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◎C3◎
The white candles burned in the dimly lit room, occasionally crackling softly, and the pure white wax slowly flowed onto the silver metal candlesticks.
"I understand, I'll take care of it for you."
Lin Guo hung up the phone, his gaze deep as he stared at the few white candles in front of him.
He thought to himself, "His mother used electronic red candles when she went to the countryside to burn paper money. These days, there are still people who use candles as lighting. They're really living in a more and more backward way."
The thought of his current identity made him feel increasingly agitated.
He closed his eyes and waited for the person to arrive.
After a while, a young man wearing a black high-collared robe and a silver short cloak, looking like he had just come from a movie set, said to him, "Sir, Miss Mu and Qing have arrived."
"Please let her in," Lin Guo said.
Upon seeing the young man's attire, he gripped his big toe tightly to keep his eyes from rolling out.
Hold on, you must hold on.
A girl, though looking a little tired, still exuded the warmth of spring. She had fair skin and a gentle demeanor.
“I am Mu Heqing, and I contacted you yesterday,” she said.
Lin Guo covered his chest with one hand. Although he didn't know why he was doing it, it suited his current image.
"My name is Lin Guo, and I am also Miss Qing." Lin Guo showed that he was very anxious inside, but he had to pretend to be calm on the surface.
If he could give out awards, he would definitely give himself the Best Acting Award.
Mu and Qing went straight to the point: "What do you mean by saying that Principal Fa Jiuyi has gone missing?"
Lin Guo continued to clutch his chest, frowning slightly as he said, "Miss He Qing, as you know, we are all followers of Lord Fa Jiu. We are usually given orders by the Lord, and we would never actively seek him out. But the Lord hasn't contacted us for a long time."
"Then how can you determine that Principal Fa Jiuyi is missing?"
“Servants can communicate with each other. I am unworthy, but I am the supervisor here. After contacting the other supervisors, I discovered that we have not heard from you for a long time. We have sent out many people to search for you, but there has been no news.”
Mu and Qing remained silent, seemingly deep in thought.
“Miss He Qing, the Lord has concealed your presence and hidden your real information all these years so that they cannot find you. Now that the Lord has disappeared, we would like to ask Miss He Qing for your help in finding him.” Lin Guo adjusted his expression, amplifying his anxiety.
"Principal Fa Jiuyi even helped me hide my real-world personal information? No wonder they couldn't find me before."
Mu Heqing suddenly realized that it was because the principal had helped them find her before, which explained why they couldn't find her by investigating her personal information.
“Miss He Qing, are you willing? If you are not willing, we dare not force you. After all, although the master has missed you very much over the years, he has always put your will first.”
Mu Heqing nodded, took out her phone, and asked, "Of course, but should we exchange contact information so we can stay in touch?"
In the dark and secluded room, by candlelight, Lin Guo took out his phone and added Mu and Qing as friends.
"Do we really have to create this kind of environment?" Mu Heqing squinted and tapped on his phone's friends list.
The room was too dark, and the light from my phone was too bright, a bit dazzling.
Lin Guo smiled without saying a word; the question had hit the nail on the head.
After seeing Mu and Qing off, Lin Guo stood alone under the dim candlelight, his expression inscrutable.
He thought, "It's all bullshit."
…………
Mu and Qing walked out of the long corridor, circled around a few times, and finally left the principal's territory.
Before coming here, she had never known that Ancheng had such a strange place.
This place is like a spider's den. When she first arrived, all she saw were ruins, and she thought no one lived there. It turns out it was all underground.
Now, I don't know where Baoyan is. I haven't seen Lishi for several days. Sifei sent me a few messages, asking if I was angry, and then she blamed Baoyan for everything.
Mu and Qing weren't angry, mainly because being angry was useless. The principal was nowhere to be found, leaving only a fake Lin Guo, and they probably wouldn't get any information from him anyway.
Although Lin Guo performed well, he didn't know that Mu Heqing knew the principal better than he imagined.
He claimed to be the principal's follower and was very polite to her, but he lacked a certain enigmatic quality. Simply put, he didn't seem like a lunatic.
This place might actually be the principal's territory, but it's full of fakes.
There's no need to expose him; we'd rather see what Lin Guo is up to.
What should we do next?
Go back to work?
Mu and Qing remembered Jiang Mu's words: don't let them lead you by the nose.
Then the only option is to take the initiative.
She took out her phone and dialed Li Shi's number.
"Beep beep beep—"
The call was not connected.
She wasn't surprised at all; she could only get through to the phone a handful of times.
Everyone else dislikes answering the phone, but she loves making calls.
So she took the initiative to go find him.
Li Shi certainly wouldn't have expected her to come looking for him.
Forty minutes later, she stood in front of the dark gray building again. Mu Heqing hadn't expected to be back at Kyushu Manor so soon.
Today, the Kyushu Manor is different from the lonely one last time; it seems a bit... a bit lively.
There were many vehicles parked in the manor, all of which looked expensive and were not the kind of cars that Mu and Qing could afford.
The Li family is dwindling in number and probably doesn't like to interact with the outside world. So who are these people who came to the manor today?
It's not surprising that there were cars, but the key point is that she saw quite a few large trucks on the side of the manor.
Perhaps to welcome guests, one of the domed buildings in the Kyushu Manor opened its doors today, with two well-dressed servants standing at the entrance.
Just as Mu and Qing were about to enter the gate, they were stopped by the servants.
One of the attendants said, "Excuse me, ma'am, do you have an invitation?"
Do you need an invitation to enter Kyushu Manor?
"What invitation?"
The attendant said, "An invitation from Club C3."
Mu Heqing shook her head. Of course she didn't. She had never even heard of the C3 Club.
"I'm sorry," the servant said, meaning he wanted her to leave.
Mu Heqing didn't want to make things difficult for the two servants, so she prepared to think of other ways to get in. If all else failed, she could try again next time.
She hadn't gone far when a servant ran out and called to her, "Excuse me, ma'am, we have just been informed that you may enter."
Mu and Qing were puzzled. Was she allowed to go in again?
It seems the people inside already know she's here.
Although the surprise attack didn't achieve its intended purpose, since we're already here, there's no harm in going in and taking a look.
She also wanted to know what this C3 club was, and how many secrets Li Shi and his group still held.
Mu and Qing walked through the gate, bypassed the semi-transparent, ornate partition, and entered a magnificent dark red hall. Directly opposite the entrance to the hall was another carved door.
What lies behind the gate remains unknown.
Looking to the left and right, there were countless small doors, all of which were now tightly closed.
The hall had plenty of sofas and lounge chairs for people to rest, as well as snacks and drinks. Compared to the scene Mu and Qing had seen last time, this place looked more like a waiting room for a wedding.
However, there weren't many people in the hall, and everyone was quite far apart.
Occasionally, a small door would open, and a few elegantly dressed, imposing figures would emerge. They would summon the servants in the hall, ask them a few questions, and then return to their rooms after receiving their answers.
What are they doing?
Mu Heqing couldn't understand, so she walked to a spot, sat down, and picked up a small cake next to her to eat.
Surprisingly, it tastes pretty good.
After a while, the carved door opened, and a middle-aged man walked out dejectedly, followed by a servant.
The attendant called out, "Number 6, please enter."
A woman in a cheongsam stood up in the hall, slowly walked into the carved door, and then the door closed behind her.
"Sigh, Number 6 is well-prepared this time. We're probably out of luck." A man with a goatee, wearing a light gray fedora, and looking somewhat nonchalant sighed next to Mu and Qing.
Mu and Qing were focused on the carved gate and didn't notice when the man came to their side.
"Young lady, are you here to ask for something too? What do you want, money, power, or fame?" the man asked.
Mu Heqing lowered his eyes and understood the purpose of these people.
It turns out that it was a deal with Li Shi.
"Uncle, what about you?" Mu and Qing asked back when they encountered a question they couldn't answer.
The man chuckled and said, "I just wanted to broaden my horizons and see if it was true. By the way, I'm C0.165, what's yours?"
He pulled out a red card with the number C0.165 printed on it in black ink.
Mu Heqing couldn't answer that question; she had gotten in through connections. She could only continue, "Uncle, what did you mean when you said Number 6 was well-prepared?"
The man didn't seem to care that Mu and Qing hadn't answered his question; he just seemed to want to find someone to talk to.
He said, "I know this number 6. She owns a garment factory, but unfortunately, business has been bad in recent years. Several big deals have been ruined by her competitors. This garment factory is her lifeline, and she is willing to pay any price to make the factory thrive."
These people made a one-off deal with Li Shi.
Was Li Shi doing this while he wasn't with Mu and Qing?
But the only thing Mu and Qing couldn't understand was, what benefit would doing this bring to Li Shi?
Those who made the exchange paid a price, but what did Rish gain?
"Uncle, I also wanted to come and see," Mu Heqing said. "I'd like to go in and see how the serial number came about."
The man asked in surprise, "They should have given it to you as soon as you came in. Didn't they give it to you?"
Mu and Qing shook their heads.
"It's okay, I'm just here to take a look anyway, let's go together. It's not good to use real names here, just call me Uncle Gua."
"Then you can just call me Xiao He. Can we go in together?" Mu Heqing said.
Uncle Gua flashed a smile, revealing his white teeth: "It's alright. But I have a companion who wants to ask to be called on. We can all go together, you don't mind, do you?"
Mu Heqing glanced at the tightly closed door, shook his head slightly, and said calmly, "I don't mind, thank you Uncle Gua."
"You're too kind, Xiaohe. We're number 13, it'll be our turn soon."
Uncle Gua pulled a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket, on which was written "Number Thirteen".
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