SES Chapter 48 V1

Chapter 48 

Mu Dai’s mind was spinning. When she met Luo Ren, how should she act? Poised and graceful? Flash a polite smile? Greet him casually like an old friend? Or maybe it was best to play it cool and reserved?

None of that mattered because the moment Luo Ren parked the car and started walking her way, her eyes widened in shock.

Why was he heading over alone? Where was Hongsha?

Her sense of duty kicked in—she was a bodyguard, after all.

Mu Dai rushed over and began gesturing wildly. Luckily, Yiwansan followed her and stepped in to explain, “She lost her voice from shouting and can’t talk for now.”

That immediately reminded Luo Ren of the scene he’d witnessed—such a tiny person with such explosive power. She was like three megaphones in one.

Fortunately, he guessed what she wanted to ask. “Your friend’s fine, but she needs to rest for a couple of days. I didn’t think traveling back and forth would be good for her leg, so I had her admitted to the hospital.”

Hospitalized? While it wasn’t a dangerous place, she was supposed to stay by Hongsha’s side.

Mu Dai forcefully commandeered Yiwansan’s phone and typed out her request for Luo Ren to read.

He didn’t get it. “Why do you have to stay with her? It’s not even comfortable to sleep at the hospital. Just come with us for now—there’s a place for you on the boat. You can visit your friend in a couple of days.”

Fine. She didn’t want to do this, but she had no choice. Reluctantly and with great effort, she typed four words:

I am her bodyguard.

Luo Ren raised an eyebrow. “What kind of bodyguard? The kind who’s specially hired to scream for help?”

Mu Dai nearly exploded. Was her shouting that ridiculous? Why was everyone mocking her for it, directly or indirectly? It was a life-and-death situation! And she couldn’t even swim!

She had no interest in dealing with these people. Conscience? None of them had it.

Her face darkened, and she refused to let Luo Ren drive her. She turned on her heel and stormed off down the road, her fast pace sending a crystal-clear message: I’m mad.

The way out was a narrow, winding mountain road. There were barely any cars. After walking a while, Luo Ren’s car rolled up behind her, slowly trailing her like a glowing shadow. The headlights reached far ahead, illuminating her path.

Mu Dai kept walking at a steady pace, then suddenly stopped and spun around.

The car halted just as abruptly. She couldn’t see Luo Ren’s face through the windshield—the lights were too bright and stung her eyes. She shielded them with her hand. From Luo Ren’s perspective, she was bathed in light, every strand of hair clearly defined, like a tiny glowing fairy.

He smiled and opened the passenger door. “Big Shot Bodyguard, get in. Do you even know which hospital she’s in?”

Mu Dai climbed in with a tiny bit of smug satisfaction.

The ride was long—perfect for Luo Ren to catch her up on what had happened: Yiwansan’s mother, who drowned clutching an urn of ashes, the old clan chief who died when a pearl-diving boat overturned, and the things Yiwansan had told them.

Mu Dai listened in a daze. The more she heard, the more a thread in her mind started weaving events together.

—Yiwansan’s father had fallen into the sea during a territory dispute with a neighboring village. Though the old clan chief and others were cruel to leave him to die, pearl divers were typically excellent swimmers. So, did he drown? Or did something in the water—like what attacked Yan Hongsha—grab him and drag him down?

—Yiwansan’s mother and the clan chief both drowned when their boats capsized. According to descriptions, the location was near the same spot where she and Hongsha were attacked. What if it were the same creature?

The more she thought about it, the more likely it seemed. Hongsha had been the only one to fall in today—Mu Dai had stayed on the boat, pulling desperately, and Luo Ren’s group had arrived quickly. But Yiwansan’s mother and the chief had been alone in their boats. Even with witnesses on shore, the accidents happened too fast for anyone to help.

Luo Ren had considered that too.

“These events are connected. If the Phoenix Lock led us to Wuzhu Village, then it has something to do with the cursed bamboo slips. The first one was inside Ping Ting’s body. I think the second one is in the old clam’s egg sac.”

Mu Dai nodded.

That would explain a lot. The first slip clung to a person, luring out their darkest impulses. The second was hidden in the egg sac, using the old clam’s power to orchestrate murders from the water.

The old mystic had said the slips were alive. It hadn’t made much sense before, but now it did. People assumed the five elements could suppress them, especially water. But if one were hiding inside a clam egg, it could harness aquatic power to move freely underwater.

“I thought over all the suspicious incidents tied to the second slip, and something the mystic said fits—they rarely strike in public.”

That had sounded odd at first, but now made total sense.

All the incidents happened in public, but with a twist.

The first incident: Everyone was on boats, fighting on the water, while the clam lurked beneath. Just a thin layer of water separated the two worlds. It used the moment Yiwansan’s father fell into the water to drag him under, which is why people thought he was “convulsing in the water.”

The second and third: Yiwansan’s mother and the old chief fell in. Onlookers saw the boats capsize but couldn’t see the clam under them. It was like it was invisible.

But with Mu Dai and Hongsha, things were different. When Hongsha fell in, Mu Dai didn’t let go. The boat’s motor roared, Luo Ren’s crew arrived quickly, and he jumped in—more people, more risk of being seen. Maybe the clam sensed it and released Hongsha to avoid exposure.

So Luo Ren didn’t see it directly—he deduced it from Hongsha’s leg injuries and whatever she told him afterward.

Suddenly, Mu Dai’s heart dropped. She forgot someone. Yan Jiuxiao!

If the clam he saw that night was the same one that attacked them, and he’d said he wanted to “get a closer look” in the video, what if something happened when he got close?

The more she thought, the more likely it seemed. That night, Yan Jiuxiao was alone.

She frantically motioned for Luo Ren’s phone and typed a long message about the Yan family and Yan Jiuxiao. She was so anxious that she kept mistyping, deleting, and rewriting.

Just as she was finishing, the car stopped.

She looked outside. A simple, home-style restaurant.

Luo Ren said, “We’re almost at the hospital. Let’s get something to eat first.”

Only then did Mu Dai realize how hungry she was. After everything—trekking, swimming—she’d forgotten about food completely.