Chapter 55: Fifty-five, Teachings Chapter 55: Fifty-five, Teachings The night grew deep and the once bustling streets became eerily quiet. Underneath the streetlight, a few moths flapped their wings, circling the light in flight.
Abrupt footsteps broke the calm.
Two men, one tall and one short, emerged from an alley and made their way to the front of an inn at the alley’s mouth, where they stopped in their tracks.
“They’re staying in this inn, let’s go in,” the taller man said, stepping forward into the small inn.
The shorter man hurried to follow. Their purpose here was to snatch the Imperial Green Jade and also to teach the insolent grandparents a lesson on behalf of their boss. They had the audacity to embarrass their boss in front of everyone, clearly not knowing the meaning of ‘death.’
Hearing the footsteps outside, Song Yan Ning’s lips curved into a cold arc as she glanced at Yang Lisheng and Li Meixiang who had long since fallen asleep. After they had dozed off, she had scattered some Medicine Powder in the room to deepen their slumber. Now, even if someone entered, they wouldn’t be roused.
“This is the room, let’s go in,” the tall man said, taking out a keycard and swiping it on the sensor outside the door. With their boss’s status in Beijing, obtaining a keycard to a small inn’s room was trivially easy.
The tall man pushed the door open and entered the dark room. He snickered and inserted the keycard into the control panel, illuminating the entire room instantly. They were there to rob, with no need for stealth.
Once the two men could see clearly inside the room, they were taken aback to find Song Yan Ning sitting leisurely on the sofa, sipping tea. She showed no sign of fear or panic at their arrival, as if she had fully anticipated it.
The tall man came to his senses and glanced at Yang Lisheng and Li Meixiang on the bed, a hint of surprise in his eyes. With such a commotion, how were the old couple still not awake?
“Aren’t you afraid of us?” the short man asked, his face stern. A long scar ran from his browbone to the corner of his mouth – a sight not just children, but also adults would shy away from.
Song Yan Ning took a sip of her tea and said leisurely, “You’re here for the jade?”
“Since you know, then bring it out. We don’t want to make things difficult for you,” the tall man said to Song Yan Ning, a cold sweat breaking out on his back. He was filled with countless questions. A little girl awake in the middle of the night, not sleeping, not turning on the light, sitting on the sofa drinking tea – it was all very creepy to him. Moreover, the girl showed not the slightest sign of panic or fear, as if she had known of their arrival all along.
And the old couple, they’d been there so long without any reaction, still sleeping so soundly. So he dismissed the thought of teaching them a lesson, just wanting to take the jade and leave quickly.
Song Yan Ning pointed to the jade on the table, “The jade is there, whether you have the ability to take it is another matter.”
The tall man and the short man exchanged glances, neither daring to take a step forward. They had scouted the entire room before, and there was no jade on the table – its sudden appearance was too bizarre.
“What’s the matter? Don’t have the nerve to take it?” Song Yan Ning taunted, raising an eyebrow playfully.
“You go get it,” the tall man said as he pushed the short man forward.
The short man swallowed hard and slowly made his way toward the jade. Just take it, he thought; he’s a grown man, surely he’s not afraid of a little girl.
But after just two steps, the short man felt as if he couldn’t lift his feet. Looking down, his face turned deathly pale, and he let out a cry of terror, frantically kicking away the hand and scrambling towards the door. What he saw was a withered, grey-white, thin, and cracked hand pulling at his foot.
The tall man was also frightened and ran off following the short man. Zhang Yang was known for his courage, so whatever had scared him must be truly terrifying.
Having run only a few steps, the tall man remembered what their boss had said to them when they came out and stopped in his tracks. Steeling his nerves, he turned and ran toward the piece of jade. He had to complete the task and get the jade, or if he got fired by the boss, he wouldn’t be able to stay in Beijing.
But he hadn’t run far when the tall man too felt something was wrong. He didn’t dare to look down, struggling hard to break free from the grip that, no matter how hard he tried, seemed only to tighten.
He overcame his fear and quickly looked down, his face drastically changing color. Without a moment’s hesitation, he turned and bolted out the door.
Watching the tall man flee in distress, Song Yan Ning couldn’t help but laugh. She knew someone would come to steal the jade tonight, so she had set up an array in the room beforehand. As a member of the Demon Clan and their Young Prince, her mind contained thousands of years of the clan’s heritage, with arrays being just one part. Although her current powers were limited, and she could only establish simple arrays, those were enough to deal with ordinary people.
She got up, closed the door, picked up the jade from the table, and began crafting the amulet.
After listening to Zhang Yang’s experience that night, Liu Xin’s face turned ominously dark, “Useless fools, can’t even handle a child and two old people, what use are you to me, get out!” He didn’t believe in such unclean things in this world.
“Boss, we’re telling the truth, it was really terrifying,” Zhang Yang said, trembling uncontrollably at the thought of that hand. He had not believed in such things either, but now he did.
“Get out!” Liu Xin didn’t want to hear another word from them. He was determined to acquire that piece of Imperial Green Jade.
Zhang Yang and Li Jin exchanged glances and headed out. They were relieved that the boss hadn’t insisted they go back; they wouldn’t do it even if they had to leave Beijing—it was just too frightening.
Liu Xin grabbed the glass on the table and guzzled down a swig, his eyes burning with rage and frustration. After a while, a sinister smile slowly curled at the corner of his mouth, and he reached for the phone on the table and made a call. He had plenty of ways to deal with the old couple and the little girl.
The call was quickly answered, and a drowsy voice came from the other end, “Mr. Liu, is the job done?” Liu Xin had called him earlier, instructing him to have the hotel staff hand over the card key to room 206 to his men.
“Old Dong, I need another favor from you. I want you to kick that old couple and the kid out of the hotel,” Liu Xin said with a vindictive smile. Once they were out on the streets, he would deal with them slowly. He didn’t believe he couldn’t handle an old couple and a child. How could he let them get away with crossing him?