Chapter Eighteen: Silencing the Witness

“Sorry, I can’t tell you right now.”

Shen Liangxin spoke with a hint of apology. “Reincarnation might not be so simple. It seems as though everything in the world is caught in endless cycles—leaving home only to return, the motion of planets, the flow of water, even the rising and setting of the sun repeating endlessly.”

Su Mingyu nodded slightly, as if he had come close to an answer.

Pang Wei scratched the back of his head in confusion, while Su Yuxian fell into a brief contemplation. Only Li Ziye remained impassive.

“It’s too early to say. What’s in front of us is more important.”

Zheng Chao flipped the silver pistol in his hand, as if pondering something. “Li Fengyin, can you kill this guy beside you?”

“Why?” Li Fengyin asked knowingly.

“I’m afraid he can’t keep a secret,” Zheng Chao aimed the pistol named White Shadow at Pang Wei. “Killing to silence seems more effective.”

“!” Pang Wei was struck as if by lightning. He never expected that merely hearing two sentences would put his life in jeopardy.

“He doesn’t understand anyway,” Li Fengyin said. “And in fact, even if he did, what difference would it make? If reincarnation exists, it would be endless.”

A smile curled on Zheng Chao’s lips as he lowered his gun. “Endless reincarnation, huh? Interesting.”

Su Yuxian exhaled in relief. Though the person beside her was ordinary, he truly held her Fool’s card and was thus rightfully under her protection.

Su Mingyu glanced at Pang Wei, then at Su Yuxian holding Pang Wei’s hand, and spoke calmly, “Yuxian, is he the one you chose?”

“Yes!”

The usually gentle girl summoned the courage to face her brother directly, which moved Su Mingyu slightly.

Pang Wei ground his teeth, resentful. “If you have a problem with me, just say it. I don’t understand why you’re against me—one pointing a gun, the other questioning my importance. Am I an ant to you? You casually want my life?!”

“Pang Wei, don’t be impulsive.”

Li Fengyin placed his palm on Pang Wei’s shoulder, while Su Yuxian nervously tugged at his hand.

“You really are an ant,” Zheng Chao said expressionlessly. “You might want to ask Li Fengyin. He understands better than you.”

...

Su Yuxian became silent for a moment. Li Fengyin turned and said, “Pang Wei, let’s go!”

The two left, and for Pang Wei, dignity was everything.

Shen Liangxin apologized softly and followed Li Fengyin, while Su Yuxian was left feeling helpless facing Su Mingyu.

The scene shifted to Shangbei City Airport, where an international professor named Zhang Feng was brought to an interrogation room.

Originally planning to remain silent and wait for bail, the Chinese-American professor was now shaken—because the witness he faced was the middle-aged man who had lost his right ear.

This terrified Zhang Feng, making him realize that perhaps the girl wasn’t someone he could afford to provoke.

Jail or death seemed like a mere choice question with no other answers.

Anxiously waiting for the tea on the interrogation table to cool, Zhang Feng finally got a chance to speak privately with the middle-aged man. He was near desperation. “Do people in the Emperor Tower betray their clients?!”

“I’m a world-class professor!” the man said, touching the side of his face where his ear was missing. “I told you, I lost my right ear in my youth due to recklessness. Sometimes, certain things really require paying a price.”

Zhang Feng fell silent after hearing this, then finally asked, “So what price must I pay? Prison?”

After all, he had not committed any crime punishable by death under Chinese law. At worst, he had forced relations with a few women. As an American citizen, he believed turning himself in to the police wouldn’t threaten his life—though this was just his imagination.

But the middle-aged man’s answer was simple, a single word: “Death.”

He then stood and left, leaving Zhang Feng pale as death.

...

As international tensions escalated in 2021, some American tycoons and wealthy figures arrived in China—perhaps simply to avoid being physically eliminated by their creditors. It was undoubtedly a wise choice.

However, assassination attempts against them persisted, which was why Su Mingyu came to Shangbei City.

Among the nine survivors of the Fallen Feather Pavilion, seven had received assassination orders—but the timings were staggered. Even a killer organization couldn’t be so reckless. Su Mingyu ranked fourth among the Fallen Feather’s White Blades.

Of course, the main reason he came to Shangbei City was to see his sister.

Elsewhere, the delicate, wealthy, and melancholic Su Yuxian finally took Pang Wei’s hand. “Pang Wei, please don’t take it personally. You are the one destined, so you must become strong.”

“All right.”

Pang Wei was somewhat resigned. At this moment, he even disregarded the fact that the girl beside him was the daughter of Asia’s richest man. To him, money and power meant nothing. What truly mattered were their identities and personal worth.

“Su Yuxian,” Pang Wei said, “it’s the first time I’ve called you by your name. Though it feels strange, we really just met. As Li Fengyin said, everything needs to be cultivated. There are no baseless affections or attention. I hope we can get to know each other slowly.”

Walking along the gravel path, Li Fengyin heard Pang Wei’s words and felt slightly reassured.

The scene shifted again. Su Mingyu’s voice was gentle. “There are three targets in Shangbei City for firearms: the head of the American Third Bank, an American casino king, and an economist holding a Chinese green card. Choose one.”

“Economist?”

Zheng Chao showed interest in the title. “Shouldn’t the assassination targets be the ‘creditors’? Why target an economist?”

Su Mingyu’s voice remained calm. “This economist has explained that the dollar tidal phenomenon is America’s biggest problem right now. Because making money passively is too easy, America has stagnated. Many people support his views, so he must be silenced.”

“Quite interesting.”

Zheng Chao pondered. “I choose the economist. You take the other two.”

“Understood.”

Su Mingyu nodded, already aware of Zheng Chao’s plan.

“Complete within three days.”

This was their final exchange.

“Clear waters of Danjiang flow past the northern pavilion of Cangjie Garden, elegant writing falls before Mount Lao Jun.”

Su Yuxian silently recited these lines, drawing the attention of the three nearby. The Yunyan Tower by the river was peaceful at this moment.

“Whose handwriting is so beautiful?”

Shen Liangxin was surprised. She had been here before but never noticed this couplet.

“Ahem,” Pang Wei tried to hide it but ended up telling the truth, “Actually, it was Li Fengyin who wrote it.”

At that moment, Meng Po—half-human, half-snake, dressed in an old yellow military uniform—leaned close to Li Fengyin’s ear and whispered:

“Something’s wrong~”