Chapter 109: The Secret Passage Revealed (Second Update)

"That is a fallacious statement! The idiom 'to travel far and wide in search of something, only to find it without any effort' does not apply here," Pao Fanshan said, picking up his teacup, blowing the steam away, and taking a shallow sip. He shook his head rhythmically and continued, "It should be: 'I searched for her thousands of times in the crowd, and suddenly, looking back, there she stood in the dim, flickering light!'"

Wang Chao held a cold, mocking smile at the corners of his mouth. With a small knife, he methodically peeled an apple in a single, continuous spiral. His hands were steady and strong, without the slightest tremor. With his eyelids lowered, he asked, "Is there any difference?"

"The first saying is primarily about finding an object, focusing on the relief of success," Pao Fanshan explained in a leisurely tone. "Jinyue is a person, so how could that apply? The latter is much better; it captures the essence of a pleasant surprise, which perfectly matches my current mood."

"A pleasant surprise? Well put! I never took you for an intellectual," Wang Chao placed the peeled, smooth apple on the coffee table, picked up another, and began mechanically rotating the knife again. "Why did you suddenly decide to come looking for Jinyue? Did you burn through the money I gave you back then?"

"Hey, talking about money ruins the sentiment," Pao Fanshan laughed heartily. "As the saying goes, 'like sweet dew after a long drought, meeting an old friend in a strange land,' or 'when fellow villagers meet, their eyes brim with tears.' Truth be told, finding this place was a stroke of fate. I didn't originally know who she was. Someone hired me to investigate some old matters, and when I saw the photograph, I realized she was an old acquaintance."

The knife in Wang Chao's hand suddenly paused. "Who?"

"Two women, one old and one young," Pao Fanshan set down his teacup. "They didn't know each other, yet they both came to me for the same thing. I can't give you any more details; there are professional ethics in my line of work. I am a man of integrity and do not easily disclose client privacy."

Wang Chao pulled a stack of banknotes from his pocket, slapped them onto the coffee table, and said slowly, "You can talk now."

"Ah, since we are old acquaintances, I assume you won't go spreading this around, so I'll reveal a little," Pao Fanshan said, beaming as he pocketed the cash. "The young one always wore a mask and used a fake name, so I'm not sure of her background. The older one, however, is interesting. She is the mother of Yang Hai, the chairman of the Yang Group in City A, and Jinyue's mother-in-law."

Wang Chao continued rotating the knife, his gaze icy. "That’s troublesome."

"A bit, yes," Pao Fanshan’s eyes darted around. "But for some reason, that old woman has cut off contact recently, so there is still time to maneuver. In high society, marriage is essentially a corporate merger, and background checks are standard. But nowadays, what isn't packaged? Supermarket goods need packaging, women's faces need packaging, and even the financial reports of listed companies need to be packaged—it’s the vanity economy!"

"I was talking about the young woman," Wang Chao placed another peeled apple on the table and picked up a third, peeling it to himself. "Can you still contact her?"

Pao Fanshan shook his head. "That woman always initiates contact with me, and she uses a different phone number every time. She is truly unfathomable."

Wang Chao’s gaze turned haunting. "Then I suppose we should just sit and wait for our doom."

"No need to be so dramatic," Pao Fanshan stood up, glancing around the luxurious villa living room, marveling at the decor while speaking carelessly. "After all, the information is in my hands. Whatever content you want her to see, I will provide the corresponding result. We are fellow villagers, after all; we should help each other out."

Wang Chao finished the third apple. Instead of placing it on the table, he held the knife in one hand and the apple in the other as he walked toward Pao Fanshan. "Then I must truly thank you... By the way, when did you arrive in City A?"

"A week ago," Pao Fanshan turned around. Seeing the apple in Wang Chao's hand, he waved it away. "Thanks, I’ll pass... I'm staying at a small hostel on the outskirts. The environment is terrible, even having to queue for a shower, but the price is right. Who wouldn't want to live in a five-star hotel if they had the money? I’m not like Jinyue, who could marry into a wealthy family." He picked up a vase and clicked his tongue in admiration. "Wow, a Tang Sancai piece. This must be worth quite a lot."

"It's fake," Wang Chao tilted his head. "When do you plan on leaving?"

"A reproduction?" Pao Fanshan curled his lip and set the vase back on the stand. "I was planning to head back in a few days, but since I ran into you, we should at least have a meal and catch up. No rush to leave now." He picked up a framed photo of Jinyue. "People change as they grow up..." He glanced at Wang Chao. "You too, you've changed quite a bit. I almost didn't recognize you when we met. If it hadn't been for that sense of familiarity from back home, I would have missed you entirely. My gut told me I should ask you; I had to ask you. Heh! It was spot on!"

"It certainly was," Wang Chao took a savage bite of an apple, looked Pao Fanshan up and down, and said expressionlessly, "You’ve changed a lot, too. I remember you didn't have the surname 'Pao' back then. Why the change?"

Thinking Wang Chao was looking at his spare tire, Pao Fanshan laughed awkwardly. "Middle-age spread..." He slowly sat back down on the sofa, picked up his teacup, took a sip, and chuckled. "A fortune teller said my elements were lacking fire, so I changed my name and adopted a new ancestor along the way. I am no longer the person I used to be."

Wang Chao finished the apple and placed the core on the coffee table. He picked up another and offered it to Pao Fanshan. "You can even change your ancestors?"

"Thanks, I really don't want any," Pao Fanshan declined again. "To defy fate, you have to change things at the root. As long as I can become famous, let alone change my ancestors—if I could be a few years younger, I'd even change my gender. It's a pity I'm already middle-aged; even if I changed my gender, I probably wouldn't get much traffic."

Wang Chao took back the apple and began chewing on it gloomily. "It all boils down to money in the end..."

Pao Fanshan rested his hands behind his head, closed his eyes, and sighed. "No way around it. In this world, money makes the man; without it, you can't take a single step. Who isn't struggling for money every day?"

Wang Chao finished the apple quickly, placed the core next to the previous one, and let out a long breath. "How many times did I give you money back then?"

"Twice!" Pao Fanshan held up two fingers. "The first time was when you and Jinyue gave it to me together; the second time was when you came to me alone for that photo. Put together, it was exactly twenty thousand yuan. It seemed like a lot back then, but with the inflation over the years, twenty thousand isn't even enough for one trip to the Jiangnan bathhouse these days."

Wang Chao gave a soft "Oh," picked up the last apple from the table, offered it to Pao Fanshan, and nodded. "So, it was twice, then."

"No, I don't want any," Pao Fanshan frowned. "I don't care for them; tea is fine."

Suddenly, Wang Chao lunged forward, pressing down hard on Pao Fanshan's shoulder with one hand. With the other, he jammed the apple into Pao Fanshan's mouth and gripped his jaw tightly. "Haven't you heard that things shouldn't happen three times? I asked you twice if you wanted to eat, and this third time... whether you want to or not, you are going to eat!"

Pao Fanshan looked at Wang Chao in horror. Only then did he realize that the boy from the past had grown into a ferocious beast that devoured people without spitting out the bones.

"Changing your surname to 'Pao' was one thing, but to insist on adding a radical because of some 'lack of fire' in your elements?" Wang Chao slammed the small knife into the apple. "If you want to be 'Pao', fine, but 'Fanshan'—look at you now, your 'cannon barrel' is plugged! You deserve it! Greed knows no bounds, but today I won't ask you to swallow an elephant; just swallow this apple, core and all! Jinyue is busy heading to the jewelry store and doesn't have time to waste on you, yet you’re thick-skinned and refuse to leave! Fine, fine—now you don't have to leave at all!"

Pao Fanshan's face flushed red. He wanted to speak, but with his mouth stuffed with the apple, he could only make muffled wailing sounds. Tears welled up in his eyes, and he trembled uncontrollably. He wanted to resist but dared not, paralyzed by the bone-chilling cold in Wang Chao's eyes.

Just then, the doorbell rang at the villa entrance. Wang Chao frowned, grabbed an ashtray from the coffee table, knocked Pao Fanshan unconscious with a forceful blow, and dragged his heavy, obese body into the dark utility room. He found a piece of nylon rope, tied Pao Fanshan's hands and feet, pulled the knife out of the apple, and stuffed him into a cabinet. Having done all this, Wang Chao took a deep breath, climbed out through the living room window, and scaled the wall at the point furthest from the gate.

Glancing briefly from afar at the elderly man in black who had just left the villa, Wang Chao’s expression grew grave. He pulled out his phone, quickly sent a text message to Jinyue, and followed silently.

Ten minutes later, Pao Fanshan slowly opened his eyes. He shook his head, trying to stand, only to find his hands and feet bound. Recalling what had happened before he blacked out, he panicked. With the apple still in his mouth, he wailed and struggled violently, attempting to stand.

*Bang!* Pao Fanshan lost his balance, fell backward, and slammed into the cabinet door that was flush against the wall. A dark, hidden passageway was revealed.

With his toes on the edge of the cabinet, Pao Fanshan looked back at the dark passage, cold sweat beading on his forehead as he struggled to control his center of gravity. Just as his heels were about to touch the floor of the cabinet, the apple fell out of his mouth. Startled, he lost his balance once more. With a scream, he and the apple rolled down the hidden passage like two balls of different sizes.