Chapter Thirty-Four: The Open Stratagem

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“Brother Le… why does your phone have a signal now?”

Little Zhang’s voice was quiet, yet it pierced Le Dong’s taut nerves like a needle. His heart clenched violently, and cold sweat instantly broke out across his back.

Almost by reflex, he shoved the phone deeper into his pocket, moving so quickly that he looked somewhat flustered.

His mind raced wildly amid fear and confusion. Forcing an extremely strained smile, he replied in a dry, tense voice, “What? A signal? Oh… you must have seen wrong. It was just… just a screenshot!”

He spoke at lightning speed, trying to fob him off with the pitiful excuse of a “screenshot,” but he did not dare meet Little Zhang’s eyes. Instead, he nervously scanned the surroundings.

He knew perfectly well how laughable the excuse was.

The villa’s signal jammer was an ironclad fact. The restoration of the signal at this moment could only mean that something extraordinary had happened.

But he had to gamble! Gamble that Little Zhang had merely asked offhandedly, and that Steward Ma had not yet noticed anything. As long as Steward Ma did not know that he had entered that room, did not know that he had seen those potentially fatal pieces of evidence, he still had a slim chance!

Even if he ultimately had to seize that damn source by force, it would still be better than having this old fox expose him now and leave him utterly cornered!

Fortunately, Little Zhang did not ask anything more. Instead, he turned to watch Steward Ma come down from upstairs, carrying the medical kit.

Tap, tap…

Stepping across the wooden floor, Steward Ma’s gaze passed over Ma Wenwen’s deathly pale face and Le Dong’s flustered expression. In the end, however, those sharp, triangular eyes locked precisely onto the edge of Le Dong’s trouser pocket.

There, an inconspicuous patch of gray-green moss, flecked with rust, clung silently to his trousers.

It was the distinctive mark left by the drainage pipe at the back of the villa.

A trace of extremely faint, chilling light—part understanding, part malice—flashed through Steward Ma’s murky eyes, vanishing so quickly that it might have been mistaken for an illusion.

But in an instant, his face was once again arranged into an appropriately concerned expression. He bent down, opened the medical kit, and handed it to Boss Hu.

“Boss, the medical kit is here.”

“Hurry, Old Ma! Apply the medicine to Master Ma!”

“No need. I’ll do it.”

The moment Boss Hu finished speaking, Le Dong snatched up the medical kit. He could not guarantee that the old fox would not tamper with anything.

Steward Ma did not stop him. With a faint smile at the corner of his mouth, he tossed the medical kit onto the floor, rose, and walked away.

Seeing this, Le Dong called Cai Kun over. The two crouched down, took out gauze and medicinal powder, and reached toward Ma Wenwen’s body.

The moment they touched him, Ma Wenwen felt as cold as a stone hauled up from the depths of a well.

“Why is he so cold…?”

The two exchanged a glance but did not stop working. Before long, they had treated most of the bruises and torn flesh. They even covered Ma Wenwen’s porcelain-white eyes once more with gauze.

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“Mr. Le… how is Master Ma?”

Hearing the urgency in Boss Hu’s voice, Le Dong’s own heart began to rise and fall uneasily. He cautiously pressed the back of his hand against Ma Wenwen’s neck.

The pulse beneath the skin was as faint as a spider’s thread in a winter wind, breaking off and returning at irregular intervals. Even more alarming was the chill emanating from him. It was not ordinary cold, but a sinister coldness that seemed to pierce straight into the marrow, as though some invisible thing were slowly freezing Ma Wenwen from within.

“Cough… cough, cough…”

Just as Le Dong’s heart sank to the bottom, several faint, labored choking coughs suddenly came from Ma Wenwen’s throat. He moved his head slightly, tentatively trying to lift it.

“Oh, Master Ma! You’ve finally…”

The sharp-eyed Boss Hu lunged toward him the instant he saw the movement. His trembling fingers reached out to support him, but Le Dong shoved him away.

“Don’t move him!”

The push sent Boss Hu stumbling. He stared blankly at Le Dong’s bloodshot eyes and, for a moment, even forgot to become angry.

“Master Ma! Master Ma, can you hear me?” Boss Hu’s voice carried a sob. Then he turned toward Le Dong, his voice shrill and frantic. “Mr. Le, what are you waiting for? Help him sit up!”

As he spoke, he tried to move forward again.

“Cough, cough, cough…”

The violent coughing stopped Boss Hu in his tracks. Ma Wenwen’s head, which he had barely managed to raise, twisted toward them. His lips moved, and his voice was faint as a mosquito’s buzz, filled with inhuman exhaustion.

“Cold… so… cold…”

Just as he said, his entire body trembled uncontrollably, as though all his warmth had been consumed along with those terrifying eyes that had devoured the ghosts moments earlier.

“Thank goodness you’re awake! Thank goodness!”

Steward Ma had come over at some point, his face piled high with false concern.

His eyes swept across Ma Wenwen’s pallid face as he said, “Master Ma is clearly blessed by Heaven.”

Then his tone shifted, taking on an urgent force that brooked no refusal.

“Master Ma… the spirits of Young Master Dawei and his wife were completely ‘dealt with’ by you just now, weren’t they?”

He deliberately emphasized the words “dealt with,” as though confirming a particular result.

Ma Wenwen shook his head, then nodded. The indistinct sound in his throat served as an answer.

“However…”

Steward Ma packed up the medical kit. His voice paused, and he turned to Boss Hu.

“However, Boss, although Master Ma has regained consciousness, the ritual is only half complete. The spirits may have been driven back by Master Ma’s divine power, but who knows whether they might return?”

He straightened and continued in a coaxing tone.

“Besides, the auspicious day for the old master’s relocation burial is the day after tomorrow. If the resentment lingering here cannot be completely settled tonight, I fear that when the grave is moved, the accumulated yin energy will erupt entirely and turn into a day of backlash against the living. When that happens…”

He paused deliberately, sweeping his gaze over the still-shaken Boss Hu before meaningfully passing it over Le Dong and Cai Kun.

“…I’m afraid no one will escape. Master Ma has risked his life to display such power. Surely you wouldn’t want all his efforts to come to nothing? Now that Master Ma is awake, this is precisely the moment to strike while the iron is hot and finish the job in one breath!”

The moment these words were spoken, the color drained from Boss Hu’s face, leaving behind only pallor and terror that seemed to sink into his bones.

He abruptly seized Ma Wenwen by the sleeve as though clutching the last strand of hope.

“Yes, yes, Old Ma is right! Master Ma, please! I beg you, endure a little longer! Set up the altar and continue the ritual! Money—I have plenty of money! As long as you can keep me safe, gold bars! However many you want, I’ll give you!”

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As he spoke, Boss Hu produced the wooden box as if by magic and flung it generously onto the table. A dazzling corner of gold gleamed from within.

Le Dong and Cai Kun, who had just managed to catch his breath and was grimacing as he clutched the wound in his chest, changed expression instantly.

“Go to hell with that crap!”

Cai Kun was the first to explode. Gone was the deferential attitude he had shown Boss Hu earlier. He struggled to rise from the sofa, aggravating his wound and drawing a sharp hiss of pain from himself, but his fury only burned hotter.

“Can’t you see what condition Master Ma is in? And you still want him to perform the ritual? Are you trying to get us killed even faster?!”

As he spoke, he pointed at the blood-seeping hole in his chest, then at Ma Wenwen, who lay on the floor as frail as a candle guttering in the wind. Every word seemed to be forced out through clenched teeth.

“Look! Just look at Master Ma! Can he still perform a ritual in this state?”

Le Dong rose abruptly as well, shielding Ma Wenwen behind him. His gaze stabbed toward Boss Hu and Steward Ma.

“Boss Hu, Master Ma can barely stand right now! If he forces himself to continue, the consequences will be unimaginable! This is absolutely out of the question!”

“Heh…”

Across from them, Steward Ma’s lips dipped almost imperceptibly, deepening that sinister smile.

He leisurely straightened the immaculate cuff of his sleeve, as though savoring an entertaining performance. Only after Cai Kun and Le Dong had finished their furious denunciations did he speak. His voice was not loud, yet it clearly overpowered all the surrounding noise.

“Boss, Master Ma and these two gentlemen do have a point.”

His tone was calm, but his gaze swept over Le Dong’s face like a poison-coated needle, carrying unmistakable mockery.

“Master Ma does indeed need rest. However, with your grave relocation approaching, this matter truly cannot be delayed. In these desperate circumstances… I happen to know another master of profound cultivation. He is in this very city. If we summon him now, we should still have time.”

He paused, then turned his gaze toward Le Dong and Cai Kun. His eyes regarded them like two trapped beasts still struggling in vain, carrying the cold amusement and composure of someone who controlled everything.

“As for Master Ma… since Mr. Le and Mr. Cai are so concerned about his health, I assume you would not want him to continue laboring and placing himself in danger.”

“Why not let Master Ma rest peacefully while the new master takes over? If the two of you remain uneasy, or feel that this is not a place where you should linger…”

He drew out the final words, a smile without the slightest warmth curling at the corner of his mouth.

“…you may also choose to leave now. After all, the boss’s affairs cannot afford to be delayed.”

The words were like a bucket of ice water poured over their heads, instantly extinguishing the fury in Le Dong and Cai Kun’s hearts and leaving behind only bone-deep cold.

Le Dong’s heart sank heavily.

That old fox! He definitely knew! He knew Le Dong had entered his secret chamber! He knew Le Dong was searching for the source! This was an open trap!

He was using Boss Hu’s fear and the urgency of the grave relocation as weapons, forcing them either to stay or to slink away in disgrace.

And he had bet that they would not dare leave…

In the silent villa, Le Dong screamed inwardly.