immediately sank by half.

Good heavens, he must be at least two hundred jin.

"Are you well acquainted with Old Shu?" I asked tentatively.

Fatty nodded. "Very."

"I'm curious, do they pay you for working for the Ninth Bureau?" I thought that someone with special abilities like Fatty could easily make money on his own, so why get involved with the Ninth Bureau?

Most importantly, he wasn't an official member of the Ninth Bureau, and most of what he did was helping out.

Fatty cleared his throat twice. "Talking about money between me and the Ninth Bureau would hurt our feelings."

So it was volunteer work?

Fatty added, "Old Shu saved my life."

"Oh?"

Fatty didn't elaborate. "So I promised him that I would be responsible for your safety until you can protect yourselves."

If Old Shu was truly looking out for our safety, I would have been quite touched.

With Fatty keeping me company, two hours passed quickly.

I received a call from Xie Yi. He said he had arrived in Harbin City and would be at our hotel soon.

He also asked if Fatty had arrived, so it seemed he knew Old Shu had sent Fatty to protect us.

Ten minutes later, Xu Qiuyan, Fatty, and I met Xie Yi in the hotel's lobby bar.

Xie Yi looked a bit haggard. He said he had been running around busy with other cases these past few days.

"Tell me honestly, do you suspect Old Shu?" Xie Yi's first sentence after sitting down was a direct question!

Fatty frowned. I didn't deny it. "Yes. As far as I know, only the Twin Fish Jade Pendant can create Mirror People. Now that this has happened, and you said the Twin Fish Jade Pendant has always been in Old Shu's possession, if it were you, wouldn't you be suspicious?"

Xie Yi gave a wry smile. "But haven't you considered other possibilities? Perhaps there isn't just one Twin Fish Jade Pendant, or maybe, besides the Twin Fish Jade Pendant, there really is something else that can create Mirror People."

I was stunned. I really hadn't considered that possibility.

Xie Yi continued, "And haven't you thought about it? Before this, you didn't even know the Twin Fish Jade Pendant was with Old Shu. Old Shu voluntarily took it out and gave it to you, hoping to use it to lure out the people behind the scenes. Also, you suspect the other party is after the Twin Fish Jade Pendant. But if the people who want to get the Twin Fish Jade Pendant and the ones who can create Mirror People are the same group, then for them, who already possess the ability to create Mirror People, would the Twin Fish Jade Pendant still hold such appeal?"

Xie Yi's questions left me speechless.

His analysis made sense. If someone wanted to obtain the Twin Fish Jade Pendant to replicate Mirror People or objects, but they already had the ability to create Mirror People, then the Twin Fish Jade Pendant would hold no attraction for them.

If the people targeting the Twin Fish Jade Pendant were the same ones who created the Mirror People, their actions seemed rather strange.

Professionals are always professionals. Looking at it this way, my suspicion of Old Shu seemed rather ridiculous.

"Let me tell you, in the Ninth Bureau, you can distrust anyone, even me, but you cannot distrust Old Shu. Without Old Shu, there would be no Ninth Bureau. He would never do anything to harm the Ninth Bureau, let alone do anything to harm the country's interests."

Xie Yi's expression became very serious as he said this. Fatty, uncharacteristically, nodded in agreement. "He's right. Old Shu is a good person."