Chapter 7 – Thrown Out

Editor: mako

Proofreader: kllua

Huo ZhenYe took Da Tou to the Astor House.

Although he was a consultant, there were still many places he could not conduct his search. So, by bringing along Da Tou, a policeman, and spending a little money, he was able to obtain the register for check-in guests very smoothly.

“Bai Zhun.”

Huo ZhenYe said it silently in his head. Those two characters might be written listlessly without backbone, but they gave off a feeling of otherworldliness like the real person.

The corner of his mouth quirked up. Since he now knew the man’s name, he only needed to find his address next. However, that place, he would have to go there himself.

Da Tou asked, “Young Master Huo, are we looking for this man?”

Huo ZhenYe shook his head. “Go and find the servers on duty who were responsible for the rooms for another interrogation. There was someone among them who accepted bribe money and sold out my room number.”

Jin DanGui, Big Liu, and Su ManLi. One could not imagine that he, Huo ZhenYe, would become such a favorite among others.

Because this was something Huo ZhenYe had never mentioned before in his testimony, Da Tou assumed that it was a new lead and left to carry out the order immediately.

Using his memory, Huo ZhenYe then ordered his driver to take him to the Old City, where he entered the door of the Han family’s small courtyard for the second time.

The door of the courtyard was unlocked, and the window of Big Liu’s room was facing the rack of flowers. As he laid there recuperating from his wounds, Second Liu could be seen going about in the house.

Seeing Huo ZhenYe, Second Liu was stunned. “Why are you here again?”

“I am searching for Mr. Liu.”

All this while, Big Liu had been thinking about Bai Zhun’s words that Jin DanGui would come and find him. However, since Bai Zhun did not specify further, he also had not dared to ask him. Nodding immediately, Big Liu told Huo ZhenYe, “Young Master Huo, please come in and sit down.”

At this point in time, he had totally forgotten that he once hated Huo ZhenYe out of jealousy because of Jin DanGui.

Meanwhile, Han Zhu, who had finished preparing a meal, brought a bowl of snakehead fish soup inside. When she saw Huo ZhenYe, she nodded and smiled slightly in acknowledgment before saying to Big Liu, “Junior Brother, you should drink the soup now. It will taste fishy if it is cold.”

Big Liu Da politely offered, “Young Master Huo should also taste the soup made by my senior sister. The dishes she makes are very delicious.”

Saying that, he was just about to hand the bowl to Huo ZhenYe.

However, before Huo ZhenYe could refuse, Han Zhu had already taken the lead and said, “This bowl was stewed especially for you and is good for your wounds. If Young Master Huo wants to eat some, I will bring another without any medicinal ingredients.”

With a glance, Huo ZhenYe indeed saw some white floaty things in the bowl. Although the fish soup was very fragrant, Mother Liu had already fed him till he was full. So, he shook his head and said, “No need. I had already eaten before coming over.”

Han Zhu smiled lightly and walked out of the house to eat with Second Liu.

Huo ZhenYe glanced at the table in the courtyard. While there were several meat dishes on Second Liu’s side of the table, only green vegetables and tofu were in front of Han Zhu.

Big Liu explained, “My senior sister is mourning for my master.” After saying that, he was afraid Huo ZhenYe would misunderstand, so he added, “My Junior Brother and I usually had to go to teahouses and restaurants to perform. Abstinence from eating meat would not give us enough strength.”

Despite the laughter in Huo ZhenYe’s eyes, he did not expose him. After all, if he really had devoted his heart to his master, Big Liu would not have been frightened by the words “master’s spirit” before.

Holding back his smiling intent, he then earnestly addressed Big Liu, “I want to pay a visit to Seventh Master Bai, and I hope that you would be able to tell me his address.”

Big Liu’s hand and fingers unconsciously pressed onto the envelope under his pillow. Huo ZhenYe took a glance and continued, “Seventh Master Bai also gave me an envelope which had been used up last night.”

Big Liu’s appearance could be considered to be handsome, but at this moment, he had no signs of spirit as he asked Huo ZhenYe carefully, “What did Young Master Huo meet?”

Huo ZhenYe smiled and only said, “I do not know Miss Jin, so I am not sure if the woman in my dream is her. I only hope that you will be able to tell me the residence of Seventh Master Bai so I can ask for another envelope.”

Big Liu had not seen Jin DanGui’s dead appearance or the murderer who had arranged them to face each other. As he had drunk too much of the drugged wine that night, by the time he opened his eyes, she had already been taken away.

Not believing that Jin DanGui had come back for his life, Big Liu had thought that she wanted to tell him who the killer was.

After all, he had treated her with so much sincerity that he was even willing to abandon his senior sister and door. How could she have returned just to kill him?

Huo ZhenYe looked over at Han Zhu in the courtyard. “Miss Han is a virtuous and gentle woman, a good potential wife.”

Was Big Liu blind as a bat? He actually liked Jin DanGui, who only cared about money. Furthermore, Jin DanGui was also not that beautiful, or she would not have been ranked at the bottom in the world of flowers’ selection.

As if Big Liu had thought of something, he looked out at Han Zhu who was sitting outside the window. Senior Sister was indeed very good at everything and treated him wholeheartedly, but she…she really looked too ordinary.

Big Liu then recalled his first meeting with Jin DanGui.

From the teahouse where Big Liu and Second Liu performed, Jin DanGui had asked for the address of the Han family courtyard and pushed the door open to enter their courtyard directly.

While both brothers were practicing shirtless, they only saw a beautiful figure when they looked up. Big Liu was stunned, as he had never seen and touched such a woman in his life before.

Meanwhile, Second Liu, who determined that she meant nothing good, asked her upfront, “Who are you looking for?”

Jin DanGui’s eyes flashed to Big Liu and Second Liu’s faces before falling back to Big Liu’s body. As her eyes swept back and forth on his shoulders and waist, she noticed that he was much stronger and handsome than her usual dancing partners.

Swinging her waist and walking over, she then placed a hand on Big Liu’s shoulder. Wiping off a drop of sweat from his chest with her finger, she said, “Mr. Liu, are you accepting disciples?”

At that point in time, Big Liu could not determine if his shortness of breath was because of her soft fingers or his practice.

After that, it was also through her body that he became a man.

“Of course, Senior Sister is very good.” Saying that, Big Liu regained his composure, but he did not mention the latter half of his thoughts.

Huo ZhenYe laughed, “Jin DanGui’s original name is Wang QiuFang. Her double eyelids were cut, her nose is padded, and even the corner of her eyes has been operated on.”

For the dancing ladies, they needed to be beautiful in order to have business. As soon as Jin DanGui had a little money, she would go to the doctor’s clinic for an operation. Soon, she padded her nose and opened the corners of her eyes, gradually “growing” into the appearance that Big Liu liked.

However, Big Liu refused to believe it. No matter what, he would not believe that such a face would be fake.

Huo ZhenYe then looked out of the window at the pair of senior sister and junior brother who were sitting under the flower rack eating. For Big Liu, such a person, he really did not deserve someone to treat him this wholeheartedly.

Since Huo ZhenYe had managed to obtain Bai Zhun’s address, he was also unwilling to talk to Big Liu further. When he left the Han family’s small courtyard, his eyes swept over the rope with an iron claw hanging by the low wall.

He then headed to Bai Zhun’s house with a smile.

Bai Zhun’s house was quiet, and the braised chicken from CuiHua building had long grown cold.

In Bai Zhun’s palms were thin bamboo made into the shape of a pointed hat. Using a piece of black paper to cover the bamboo frame, his hands worked nonstop, and Ah Xiu could only watch him silently from outside the house.

From outside the door then came two knocks, “dong dong”.

When Ah Xiu opened the door a crack, she saw Huo ZhenYe standing outside with many things in his hands.

“I am looking for Mr. Bai.”

Ah Xiu shook her head, indicating that Bai Zhun did not want to see him.

Huo ZhenYe added, “I am investigating a case and was wondering if Mr. Bai would like to hear about it?”

Ah Xiu continued to shake her head, and this was Bai Zhun himself who was refusing. As long as Bai Zhun wanted to, he could listen and see with Ah Xiu’s ears and eyes.

Huo ZhenYe raised the cake box in his hand. “I bought an alcoholic cake from the Park Hotel.” Since he could spend a little money to find out Bai Zhun’s name, he could also naturally spend money to find out his preferences.

That day, the food and drinks he ordered to his room were not touched while almost all the western desserts had been tasted.

After saying that, Huo ZhenYe saw Ah Xiu’s eyes focusing on the cake box, seeming to be in thought.

If it was cake, Bai Zhun had to eat it. After all, he lived in the Old City all year round and has never tasted the western-style desserts found in the settlement. When he ate them at Astor House, he had found them very suitable for his palate.

Huo ZhenYe fiddled with the ribbon on the cake box and continued, “This cake from Park Hotel is really famous. However, since I arrived in a hurry, I could only prepare this one. There is also Italian sorbet from Lao Da Chang and cream chestnut cake from Kai Si Ling. If we have the chance, I would like to invite Mr. Bai to have a taste of them in the future.”

As Bai Zhun had been busy for a large part of the day, he really craved something sweet. This, coupled with the fact that he had saved Huo ZhenYe’s life before, made the act of accepting that box of cake appropriate.

Successful in finding an excuse for himself, Bai Zhun instructed Ah Xiu to receive the box.

As he held up the paper box and Ah Xiu’s hands came over, Huo ZhenYe took the opportunity to squeeze through the door.

However, as soon as he entered, Huo ZhenYe was stunned.

Outside the door, it was crowded with people and vehicles, a very worldly sight. Meanwhile, behind the door, it was entirely tranquil. The house beams hung full of paper lanterns – big or small, there were also pagoda and lotus-shaped ones.

In addition, propped on two sides were decorated archways with various paper dolls littering around.

Two people also stood in the square courtyard. While one was Mu GuiYing, the other was Lord Yue¹“岳王爷” (Lord Yue) was another form of address for “岳飞” (Yue Fei), a Chinese military general who lived during the Southern Song dynasty known for leading Southern Song forces in the wars in the 12th century between Southern Song and the Jurchen-ruled Jin dynasty in northern China. . Entirely suited up, they looked prepared to perform in a Chinese opera. Only lacking the sounds of gongs and drums, they remained motionless.

It was only when Huo ZhenYe took two steps forward that he realized the two figures were paper dolls.

Huo ZhenYe had seen the paper wooden cangue set made by Bai Zhun previously and, at that time, had found them very exquisite. Although they were made of paper, the chains of the iron shackles could move. However, it was only at this moment when he saw the pair of paper dolls that he realized the paper cangue set was only a small part of Bai Zhun’s abilities.

At this moment, Bai Zhun came out from the inner room as a result of smelling the cream. Meanwhile, Ah Xiu had already opened the cake box, put it on the table, and took out a spoon for Bai Zhun.

Without any care for courtesy, Bai Zhun then dug out a large spoonful.

When the spoonful of alcoholic cake entered his mouth, he could detect the faint taste of wine. Bai Zhun sighed pleasantly, and his glance towards Huo ZhenYe was one with satisfaction.

Huo ZhenYe had never fawned over others like this, not even to his eldest brother. So, when Bai Zhun gave him such a glance, he secretly felt a little pleased.

When Bai Zhun ate half of the alcoholic cake and began on the salted buttercream one, Huo ZhenYe took the opportunity to say, “It was Second Liu who killed Su ManLi.”

After all, if it was really the female ghost who came back for revenge, there would have been no traces of footprints and claw-like marks on the wall.

However, to such a revelation, Bai Zhun did not even raise his eyelids. As long as there were no new ghosts, it was none of his business.

When Huo ZhenYe saw his lack of concern, he asked, “Have you known about this since a while ago?”

Because he had eaten two small pieces of cake in succession, Bai Zhun felt a little greasy at the moment. Ah Xiu then made some tea and gave it to him.

“You have eaten well. How are you holding up?” It was only after drinking half a cup of tea that Bai Zhun felt comfortable. However, he felt that this green tea was more suited with pastries, while western-style desserts were paired better with black tea.

“I am just curious. How are you planning to catch Jin DanGui? Symbols? Incantation?” At this point in time, Huo ZhenYe had personally moved over a chair for himself and sat beside Bai Zhun.

As someone who had not been stared at by a living person before like this, Bai Zhun gave Huo ZhenYe a side glance as he pondered about how to drive him out.

Meanwhile, when Huo ZhenYe saw that he was unable to incite any reactions from Bai Zhun, he placed his hand on the back of his head and laughed proudly, “By the way, I do not think Big Liu will use your envelope anymore. You will have to think of another way.”

As soon as he finished speaking, he was lifted up by two paper dolls. With one on the left and the other on the right, they headed to the door.

In the end, Huo ZhenYe was thrown out by those two paper dolls.

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  “岳王爷” (Lord Yue) was another form of address for “岳飞” (Yue Fei), a Chinese military general who lived during the Southern Song dynasty known for leading Southern Song forces in the wars in the 12th century between Southern Song and the Jurchen-ruled Jin dynasty in northern China.