Translator: CinderTL
Great Capital City.
The suburbs.
Nestled amidst dense woods, a heavily guarded villa was barely visible. This was the Xia Family's mountain retreat.
Having recently been infiltrated by Crimson No. 2, the original security personnel had been compromised and replaced with a new team.
In the distance, a black sedan approached along the smoothly paved road. The guards removed the barricade, and the villa's gate swung open.
After the car parked in the courtyard behind the perimeter wall, a handsome young man emerged. Dressed in a white suit and gold-rimmed glasses, he exuded an air of scholarly refinement, yet his sharp features hinted at an underlying competence.
The young man carried a briefcase, its handle secured to his wrist with handcuffs.
Appearing to be pressed for time, he strode directly into the villa, hurried to the second floor, and paused before a door. He knocked politely and, after receiving permission, pushed the door open.
Upon seeing the figure seated behind the desk, the young man gave a slight bow. "Mr. Gong," he said, "I have the item."
The young man was Qin Lan, Gong Zhe's assistant. For years, he had handled the tedious but essential tasks that Gong Zhe preferred to avoid.
Gong Zhe looked up. After a moment, he asked, "Was the journey smooth?"
"Smooth," Qin Lan replied. He unlocked the handcuffs and placed the briefcase flat on the desk in front of Gong Zhe, its opening facing him.
The entire process was as fluid as a well-rehearsed performance, each movement flowing seamlessly into the next. Qin Lan's actions were so graceful and coordinated that they were almost aesthetically pleasing.
He entered the passcode, opened the briefcase, and revealed a single kraft paper bag. A few sheets of white paper peeked out from a tear in the bag.
Gong Zhe didn't move. His gaze shifted from the torn bag to Qin Lan's face. After a long pause, he asked, "How long have you been by my side?"
Qin Lan hesitated for half a second before answering, "Ten years, Mr. Gong."
"Ten years..." Gong Zhe exhaled slowly, as if recalling something. "Ten years is long enough to change many things, but it can't change a person's original intentions."
"Do you know what's in this briefcase?" Gong Zhe asked.
He seemed to be talking to himself, giving Qin Lan no chance to answer. He pulled the paper bag from the briefcase and tossed it onto the desk, pushing it toward Qin Lan with the torn end facing him. "I assume you've already seen it. Read it to me."
Qin Lan pursed his lips slightly but stepped forward and tore open the already ripped kraft paper bag. Inside was a document—a top-secret file detailing the identity of a spy planted within the Xia Family's inner circle, dispatched by the Night Watcher Headquarters.
The moment Qin Lan grasped the file, a flicker of emotion finally crossed his previously calm face, though it was quickly replaced by the serenity of resignation.
"Read it," Gong Zhe instructed.
Qin Lan slowly began: "Qin Lan, formerly Xiao Zongji, hails from the Xiao Family, one of the Thirteen Watcher Families. At seventeen, he was planted as a sleeper agent within the Xia Family, tasked with gaining the trust of the Bone Carver, Gong Zhe. He was to remain dormant, activated only if relations between the Night Watcher Headquarters and the Xia Family dissolved, at which point he would assist the Night Watcher Headquarters in eliminating Gong Zhe."
Qin Lan looked up, waving the thick file in his hand. He had only read a small portion. "There's no need to continue, is there, Mr. Gong?"
Gong Zhe was right. Qin Lan had already opened and read the file on his way here, and the intelligence inside had shocked him to his core.
It wasn't just that his cover had been blown; the sheer level of detail in the file was astonishing. It even included the emergency contact information they had previously agreed upon.
He had been betrayed by someone high up in Night Watcher Headquarters. Only someone at that level could access such sensitive information.
"Thank you, Mr. Gong," Qin Lan said, bowing slightly with an unruffled tone. "The moment I opened this file, I knew it was all your arrangement. You wanted me to see the contents and quietly slip away. I observed the other guards escorting the documents; you've reassigned all the capable ones. If I wanted to leave, the remaining guards wouldn't stand a chance."
"If it were the young lady, she would never have given me this opportunity," Qin Lan added with a bitter smile. "She probably wants to tear me limb from limb."
"Then why aren't you leaving?" Gong Zhe asked.
Qin Lan offered a wan smile. For the first time in years, he felt truly at ease. After wearing a mask for so long, he had lost sight of his true self.
"Where could I go? Back to the Night Watchers? Or to my family, the Xiao Clan?" Qin Lan shook his head. "It's too late. Not everyone is born with choices."
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"My family is just a branch of the Xiao Family, practically clinging to them for survival. My value to them—and even to the entire Night Watcher organization—stems from my successful infiltration of the Xia Family and my position as your spy. It's because of me that my parents, brother, and sister can live decent lives."
"But if I'm exposed or lose your trust, my value disappears. What happens to my family then?" Qin Lan looked up, muttering to himself, "They'll be abandoned, or worse."
"Yet returning here guarantees your death," Gong Zhe said, unmoved by Qin Lan's story. He remained detached, objectively weighing the pros and cons from an outsider's perspective.
"It's different," Qin Lan insisted, shaking his head stubbornly. "If I die in the Xia Family, my family won't be punished. But if I escape alive, even if my own family considers sparing me, the Night Watchers never will. They'll put my loved ones in even greater danger."
Qin Lan smiled. "Mr. Gong, you know their methods better than I do."
Gong Zhe suddenly asked, "Should I call you Qin Lan, or Xiao Zongji?"
"Qin Lan is fine," Qin Lan replied.
"Alright," Gong Zhe nodded. "Qin Lan, besides monitoring me, you must have another reason for being here. Care to share it?"
"I'm looking for someone," Qin Lan answered without hesitation. "Xia Tan."
"Some within the Night Watchers have always suspected that the man you executed wasn't Xia Tan at all," Qin Lan continued. "They believe you hid the real Xia Tan and used a scapegoat to deceive everyone. But I've never been able to find him. At times, I even doubted his existence."
"The grey-robed man imprisoned in the stone chamber behind the mountain was Xia Tan," Gong Zhe revealed. "But we altered his appearance. You wouldn't recognize him from a photograph."
"You're right. The moment I heard about the attack on Night Watcher Headquarters, that possibility occurred to me. I secretly rushed to the stone chamber, only to find the grey-robed man gone," Qin Lan sighed. "Altering appearances is Crimson No. 4's ability. I never expected you to cooperate with him."
(End of the Chapter)
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