Chapter Seventy-One: Danger

I knew Wu Xin wasn’t just trying to scare me; he must have calculated something, which was why he spoke with such certainty. But I had no choice—I had to go, otherwise my cousin would truly be in danger.

Leaving the hotel, we hailed a taxi and headed straight for the outskirts of town. Sitting in the car, a mix of emotions churned inside me, my worry for my cousin growing stronger with every passing minute. Up to this point, I still didn’t know what kind of danger she was facing.

Half an hour later, we arrived at the outskirts. After stepping out of the taxi, I handed the driver fifty yuan. Watching the taxi speed away, I surveyed my surroundings—there wasn’t a soul to be seen. Calling upon the Black Jiao, we soared into the clouds in an instant.

Several hours later, we returned to the city I hadn’t seen in so long. Not daring to linger, we used the same method to get back to the villa by car. I hurried to charge my phone and immediately dialed my cousin’s number again.

This time, the call went through, but no one answered. In my anxiety, I called several more times, but still, no one picked up.

At that moment, I suddenly remembered those two unfamiliar phone numbers. A thought struck me—could my cousin have been kidnapped?

After a moment’s thought, I decided to call the first unfamiliar number. Ten seconds later, the call connected, but I didn’t speak first. I held my breath, waiting for the person on the other end to speak. After a few seconds, a woman’s voice came through.

“Hello, is this Chu Yun?”

The voice was somewhat familiar—it sounded a lot like Su Wanyi.

Lowering my voice, I whispered, “Who are you?”

On the other end, Su Wanyi raised her voice and snapped, “It’s Su Wanyi! Why are you only calling me back now?”

Once I was certain it was her, I asked, puzzled, “Did you need something?”

Suddenly, Su Wanyi lowered her voice and asked, “Where are you? I want to see you!”

What was going on?

I figured Su Wanyi wouldn’t look for me for no reason—something must have happened. But I didn’t have time to help her now; my cousin’s situation was urgent.

So I said, “I don’t have time right now. Whatever it is, let’s talk in a few days.”

Without giving her a chance to say more, I hung up and immediately dialed the second unfamiliar number, only to hear that it was no longer in service.

Just as I was pondering this, Su Wanyi called me again. I had no interest in talking to her, so I tossed my phone aside.

To be honest, my mind was a mess. What on earth had happened to my cousin?

Lin Weiyan saw how agitated I was and sat down beside me to comfort me. “Brother Chu Yun, don’t get upset. No matter what happens, you have to keep a clear head first!”

I had to admit, her words were a timely reminder. The more critical the situation, the less I could afford to lose my composure. Otherwise, not only would I fail to save my cousin, I might even get myself into trouble.

Then it hit me—hadn’t Feng Zimo always been able to track people by their scent? How could I have forgotten that at such a crucial moment?

I turned to Feng Zimo. “Brother Feng, I remember you can track people by their scent.”

He nodded. Without a second thought, I called him to follow me outside.

Lin Weiyan quickly gave Xiao Ling a few instructions to stay home and obediently followed after us.

Just as we opened the villa’s front door, to my surprise, Su Wanyi was raising her hand, about to knock.

What on earth? Was Su Wanyi cheating at life or something? In just a few minutes, she’d already arrived at the front door. Even if she could fly, she couldn’t be that fast—unless she’d been nearby all along.

Before she could speak, I was about to dash out, but she grabbed my arm and asked, “Why are you in such a hurry? Do you know something serious has happened?”

Hearing this, I thought to myself, what does her big trouble have to do with me? Normally, I might have helped, but now, with my cousin in danger, I couldn’t be bothered.

I remembered clearly how my cousin cared for me when I was unconscious.

I shook off Su Wanyi’s hand and said coldly, “I have urgent business right now. I don’t have time to help you with anything.”

My words were clear enough—unless she was a fool, she should have realized I truly had something urgent.

But I never expected Su Wanyi to say something that made my steps freeze.

She said calmly, “This has to do with your cousin’s safety.”

“What did you say?” I asked, my nerves tightening.

“This is a long story,” Su Wanyi replied. “Let’s talk inside.”

With that, she walked into the villa without looking back.

Sitting on the sofa, Su Wanyi took out a file folder and placed it on the coffee table, slowly opening it.

I stood to the side, staring at its contents—a single sheet of A4 paper and seven or eight photographs.

As the photos were spread out, I suddenly saw one of my cousin, and my heart sank.

From the photo, my cousin’s face was twisted, as if she were a different person altogether.

At the same time, I noticed the other photos—different women, but all with similarly contorted expressions.

Strangely, all the photos were of women; not a single man appeared.

Without waiting, I asked Su Wanyi, “Where did these photos come from? What exactly happened?”

She didn’t keep me guessing. “The photos were captured by surveillance cameras. All of these people have disappeared, but our investigation shows they all appear at the same place every night.”

“Where?” I pressed.

“Zhenzhen Stationery Company,” she said.

Hearing the name, I drew in a cold breath.

Hadn’t the Phantom Demon already been eliminated? Wasn’t the matter resolved? How could things like this still be happening?

Suddenly it dawned on me—could it be there were more monsters in that company, even more powerful than the last one?

What kind of company was this, that monsters would appear so frequently?

The more I thought about it, the more dangerous the situation seemed, just as Wu Xin had warned.

But I had no way out—since my cousin was involved, I couldn’t just stand by.

No matter what, I had to rescue her, even if it meant storming the gates of Yama’s palace itself.

If for nothing else, then for all the care and concern my cousin had shown me over the years.

Lin Weiyan and Feng Zimo, seeing the stormy look on my face, glanced at the photos and recognized my cousin too.

I didn’t even need to say a word—I knew they would help me no matter what.

But I truly didn’t know what kind of enemy we’d be facing this time, or whether we’d come out safe and victorious.

To be honest, I was far from confident.