Chapter 363: Leng Ning’s Mind
Inside the red Cayenne.
Leng Ning drove, her eyes fixed on the road ahead. "Chuchu, the way you were looking at him was full of affection. Don’t tell me you’re actually catching feelings?"
"It’s all just an act," Chuchu said from the passenger seat, her gaze also fixed on the Land Rover ahead.
’How could she let Leng Ning know about the little secret between her and Jiang Xinghai?’
"I hope it’s just an act. Otherwise, if you develop feelings for a Black Cloak target, you’ll end up implicating your family." Leng Ning maintained her usual cold, aloof demeanor, her expression unsmiling and her voice flat.
Chuchu just smiled faintly and changed the subject. "You joined the Black Cloak a few years before me. Have you ever met Mr. Long?"
"Mr. Long passed away five years ago. Don’t tell me you didn’t know?" Leng Ning shot Chuchu a sidelong glance.
"But I heard Mr. Long only faked his death..."
"Shut up!"
Before Chuchu could finish, Leng Ning snapped, "Mr. Long, Mr. Hu, and Miss Feng are the three founders of our Black Cloak. We’re just registered members. How can we gossip about the founders? If you have a death wish, don’t drag me down with you."
"Well, thanks for the reminder," Chuchu said dismissively.
’If Jiang Xinghai didn’t need her, she would have left the Black Cloak long ago.’
’I need to become a core member as soon as possible. The clearance for registered members is just too low.’ Leng Ning had her own agenda as well.
"So, when Maitreya Buddha ordered us to get close to Jiang Xinghai, you knew that completing the mission would get you an exceptional promotion to a core member?" Chuchu was beginning to understand what Leng Ning was thinking.
Leng Ning’s expression was noncommittal. She murmured, "Chuchu, if you manage to find out the whereabouts of his parents from Jiang Xinghai, could you give me half the credit? Even a third would be fine. Would you?"
"What makes you so sure I can do it? Do you have that little confidence in yourself?" Chuchu asked quietly.
At this, Leng Ning pressed a hand to her forehead and sighed. "I had an encounter with Jiang Xinghai today. I never expected him to be such a frivolous man. I absolutely despise men like that. I can’t even convince myself to get close to him..."
"There’s something I don’t understand."
Chuchu didn’t answer Leng Ning, instead posing another question. "Why are the higher-ups so desperate to find Jiang Xinghai’s parents? What’s so valuable about them?"
"A key, supposedly," Leng Ning answered instinctively.
"A key..." Chuchu nodded thoughtfully. "With the Black Cloak’s resources, there should be hundreds of ways to find Jiang Xinghai’s parents. Why pin all our hopes on him?"
"Simple. For the past five years, the Black Cloak has tried every method imaginable and still hasn’t found a trace of his parents," Leng Ning said with a long sigh.
Chuchu was left speechless.
’People the Black Cloak can’t find are few and far between.’
"But there’s something I don’t get, either."
Leng Ning took a pack of cigarettes from the glove compartment, lit one, and exhaled a cloud of smoke. "Five years ago, on Mr. Long’s orders, the Wang Family of Jizhou, the Yu Family, and the Song Family joined forces to capture Jiang Xinghai’s parents. They were tied to stones and thrown into the sea. Logically, not even their bones should be left..."
"Exactly. So why now..."
"It can only mean one thing: Jiang Xinghai’s parents were rescued. We don’t know by whom, but they were seen in public, and word got back to Mr. Long," Leng Ning analyzed.
Realization dawned on Chuchu. "And then, a short while ago, I received orders to stop the assassination attempts on Jiang Xinghai, and instead find his parents through him..."
"Now that we’re clear on the whole story, can you agree to my request from earlier?" Leng Ning turned to gaze at Chuchu.
"If I manage to do it, you can have all the credit. I don’t mind," Chuchu said, looking at Leng Ning quietly.
"You’re not joking?" A rare smile appeared on Leng Ning’s face.
Chuchu nodded earnestly. "I’m not joking. Because I don’t plan on staying in the Black Cloak forever."
"That’s for the best. The Black Cloak isn’t a place you can stay for long. Before you know it, you’ll be in too deep." Leng Ning took a deep breath.
’No one knew that her father had once been a member of the Black Cloak, too!’
But five years ago, the tragic news of his death had arrived.
As for the reason why, no one knew.
That was why she had joined the Black Cloak five years ago, working diligently while secretly investigating the cause of her father’s death.
However, only core members had the clearance to conduct such an investigation.
「7:00 PM」
Jiang Xinghai drove off the highway, heading straight for the Mu Family’s estate in Central State.
「Outside the Mu Family’s estate」
A pink Volkswagen Beetle was parked there.
A woman in a slip dress sat on the car’s roof, craning her neck as she eagerly gazed into the distance.
"Huanyan, Mr. Jiang will arrive at the Mu estate in ten minutes. You are to serve him well in the coming days."
A lean, elderly man walked out from the Mu estate. It was Li Tu, the butcher who guarded the Mu Family’s medicinal garden.
"Don’t you worry, Grandpa. I reviewed our Li Family’s Bedroom Technique again last night," Li Huanyan said with a seductive smile.