Chapter Fifty-One: An Unfamiliar Place

The heavy rain was still pouring down...

Fortunately, the car finally turned into the front of the apartment building.

Pushing the front door open, Ma Wenwen was half-reclining on the old sofa in the living room, his complexion still somewhat pale. Hearing the door open, he turned his head slightly, his voice weak: "Master? Uncle Zhou? You're back?"

"Mm." Fan Biao acknowledged, his voice softening a bit. "How are you feeling today?"

"Much better, except my eyes are still a bit itchy." Ma Wenwen fumbled as he tried to sit up straight.

Fan Biao walked over and gently pressed down on his shoulder: "Don't move around, just focus on resting."

Seeing this, Cai Kun eagerly seized the opportunity to show concern, walking around to the other side and gently patting Ma Wenwen's shoulder as he said:

"Right, right, right, absolutely don't move around! From now on, just tell Le Dong or me if you need anything!"

"Huh?"

Ma Wenwen was slightly startled by this sudden voice. "Cai... Cai Kun? Why are you guys here?"

Cai Kun was about to reply when Fan Biao cut him off:

"It's fine, Wenwen. I asked them to look after you for a few days."

Hearing this, Ma Wenwen seemed to understand something and stopped asking Le Dong about the reason for his sudden visit. Instead, he lowered his head, a worried expression on his face.

Seeing that it was already very late, Fan Biao set up folding beds in the bedroom and the living room respectively, letting Le Dong and Cai Kun rest.

That night, in Fan Biao's living room, which felt so "reassuring," Le Dong's nerves, which had been tightly strung for so long, finally relaxed slightly.

Avoiding the statue of Zhong Kui in the living room that looked exceptionally stern in the dim light, he walked over to the balcony and sent a text message to his wife:

"Honey, the place Cai Kun and I initially rented has terrible conditions. I'm going to tidy things up first, so don't come over yet. Stay at a nice hotel for a few days, and I'll let you know when everything is sorted out!"

Pressing the send button, his heart was filled with guilt and the unease brought by lies, but even greater was the terror of the unknown danger.

Keeping his wife away from him was the only way he could think of to protect her at the moment...

Returning to the living room to lie down, even though the environment was unfamiliar, that sense of security quickly allowed him into a deep sleep.

I do not know how much time had passed when Le Dong was choked awake by an extremely rich scent of burning incense and candles.

He groggily opened his eyes. The room was pitch black, with only a faint glimmer of the late-night city filtering through the window.

He fumbled to turn on his phone and checked the time: it was only three-thirty in the morning.

"Cough, cough..."

Le Dong cleared his throat, but was quickly hushed by a "shh" sound.

It was only then that Le Dong noticed Zhou Fan standing in the darkness nearby, making a gesture for him to keep quiet and signaling with his eyes not to make a disturbance.

Le Dong nodded hurriedly, gently sitting up and rubbing his eyes. By the dim light of his phone screen, he clearly saw that right in front of the Zhong Kui statue in the center of the living room, Fan Biao stood with his back to him, his figure looking exceptionally solemn in the dark.

The incense burner in front of the statue was crammed with newly lit joss sticks, as thick as a child's pinky finger, densely packed. Their tips burned a bright red, and the curling smoke rose, almost entirely shrouding the upper half of the statue.

Huh?

Le Dong felt puzzled. He noticed that Fan Biao's movements were extremely cautious and careful. First, he pressed his palms together and bowed respectfully to the statue three times, murmuring low and indistinct words under his breath.

Immediately following that, instead of reaching for offerings or incense, he stretched out both hands and extremely gently probed toward the face of the statue, as if touching the area around the statue's eyes.

Le Dong stared in curiosity, looking closely by the dim light of the incense. He saw Fan Biao's fingers gently twisting and turning around the eyes of the statue, and then carefully removing something from it—a piece of cloth?

The color of that cloth strip practically blended into the dark red lacquer of the statue itself. It was as thin as a cicada's wing, making it extremely difficult to detect in the dark.

No wonder I didn't notice it the few times I came here.

Le Dong muttered inwardly, keeping his eyes fixed as he watched Fan Biao carefully fold the removed cloth strip and solemnly tuck it into his inner pocket close to his chest.

After finishing all this, he bowed deeply to the statue once more.

The entire process was filled with an indescribable solemnity and mystery. Le Dong held his breath, not daring to let out a loud gasp.

Once all of this was finished, the main living room light was switched on. Le Dong looked around and discovered several bulging canvas duffel bags nearby.

"Uncle Zhou, Master Fan, are you... leaving right now?"

Le Dong looked at their fully geared-up posture and couldn't help asking.

After all, it was only a little past three in the morning!

"Yes." Zhou Fan answered succinctly, his usual casualness gone, looking very grave.

Fan Biao also stopped organizing his backpack, turned around, and let his gaze fall upon the Zhong Kui statue amid the lingering smoke.

He said in a deep voice, "Take good care of Wenwen." His tone paused for a moment, and after a brief thought, he added, "Also, not just you two, but Wenwen as well—all of you must stay with the statue. With this here, you are guaranteed to be safe until we return. Remember not to wander around! Even if the two of you run off, Wenwen must stay put. This is crucial for his eyes!"

With that, Fan Biao buckled a quaint leather pouch around his waist, cast one final, deep look at the bedroom where Ma Wenwen was resting, and without a trace of hesitation, picked up his pack along with Zhou Fan, pulled open the door, and rapidly vanished into the thickest darkness before dawn.

*Click.*

The security door closed with a soft latch, shutting out the outside world.

Le Dong stood alone in the incense-scented living room, looking at the silent Zhong Kui statue. His heart felt empty, filled with both a temporary sense of security and a surging wave of intense unease.

He scratched the back of his head, about to turn back to his folding bed.

"What time is it?"

Suddenly, a low, hoarse voice sounded from behind him.

Startled out of his wits, Le Dong spun around violently, his heart nearly leaping out of his throat!

There stood Ma Wenwen, who had somehow fumbled his way out of the bedroom, turning his head slightly toward the direction where Fan Biao had left.

"Master Ma, you scared the life out of me. It's only about three-forty," Le Dong patted his chest, his heart still pounding. "Why did you get up? Go back and rest quickly, your health is what matters."

Ma Wenwen did not move. He felt his way to the edge of the sofa, lowered his head slightly, and unconsciously twisted his hands together.

The living room was left with only the faint crackle of burning incense and his slightly heavy breathing.

A heavy and oppressive atmosphere emanated from him.

Sensing something was amiss, Le Dong cautiously stepped two paces closer: "Master Ma? What... what's wrong? Are you feeling uncomfortable somewhere?"

Ma Wenwen remained silent for a long while before speaking in a dazed, low voice: "I... I can't sleep." Something on your mind? Le Dong probed.

Ma Wenwen nodded, the gauze on his face swaying gently with the movement. "Something's on my mind."

As he spoke, he raised his head, "looking" in Le Dong's direction. Although he could not see, that "gaze" seemed to carry a piercing intensity.

"I feel so panicked inside... I have this feeling... that when Master goes out this time... something bad is going to happen."