I stood frozen for a long moment, not expecting that kind of answer from him. "You've said all that, but what are you actually trying to say?"
Yang Xiao smiled faintly. "Gao Liang will be fine. Sun Desheng has probably already mobilized nearly the entire Bureau to go rescue him. You get it now? The person who lured Gao Liang out only wanted to bait the Bureau into making a full deployment—so they could do something else while the Bureau was left defenseless."
"Lin Feng is going after the Bureau! He's trying to steal the Heavenly Principle Diagram!"It finally clicked for me. Dammit, you could've just said that instead of playing riddles at a time like this!
Seeing the realization dawn on me, Yang Xiao gave a small, helpless smile. He went on, "That's probably what he intended. But as they say—man proposes, heaven disposes. He miscalculated. There's one person still at the Bureau who he doesn't dare provoke—our Director Wu stayed behind. That means he wouldn't risk entering the Bureau. But he also couldn't let go of the opportunity. So instead, he settled for coming here to vent some frustration—on you."
My mind was spinning. Was this still Yang Xiao? How did he suddenly know so much? If he was this capable, how did he fall for Director Wu's setup back then?
Without thinking, I muttered, "Old Yang, I really didn't see you having this kind of talent before…"
What Yang Xiao said next floored me even more: "I didn't either. But it's all thanks to your Vice Director Sun."
My brain felt like it had turned to mush. I stared at Yang Xiao and mumbled, "Impossible… I just woke up. Are you telling me Sun Fatty planned this far ahead and included me in his calculations?"
"Not just you—he even counted your Director Gao in." Yang Xiao said it with the faintest smirk, but there was something distant and unfathomable in his eyes.
He paused a moment, then continued, "After Qiu Bulao's incident, everyone in Room Four under Lin Feng came under Gao Liang's surveillance. But Sun Desheng still suspected Lin Feng had an accomplice inside the Bureau. So, he kept your recovery a complete secret—even from Director Gao."
"That's not right." I still couldn't fully wrap my head around it, but something about Yang Xiao's words didn't add up. "Didn't you just say no one knew I'd woken up? Then what about that deathly aura earlier?"
"Look outside," Yang Xiao said as he squinted toward the window. "The third white building across from the hospital—count eleven floors up from the left side, the first window. What do you see inside? With your current vision, you should be able to make it out clearly."
I walked to the window, pretending to stretch. Following his instructions, I quickly located the window. Ordinarily, not even my Heavenly Eye could see clearly through that distance and reflection—but the moment I focused, it was as if a sheer veil had lifted, and the room's interior came into sharp focus.
There was no one inside. But sitting about a meter back from the windowsill was a large telescope, its lens aimed squarely at my room.
I scanned the neighboring windows one by one but saw nothing else suspicious.
Now that I understood what had happened, I wasn't in such a rush anymore. I walked back to the bedside and asked, "When did you spot it? Was it Lin Feng?"
Yang Xiao wasn't in a hurry to answer. He lit a cigarette, took a drag, then slowly said, "Don't know. By the time I found it, no one was there. Before he left, Sun Fatty hinted I should check the surroundings. But I suspect he already knew that building was compromised."
I thought back to Sun Fatty's behavior when he was in the room earlier. Nothing seemed off. "When did he hint at it? I didn't notice anything."
"You were too busy watching my hand signals," Yang Xiao said, exhaling a cloud of smoke. "Didn't you see? He was signaling too."
Was this really the Sun Desheng I knew? If it were me, and I found out Lin Feng was spying from across the street, I'd have stormed the place with a full squad. But Sun Fatty—he could somehow deduce Lin Feng's next move, in such a short time after I woke up, and set up a multilayered counterplay?
That's not human thinking. That's demonic.
Still, knowing this settled my nerves. I asked Yang Xiao for a cigarette, took a few puffs to steady myself, and said, "So, if we're following Sun Fatty's script—what's next?"
"Originally," Yang Xiao replied, "I was supposed to scare Lin Feng off and force him to activate the mole still hidden in the Bureau. Then we'd follow that person to track Lin Feng himself…"
"Wait," I cut him off. "You said originally. What do you mean by that?"
That unsettling smirk returned to Yang Xiao's face."I made a slight edit to his script…"
Yang Xiao's actions were making my skin crawl. The way he looked right now—I had seen it before, back at the Qilin Building two years ago. I still remembered the story from the fifteenth floor…
Unconsciously, I took a step back. Looking at Yang Xiao, I said, "Old Yang, this is serious. Shouldn't you at least talk it over with Sun Dasheng? Or at the very least, call Yang Jun in? Two Yangs working together would be safer, right?"
"No need. Just you and me are enough." Yang Xiao's tone was calm as he continued, "Back in Qilin, Lin Feng counted on me not daring to recklessly mess with Yin-Yang spells or use deadly techniques. He almost got my wife's soul obliterated. If I didn't know who it was, fine—but now that I do, and with such a perfect opportunity in front of me, you think I'd let it go? This ends now, so he'll never get the chance to threaten me with my wife again."
Finally, I understood why Yang Xiao was in such a rush. Qiu Bulao's death had been a gut punch to everyone. Yang Xiao didn't want to end up like that someday—coerced into drinking Demonic Acid. Even though his body was ageless, who knew whether it could withstand that stuff? Still, I wasn't exactly convinced about his plan.
"Old Yang," I said warily, "just be honest with me—what exactly are you planning?"
Yang Xiao cast another glance toward the window facing the opposite building. He spoke slowly. "He made contact with those little critters just now—so he should be feeling something by now. The full moon's only a few days away. Even if he's never seen them in action, Lin Feng's heard of what they can do. I'm the only one who can deal with them. His best move now is to take advantage of the Bureau's absence, come here, and use you to threaten me."
"You couldn't have said this earlier?" I paced back and forth in the room, aimlessly trying to calm myself. I wanted to bolt for the Bureau—but after standing in front of the door for a while, I still didn't have the nerve to push it open.
"Don't panic," Yang Xiao said with a relaxed smile. "Even if Lin Feng didn't get hit with the Worms of the Bone, he can't stir up much trouble. If we're ranking people in the Bureau, there's only one ahead of me. And even after that, Lin Feng still wouldn't be next in line."
Whether it was psychological or not, I couldn't help feeling that Lin Feng wasn't as simple as Yang Xiao made him sound. If things played out according to Yang Xiao's scenario, this night was not going to end well.
Facing Yang Xiao's calm gaze, I said, "He's holding the Heavenly Principle Diagram. He's been secretly cultivating for twenty or thirty years—did you factor that in?"
"Half of the Heavenly Principle Diagram," Yang Xiao corrected me, clearly aware of more than I expected. "Don't overthink it. Even if he had the full diagram, it doesn't mean he could do anything to me. At best, it's just tricks with spirits and divine mischief. When it comes to that stuff, I'm still top dog."
When he said it, I didn't think he was bragging. In terms of that kind of manipulation, not even Director Wu could outdo him. But the way my right eyelid kept twitching gave me a very bad feeling—and I had no explanation for that.
By the time Yang Xiao finished speaking, the sky outside had turned completely dark. Still no word from Sun Fatty—he was probably still at that suburban guesthouse, waiting for Lin Feng to reveal his mole.
Just then, a nurse brought in my evening nutrition meal. Given the situation, I shouldn't have had the appetite—but after sleeping for two years, my hunger was surprisingly strong. Even though it was just bland rice porridge, it went down in a couple of mouthfuls. I figured I'd ask for a little more, like I did at lunch—but the daytime nurse had already switched shifts, and the night nurse refused to bring more no matter what I said.
Even with the nurse shift change, Yang Xiao's magnetic charm was still in full effect. He flirted and joked casually with the new nurse, showing no signs of being tense before a storm. But I was deeply unsettled, the ominous feeling in my gut refusing to fade.
After the nurse left, Yang Xiao's face suddenly turned grim. He pulled a pistol from behind his waist and handed it to me. "Here. For your peace of mind. Don't lose it—this one wasn't easy to borrow, and I can't afford to replace it."
"Borrowed? Don't you already have one?"I had already accepted the reality of the situation. Seeing that it was a standard Bureau-issue sidearm gave me a bit of comfort—but I couldn't help remembering what happened two years ago. I still recalled how Lin Feng looked after getting shot. A regular gun like this probably wouldn't threaten him much. And the way Yang Xiao handled it so carefully, like it was some priceless treasure, made me wonder—was this really just any old gun?
"Take a closer look. Don't lump this in with the standard junk you're used to."Yang Xiao gave me a strange look. I still couldn't tell what made it different, so he sighed. "You've used this gun before. My uncle was killed with it—remember Lin Huo?"
This was Wu Ren'e's gun.I finally recognized it. It looked identical to any other Bureau-issue sidearm, completely unremarkable. Mixed in with the others, I never would've picked it out. But realizing I had used this gun to shoot his uncle… and now here we were, face-to-face again—it felt awkward, to say the least.
"Old Yang, about your uncle… can I explain—"Before I could finish, Yang Xiao waved me off. "I should be thanking you. Since I was twenty-two, I've been hunted by him nonstop. I eventually stopped being afraid, but it left a mark—I haven't dared return to Yunnan since. Him dying by your hand? Honestly, it brought me peace."
I wanted to say something like "Let the dead rest," but since I was the one who shot his uncle, it felt a bit cheap coming from me. I quietly shifted my focus to checking the gun, avoiding the topic altogether.
Once I popped out the magazine, I finally noticed what made the weapon different. Though the casing looked identical, the bullet tip glinted with an unusual sheen. The sight of it stirred a strange feeling of déjà vu. I pulled the bullet out to examine it—turns out, it was the only round in the entire magazine.
Holding it up, I asked Yang Xiao, "Old Yang… there's only one bullet? What's that supposed to mean?"
"How many do you think you're getting?" He looked at me, then at the bullet. "How many bullets do you think you can make out of one short sword? These are consumables. Once fired, they're useless. Even Director Wu couldn't afford to waste them like that."
"You're telling me this bullet was forged from my short sword?"I finally understood why Lin Huo had died from that shot. So my short sword was that disposable?
"Not your sword," Yang Xiao clarified. "Director Wu had a short sword melted down years ago. Ouyang Pianzuo turned it into thirty-five bullets. He rarely uses them. As far as I know, only one's ever been fired—and that was the one you used."
Now it made sense. After I shot Lin Huo, Director Wu took the gun back. Knowing him, with his attitude when he first saw my third uncle—tossing aside a sword just because it had drawn Chixiao's blood—he wasn't the type to be stingy. He simply knew how valuable this was.
Carefully, I slid the bullet back into the magazine and gave the pistol a full check, making sure it wouldn't jam. Only then did I store it away securely.