Chapter 102: Who Is the Mastermind Behind the Darkness?

“Let’s check at the ticket office to see which train the young lady took. If she’s already left by train, blindly searching like this will only waste time.” Meng Hu, still rational, hesitated briefly before voicing his opinion.

The reports from the younger brothers were uniformly negative—no trace of her was found. If Lin Yang hadn’t sent Meng Hu and Su Xiaodong her photo in advance, they might have found it even more difficult to locate her.

“Hmm, that’s the only option. That girl really doesn’t make things easy!” Lin Yang shook his head helplessly. It would be a lie to say he wasn’t worried about her. Ever since learning about the Leng family’s cold attitude toward her, he had secretly resolved not to let her return to that ruthless clan. Yet, she had left without a word, leaving a sting of pain in his heart—after all, he had always regarded her as a sister.

He had long seen the affection she held deep inside, but after Tang Yixue appeared, he deliberately kept his distance, feeling he didn’t have enough heart to care for another woman. What he didn’t realize was that it was precisely this intentional avoidance that drove Leng Nini to leave without notice.

Besides Lin Yang, the person Leng Nini cared most about was her younger brother, Leng Tianyu, who was still in school. As for their unprincipled, frivolous father, she had long given up hope.

She had promised their late mother that she would never let her brother suffer any hardship. Yet now, because of her own personal troubles, her brother was being implicated. She felt she had failed both her mother and brother. So she resolutely chose to return to the Leng family—a place that brought her nothing but bitterness, pain, and despair—a family that valued only profit.

“We found it! The young lady took the 4:30 train to Jiangning. It left nearly two hours ago. By now, the train must be more than halfway there.” Su Xiaodong returned hurriedly from the ticket window, his voice tinged with worry.

Lin Yang’s heart clenched painfully. Yes! If the train left at 4:30, it was almost 7:00 now. Even if the train was delayed, it should have covered more than half the journey.

Jiangning wasn’t far from Jinhai. She had bought a ticket on an ordinary train, not the high-speed rail. Otherwise, the high-speed train would have arrived within two hours—or almost so. Even the ordinary train would take no more than four hours at most.

“The problem is, we don’t even know if she’s already boarded,” Lin Yang admitted his concern. His greatest fear was that she was deliberately avoiding them or unwilling to delay her departure.

“But we can’t just wait around! If Leng Nini really left, then in about an hour she’ll reach Jiangning. Once there, it’s territory controlled by both the Jiang and Leng families. No matter how much power we wield in Jinhai, it will be useless. And once she arrives in Jiangning, the Leng family’s informants will surely know,” Su Xiaodong urged anxiously. Since he regarded Lin Yang as his leader, he naturally considered Lin’s sister as his own.

After a moment’s hesitation, Lin Yang said firmly, “Xiaodong, buy a ticket to Jiangning on the high-speed train. I’ll go to the Jiangning station myself to see if I can intercept her. If I can’t, I’ll find a way to bring her back. You and the others stay at the station here to keep searching. Notify me immediately if you get any news.”

“Brother Yang, I’ll go with you! If something happens on the way, at least there’ll be someone to look out for you. What do you say?” Su Xiaodong stepped forward with a sly grin, volunteering. This guy had finally found a chance to help Lin Yang and wasn’t about to back down, especially since his own father had urged him to get close to Lin Yang. Rarely did the old man acknowledge him, so Su Xiaodong spared no effort.

Lin Yang didn’t agree right away. He sensed something strange about Leng Nini’s departure, and hearing that the family was threatening her brother made him think of many possibilities. Afraid of dragging Su Xiaodong into trouble, he declined politely.

With Lin Yang’s determination and Meng Hu’s insistence, Lin Yang gathered five capable brothers and set off for Jiangning.

Meanwhile, Ren Linyang in his guarded quarters was still unaware that his departure had already fallen under the watchful eyes of those with ill intent.

“Young master, that guy boarded the high-speed train to Jiangning, number D4166. Five brothers went with him,” whispered a young man dressed in a plaid tracksuit near the Jinhai station restroom, speaking quietly into his phone. Watching Lin Yang’s party board, his face darkened, especially as he spoke, revealing two newly implanted front teeth that looked glaringly artificial amid his yellowed ones.

“Good. Leopard, keep monitoring. Don’t worry—this time, young master will help you settle the score for the beating you took,” came a wild, unrestrained laugh from the other end.

“Thank you, young master,” the man in the plaid suit said gratefully. After hanging up, his expression turned grim again as he muttered under his breath while watching Lin Yang and his men board, “Hmph, kid, these two teeth of mine aren’t so easily messed with.” Then he slipped into the crowd and disappeared.

***

On the fast ordinary train K4123 bound for Jiangning, Leng Nini sat alone in seat 112 by the window of carriage three. Her legs were drawn close, heels resting on the seat cushion. Her arms hugged her calves, and her head turned to gaze out at the receding rows of towering buildings. A profound loneliness filled her heart.

Nearby, a pockmarked man without a shred of courtesy quietly puffed on a dry cigarette while the train attendant was absent. Apart from that, everything around her seemed utterly irrelevant.

The noisy announcements went unheard by her. The young man opposite stole furtive glances at certain parts of her body, but she ignored him completely. Only her fairly bright, beautiful eyes betrayed that she was not asleep, though her gaze was vacant and sorrowful.

She was leaving the person she cherished, plunging into that treacherous, bitter family. But she was powerless—some things must be paid for.

The brightly lit cityscape faded behind as the train sped into empty fields shrouded by darkness. In the deep autumn night, a few stars flickered faintly. The closer it got to the end of the month, the dimmer the moonlight became.

“Beautiful sister, what are you thinking about?” A little girl sitting beside the man smoking the dry cigarette blinked up at Leng Nini, who was lost in thought, tears silently trailing down her cheeks.

Though plainly dressed, the girl’s pretty face couldn’t be hidden. One could easily tell she would grow into a beauty. Compared to the disheveled, slovenly man smoking beside her, she was a breath of fresh air.

Since boarding, Leng Nini had wanted the girl to sit next to her. But the train was crowded, and the smoking man refused to speak, insisting his daughter occupy the window seat. This vexed Leng Nini, but the girl was someone else’s daughter, and the seat was theirs—she had no say.

Amid the chatter around, the girl’s innocence went unnoticed by all except the absent-minded Leng Nini, the slovenly man smoking nearby, and the timid young man opposite them, who also glanced toward the girl. The rest remained engrossed in their conversations.

Hearing the little girl’s question, Leng Nini turned her gaze toward her, eyes hollow. She stared for a moment before turning back to the window, lost in the darkness outside.

What was she thinking about? Even she did not know.

Before the girl could ask more, the slovenly man shot her a sharp look and motioned to stop. The girl, feeling aggrieved, turned away sulking.

***

“Which carriage is that girl in? And is she really traveling alone?” whispered a man cloaked in blue standing by the restroom door of carriage five, speaking to a younger man in black beside him. He lowered his voice to avoid drawing attention.

“She’s definitely there. The information came from Leopard, who has been monitoring her nonstop since Jinhai Station. There’s no mistake,” the man in black said resolutely. His sharp features and cold expression gave him the look of a seasoned killer, his predatory gaze unmistakable.

“Hahaha, Leopard? That bastard got beaten up recently and lost two front teeth. What a tragedy,” the man in the blue cloak sneered, taking a hard drag on the cigarette dangling from his lips. His sunken eyes deepened as he stubbed out the cigarette, a cruel smile playing on his face.

Smoking is forbidden on trains, but the man in blue was skilled. His left hand held the restroom door ajar while his right hand pinched the cigarette. After each deep puff, he quickly tucked his hand inside the restroom to prevent smoke from alerting the conductor.

Exhaling the final smoke ring with satisfaction, he flicked the burning butt with his middle and thumb fingers, sending it arcing beautifully into the urinal, where it extinguished in the pungent water.

“Let’s move quickly to resolve this. Leopard says that kid is already on his way. The young master has gone to great lengths this time—finally, the bait is set. Hahaha, this will be fun,” he ordered, pushing the restroom door closed with his left hand and striding toward carriage three as if issuing a command.

The young man in black merely sneered, his right hand digging into his pocket. A ten-centimeter black dagger suddenly appeared in his palm, concealed expertly so no one noticed.

The hunt was about to begin.