The moment he saw Meihua Jiuniang’s back, his face drained of color. After freezing for a beat, he rushed around to her front and cried out, “Master!”
Luo Ren saw Zheng Mingshan drop to his knees.
A loud buzzing filled his head. Moving stiffly, he stepped around as well.
Meihua Jiuniang was dead.
She sat upright, not collapsed, a smile still on her face—almost as if she had been laughing. Her body bore multiple stab wounds. The fatal one was across her throat, cut nearly to the bone. Blood had soaked through her clothes, but mercifully, it hadn’t pooled around her.
This legendary figure of earlier years had fallen, and at least the place of her death wasn’t too chaotic or drenched in blood.
Luo Ren staggered back two steps, his mind blank. He heard himself whisper, “Where’s Mu Dai?”
He looked around frantically. Meihua Jiuniang was dead—but where was Mu Dai? His girl—where had she gone? There had been a fight here last night. Mu Dai would never have stood by while her master was murdered. So where was she?
His phone rang. He answered mechanically.
It was the Mystic, speaking excitedly. “Little Radish, you know what? I had Xiao Wanwan look into it—the Guansi Paifang, it turns out—”
Luo Ren cut him off stiffly. “I don’t have time right now. Send it to me, or tell me later.”
He hung up.
Zheng Mingshan turned to look at him.
At this moment, Meihua Jiuniang’s eldest disciple—Mu Dai’s senior brother—was no longer the ordinary man who drank cheap liquor with peanuts and kept his head down. His gaze was razor-sharp, his hunched back coiled with tension, like a beast about to explode into motion.
The phone kept ringing.
Suddenly furious, Luo Ren answered and shouted, “I said I don’t have time right—”
He stopped abruptly.
On the other end was an eerie stillness—silent, yet filled with a strange, surging presence.
This wasn’t the Mystic.
Zheng Mingshan slowly rose from beside Meihua Jiuniang.
At last, a voice came through the receiver. It sounded as if it had crossed thousands of mountains and years—husky, seductive, carrying the allure of a woman and the menace of a curse. It was the deepest nightmare from his dreams, a voice he had never forgotten.
“Luo.”
All the blood in Luo Ren’s body rushed to his head. “Where’s Mu Dai?”
“Long time no see.”
“Where is Mu Dai?”
“After all this time, you won’t even catch up with an old friend? You only care about your little beauty?”
Luo Ren roared, “Where is Mu Dai?!”
“She’s perfectly fine—just crying, screaming, yelling, and cursing. But don’t worry, I have a good temper. I won’t kill her with one knife. If I killed her, there’d be no fun left.”
Luo Ren ground his teeth. “Did you kill Meihua Jiuniang?”
“That old woman who was asking for death?” she laughed softly. “So old already—she didn’t have much time left anyway.”
“What do you want?”
“What do I want?” Her voice dropped into something like a lover’s whisper. “Luo, have you ever heard the saying that a beautiful woman dies twice in her life? Once when her beauty fades, and the second time—that’s the real death.”
“Luo, I lost one eye. You already killed me once.”
She giggled.
“Seeing how beautiful your little darling is—I’m so jealous.”
Luo Ren clenched the phone so hard his knuckles turned white. “What exactly do you want?”
“I don’t know,” she said lightly. “Maybe once we meet, I’ll know.”
“Where?”
“Your place would be perfect.”
Home? Which home?
She continued, “Antique-style, great view. Your friend’s bar is right across the street. Luo, ever since you came back to China, you’ve made so many boring, strange friends. Why would you even keep a chicken?”
She burst into laughter—harsh, vicious, and cruel.
“You’d better hurry back. I really don’t like your little beauty. Her eyes are so lovely… and mine are nothing but black hollows.”
Luo Ren’s chest heaved violently. He fought to keep his voice steady, refusing to let Leopard hear any crack in his emotions.
“Let me hear Mu Dai’s voice.”
“Luo, you’re the least qualified person in this world to negotiate with me.”
Luo Ren said nothing.
“The doctors said my eyes can no longer undergo another transplant,” she continued calmly. “But I still want to try.”
She hung up.
The fog had completely lifted. Bright sunlight shone down on Luo Ren, on Zheng Mingshan, and on Meihua Jiuniang’s silent body.
Yet Luo Ren felt no warmth—only cold, bone-deep cold.
He looked up at Zheng Mingshan.
Forcing a smile, Luo Ren’s lips trembled as he said, “Leopard has kidnapped Mu Dai. She’s in danger. I need to get back as fast as possible…”
He didn’t finish the sentence.
Zheng Mingshan suddenly threw a vicious punch—fast, precise, a heavy blow that slammed into Luo Ren’s jaw.
Luo Ren saw it coming, but didn’t dodge. The impact shot from his jaw straight into his skull. As darkness swallowed him and he crashed to the ground, he felt as if he were back in the Philippines—in an underground boxing ring, the crowd screaming wildly:
“Kill him! Kill him!”
He heard Zheng Mingshan curse, “Bastard.”
Luo Ren struggled, clutching his jaw as he climbed back to his feet.
Zheng Mingshan didn’t look at him. He bent down, lifted Meihua Jiuniang into his arms, and as he passed Luo Ren, his voice was as hard as iron, molten with fury.
“Go back first. I’ll take care of my master’s affairs here. I’ll come find you soon.”
Luo Ren murmured, “Okay.”
“She’s called Leopard, right?” Zheng Mingshan said coldly. “I’ll turn her into a dead hunting dog.”
Sam Williams On TYMIMA Chapter 152