“Do you remember what Yafeng said? That many of the murderous slips’ secrets are tied to the number seven. She said ‘seven brings fullness,’ and also mentioned a ‘seven-times-seven number.’”
—In the fishing-line puppet case, Luo Ren remembered that there were three confirmed murders.
—In Wuzhu Village, the exact death toll was unclear. With the village abandoned for so long, even counting Yan Hongsha’s uncle Yan Jiuxiao, it might not reach seven.
—The Four Stockades were deep in the mountains, with even fewer people.
—In Nantian County, Xiang Silan may have influenced many people through the Flying Horse Carving Platform, but actual deaths were likely still few.
—In Cao Family Village, Yafeng had intended to slaughter them all, but fortunately, everyone escaped unscathed.
Only this town conveyed a precise number: “seven people drowned in succession.” And after that, Leopard’s ancestor, in a rather subtle way, stopped—until those outsiders tracked him down.
Why seven, and not eight or nine? Yafeng had once said, “I was born different from you,” and “Because my heart is evil.” If she were to complete seven murderous slips as well, would something else change?
The three of them fell silent together.
The door opened. Yi Wan San returned from delivering food and walked over, puzzled, seeing them gathered there.
Then the phone rang again—an unfamiliar number. Luo Ren answered.
On the other end was a near-shrill, icy laugh.
“Luo, keep smiling. Don’t let anyone around you notice anything unusual. Casually leave the bar. Don’t try to signal or gesture to anyone. I’ve got eyes on you everywhere. Make one wrong move, and I’ll stab your little beauty.”
Luo Ren smiled at Yi Wan San, who was walking over, and said, “I’m going to the restroom. We were just talking—have Hongsha fill you in.”
He headed toward the back of the bar. As he passed Qingmu, he said, “Dinner out tonight? Change things up a bit.”
A casual question, just like any other day.
But once he rounded the back staircase, his face went cold. He quickened his pace, nearly shoving the back door open as he rushed outside. “What do you want?”
“You move fast. It took me a while to realize it was your little beauty who leaked the information. Luo, being played like that makes me very unhappy.”
What did she mean?
At first, Luo Ren thought Leopard was talking about how quickly he’d stepped out. Then it hit him—Leopard knew that Mu Dai had passed on her location.
How could she know? Zheng Mingshan hadn’t called back yet. Or had something happened to Zheng Mingshan too?
Luo Ren felt his entire back tense. When Leopard said she was “very unhappy,” she would definitely vent it. She hated losing.
He could barely hold himself back. “What do you want?”
“Luo,” Leopard said, “I want to see you.”
The call ended, and a video request came through. Gritting his teeth, Luo Ren accepted.
The screen lit up. Leopard was outdoors, in a forest. Her face was gloomy, yet twisted with an eerie smile. She removed her sunglasses, revealing eyes covered by a black leather eyepatch.
Since that brutal battle, this was the first time Luo Ren had seen Leopard.
“Long time no see, Luo.”
The camera shifted, panning quickly around her surroundings. Deep in the woods, trees everywhere. Before Luo Ren could process what he was seeing, the camera abruptly tilted downward.
He saw someone shoveling in the last scoop of dirt.
It was a grave.
All the blood in Luo Ren’s body rushed to his head. His legs nearly gave out. Leopard’s face reappeared on the screen. “You’ve already seen the surroundings. Come save her, Luo. If you win again, I’ll consider giving her a spin at the wheel. I keep my word.”
She let out a giggle and hung up.
Cold sweat broke out on Luo Ren’s forehead. He quickly scanned his surroundings, mentally replaying the fragmented images he’d just seen.
—A forest. The terrain relatively flat. Judging by the depth, it was a fairly large area. He could think of several such woods nearby.
—Since Leopard wanted to play this game with him, it had to be difficult—but not impossible. She wouldn’t choose somewhere too far away, where he couldn’t reach in time. That would be pointless.
—There were two closer options: one outside the city, and one halfway up the mountain. The road outside the city was easy—he could sprint the whole way. That wasn’t what Leopard wanted to see. The most likely spot was the mountainside. At this hour, tourists would be everywhere. Even though it was close, he’d be blocked at every turn. Leopard would enjoy watching him burn inside, helpless.
Luo Ren hesitated no longer and took off running.
He’d never realized before just how many tourists there were in the old city—people posing, taking photos, setting up tripods. He even ran into a senior tour group, silver hair under matching caps, people he didn’t dare shove too hard.
“Move!” Luo Ren shouted.
He didn’t care if people cursed at him from behind or if he knocked over roadside stalls. He could pay compensation later. Mu Dai couldn’t wait. Back in the Philippines, hadn’t they trained for this? How long could someone survive when buried alive—minutes, or seconds?
His mind was a blur as he ran, mechanically, forward and forward.
—If you win again, I’ll consider giving her a spin at the wheel.
The wheel?
In Medan, there were many rumors about the Leopard. She was famously unpredictable. No one could ever read her moods. Someone who had offended her might be dragged before her, everyone assuming the person was doomed—only for Leopard, in a good mood that day, to say, “Come on, let’s spin the wheel.”
Like the lucky wheels you see on TV, with two outcomes: live, or die.
The man had wet himself in terror, trembling as he reached out. The pointer spun around the wheel, slowing… and actually landed on live.
Leopard waved her hand. “Go.”
And she really let him go.
But more often than not, her wheel didn’t decide between life and death. It decided how you would die—one way, or another.
Luo Ren’s chest tightened. Staggering forward, the forest finally came into view.
It wasn’t dense, but it was vast. The branches intertwined overhead. It wasn’t leaf-fall season, but the forest had been left to grow wild for years. The ground was thickly carpeted with branches and leaves.
A leopard would definitely use that to camouflage the disturbed earth. She wouldn’t make it easy for him to spot the digging.
From almost any point deeper inside, the view matched what she’d shown him.
Where was it? Where?
Luo Ren nearly went mad. He dropped to his knees, frantically sweeping aside the branches and leaves with his hands. Nothing here. Nothing there either. Sweat dripped from his brow when, suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind.
He’d been to this forest before.
That night, he’d scared Mu Dai to tears here—and she’d elbowed him so hard his ribs hurt for several nights.
Time was ticking by in seconds. Where was Mu Dai? She might stop breathing at any moment—this second, or the next.
Luo Ren gritted his teeth and kept clearing the ground. In one instant, his emotions hit a breaking point and he shouted, “Mu Dai!”
There was an answer.
A startled pheasant burst out from behind a tree, wings flapping wildly, its small eyes staring straight at him.
This was…
Cao Jiefang?
Loveguy On CFRFGC Chapter 7