Chapter 94: The Strange KTV
Jiang Li followed Miao Anji’s pointed finger. Two women stood at the entrance, but the sign light behind them was completely dark. From this distance, she couldn’t even tell what kind of place it was.
"Xiao Ji, why are you so sure this is the place?"
Jiang Li glanced at Miao Anji, her curiosity piqued.
Miao Anji smiled at Jiang Li. "Because it’s excited."
Jiang Li followed his gaze to the scorpion on his hand.
Wu Ming tugged on her sleeve. "Jiang Li, your brother’s scorpion... The corpse qi is thick. Even if there’s no one living in there, there are probably dead people."
Miao Anji shot Wu Ming an icy glare. ’Why did she have to say that out loud? What if she scares my Sister?’
Wu Ming ducked behind Jiang Li and patted her chest. ’Good heavens,’ she thought. ’This guy looks so innocent, but I say one little thing, and he looks like he wants to murder me.’
"It’s fine. Let’s go in and take a look." Jiang Li took out a pinhole camera, pinned it to her clothes, and then sent her location to their group chat on her phone.
"I was wrong, please stop looking at me. I won’t say it again," Wu Ming stammered, swallowing hard as she quickly apologized to Miao Anji.
Miao Anji coldly retracted his gaze. Then, he turned to Jiang Li with a smile. "Sister, let’s go."
Just as they reached the entrance, they were stopped. "Hold it. What are you here for?"
"Isn’t this a KTV? A friend recommended it." As Jiang Li stepped closer, she could finally make out the sign above.
"What? You’re not open?" Yu Huannian stepped forward. The sheer force of his presence made the man’s expression falter, and he broke into an obsequious smile.
"Oh, yes, we’re open, we’re open! Would you like a large private room or a small one?"
"What kind of packages do you offer?"
"Well, we have the 388, 688, 888, 1288, and 8888 packages. Are you planning to stay all night?" the lead attendant asked, glancing back curiously at the two men and two women.
"Ahem! We’re staying the night, so we’ll take your most expensive package!" Wu Ming declared with a flourish.
"Of course, of course! Will you be needing escorts?"
"Yes! We’re not couples."
Wu Ming crossed her arms. ’If we don’t get escorts, it’ll look too suspicious. People might realize something’s off.’
"Well, why didn’t you say so! Don’t you worry, we’ll make sure you’re taken care of, down to the last detail!"
Hearing this, the attendant’s eyes lit up. ’Not couples, and acting like this? They must be part of the scene!’
’This makes things easy,’ he thought. ’A huge score!’
"Right this way." The attendant led Jiang Li’s group toward the second floor.
Miao Anji stopped in his tracks. "Sister, this room looks good."
Jiang Li glanced at the room Miao Anji indicated, then turned to the attendant. "There’s no one in there. We’ll take this one. Here’s a little something for your trouble."
Jiang Li pulled out five hundred yuan and pressed it into her hand.
"Yes, of course, no problem! Please, have a seat. I’ll go make the arrangements."
Jiang Li entered the private room and began to look around. Wu Ming, who had clearly done this before, was already adjusting the microphones.
Jiang Li stared at the wall where the screen was mounted, watching it for a long while.
Behind the wall, a man who was smoking a cigarette looked up and met Jiang Li’s somber, assessing gaze. A shiver ran down his spine; it felt as if the woman was staring right at him.
"Damn it, she’s not a cop, is she?"
The man stubbed out his cigarette. Watching the group on the other side, he pulled out his phone to make a call. But just then, Jiang Li reached up and took down a small decorative object from the wall.
"This thing is actually quite nice."
The man instantly let out a sigh of relief. ’So she just noticed the decoration. Scared the hell out of me.’ He’d paid a fortune to have it custom-made; there was no way anyone could tell what it was.
He began to observe the group in the private room more carefully. If they really were cops, he’d have to be on his guard.
Wu Ming grabbed Yu Huannian and Miao Anji and started to party.
Deafening, murderously bad singing filled the private room.
The man behind the wall frowned. In his entire life, he had never heard such terrible singing.
He stood up and left.
A short while later, the door to the room opened. A young man, about six feet tall and wearing a suit with his chest half-exposed, walked in, leading a group of people.
"Ma’am, here are the complimentary fruit platter, snacks, and drinks." Du Wenhao’s gaze landed on Jiang Li. ’She must be the big shot Sister Li mentioned.’
Du Wenhao walked over to Jiang Li. ’This woman’s presence is definitely different from the others.’
Jiang Li stared at the man kneeling on one knee in front of her, momentarily stunned.
Seeing this, Wu Ming let out an excited whistle.
Jiang Li watched him, her expression blank.
Du Wenhao felt a wave of pressure emanating from her, but the thought in his mind only grew clearer.
’She’s different from the others. If she becomes my patron, I might be able to escape this prison.’
Du Wenhao picked up a bottle of liquor from the ice bucket, stood up, unfastened another button, and proceeded to open the bottle with his abs.
The shocked expressions on their faces were all identical.
The slice of watermelon in Yu Huannian’s hand fell onto the table with a THUD.
Miao Anji rubbed his own stomach. ’Just the thought of that hurts.’
Wu Ming swallowed hard and tugged on Jiang Li’s arm, shaking it.
Du Wenhao picked up a glass and gave Jiang Li a seductive look. "Ma’am, would you like me to feed you?"
"No, thank you. You should have dancers here, shouldn’t you?"
Du Wenhao set the glass down. Seeing this, the other escorts cursed him in their hearts for his shamelessness; the client hadn’t even made her choice yet, and he was already throwing himself at her.
"Hey there, how about I take care of you?" one of the men asked, sidling up to Wu Ming.
"Sure," Wu Ming said with a cheerful laugh.
Yu Huannian and Miao Anji frowned as women from the group approached them.
"We don’t need anyone."
The women exchanged a glance, looked back at Yu Huannian and Miao Anji, and instantly understood.
"Oh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize you two were a couple."
With that, they couldn’t resist giving the pair another look before scurrying out.
Du Wenhao danced with all his might in front of Jiang Li.
Jiang Li propped her head on her hand, but her mind was elsewhere.
"Ahem, all right, that’s enough. You can all leave. We’ll just entertain ourselves."
Wu Ming stood up and shooed them out.
A flash of panic hit Du Wenhao. He looked at Jiang Li desperately. "Ma’am, was my dancing good? Please let me stay with you, won’t you?"
Jiang Li snapped out of her thoughts. "No. You can go."
Du Wenhao was so anxious that sweat beaded on his forehead. The more Jiang Li acted this way, the more convinced he became that she was a wealthy woman—the old-money kind, not some nouveau riche upstart.
With a stony expression, Yu Huannian stood, grabbed the man, and hauled him to his feet. "She told you to get lost. Didn’t you hear?"
Meeting Yu Huannian’s eyes, which were filled with brutal hostility, Du Wenhao could only nod and retreat.
After they were all gone, Jiang Li looked at Miao Anji. "Xiao Ji, any luck? Did you find it?"
Miao Anji looked at his scorpion, which had poked its head out, and nodded. "Yes. It’s right behind the wall."
Jiang Li looked at the wall he indicated. It was just as she had suspected.
"Jiang Li, I drank too much. Can you come to the restroom with me?" Wu Ming looked at Jiang Li in misery. It was her own fault; she’d had too much to drink.
"Okay."
Jiang Li went to the restroom with Wu Ming. On their way out, they took a walk around the floor.
"No! Stop! I was wrong! Help me! AHHH!"
As they passed by one of the rooms, they heard horrific screams from within. Jiang Li and Wu Ming stopped in their tracks and approached.
"Damn it, I told you to drink, so drink!"
Jiang Li stepped forward for a look. Inside, four or five men were seated. A soaking-wet woman was crumpled on the floor in front of them, surrounded by glass shards.
Jiang Li glanced at her phone. Zhao Shuo was already on his way with backup.
"Jiang Li, isn’t he the man we’re looking for?"
Wu Ming pointed to a bearded man in the corner of the room.