Sundering Nature

Book 4 Chapter 28 – Bail

"Young Master Guo brought that girl to a private room right away. After one of my managers told me that he had ordered a Verdant Fairy, I knew exactly what he was up to. Well, it didn’t take long until someone heard the click of the lock. Young Master Guo stayed in there until the next morning, and some of the staff heard things being smashed and people fighting inside. I was afraid that something bad had happened, so I went to take a look. Guess what? Young Master Guo did it another time while the girl was still asleep. Isn’t he afraid of overdoing it?"

"What after?" It took a tremendous effort for Li Yiming to stay composed.

"After? What after? After a few days, when Young Master Guo showed up, that girl was with him. She was referring to herself as his girlfriend." Fatty shook his head in disappointment.

"Ji Xiaoqin..." Li Yiming muttered. Knowing Ji Xiaoqin, this did not come to him as much of a surprise.

"Xiaoqin? Yes, yes, that was her name. What a shame..." Fatty sighed once again. ’He knows about that girl’s name? Is he planning something against Yunlong?’

Li Yiming sank into a long, sour contemplation. ’Guardians? If it weren’t for them... Ji Xiaoqin...’

"Big Brother, why are you here?" Fatty was inconvenienced by Li Yiming’s silence, since it meant that he would not longer be able to build their relationship by talking, but he was well aware that Li Yiming was not thrown into jail because of him. Jail was in fact, a convenient place to very personal discussions.

"They’re accusing me of robbery and murder." Li Yiming looked at Fatty coldly; he abetted the Guos in their wrongdoings and was not any better than them.

"Robbery and murder? Here? In Hangzhou?" Fatty was frightened by the revelation. ’That’s no minor crime!’

"What do you think?" Li Yiming smiled again, but this time with a murderous, cold stare.

"Li Yiming, your lawyer is here for you. Come out." Fatty’s renewed terror was cut short by the voice of a guard.

’Bail? For murder and robbery? He just got here!’ Fatty duck down and looked at Li Yiming with even more reverence.

Li Yiming himself was surprised. ’My lawyer? I have a lawyer?’ He had thought about contacting Eyeglasses and his teammates, but he decided against it when he mulled it over; he did not want to drag his friends into the dangers of Mr. Kong’s mission.

"Remember what I’ve said. I’ll be keeping my eye on you." Li Yiming suddenly turned back as he reached the metal grid, leaving one last warning for Fatty.

Fatty nodded as hard as he could. ’After I get out of here, I’ll leave Hangzhou and never come back!’

* * *

"Boss, why are you here? Didn’t you say..." Qian Mian was back in the disguise of the man with a slim figure. He was surprised when he recognized the woman in front of him.

"I can’t see through the fog of Hangzhou, and you forgot. I can’t resist something like that..." Stargaze sighed and looked at the residential building towering over her.

"But you..." Qian Mian hesitated.

"It’s okay, leave it to later. Just remember that your safety comes becoming anything else. Don’t do anything stupid." Stargaze’s heart was warmed when she saw the worry written all over Qian Yan’s face.

"Alright, we should go." Stargaze led the way into the building. The elevator stopped on the ninth floor. The duo walked out and looked at the police tape which was all over the door and around the walls of the hallway.

"How long has it been?" Stargaze asked.

"He just got out. Someone bailed him out." Qian Mian walked forth. The door opened quietly after he grazed on it with the tip of his fingers.

"Bail?" Stargaze stopped. According to her sources, Li Yiming worked alone.

"Yeah. You’ll never guess who’s the one brought him out of prison."

"It’s him?"

"Yes."

* * *

Tian Yan was by the side of the window in her room. Tonight was another sleepless night.

Bing Shuai just had a long talk with her. Instead of the blaming and the punishment she was expecting, she heard an earnest explanation about their current predicament; the people who had brought her up were in trouble, and the source of the danger... was Fu Bo.

Tian Yan knew just how strong Bing Shuai was, and yet, the man whom she thought was omnipotent was anxious and worried. Seeing Bing Shuai like that scared Tian Yan. Although she was no longer forbidden to go see Fu Bo in the basement, she decided against it, as she was afraid that she would only sink deeper into his "trap".

* * *

Li Yiming followed the guard into an office after having his handcuffs removed. There, he found someone he thought he would never see. On the office chair in front of him was Li Huaibei, wearing his clean-cut suit and his crystal eyeglasses. As always, Li Huaibei projected an air of elegance and confidence.

"Li Huaibei?" Li Yiming yelled out in surprise.

Li Huaibei nodded and gave the folder of files to Captain Zhang.

"Mr. Li, I have to remind you of the importance of this case... " Captain Zhang did not seem have given up yet.

"We’ve talked about this enough already, haven’t we? I’m just following the procedure." Li Huaibei interrupted him with a smile and gestured at the file folder.

Captain Zhang shook his head in frustration, but after one last stare at Li Huaibei, he signed the document and left in a hurry, visibly upset.

"Let’s leave." Li Huaibei put the document into his suitcase and looked at Li Yiming amusedly.

"Why are you here?" Li Yiming could not hold the question in anymore. Of all the people that could be here for him, from his parents to Mr. Kong, he had not thought that it would be Li Huaibei.

"Were you planning on enjoying your stay here otherwise?" Li Huaibei grinned again.

"But how?" Li Yiming dove into the co-driver’s seat. He knew that with the magnitude of the accusations against him, it would be impossible for him to be released with a bail.

Li Huaibei did not answer him. He stepped on the accelerator and threw a business card in Li Yiming’s direction.

Gong Lian Law Firm. Chief Legal Officer.

"You’re a lawyer?" Li Yiming had heard of the name before. It was one of the top law firms in the country. ’And Li Huaibei is the general counsel? It does look authentic, judging by how easily he bailed me out.’

"It’s my hobby. Can’t have only fighting and killing in your life, can you?" Li Huaibei lowered the car window and lit himself a cigarette.

"Can I have one?"

"I knew you’d fall into the habit one day." Li Huaibei threw the entire pack over.

"Thanks."

"So, what’s this all about?" Li Huaibei knew the real reason behind Li Yiming’s word of gratitude. He slowed the car down and turned into a busy corner.

* * *

"Someone got Li Yiming out of prison." Ying Mei rushed into Bing Shuai’s room without even knocking.

"Really? How did he get out? Any clue on who’s behind this?" Bing Shuai sat up with a concerned expression.

"It’s... Li Huaibei. He went there himself." Ying Mei answered with a severe countenance, after a moment of hesitation.

"Li Huaibei?" Bing Shuai squinted. "Finally, a big fish. Where are they right now?"

"We didn’t dare to follow him." Having learned from her mistakes, Ying Mei had grown more prudent.

"It’s okay. As long as we know who it is, and they’re in Hangzhou, they cannot escape." Bing Shuai started to nervously tap on the table once again. ’Li Huaibei went there himself. Is that some kind of message? How did they acquire his services? I thought Li Huaibei always operated alone. This keeps getting worse, but I can’t give up now, not after this long.’

"What about Tian Yan?"

"She’s in her room."

"Has she been to the basement?"

"No." Ying Mei was perplexed by the question. ’Why is Bing Shuai so fixated on whether she’s been to the basement? I thought the ritual circle was already broken?’

"Don’t mind her for now. Also, avoid the basement for a while. Bring back out team, I think..." Bing Shuai suddenly stood up and turned his head away.

"What is it?" Ying Mei was surprised Bing Shuai’s expression.

"As I expected..." Bing Shuai slowly released his clenched fists; he had been itching for a fight.

* * *

Guo Xiang was drinking next to the swimming pool in the yard, visibly bored. It had been three days since his father had given the order to forbid him from going out. He peeked at a bodyguard dressed in black not too far away and spat at him in disgust. ’Pfft, didn’t see you this serious when you were under my command...’

’Three days...’ Guo Xiang scratched his crotch. Ji Xiaoqin was upstairs as well, but it was not his style to sleep with the same woman twice in a row.

Just as his frustration was growing, Guo Xiang spotted someone that cut all of his thoughts short. It was a woman dressed in a grey traditional dress. Her hair was tied above her head, revealing her ears and a slender, white neck. Guo Xiang’s eyes were instantly driven toward her thin waist and the little bit of cleavage that was shown from the rather deep-cut collar. ’What a beauty...’

The woman stood there quietly, like a goddess who had just descended from the skies, and around her was a stream of stars and moonlight that shone so strong, it conferred to her the air of a midnight apparition.

’It’s her! She’s the one!’ Guo Xiang yelled inwardly. ’She’s the goddess that I’ve been waiting for my whole life! I’ve found love!’

Guo Xiang did not think about how the woman appeared there of all places in the middle of the night. ’Perhaps she’s dad’s mistress. Bah! I don’t care. She’s mine today. This is my destiny.’

Guo Xiang stood up and walked toward the woman with the wine bottle in one hand, and an bump around his crotch.

I have to say, suppose, that I was hypothetically (I insist, hypothetically) in Ji Xiaoqin’s shoes, I would probably do the same about her. Otherwise, what am I going to do, call the police (doesn’t work), kill myself? (does that work?), pretend it never happened?(not sure if that works either).