Chapter 60: A False Alarm

When Chu Tianfeng returned to the small courtyard, it was already past six in the evening.

Naturally, Old Xu and his wife, along with the others, greeted him warmly, bombarding him with questions—how did he do on the exam yesterday, where did he sleep last night, what had he eaten these past two days, and so on.

Chu Tianfeng, of course, did not give them the whole truth. He simply replied that he did quite well, celebrated with classmates after the exam, and then followed a friend home, spending the night at their place.

That night, Old Xu and his wife prepared several small dishes and brought out a bottle of red wine to celebrate Chu Tianfeng’s successful exam.

Tong Yu and Chen Zhili were both in high spirits, and Chu Tianfeng seemed to have forgotten the unpleasantness of the day. Everyone toasted and drank, only stopping when their spirits were thoroughly satisfied.

For the next few days, Chu Tianfeng almost never left the small courtyard, settling into the role of a recluse—no, more aptly, a homebody.

Fortunately, Old Xu and his wife were understanding, fully supportive of Chu Tianfeng’s self-imposed retreat, and even took the initiative to help him with his laundry.

On one particularly bright and clear day, Du Jingjing arrived in a business van to pick up Chu Tianfeng from the courtyard. She then raced to the entrance of Tianhai Film Academy to meet up with Tang Yi and the others.

Tang Yi was dressed in a flowing white chiffon gown, her long hair tied at the back with a white ribbon, imparting an ethereal grace. Chu Tianfeng even thought she resembled a female cultivator from Blue Moon Star, radiating a hint of celestial charm.

Accompanying Tang Yi were three others—two women and one man.

To Chu Tianfeng’s astonishment, the two women were none other than Xu Yan and Jiang Ziyue.

Even without much thought, Chu Tianfeng could guess Du Jingjing was behind this.

Xu Yan wore a purple gown, exuding elegance, her radiant face adorned with a gentle smile.

Jiang Ziyue, as always, wore her hair in a bun, dressed much like Chu Tianfeng in a T-shirt and long pants, looking every bit the backpacker.

The young man was Chu Tianfeng’s classmate, named Li Shijun.

True to his name, Li Shijun was strikingly handsome, especially his deep and captivating gaze.

“These two girls are Xu Yan and Jiang Ziyue, third-year students in the Acting Department. This young man is Li Shijun, a fourth-year student in the Acting Department, and also your classmate. The other two are transfer students in the fourth year of the Acting Department, Qian Ling and Du Jingjing,” Tang Yi calmly introduced the group, then beckoned to Li Shijun, “Li Shijun, come help me with my luggage.”

“Yes, Teacher Tang,” Li Shijun promptly answered, running to the back of the van.

“Hello!” Du Jingjing greeted Xu Yan and the others warmly, “Please look after us.”

Chu Tianfeng kept his lips tightly shut, standing behind Du Jingjing.

“Hello!” Jiang Ziyue, always the liveliest, skipped over to Chu Tianfeng and Du Jingjing. “Newcomers, have you paid your respects to the local powers yet?”

Chu Tianfeng, feeling out of sorts, pretended not to see or hear her.

Du Jingjing chuckled, “Your territory seems a bit small. If I pay my respects a few more times, it might just topple over.”

“Who says so?” Jiang Ziyue tossed her bun, “My fan club has over ten thousand members—they worship me every day, and I remain steady as a mountain.”

Du Jingjing chose to ignore Jiang Ziyue, just as Chu Tianfeng did, and turned to Xu Yan, “Hello!”

Xu Yan smiled gently, “Hello.”

Du Jingjing was about to greet Li Shijun when Tang Yi impatiently urged, “Alright, everyone get in the car. Save your words for when we reach Huangshan Chong.”

Jiang Ziyue made a mischievous face behind Tang Yi’s back.

Chu Tianfeng picked up his bag and headed for the rear door.

“You really want to squeeze into the back row?” Du Jingjing whispered, “Be sensible, go drive.”

Chu Tianfeng shot her a look, but obediently walked to the driver’s seat.

“Should I drive instead?” Li Shijun came over.

Chu Tianfeng immediately agreed, eager to have someone take over.

“Wait,” Du Jingjing interjected, “How long have you been driving?”

“Sorry, I just got my license,” Li Shijun said, a bit embarrassed.

“Then sit in the passenger seat,” Du Jingjing rolled her eyes.

Chu Tianfeng couldn’t help but smile wryly.

Soon, the van started off slowly.

“Senior Qian Ling, what grudge do you have against us that you must torment us like this?” Jiang Ziyue shouted from the last row as the van had barely traveled ten meters.

“What’s wrong?” Chu Tianfeng turned down the CD volume a notch.

“How are you? Fine, thank you, and you?” Jiang Ziyue mimicked the CD’s English lesson in a mocking tone, “You tell me, what’s wrong?”

“I am fine, too,” Chu Tianfeng felt a strange sense of satisfaction.

As the driver, he certainly enjoyed some privileges—choosing the music was one of them.

“I’ll ‘too’ you right in the face!” Jiang Ziyue snapped.

“Oh, sorry. Qian Ling needs to take the English proficiency exam, and his foundation is a bit weak, so he’s making the most of every moment to study. Please forgive us,” Du Jingjing quickly explained.

“But the ride will take six hours, does that mean we have to listen to this for six hours?” Jiang Ziyue looked at Du Jingjing incredulously, “Can you stand it?”

“No problem,” thought Du Jingjing. She had once spent a day and night in blood-soaked mud—a little noise was nothing.

“Ah—” Jiang Ziyue cried out.

“Enough, go to sleep,” Tang Yi scolded quietly, “Just treat it as a lullaby.”

She too had her complaints, but kept them to herself.

“Well, shall we go to see the film together? Wonderful, let’s go!” Chu Tianfeng caught sight of Tang Yi’s expression through the rearview mirror, and his mood soared, as clear as the weather outside.

But as soon as the van hit the main road, his mood clouded over.

Following closely behind them was a white compact car, its license plate eerily familiar—the same one that had tailed him before.

Chu Tianfeng considered speeding up to shake it off, but with everyone in the van, he hesitated.

With no choice, he gloomily drove the van onto the highway, the white car tagging along.

Inside the white car, the two occupants were equally frustrated. They had been ordered to follow Chu Tianfeng, expecting him to stay local, but he had wound his way onto the highway.

The fat driver was clearly unprepared and quickly had the thin man call Zhu Shangwu for instructions.

Yet, instead of comfort, the thin man was met with a torrent of abuse.

A few minutes later, after hanging up, the thin man looked helplessly at the fat driver, “Let’s go.”

“Go?” the fat man asked, confused. “What did Master Wu say?”

The thin man pulled out a pack of cigarettes, tossing one to the fat man.

“Master Wu heard there’s a bunch of beauties in the van and nearly lost his mind. He told us to keep following and see what happens,” the thin man shook his head, resigned.

The fat man lit his cigarette, hesitating, “What if they’re headed to Hang City? That place isn’t safe.”

Heading to Hang City meant trouble—they knew that all too well.

And the van was indeed on the highway to Hang City, so their worries were justified.

“If Master Wu gave the order, what can we do? If we don’t go, we’re doomed,” the thin man said, his brows nearly knitted together.

The fat man sighed, lighting his cigarette, “This is damned frustrating!”

“Let’s go, just stay sharp and play it by ear,” the thin man said, taking a drag, “I hear the trouble in Hang City was caused by Chu Tianfeng’s associates. Now that he’s in Tianhai, Hang City might be safe.”

“Let’s hope so,” the fat man exhaled a cloud of smoke.

However, when Chu Tianfeng and his group reached the Hang City exit, they didn’t leave the highway. Instead, they stopped at a nearby service area for lunch and to refuel, then continued on.

The fat and thin duo were dumbfounded, feeling both relieved and uneasy.

Relieved because Chu Tianfeng and the others weren’t staying in Hang City, so they didn’t have to worry about spending the night there. Uneasy because after Hang City, the main exits ahead were Lin City and Huangshan Chong.

Lin City was manageable, but Huangshan Chong was another matter.

Especially for the Salt Society nowadays, Huangshan Chong was as forbidden as Thunder Pool—no one dared trespass.

Yet the van seemed determined to test their nerves, blazing past the Lin City exit without stopping.

Disaster! The two were frantic, silently cursing Chu Tianfeng’s entire female lineage.

Sure enough, after another two hours, the van arrived at the Huangshan Chong exit, slowed down, and signaled a right turn.

Their hearts wailed in despair, the shadow cast nearly covering the whole map of China.

The thin man had no choice but to call Zhu Shangwu again.

Upon hearing that both vehicles had entered the Huangshan Chong scenic area, Zhu Shangwu was initially unsettled.

He hadn’t anticipated this turn of events, but his fear of the Huangshan Sect was outweighed by his desire for the beauties. In the end, he urged the thin man to keep following.

To reassure them, he even told the thin man that he’d arranged for several experts to assist, promising a reward of one hundred thousand each if they successfully brought back the women.

After the call, the thin man sighed once more.

By then, they had already entered the toll station, where the fat man paid the fee.

Fuming, the fat man cursed Zhu Shangwu under his breath as he handed over the money, grumbling about risking their lives for a few women.

The van seemed to understand their feelings, pushing their courage further by continuing up the mountain without stopping after the toll station.

About half an hour later, the van finally halted at the entrance of a hotel halfway up the mountain.

The fat and thin duo didn’t dare to linger and followed them into the hotel.

“Oriental Hotel?!” The thin man spotted the name and breathed a long sigh of relief.

“What’s wrong?” the fat man asked, puzzled.

“Ha! False alarm!” The thin man clapped the fat man’s shoulder, visibly pleased. “They’re definitely not with the Huangshan Sect—otherwise, they’d stay at the Huangshan Pavilion, not the Oriental Hotel. Ha!”

“But…” The fat man wanted to say that the Oriental Hotel was still within the Huangshan Chong scenic area and might have Huangshan Sect informants.

“Relax, we’re just keeping watch. When Uncle Xing arrives, everything will be handed over to him.” With that, the thin man pulled out another cigarette.