Pristine Darkness

Chapter 111

How's everyone doing? My family has 8 people living in a flat together, and I think it's a miracle we haven't murdered each other yet! Still, being socially responsible by staying at home is the way to go. One of our neighbours baked and gifted us banana muffins today 8-) Will you consider doing something nice for your neighbours or helping those in need right now? As always, a big 'thank you' to those who are working hard to keep us safe.

In this chapter, we see how Zhu Tao is working overtime to figure out where Bo Jinyan and Jian Yao are. Can they hold out until a rescue team is sent out to them? Meanwhile, we are given a closer look at Buddha's Hand's 5 luohans, as our heroes puzzle over who the masked killer might be (pssst - pay attention!). It seems that Buddha's Hand himself also has a task for our heroes. Read on to find out more . . .

**********

Translator: shl

Editors/ Proofreaders: Anks

**********

Bo Jinyan's inference was spot on. At this very moment, Zhu Tao was straining every resource* to find them.

*T/N 焦头烂额 (jiao tou lan e) - lit. badly burned around the head (from trying to put out a fire)

They were not on the sunken boat, and neither was the information. Their bodies had not been dredged up. Zhu Tao firmly believed that they were still alive, but he had no idea where they had drifted to. Thus, he intensified the search effort along the waterways.

The gangsters on the boat were not dead, but even after severe interrogation, they had no clear idea where the stronghold and hiding place of Buddha's Hand was. Zhu Tao was not sure how Buddha's Hand operated internally, and how it maintained secrecy, but, from this, he could see that the organisation was under very tight control. Zhu Tao had also heard that Bo Jinyan had gone so far as to pretend to be 'Smiling Snake' while on the boat, enabling him to escape calamity. This made Zhu Tao laugh as well as moved him. He never imagined that this master of criminal psychology would be able to fool a gang of criminals. That this had occurred strengthened his conviction that Jian Yao and Bo Jinyan would not be easily killed.

Today, he received news that someone was secretly looking for information about Smiling Snake. This little clue made Zhu Tao wary. It should be noted that the small gang run by Smiling Snake had been utterly wiped out after the second attack by the police, such that it seemed as if they had vanished from the jianghu overnight. Zhu Tao had also ensured that the news of Smiling Snake's death was kept secret for the time being. He had always liked to be cautious and maintain a low profile, in order to leave room for manoeuvring in future.

Thus, Zhu Tao had been considering this little clue for quite a while, inferring various possibilities.

First, who were they dealing with?

Before this incident occurred, Smiling Snake had been attacked and almost completely extinguished by Zhu Tao, and had counter-attacked in desperation. Recently, only Buddha's Hand had significant interest in Smiling Snake.

The news of the destruction of Smiling Snake's gang should have spread by now. If Buddha's Hand had received the news, then it should hold back and bide its time, rather than make discreet enquiries at this time. Moreover, the enquiries are not about the whereabouts of the information, but about Smiling Snake's name, surname, history . . .

Zhu Tao's heart lurched violently, and an inconceivable notion surfaced in his mind. This thought made his blood boil.

Buddha's Hand had the information!

If they had the information, this meant that Bo Jinyan and Jian Yao had also fallen into their hands -- the night the boat sank had been full of darkness and confusion. It was not impossible that someone would take advantage of the situation to take them away.