During this ’forced’ free time, He Juan did not idle around either.

First, he went to visit his two injured subordinates, Huang Zhiyan and Mo Feng.

When the explosion occurred, they had been on the first floor to take control of the chaotic situation and as a result, suffered from multiple degrees of injuries caused by the collapsing building. But fortunately, Jia Molei had attested that it was nothing life-threatening. They only needed to stay in bed for a few weeks and then, they would become as fit as a fiddle again.

Aside from checking in on their condition, He Juan had another purpose for coming to them as well.

He asked the bedridden Huang Zhiyan with the most casual tone he could muster, "Back then, who noticed Blue Lotus and his men for the first time?"

He had thought long and hard about it. If his suspicion was true, that his presence in the Queen of Spades was really not a mere coincidence, then there must be a perpetrator behind the scene that controlled his men’s action. As long as he could find the fuse that triggered this series of action, it meant that he would be one step closer to the person he had been searching for.

Huang Zhiyan suspected nothing and immediately answered He Juan’s query after some thoughts. "Let’s see... that night, we took a booth near the dance floor. Ma Ping, he—" he had to pause here, too choked up in his own emotions.

He Juan leaned against the wall and lowered his gaze silently, not forcing him to continue. He did not deserve to mourn for Ma Ping and Old Liu until he could find the person who had killed them. Moreover, he did not come here to reminisce. He observed Huang Zhiyan’s reaction through his peripheral vision and noted the palpable grief within the man’s reddened eyes. There was no way someone could fake that... unless they were the master of disguise like Ku Jin, of course.

"Sorry, Boss." Huang Zhiyan quickly regained his composure and let out a wet chuckle. He swallowed thickly, closed his eyes and recounted the event from that night. "Ma Ping went down to the dance floor first and returned soon to pull Old Liu and Mo Feng with him. Chen Youzhi and I stayed in the booth to drink because we’re not interested in dancing..."

He Juan nodded. He had asked Chen Youzhi firsthand and so far, their statements matched with each other.

"When we were on our second glass, Mo’er returned and told us that there had been an emergency. We quickly left the booth and followed him to the bartender lounge. Old Liu was there to keep an eye on the overall situation whereas Old Ma pretended to be drunk and got closer to Blue Lotus to confirm his identity."

He Juan knitted his brows. "So the first person who noticed Blue Lotus was Ma Ping?"

A slight hesitation crossed Huang Zhiyan’s face. "I’m not too sure about that... We were so surprised to find Blue Lotus in the bar. After Ma Ping and Chen Youzhi confirmed his identity, we spread out to monitor him and saw him going up to the second floor. We wanted to follow him, but then we were told that the second floor is reserved especially for VIPs..." he trailed off and raised his gaze, confused. "By the way, why are you asking this, Boss? Is there something wrong?"

Chen Youzhi and Huang Zhiyan’s alibis were solid. For now, He Juan could cross them out of the list.

He Juan showed a grim smile. "En, I kept feeling that something is off about this, that’s why I can’t help but ask more. Don’t think too much about it," he quickly added before Huang Zhiyan could follow up with another question. "You should listen to the doctor, stay at home obediently and focus on your recovery. That’s all."

Huang Zhiyan still looked like he wanted to ask something, but upon hearing He Juan’s naggy words, he let out an amused snort. "As if you listen to the doctor’s words. How are you, by the way?" he asked in concern, eyes raking over the splint on He Juan’s arm. "Did Doctor Jia say that you can run around like this?" 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

"Of course," He Juan answered with a shake of his head as if he was exasperated that Huang Zhiyan still had to ask something so obvious. "You know it, Old Huang. I am tough. This kind of injury is absolutely nothing."

He Juan did not stay for long after that. After wishing Huang Zhiyan a speedy recovery, he took his leave and went straight to Mo Feng’s house to ask the same question.

Among the three people who could have spotted Blue Lotus for the first time, only Mo Feng survived until now. This could only mean two possibilities; either He Juan would get the truth out of him or... he would be fed with lies for the people who could attest to Mo Feng’s statement were already buried three feet underground.

Compared to the four others, Mo Feng had been working under He Juan for the shortest time. He was the new recruit that was promoted due passing the tests in flying colors. He was barely twenty years of age, but his knowledge pertaining to firearms and grenades was second to none in Xuanlong.

When the explosion occurred, he had been standing closest to the door and hence, he received lighter injuries than Huang Zhiyan. At least he could still get up from the bed to open the door for He Juan, as opposed to Huang Zhiyan who needed to rely on the nursing service.

"Boss?!" Surprise colored his eyes as soon as he caught sight of He Juan outside his door. "What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be recuperating at home?"

He Juan huffed out a chuckle and lifted his fractured right arm. "Why would I need to recuperate at home just because of this?"

Shaking his head in helplessness, Mo Feng invited him in and made a move toward the kitchen to make a drink. But He Juan quickly refused him. "Don’t bother, Mo’er. I’m only here to check up on you."

"Ah?" Mo Feng blinked in surprise. But soon he regained his composure and gestured bitterly at himself. "Well, here I am, still alive and kicking. Nothing to worry about, Boss. Compared to Old Liu or Ma Ping..." he trailed off with an upset look on his face.

With a tone that betrayed nothing, He Juan asked, "That day, which one of you noticed Blue Lotus for the first time?"

Mo Feng blinked, taken aback by the sudden inquiry. "Why are you..." he must have seen something on He Juan’s face because he quickly dropped the question. "...It’s Old Liu," he said after a momentary pause.

He Juan made a curious noise in his throat. "Tell me more about it."

Basically, what Mo Feng said had patched up the blanks from Huang Zhiyan and Chen Youzhi’s statements. The three of them – Ma Ping, Old Liu and him – went down to the dance floor when Old Liu suddenly looked like he had seen a ghost. He shared his suspicion with the other two, and then Mo Feng quickly returned to the booth to get Huang Zhiyan and Chen Youzhi who were still drinking merrily.

"But why are you asking this, Boss?" Mo Feng asked with a frown after he finished recounting everything. "Wait, inside the car, you told us that you suspected something was off..."

"En," He Juan nodded and gave him a helpless smile. "But it’s nothing but a mere suspicion though. I don’t even know why I am so fixated on this." After that, he spent a few minutes nagging Mo Feng to take care of himself well, get a lot of rest and recover as soon as possible, which earned him an exasperated look from the young man.

His concerned façade lasted until he bid farewell to Mo Feng and stepped out of the door.

In an instant, any hint of warmth evaporated from his silver eyes, turning it into hard and frozen mercury. The corner of his lips tightened and a sliver of aggressive pheromones leaked out of him only to be blown away by the chilling wind.

He was certain of it now.

Mo Feng had lied to him.

.

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A/N: everyone, delana has published a new BL titled ’When the Wild Beast is Trapped in the Nightmare Cycle’. Add it to your library if you like survival games, suspense and thrilling fantasy!

It’s my entry for wsa 2023, thus your support will be much appreciated ^^

ps: the new book event is on now! For more details, check out Chapter 10 of the book