The Fat Man Followed, Old Shu Was a Good Man

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

I had a room to myself, while Gu Song looked after Yin Wuyu for the time being.

Xu Qiuyan was staying next door. She did not hurry back to her own room but followed me into mine, casually closing the door behind her. "What were you thinking about just now?"

I handed her a bottle of mineral water, then took out the jade pendant I carried on me.

"Old Shu gave this to me, but as far as I know, only this thing can create Mirror People." I did not say it outright, but I had already made my suspicion of Old Shu clear.

Logically, after meeting Zhuanghe and learning the secret of the Mirror People, I should have called Xie Yi and told him about it. Yet I hesitated.

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

I said nothing, but she said, "I think you should tell Xie Yi about this and hear what he has to say—unless you don't trust him either. If that's the case, there's no point in us staying with Unit Nine."

I froze for a moment. A smile appeared on her face. "I'm serious. If these people are all unreliable, or if your suspicions are correct, then what was the point of bringing us into Unit Nine? What are they trying to accomplish?"

I narrowed my eyes. She was right to ask that question.

"And maybe making that call will clear up your doubts."

I nodded. She was right. If I could not even trust Xie Yi, then there was no meaning in remaining with Unit Nine. We might even end up being used as tools—or become someone else's cannon fodder.

I took out my phone and called Xie Yi.

After listening to my report, Xie Yi was silent for several seconds before saying, "I'm in the Northeast too, about two hours' drive from Harbin. I'll come over right away. We'll talk when we meet."

After hanging up, I let out a long breath. I could tell that Xie Yi took this matter very seriously. Otherwise, he would not have said he was coming over immediately to speak with me in person.

"All right, I'm heading back to my room. I didn't rest well last night, so I'm going to catch up on some sleep. You should get some rest too."

Xu Qiuyan returned to her room, but I was not sleepy at all. I felt for the cigarettes on me and found that I only had one left, so I left my room to buy some more.

I could not even remember when I had started smoking.

Smoking was not originally my habit. Of the three of them, Eccentric Song liked smoking the most. Duan Hongbin smoked too, though he would fiddle with a cigarette in his hand for a while before lighting it. His addiction did not seem very strong, and he only smoked one now and then.

As for Chu Ge, he did not smoke. He said smoking was harmful to one's health. He was the athletic type and had always opposed smoking. He was even rather dissatisfied with Eccentric Song and Duan Hongbin for smoking, saying those two always made him inhale secondhand smoke. It troubled him greatly.

After getting out of the elevator, I headed toward the hotel entrance.

The hotel sold cigarettes too, but they were more expensive than outside.

I was not in a hurry, so there was no need to waste money.

"Three packs of Hong Zhongzhi." I handed over a hundred-yuan bill.

Though everyone liked paying by phone these days, I still preferred keeping some cash in my pocket. I always felt that mobile payments were not safe. I knew that might be my prejudice, but having cash on me made me feel secure.

"Mr. Jiang!" a voice called from beside me.

I turned and saw that round, rotund fat man.

Baozhengfo—Buddha Lord.

"Huh? What are you doing here?" I was quite surprised. We had only met last night, in Lin City, yet now I was thousands of miles away in the Northeast.

The fat man smiled. "I came here to take care of something."

There was no way I believed in such a coincidence. "Don't tell me you followed us here?"

The fat man gave me a very mysterious feeling. He was capable, and even Duan Hongbin and Chu Ge were deeply wary of him. Now that he had appeared in Harbin, I would not believe for a second that it had nothing to do with me.

I knew I had some flaws in my personality, but my intelligence was still intact.

"That's right. Old Shu asked me to follow you."

Old Shu had asked him to follow us?

That immediately put me on guard. I had just been suspecting Old Shu.

"Don't misunderstand. Old Shu was worried about your safety. After all, you don't have any support now. If you really run into danger, you could easily suffer for it."

I laughed. "Then I really ought to thank Old Shu properly!"

The fat man laughed as well. "I don't even have a place to stay yet."

I frowned. Did that mean he expected me to sort out a place for him too? Since he had followed us here, he should know which hotel we were staying at. Why not just get himself a room?

"You want me to get you a room?"

The fat man said awkwardly, "I don't have any money."

My eyes widened. Someone like him did not have money?

"I really don't. I left my phone on the plane."

I was speechless, but I finally understood what he meant. He probably had no cash on him, and these days, if you had no cash in your pocket and lost your phone, you would be completely helpless, unable to take a single step.

I smiled helplessly. "All right, come with me. Luckily, there's an empty bed in my room."

I was staying in a standard room with two beds.

I did not want to spend more money getting him another room.

He did not mind at all. "As long as I have somewhere to stay."

When he returned to the room with me, he flopped heavily onto the bed. The mattress immediately sank halfway down.

Good grief, he had to weigh over two hundred pounds.

"Are you close with Old Shu?" I asked cautiously.

The fat man nodded. "Very close."

"I'm curious. Does Unit Nine pay you for working for them?" In my view, someone with the fat man's special abilities could easily make money outside. Why get involved in Unit Nine's affairs?

More importantly, he was not even an official member of Unit Nine. Most of what he did was merely helping out.

The fat man coughed twice. "Talking about money between me and Unit Nine would hurt our relationship."

So he was really volunteering?

The fat man added, "Old Shu saved my life."

"Oh?"

The fat man did not explain further. "So I promised him that until you're capable of protecting yourselves, I'll be responsible for keeping you safe."

If Old Shu truly was considering our safety, then I was actually rather touched.

With the fat man keeping me company, two hours passed quickly.

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

On the phone, he also asked whether the fat man had arrived. It seemed he knew Old Shu had sent the fat man to protect us.

Ten minutes later, Xu Qiuyan, the fat man, and I met Xie Yi at the hotel lobby bar.

Xie Yi looked somewhat haggard. He said he had been running all over the place these past few days, busy with another case.

"Tell me honestly. Do you suspect Old Shu?" The first thing Xie Yi asked after sitting down was that blunt question.

The fat man frowned, but I did not deny it. "Yes. As far as I know, only the Twin Fish Jade Pendant can create Mirror People. Now that something like this has happened, and you said the Twin Fish Jade Pendant has always been in Old Shu's possession—wouldn't you be suspicious in my place?"

Xie Yi smiled bitterly. "But have you considered other possibilities? Perhaps there is more than one Twin Fish Jade Pendant. Or perhaps there really are other things besides the Twin Fish Jade Pendant that can create Mirror People."

I was stunned. I truly had not considered that possibility.

Xie Yi continued, "And haven't you thought about this? Before that, you had no idea the Twin Fish Jade Pendant was in Old Shu's hands. Old Shu was the one who voluntarily took it out and handed it to you. His purpose was to use it as bait and lure out the people behind the scenes. There's something else: you suspect the other side is after the Twin Fish Jade Pendant too. But if the people who want the pendant are the same people creating Mirror People, then now that they already know how to create Mirror People, would the Twin Fish Jade Pendant still hold such a great attraction for them?"

His questions left me speechless.

His analysis did make sense. The reason to seek the Twin Fish Jade Pendant was to create Mirror People—or mirrored objects. But if the other side already possessed the ability to create Mirror People, then the Twin Fish Jade Pendant would hold no appeal for them.

If the people targeting the Twin Fish Jade Pendant were the same group that created the Mirror People, then their actions were rather strange.

Professionals were professionals. Looking at it that way, my suspicion of Old Shu seemed somewhat ridiculous.

"Let me tell you this: in Unit Nine, you can refuse to trust anyone. You can even refuse to trust me. But you cannot refuse to trust Old Shu. Without Old Shu, there would be no Unit Nine. He would never do anything that harmed Unit Nine, much less anything that harmed the interests of the country."

As Xie Yi said this, his expression became extremely serious. The fat man also nodded solemnly for once. "He's right. Old Shu is a good man."