Elder Physician Dong, Who Got a Second Spring in Life (Part 1) [Please Vote for Monthly Tickets]

The night was deep and still. It was already a quarter past midnight.

There was less than fifteen minutes until the new year.

The estate covered an enormous area. Its halls blazed with light, and its jewels glittered in a dazzling display, showing just how wealthy its owner was. The former president had no time to admire it. He plunged straight into the artificial rockery, through an opening so narrow that only one person could pass at a time. This place was remote and quiet; the music and strings drifting from the banquet hall grew fainter and fainter.

He planned to leave through a lightly guarded side gate.

As he reached the depths of the rockery, he seemed to sense something and stopped. His right hand slipped quietly inside his sleeve and closed around the hilt of his sword. His eyes darted constantly from side to side, his guard raised high. After several more breaths, when nothing stirred around him, he hesitantly loosened his grip. "Am I being paranoid?"

"Didn't you just say you were going to the privy, President? How did you end up here? Could it be that you're unfamiliar with the place and got lost?"

A mocking laugh that didn't belong to him slipped into his ears.

The voice held a smile, but no warmth.

A chill ran through the former president. He jerked his head up toward the voice and saw a young man lounging on the rockery, which should have been empty. The young man's eyes were overly round and youthful for a man, lending his appearance a boyish air. His plain black scholar's robe nearly blended into the night, making his skin seem almost unnaturally pale. He wasn't any of the attendees from the banquet!

How had a stranger gotten in?

No, he wasn't