Chapter 57

Won

Tiger registered the tension in the air. One look at Curly Hair's smile — guilty, transparently so — and he spread his own face into the widest, most guileless grin he could manage.

He didn't know anything. He was just simple-minded little Tiger.

Officer Cheng stepped in at the right moment. "Good afternoon, sir. I'm the head of the criminal investigations unit at the East District Bureau. There are some details about the Wangyue we'd like to go over with you, if you're willing to cooperate."

The Wangyue?!

Tiger looked around quickly — confirmed he was in the Chen Garden instance, not on a ship — and answered cautiously: "You mean the ocean liner? The Wangyue?"

"Of course." Officer Cheng noticed the hesitation. "You disembarked only yesterday, sir. Surely you haven't forgotten the details that quickly."

"Of course not." Tiger corrected himself immediately. "Officer, please — ask away."

He hadn't worked out why events from the last instance were following him into this one, but instinct was clear: not cooperating with this officer would cause serious problems.

Officer Cheng kept it brief. A few questions, the notebook closed, a handshake. "On behalf of both hostages, I'd like to thank you. Once the commendation paperwork goes through, I'll be in touch again."

A commendation. A brave citizen's award.

In the same connected dimension, two exploration instances with crossover effects. Tiger had never encountered this before.

When he got back to the infinite space and told the others he'd received a civic commendation inside an instance, no one was going to believe him.

"One more thing." Officer Cheng kept his tone casual. "You were working on the fifteenth floor of the Wangyue. What made you go down to the sixth to look for the captain?"

"One of the upper-floor guests was getting very difficult and kept demanding I bring the captain." Tiger scratched his head and smiled sheepishly. "I was scared of him yelling at me more, so I figured I'd try my luck."

In normal procedure, a staff member in that situation would escalate to their supervisor — not go directly to the captain themselves. But looking at the big man's honest, slightly dim expression, and since he wasn't a person of interest in the case, Officer Cheng decided not to press.

Years of working cases had given him a solid catalogue of accidental heroes. This one fit the type.

"Mr. Xu, Mr. Chao — please don't let us keep you." Officer Cheng checked his watch and handed Chao Musheng a business card. "If you happen to recall anything suspicious from the Wangyue, I hope you'll contact me."

"Of course, Officer Cheng." Chao Musheng took the card, walked them out a little further, and turned back.

*

Outside the gates, the officers were hit by the wall of afternoon heat.

"Cheng-ge." His colleague shielded his eyes from the sun. "How did we manage to forget about that staff member? We had the whole case."

One person losing track of something was understandable. The entire station losing track was something else entirely.

"We'll go through everything again when we're back." Officer Cheng pulled out a cigarette and shared the pack around. "This case involves a lot of powerful people. The higher-ups are watching it closely."

No more collective lapses.

Privately, he was glad Chao Musheng had been willing to cooperate — and that Kunlun's cooperation had made it difficult for the other wealthy parties to refuse. Wealthy people had many demands and many sensitivities. Something that should have taken significant effort had been made very smooth by one person's example.

"Compared to the Song family's grandson — the gap between people is larger than the gap between people and gorillas." His colleague drew on the cigarette and opened the car door. "If I were the head of the Song Group, I'd close my eyes and pick Chao Musheng as the heir."

Not raise and cultivate someone like Song Cheng.

"It's not that simple." Officer Cheng drew deeply, pinched it out, and got into the driver's seat. The car had been sitting in the sun and the cheap faux-leather burned. He turned on the air conditioning. "Old money families are complicated, and you've both seen Chao Musheng's personal file — a person like that can make a success of themselves anywhere. If I were him, I wouldn't touch the Song Group's mess."

The car cooled slowly. Officer Cheng started the engine. A few expensive sports cars were pulling up outside, and a group of stylishly dressed young people climbed out, tossed their keys to the Chen estate servants, and strode through the gates.

"I was perfectly happy where I was. Grandfather had to drag me back." The young man at the front wore his streetwear with a large pair of sunglasses and the unmistakable energy of someone who resented being here.

"Exactly." A girl in a cocktail dress turned back to the one young man in a proper shirt and trousers. "Cousin — did Grandfather say what this is actually about?"

"The household is entertaining honored guests tonight. Grandfather wants you to show your faces." Chen You pushed his glasses up his nose. "Go and change. Try to make a reasonable first impression."

"What kind of person is worth this much fuss from the Chen family?" The stylish one pushed his sunglasses up into his hair and gave a contemptuous smile. The Chen family was one of the top names in the capital — everyone else scrambled for their approval, not the other way around.

Was anyone actually worth his attention?

"Put that attitude somewhere it can't be seen." Chen You's expression settled into something harder. "There are a number of distinguished guests staying at the estate this week. The patriarch of Kunlun is among them. If you want to upset Grandfather, that's your business."

"The head of Kunlun — he'd come here?" The girl's expression shifted into something more serious. "Cousin, you're not exaggerating? Grandfather actually managed that?"

"The Wangyue voyage — Father attended a conference on the family's behalf. Mr. Xu accepted Father's invitation on board." Chen You smiled. "That Mr. Xu gave Father this much face was a surprise to Grandfather as well."

The stylish young man looked away to hide the roll of his eyes.

So it was his uncle's achievement. That explained the performance.

He pulled the sunglasses back down.

Nothing more insufferable than a poser.

*

"Don't look at me like that." Chao Musheng sighed. Curly Hair was petite, Tiger was enormous, and the two of them standing side by side staring at him with identical forlorn expressions was genuinely a bit much. "Come on."

Curly Hair smiled with barely-concealed flattery. "Where to?"

"Around the garden." Chao Musheng said. "Just a stroll. Do you know the paths well enough?"

"I've more or less memorized the full route map already. Don't worry about getting lost — I'll keep you on track."

Chao Musheng looked at her for a moment.

"What is it, Xiao Chao?"

"Nothing." He smiled. "With your ability, you'd succeed at anything you tried."

The estate was enormous, and Curly Hair had been here less than a day. Memorizing the entire layout already — was she planning a professional rivalry with the head steward?

Secretary Liu came striding over, slightly out of breath. He spotted his employer preparing to walk with Chao Musheng, cleared his throat, and steeled himself. "Sir — there's an overseas video conference that requires you personally."

"Understood." Xu Chenzhu turned to Chao Musheng. "Zhaozhao — go enjoy yourself. Take the bodyguards."

"I'll come back with you." Chao Musheng withdrew the foot he'd already stepped forward with. "I can walk tomorrow."

"This is your holiday time — don't let work intrude." Xu Chenzhu took a bottle of water from one of the bodyguards and passed it to him. "Go have fun with your friends."

Chao Musheng accepted the water and looked at Secretary Liu — who very clearly was not on holiday.

"Personally," Secretary Liu said, "I prefer triple overtime pay."

Besides, this assignment was half leisure and half work. Rounded up, he was the one winning.

As long as the boss was sufficiently generous, he was the company's most loyal soldier — wherever pointed, there he struck.

"Enjoy your meeting, then." Chao Musheng said instantly. "See you in two hours."

Work? Overtime? Those were concepts for someone else.

He was going for a walk.

Secretary Liu watched Chao Musheng and the bodyguards vanish around the far end of the covered walkway and concluded: Xiao Chao was not going to suffer a single unnecessary minute of overtime.

*

"Xiao Chao — Kunlun's benefits are seriously generous. Triple overtime pay even during holidays?" Tiger fell in dutifully behind Chao Musheng. "Here they're taking the cost of this uniform out of my wages."

Curly Hair directed a silent look at Tiger. Stop talking.

Every word was making this worse for her.

"They're making you pay for your own work clothes?" Chao Musheng dropped his voice. "The Chen family is that wealthy, and they're squeezing their workers like this?"

"The head steward is skimming kickbacks." Curly Hair rubbed her face, trying to arrange her expression into something that didn't look as bedraggled as she felt, and changed the subject. "Xiao Chao — how long will you be at Chen Garden?"

"Three or four days, probably." Chao Musheng crouched at the edge of one of the ornamental pools and trailed his fingers in the water. The koi came immediately, like soldiers answering a general's summons.

One of the bodyguards reached into a pocket and produced a small packet of fish food. "Mr. Chao — shall I?"

"You brought this?" Chao Musheng took it. "Thank you."

"Master Chen is known to take feng shui very seriously. A garden like this would certainly have koi. Mr. Xu had us prepare some fish food before we left."

Chao Musheng looked up. "He thought of fish food. What else did Mr. Xu have you prepare?"

"A bit of everything." The bodyguard divided out two smaller portions for Curly Hair and Tiger. "Mr. Xu said — while you're here, just enjoy yourself, don't worry about anything."

Tiger looked at the fish food in his palm and felt a genuine stab of envy. "Xiao Chao, your boss treats you so well."

The normally severe bodyguard heard this and — unexpectedly — smiled. "You're right. Mr. Xu thinks very highly of Mr. Chao."

Tiger rubbed his cheek, caught off guard. It was strangely unsettling when a stern person suddenly became warm.

Crouching nearby, Curly Hair observed Chao Musheng's expression carefully and reached her conclusion: Xiao Chao had no particular awareness in that direction. The mysterious big boss was in a one-sided situation.

She looked down at the koi circling Chao Musheng's fingertips. Even the fish are fawning over him. For someone like that, the mysterious boss falling for him would be as natural as breathing.

She tipped a handful of food into the water. The fish ate it and swam straight back to Chao Musheng's hand.

Hmm.

Absolute fawning.

She emptied the entire packet into the pond, then sat on a garden rock and played idly at the water's surface. Chao Musheng coaxed the fish back and forth. Tiger tried to lure them with food, failed, and eventually wedged himself close to Chao Musheng's side, taking the opportunity to sneakily pat the occasional fish on the back.

Sunlight fell through the leaves in scattered bright patches on the ground.

She had a brief, formless moment of wondering: if this world had no Main God, how good would that be?

"They say koi bring good luck." Chao Musheng beckoned. "Curly — want to pet one?"

"Really?" Tiger had never heard this. He stroked one of the fat fish along its side. His luck stat on the personal panel: still five. No change.

"Of course." Chao Musheng kept his expression perfectly straight. "Haven't you heard the saying? Pet a koi on the head, not a worry for a year? "

"That one." He pointed to a large, round orange-red koi. "That one's clearly blessed."

Tiger obediently reached out. The moment his fingertips touched the fat koi's head, it swept its tail and doused Tiger's face with pond water.

[Ding! Player has received a serendipitous encounter. Luck +1. Effect duration: 365 days.]

This — this —

Tiger stared at Chao Musheng with blazing eyes, wiped his face, and immediately grabbed Curly Hair's arm. "Curly! You try too, hurry — hurry!"

Something this rare — she couldn't miss it.

Curly Hair caught the significance in his expression. She walked over, reached out, and the moment her fingertips touched the koi's head, the system notification chimed.

"Ahem." Chao Musheng, who had been joking, cleared his throat. He tipped the rest of the fish food into the pond. "Let's keep moving."

Mr. Xu had been right — Chen Garden was beautiful, but it lacked a certain depth. A few hundred years of accumulated character could not be replicated.

What must Mr. Xu's own gardens look like?

Tiger stared at his luck stat and felt something threatening to overflow.

Xiao Chao. A man like a god come down to earth. The guiding light of all players.

From this day forward, he would allow no one to disrespect Xiao Chao. Not one person.

*

Around a stand of trees, Chao Musheng came upon a two-story wooden building. Its doors and windows were all shut. It stood alone behind the trees, surrounded by overgrowth, oddly desolate.

"Who are you?" A young man emerged from the trees. Traditional tang-style clothes, but several streaks of vivid red dyed through his hair — an incongruous combination. "This building is not open to outsiders."

Chao Musheng stopped. "I apologize — I didn't know."

"You're a guest — perhaps you didn't. But don't your servants know the rules?" The young man's tone carried effortless disdain. He looked at Chao Musheng briefly and then addressed Curly Hair and Tiger. "You two — get out."

"The fault is mine for not knowing the family's restricted areas. The staff accompanying me bear no responsibility for that."

The word servants had a sharp edge. Chao Musheng apologized again. "I'm very sorry. We'll leave now."

"Wait." The young man circled Chao Musheng once. "I'm Chen Fang. Second grandson of the estate's master. You're very good-looking — what circles do you move in? I've never seen your face before."

The two bodyguards' expressions closed over.

Chao Musheng smiled pleasantly. "Young Master Chen. A pleasure."

Compared to Lian Hai — also known for loose behavior — this Chen second grandson was more arrogant and considerably more crass. Though given the Chen family's position in the capital, there were few people he genuinely needed to show deference to.

Curly Hair and Tiger exchanged a glance. This Chen Fang was bold — picking on the hardest target available, being this forward with Xiao Chao.

Chen Fang reached out, attempting to touch Chao Musheng's hand. "I'm very well — and if you'd like to spend some time with me, I could be even—"

He hadn't finished the sentence. The bodyguard had his hand locked in a grip.

"My hand — my hand!" The sensation was of bones being compressed. "Lighter—"

"Laying hands on people is not a good habit, sir." The bodyguard released Chen Fang and moved him aside.

Chen Fang cradled his throbbing arm and stared at Chao Musheng with an expression of bewildered wariness. People who knew his name and still dared to act — in the entire capital, that was a very short list.

"We're guests. How could guests lay hands on the host?" Chao Musheng stepped forward with a smile and steadied Chen Fang's arm. "Are you all right, Young Master?"

Old patriarch: devoted antiquarian. Grandson: rebellious, licentious, rude. The Chen family's cast of characters certainly had variety.

"Ow!"

The moment Chao Musheng's hand made contact with his arm, Chen Fang's cry went up an octave.

Curly Hair and Tiger both flinched sympathetically, then simultaneously looked away from Chao Musheng's pleasantly curved smile, pretending they hadn't seen anything at all.

"You two — whose servants are you? Get him away from me!" Chen Fang's composure was failing him. What exactly had the steward been hiring lately?

"I'm so sorry, Young Master." Curly Hair bowed her head in a convincing show of timidity. "The head steward told me specifically to look after the honored guest at all times. I don't dare disobey."

Tiger blinked with sincere innocence. "Young Master — the steward was very clear that my only job is the flower beds. I'm not permitted to involve myself in anything else."

Chen Fang: "..."

Was the steward's word worth more in this house than the heir's?

"My apologies — I forgot you'd been hurt there." Chao Musheng released the arm. "Young Master, are you all right?"

Chen Fang, bloodless and still processing: "I'm perfectly — fine—"

He wanted to say more. But looking at those smiling eyes, something stopped the second sentence before it formed.

"You animal!" Master Chen came hurrying through the trees with the head steward and several servants, and before he had finished arriving, the book in his hand had already connected with Chen Fang's head. "This is our honored guest, Mr. Chao. How dare you conduct yourself so without courtesy — get on your knees and beg Mr. Chao's forgiveness at once."

There it was again. That half-classical mode.

Chao Musheng looked down at the book that had landed at his feet, picked it up, and turned it over. A go strategy text, bound in the traditional thread-sewn style.

Chao?

Chen Fang, having absorbed a full storm of his grandfather's displeasure around the head, was not yet in a condition to respond.

"Mr. Chao, this child has never applied himself to anything in his life." Master Chen turned to Chao Musheng after finishing with Chen Fang, and bowed in apology. "My failure in educating my grandchildren has given you cause to laugh."

He seized Chen Fang's arm. "On your knees. Beg Mr. Chao's forgiveness."

"Please — really, that's not necessary—"

Chao Musheng moved quickly, pressing the go book back into Master Chen's hands. Kneeling and begging forgiveness — what remnants of feudalism were still circulating in this household?

Chen Fang had lost all color in his face. Being dressed down by his grandfather, then commanded to kneel before a stranger — even he could read that this young man was no ordinary person.

"A clash of words between young people is perfectly normal — talk it through and it's resolved." Chao Musheng, genuinely alarmed that Master Chen might make Chen Fang kneel in front of him, spoke quickly. "And besides, I was the one who intruded on your family's restricted area."

"There's no real restriction — it's the younger generation being needlessly mysterious." Master Chen smiled and glanced back at the wooden building. "That structure is just poorly situated and poorly lit. It's stood empty since it was built."

"Mr. Chao's generosity in not demanding the boy kneel is more than he deserves. Now thank Mr. Chao properly." The warmth in Master Chen's face disappeared entirely when his gaze returned to Chen Fang. "All you know is eating, drinking, and playing. When are you going to take an example from your cousin? Carry on like this and I'll cancel your cards as well."

"I apologize, Mr. Chao." Chen Fang lowered his head, clenched his jaw, and pressed down the anger.

"It's all right." Chao Musheng gestured at the arm. "We're even."

Chen Fang bit down harder. The man hadn't taken the opportunity to humiliate him.

"Get out of my sight." Master Chen raised his hand toward Chen Fang's face.

"Master Chen." Chao Musheng intercepted the blow. His own arm shook with the impact.

The old antiquarian had a genuine amount of force behind that. This was not a gesture.

"Given Mr. Chao's tolerance, you may consider yourself spared today." Master Chen lowered his hand and turned from Chen Fang. "Mr. Chao, allow me to accompany you — to save you any further encounters with poorly-behaved young people."

Chen Fang stood to one side, red-faced, silent.

"Thank you, Master Chen — but I should go back to change for this evening." Chao Musheng smiled. "I wouldn't want to be an embarrassment at your banquet."

"Mr. Chao's own quality requires no embellishment — he is naturally distinguished." Master Chen was visibly relieved that Chao Musheng still intended to attend. "I look forward to seeing you tonight. And please pass on my regards to Mr. Xu."

He walked Chao Musheng to the edge of the tree line. Only when the figure had fully disappeared from sight did he turn to the head steward.

"The Song family could not hold on to a true dragon." His voice had dropped. "If this young man were my grandson, I wouldn't need to work half as hard."

"Master, a small family like the Songs can hardly be compared to you." The steward replied. "Though in my view, the eldest young master surpasses even Mr. Chao."

"Him?" Master Chen shook his head. "Not even close."

This Chao Musheng was not a simple figure. Young as he was, he'd established himself at Kunlun and negotiated a technology advisory agreement. 'Genius' was not sufficient to describe him.

"I've heard his mother was a provincial top-scorer who grew up in the countryside — which only shows that a man should look for intelligence in his match." Master Chen tossed the go book to the steward. "Fools only produce fools."

The steward took the book and said nothing. He glanced back through the trees toward the wooden building.

Young Master Chen Fang was probably still standing somewhere beneath it.

*

"Mr. Xu." Chao Musheng returned to the courtyard to find Xu Chenzhu's meeting finished.

"Back already?" Xu Chenzhu handed him a glass of warm water. "Your evening dress has been pressed — go and try it for fit."

"That can wait." Chao Musheng drank half the glass and lowered his voice. "Mr. Xu — I feel like something is off with Chen Garden's feng shui."

"Feng shui, Xiao Chao?" Secretary Liu grinned. "A man of many talents."

"Just the basics. My father is a philosophy professor — he likes to dabble in religious studies and the Book of Changes in his spare time. I picked up a little." Chao Musheng smiled. "A little."

"What's wrong with the garden?" Secretary Liu was immediately interested. "Has someone laid a curse? Dark magic?"

Tiger's ears went up.

Here it is. The crux of the instance.

"What curse?" Chao Musheng looked baffled. "Brother Liu — are you secretly reading occult novels?"

"There's an empty wooden building behind the stand of trees in the northern section of the estate. No flowers, no water, nothing growing — barren on all sides." A slight frown. "North is the kan position. Not suited to habitation."

"Isn't it fine for a building to stand empty?" Secretary Liu didn't follow. "Where's the problem?"

"The kan position is aligned with water — a vacant building is acceptable, but it shouldn't have sealed doors and windows. There should also be running water installed around it to redirect the flow." Chao Musheng finished the glass. "Of course, feng shui is only meaningful if you believe in it — and the Chen family has done very well for themselves these past years, so clearly they're not concerned with any of this."

"That old man Chen bows to weasels and kneels before shrine figures. He is not someone who is not concerned with these things." Secretary Liu made a dismissive sound. "At an important industry conference last year, he arrived ten minutes late. You want to guess why?"

"Why?"

Curly Hair and Tiger both leaned in.

"He encountered a hedgehog on the road and became convinced it was in the process of surviving a karmic ordeal involving vehicles. So he bought a toy car and rolled it over the hedgehog." Secretary Liu raised an eyebrow. "He then posted about it — specifically saying he had assisted a white immortal through its trial and accumulated boundless merit."

In the entirety of the business world, it would be difficult to find anyone more superstitious than old man Chen.

Chao Musheng: "..."

Would it be wrong to copy a few protective symbols off the internet and sell them to Master Chen at a markup?

"Then I was probably mistaken." He said. "I only know the surface level. Nothing professional."

"In that case — can you do fortune-telling?" Secretary Liu teased. "Could you read my romantic destiny?"

"That's in the domain of predictive studies, which I haven't studied." Chao Musheng grinned. "Give me seven or eight years of dedicated reading and I might be able to help."

"Get out of here — by then my kids could be running errands." Secretary Liu reached to push his arm, thought better of it with the boss standing nearby, and withdrew. "Go, go — try on your dress clothes."

Chao Musheng went inside to change. Curly Hair and Tigertook the cue and excused themselves with appropriate tact.

"Curly." Tiger kept his voice down. "This instance — would you say it's supernatural?"

He was unsure, and his inventory of supernatural-specific items was already thin. Of all instance types, the supernatural ones were his worst.

"That's secondary." Curly Hair looked at him. "Aren't you curious why the police remembered you from the last instance?"

"Right." Tiger hadn't worked it out either. "Why, Curly?"

"I'll tell you when this one is over." She held his gaze for a moment and pressed a ward talisman into his hand. "This blocks three malicious spirit attacks."

Though she privately suspected this world had nothing that could honestly be called a malicious spirit.

When she returned to the kitchen, it was already in full motion. No one asked why she'd been so long — in fact, the head steward came to find her himself and presented her with a finer set of serving clothes.

"There's a position needed in the main reception hall tonight. You'll take it." He handed her the uniform. "This set won't come out of your wages."

"Thank you, Steward."

"Did Mr. Chao give you any instructions?" The steward felt for information carefully. "He didn't take offense over Young Master Chen Fang's behavior?"

Curly Hair shook her head. "Mr. Chao didn't mention anything about Young Master Chen Fang when we returned. He did ask me to accompany him again tomorrow, though."

"To earn a guest's regard is good fortune." The steward's warmth increased. "Stay close to Mr. Chao these next few days. You won't need to work the kitchen."

"Steward." You Jiu appeared wearing a set of clothes as fine as the ones the steward had just given Curly Hair, and addressed him quietly. "The master is looking for you."

"You've arrived at the right moment — when she's changed, bring her with you to the reception hall." The steward was already moving at the summons, and disappeared quickly.

You Jiu and Curly Hair looked at each other. Something sharpened between them.

"It's been a while." You Jiu spoke first. "I've secured the master's trust. It seems I have a step on you."

"Ha." Curly Hair smiled without replying.

The master.

If you knew whose shoulder I was already standing on, you'd be too busy being envious to gloat.