Chapter 129: Hummingbird

Rushing at lightning speed toward that address, what he saw instead was a scene of utter chaos: overturned tables and chairs, and corpses scattered haphazardly in all directions.

"Wife, Han Ning!"

The moment Yang Jiekai saw this horrific sight, his mind went completely blank. He began frantically searching for any trace of Han Ning.

"Han Ning! Han Ning!"

Yang Jiekai felt on the verge of a breakdown, his brain entirely paralyzed.

Right at that moment, his phone suddenly rang. Glancing at the screen, a jolt of mixed anxiety and elation surged through his head.

The caller ID clearly displayed the name Han Ning.

He eagerly answered the call, and the instant he heard Han Ning's voice, tears streamed uncontrollably down Yang Jiekai's face.

"Wife, where are you? Are you okay?"

On the other end of the line, Han Ning's voice trembled slightly. "I'm fine. I'm safe now. I'm at such-and-such a place..."

The moment he laid eyes on Han Ning, Yang Jiekai bolted toward her like a flying arrow, pulling her tightly into his embrace. "Wife, where on earth did you go? Didn't I tell you to stay put and not move?!"

With tear-filled eyes, Han Ning instinctively wrapped her arms around Yang Jiekai as well.

After holding each other for a long time, they finally calmed down, and Yang Jiekai asked Han Ning what had happened.

Han Ning seemed to hesitate, as if withholding something. "Well, when I heard all the commotion outside, I ran out by myself and ended up getting lost..."

Seeing that Han Ning was safe, Yang Jiekai was overwhelmed with joy and didn't dwell on her wildly inconsistent explanation. He immediately instructed Jela to arrange a flight back home for the two of them.

Not until the plane landed smoothly in Anhai City did Yang Jiekai finally put his heart completely at ease.

"Wife, you weren't entirely honest with me earlier. Come clean, what really happened back then?"

Once he had completely calmed down, Yang Jiekai remembered the glaring loopholes in the story Han Ning had told him earlier.

"I didn't lie. It was just like I said before."

With a blushing face, Han Ning stammered out her reply.

Although he knew Han Ning was obviously lying, Yang Jiekai didn't press the matter further. As long as she was safe, nothing else mattered.

"Wow, my sister and brother-in-law are back!"

The moment Han Wei saw Han Ning and Yang Jiekai walk through the door, she rushed over excitedly. "So, how was the honeymoon for the two of you?"

Speechless, Yang Jiekai chose not to mention the harrowing events on Pearl Island to Han Wei. He simply offered her a helpless shrug before heading off to take a shower.

Left with no choice, Han Wei turned to badger Han Ning with questions. Upon learning what had transpired on Pearl Island, she wore a look of lingering fear, which instantly melted into a starry-eyed expression of total infatuation.

"Oh my god, brother-in-law is so cool! A true knight in shining armor!"

After hearing the "heroic tale" of how Yang Jiekai had sustained injuries to protect Han Ning, Han Wei's eyes sparkled with unadulterated adoration.

"Sis, to show your gratitude, why don't you let brother-in-law share your bed tonight? He's just so impossibly cool and handsome! Why can't I ever run into a Prince Charming like that?!"

Having just survived the ordeal on Pearl Island, Han Ning was still shaken, and she was utterly speechless in the face of her lovesick younger sister.

As soon as Yang Jiekai finished his shower and slipped into bed, his phone rang. Checking the screen, he saw it was calling from Jela, a guy even more long-winded than the Monk Tang.

"Out with it, fast!"

The moment he connected the call, Yang Jiekai didn't bother being polite with the fellow.

Jela's voice came through the receiver: "My most precious friend, Mr. Yang Jiekai, things were too rushed earlier and I didn't have time to tell you certain things, but now I feel it's necessary for you to know."

"What the hell!"

Yang Jiekai was completely exasperated by Jela's verbosity. "Didn't I tell you to spit it out? I'm trying to sleep here, make it quick!"

After gathering his thoughts on the other end, Jela said, "Remember that guy you killed in the fighting ring?"

Yang Jiekai thought for a moment and nodded. "I remember. Is there a problem?"

He hadn't given the matter a single second thought; in an underground fighting ring like the one on Pearl Island, beating someone to death was the most mundane of routine occurrences.

Jela replied gravely, "You're in deep trouble. You fell right into that old fox Patto's scheme. Do you even know who the guy you killed was? He was a member of the island nation's Soul Syndicate!"

"So what?" To this day, Yang Jiekai still didn't understand why Jela was making such a big deal out of it.

Swallowing hard, Jela said on the other end, "What do you mean, 'so what'?! Surely you've heard of the island nation's Soul Syndicate? They're one of the top three criminal syndicates in the world! The man you killed was the nephew of one of their high-ranking bosses. They are definitely not going to let this go."

"With his martial prowess, do you really think Patto would have let you do the killing yourself? The reason is that Patto, that old fox, knew the guy's identity and was afraid of the trouble it would bring, yet the man had to be eliminated. That's why he used your hands to carry out that dangerous deed."

After listening, Yang Jiekai remained completely unfazed. He yawned and said, "Thanks for the reminder, I've noted it down. If there's nothing else, I'm hanging up now, I'm exhausted."

With that, Yang Jiekai hung up the phone, brushing the whole matter aside as if it were nothing.

Little did he know, however, what a massive catastrophe this incident would turn out to be, nearly costing him his life on several occasions later on. But all of that was a story for another day.

Having survived the turmoil on Pearl Island, Yang Jiekai felt that the Huaxia nation was practically paradise, and he continued to leisurely enjoy his peaceful little life day after day.

Some time later, the seasonal transition arrived once again.

This time, however, Yang Jiekai wasn't worried in the least. That old Daoist priest in the back mountains last time had already cured him of this recurring affliction, assuring him that he would be completely fine for three years.

True to his word, when the night of the seasonal transition arrived, Yang Jiekai experienced no abnormal physical reactions whatsoever.

He took an early shower that evening, watched a bit of television on the sofa, and then prepared to head to his bedroom for the night.

Right at that moment, his phone suddenly rang. Seeing the caller ID, Yang Jiekai frowned.

"What is it?" Yang Jiekai answered in a deep voice.

A soft, effeminate male voice came through the phone: "Mr. Yang, it's time for the seasonal transition again. Your pill has been prepared; I wonder if you have your money ready."

Yang Jiekai sneered. "No need, I don't need that stuff anymore."

The person on the other end seemed to have anticipated his answer. Chuckling, he said, "I know you won't suffer the tribulation pains for the next three years. However, let me offer you a piece of advice: you must still take the pill on schedule, otherwise, three years from now, you will wish you were dead. When that time comes, even if I want to help you, I won't be able to."

"Thanks for the kind thought, but let's deal with three years from now when three years actually arrive."

Although Yang Jiekai knew his current condition could only be maintained for three years, and he didn't yet know what he would do when that time came, he had no desire to dwell on it right now. All he wanted was to peacefully get through these three years.

After hanging up, Yang Jiekai tossed the phone aside, crawled under the covers, and drifted off into a sound sleep.

In a private room at a bar in Country M in Southeast Asia, a man with Western facial features was toying with an exquisite lighter with keen interest.

"BOSS, if he refuses to keep taking our pills, we might lose our control over him in the future."

A bodyguard dressed in black standing nearby spoke in a low voice.

The Western man sneered. "This is a once-in-a-millennium opportunity; I certainly won't give it up easily. If we were to wipe him out now, it would still be a bit too early."

"But we've lost our leverage over him for now..."

"I'll handle it!"

The Western man put the lighter down, rested his hands behind his head, and leaned back into the comfortable chair. He closed his eyes for a brief moment before lazily saying, "You can leave now, I have some business to attend to."

Once the bodyguard had departed, a flash of cunning crossed the Western man's eyes. He picked up the phone and dialed a number.

A moment later, the call connected, and a woman's voice replied, "BOSS, it's me."

The Western man nodded. "Hummingbird, I planted you by his side, and now the time has come for you to make your move."

"What do you want me to do?"

The Western man instructed, "Over these next three years, you must find a way to make him regularly take our pills without him ever noticing. Remember, you must not let him discover it."

"Understood, BOSS! Hummingbird understands."

After hanging up, a cold look crossed the Western man's face. Staring at his slender, jointless fingers, he chuckled softly to himself, "How could someone I want ever easily escape me? Yang Jiekai, you belong to me!"

The next day, Yang Jiekai slept until the sun was high in the sky. After getting up and having a simple meal, he prepared to go out for a stroll.

Suddenly, Wang Ying called, asking him to accompany her to a banquet that afternoon.

"What kind of banquet is this? A candlelight dinner, Officer Wang?" Yang Jiekai began bantering with her.

"Cut it out. I have a few classmates visiting, and we're meeting for dinner tonight," Wang Ying said over the phone.

Yang Jiekai curled his lips. "Guys or girls?"

Wang Ying replied, "Both guys and girls. Stop asking so many questions and just tell me if you're coming or not!"

"I'm coming, how could I not? Passing up free food is a sin against heaven and earth."

"Um... I want to discuss something with you." Wang Ying sounded somewhat hesitant on the other end.

Yang Jiekai asked, "What is it? Why do you suddenly sound like you're stammering?"

Gritting her teeth, Wang Ying said, "During dinner this afternoon, just pretend to be my boyfriend, and make sure you don't blow my cover."

Hearing this, Yang Jiekai found it extremely bizarre. "Why?"

"Don't ask, just tell me if you're willing or not!"

"I'm willing, how could I not be?!"

Yang Jiekai nodded eagerly like a chicken pecking at rice. "Send the time and location to my phone, I'll definitely be there on time."

When the appointed time arrived, Yang Jiekai drove over early and waited at the entrance of the police station. The moment he saw Wang Ying gracefully walking out, his eyes lit up involuntarily.

She had changed into casual attire, wearing a sleek black dress and crystal high-heeled sandals. She looked breathtakingly beautiful, causing passing pedestrians to stare at her with wide, unblinking eyes.