A bait to lure him to the bar, and a sturdy net to make sure that he would not escape...

The line of He Juan’s jaws turned rigid. He hated to admit it but what Ku Jin said made perfect sense. He Juan only went to the Queen of Spades Bar because he heard that Blue Lotus was there, but upon arriving, he could not find the man anywhere and instead, discovered a bunch of corpses who had died in a mysterious way. Before he could even wrap his head around the situation, an explosion occurred and He Juan would have definitely been half-dead had Ma Ping not covered him with his own body.

Why did Blue Lotus suddenly appear after going under radar for months? Why would it be the dingy bar of all places?

The answer was simple: it was to lure He Juan out.

But if that was the case, then he also had to admit that Ku Jin’s hypothesis was true, that there was a mole within the five men who had been present in the bar last night and secretly let Blue Lotus go.

He Juan felt suffocated. He did not want to think about it, but willpower alone was not enough to suppress the towering tree of doubt that had taken root in his heart.

Old Liu had been guarding the back entrance alone. If there was someone who could help Blue Lotus get away, then he would be the most suitable person for it. However, he had died under the explosion, so He Juan could cross him out of the list. Ma Ping was even more impossible. If he wanted He Juan to die, then there was no need to protect him even at the cost of his own life.

That left three people — Chen Youzhi, Huang Zhiyan and Mo Feng.

The three of them had been personally chosen by He Juan himself. They were his brothers, his friends and his most trusted subordinates. Could the mole really be hidden among them?

No... wait a moment, something did not add up.

As far as he knew, the four of them – including Ma Ping – had been staying in the motel opposite the bar all night up until the time when Chen Youzhi called him early this morning. Thus as long as someone acted suspiciously, there was no way the other three wouldn’t notice it.

A terrifying possibility popped up in his mind. What if the mole was not hidden among them but... all of them?

What if... what if it was a suicide mission? What if they were ready to die in exchange for He Juan’s life?

He Juan’s back felt cold all over and he did not need to look into the mirror to know how terrible his complexion was. He felt like he was going to puke out his breakfast – oh no, he didn’t even have the time to eat breakfast. All he had was a cup of shitty espresso and a few sugar cubes to alleviate his mood.

"Have you thought it through?" Ku Jin peered up at him, taking in every minute shift of his expression. "This kind of problem actually falls under my jurisdiction. Do you need me to—"

"No!" He Juan gritted out. "You’re not allowed to... test them or whatever! They are my men. If... If there’s really a traitor... it will be my responsibility to find them!"

Ku Jin tutted and shrugged, "Well, I was just making an offer. It’s your problem, then. But remember, if they start to threaten the stability of Xuanlong..." he chuckled. "I’d rather kill all of them than to let the traitor run free. So it’s better if you act fast, XIU~"

After saying that, Ku Jin rose to his feet and stretched his waist, yawning. "Well, I’d better go. I have a prior appointment with the doctor. Don’t die so easily, XIU, or else it will really disappoint me." He gave a casual wave and sauntered out of the room, and soon after Chen Youzhi entered in a hurry.

As soon as his gaze landed on He Juan’s complexion that looked way worse than before, he frowned deeply, "What’s wrong, Boss? Did the Manipulator do something to you?"

He Juan wordlessly raised his eyes to Chen Youzhi’s concerned face. For a split second, he wondered whether the worry he was seeing was merely an act Chen Youzhi had put on for the sake of deceiving him. He wanted to confidently deny the presence of the traitor, but Blue Lotus’ disappearance kept gnawing on the back of his mind like an acidic erosion. He Juan was certainly far from naïve. He had come this far not only relying on his power alone, but also his vigilance, judgment and cunningness.

Murder, treachery, deceit, betrayal, he had dealt with them countless times before without even batting an eyelid.

But when it came to his own men... 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

He Juan forced a smile on his face. He hated how his Alpha warned him not to lower his guard down, and he hated even more how he was agreeing to it deep down. "Nothing, he just said some unpleasant things as usual. Come to think of it, I haven’t asked you about Mu Yuze yet. How is he?"

Chen Youzhi blinked, presumably taken aback by the sudden switch of topic. Even then, he still replied obediently, "He’s good. A little too quiet and timid though."

He Juan chuckled softly, a tad more genuine this time. For some reason, thinking of the grumpy and awkward child made him feel better. A bit.

All of a sudden, he had the urge to see the boy, to tease and talk to him and received his frank and straightforward glare. Mu Yuze’s arrival was akin to a breath of fresh air to him after years of inhaling the filthy and polluted air, and He Juan couldn’t help but yearn to be in his presence.

Alas, there was no way he would be able to do it in his current state, right?

"You have handed the phone to him, right?" He asked lightly. "Please send him a message and inform him that I will be busy in a while. Also, deal with my discharge procedure tomorrow."

He received a disapproval frown from Chen Youzhi. "Where are you going? The doctor has already said—"

"Chen’er." He Juan called out softly, yet upon hearing it, Chen Youzhi instantly clamped his mouth shut, his face turning a little pale. He Juan’s expression softened by a fraction. "I will be fine. I have somewhere else to be. You don’t have to follow me," he quickly added, knowing what Chen Youzhi was going to say. "I will be back in a week at most. You, on the other hand... stay here and take care of Old Huang and Mo’er. Oh, and don’t forget to check on Mu Yuze once in a while, okay? That boy absolutely won’t ask for help even if he needs it, so I’d have to trouble you to watch over him a bit." He chuckled softly.

Then he looked at Chen Youzhi and asked meaningfully, "I can rely on you, right Chen’er?"

Chen Youzhi lowered his gaze, shadow casted across his features. He replied in a quiet voice, "Roger, Boss."

.

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A/N: This mini mass release is dedicated to Ying! Thank you very much for your exquisite fanarts <3<3<3