Chapter 381 - 202: The Real and Fake Wan Ze, Greetings to the Patroness

Wan Ze said in a low voice, "We have to move on this quickly. We can't delay. Xiao Ya is a smart woman, and what do smart people fear most? Variables. If we drag our feet for a few days without giving her an answer to the terms she proposed tonight, she'll start to overthink. The moment she starts overthinking, she'll do something we can't predict. So we have to give her a clear answer by tomorrow, let her know things are progressing, and put her mind at ease."

Zhai Jia nodded and pulled a communicator from his pants pocket. He scrolled through his contacts to Zhai Yu's name, but his finger hovered over the screen, not pressing down just yet.

He suddenly looked up at Wan Ze. "By the way, is that lady the only one upstairs?"

Wan Ze shook his head. "No, she has four bodyguards with her."

Zhai Jia's eyes widened. "Damn, you've got some serious nerve. Aren't you worried they'll run? It's one of you and five of them, and you just came down without even keeping an eye on them? What if they take off while you're gone?"

Wan Ze shook his head. "She won't run. If she'd wanted to, she wouldn't have gotten out of the car on Hengjiang Bridge. She had a chance to slip away at the gates of Lingyun Manor. I even deliberately gave her an opening. She saw it but still didn't take it. She knows running is pointless. This is the Holy City—our turf. She's from the Secret Palace; how far could she possibly get? And if Zhao Henian is waiting for her out there, running would be like walking straight into a trap."

After a pause, Wan Ze continued, "I get the sense that she isn't confident she can finish Zhao Henian off for good on her own. Even now, she doesn't know if he's dead or alive. If she stays here and works with us, she's a strategist who's found powerful allies while in a desperate situation. Xiao Ya is a smart woman; she won't do anything foolish."

After hearing this, Zhai Jia was silent for a couple of seconds. He nodded, then pressed Zhai Yu's name.

The communicator rang three times before the call was answered.

Zhai Jia spoke a few brief words, then handed the communicator directly to Wan Ze. "You tell Brother Yu yourself."

Wan Ze took the communicator and raised it to his ear. "Brother Yu, it's me."

Wan Ze quickly ran through the situation again.

From the ambush on Hengjiang Bridge and the negotiations with Xiao Ya, to Old Tan's false identity and the need for someone to impersonate Wan Ze.

He knew Zhai Yu's style—no nonsense, spoken or heard—so he kept it as concise as possible, just enough to explain the sequence of events clearly.

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line.

"Alright. Wait for me. Five minutes, tops." Brother Yu was always that decisive.

Wan Ze handed the communicator back to Zhai Jia.

Zhai Jia took the communicator, glanced at the screen to confirm the call had ended, then tucked it back into his pocket.

He looked at Wan Ze and opened his mouth as if to speak, but in the end, he said nothing. He just shook his head, walked over to the jeep, and leaned against the hood again.

He pulled another cigarette from the pack, stuck it in his mouth, and lit it with a lighter.

Wan Ze leaned against a sycamore tree, hands in his pants pockets, and gazed up at the sky.

The cloud cover was thick, obscuring the stars.

The night wind swept past, tugging at the hem of his clothes and the brim of his hat. Beneath the brim, his eyes were half-lidded; it was hard to tell if he was watching the sky or lost in thought.

Five minutes.

It passed quickly.

An engine rumbled in the distance. Beams of light swept through the darkness, illuminating the trees and shrubs along the road. A black sedan appeared around a bend in the mountain road, and then its headlights went dark.

The car stopped a short distance away. The engine died, a door opened, and a man stepped out from the driver's seat.

Zhai Yu was wearing a jacket zipped up to the top, its collar popped to cover half his neck. Below, he wore a pair of black trousers, their creases perfectly straight and free of wrinkles.

Zhai Yu wasn't wearing a mask. His face was sharply defined, with a strong jawline.

His expression was neutral, betraying no emotion.

Zhai Yu walked up to Wan Ze and stopped. He didn't speak, merely looked at him.

Wan Ze straightened up from the sycamore tree. "Brother Yu."

Zhai Yu asked, "Are the things ready?"

Wan Ze nodded. "The mask I had Brother Jia bring is in the car. You need to put it on before you go upstairs. You can't let Xiao Ya see your face."

Zhai Yu nodded. He quickly fastened the mask over his face, adjusted it slightly to make sure it was secure, then pulled the outer coat on over his jacket and zipped it up.

He turned to face Wan Ze and Zhai Jia. "Will this do?"

Zhai Jia hopped off the hood of the car and walked up to Zhai Yu, looking him up and down. He then turned to Wan Ze and nodded. "It's a good match. Without seeing the face, his build is about the same as yours. This way, even if that woman manages to get a photo of you later on, she won't think twice."

Wan Ze nodded.

'That was exactly the idea.'

'Though trying to snap a photo of him at close range would be difficult.'

'After all, his Perception Power was pretty sharp now.'

"Let's go," Zhai Yu said. His voice came out muffled from behind the mask as he turned and headed toward the building.

Wan Ze followed him. Zhai Jia didn't go, remaining by the car to begin coordinating their people from the shadows.

...

When they reached the door, Wan Ze stopped and knocked three times.

There was a second of silence from inside, then the sound of light footsteps approaching.

The door opened. It wasn't Xiao Ya, but the gunman who had taken an elbow to the chest.

He still looked pale. His eyes fell first on Wan Ze, then on the masked man behind him. He froze for a second but stepped aside anyway. After a moment's hesitation, he said, "The boss is sleeping."