Chapter 661 — Lan Ling Arrives (Part 1)

"Then why not bring the photographs here and let me see them?" The Right Elder frowned and said to Chief Ku.

"Yes! I'll have them brought at once!" With that, Chief Ku signaled to Wan Ge. "The photographs—bring them here, quickly."

"I'll go fetch them right away. Please wait a moment, Right Elder, Chief," Wan Ge said with a nod, then turned and went to get the photographs.

Chief Ku, meanwhile, was all smiles. "Right Elder, shall we have a bit of dinner first?"

"Very well, let's go." Seeing that Wan Ge had gone to retrieve the photographs, the Right Elder took it that Chief Ku could not be lying. As for whether the man in the photographs was Yang Ce, he would know at a glance—there was no need to hurry.

Chief Ku promptly and respectfully ushered the Right Elder into the Strange Miao Stockade's dining hall, a structure like an open-air pavilion, save that its footprint was immense—several hundred square meters at least. At this moment, within the pavilion-turned-dining-hall, a long buffet line of delicacies had been laid out—dishes Chief Ku had specially ordered the cooks to prepare upon learning of the Right Elder's visit.

"Right Elder, please dine!" Chief Ku bowed respectfully, inviting the Right Elder to take his seat first.

"No hurry. We'll wait until your man brings the photographs." With Yang Juehuan's identity unconfirmed, the Right Elder had no appetite for food. Only once he was certain that Yang Ce had become a prisoner—his prize—could he eat in peace.

"Very well, then we shall wait a while." Seeing the Right Elder insist, Chief Ku had no choice but to say so.

After a time, Wan Ge came running back at a brisk pace, a digital camera in his hand. The Strange Miao Stockade had no instant camera, so the photographs taken had not yet been printed; fearing the Right Elder would grow impatient, he had simply brought the camera itself.

"Right Elder, please have a look!" Wan Ge handed the digital camera to the Right Elder for his inspection.

The Right Elder took the camera and flipped through the images, and at once delight spread across his face! Of the people in them, he recognized two—one was Yang Ce, the other Xia Xue!

Back in Songjiang City, the Right Elder had dealt with these two often enough; he would know Yang Ce even if the man were reduced to ashes! And Xia Xue, that criminal investigation captain, was precisely the one who had spoiled his plans!

"It really is them! I never expected it, Chief Ku—you actually caught them! Good, good, good!" Seeing the photographs of Yang Ce captured, the Right Elder's mood soared. "Now let us go enjoy a victory feast!"

"The Right Elder flatters me. After you!" Hearing the Right Elder's praise, Chief Ku felt thoroughly pleased and said with a smile.

The Right Elder, his worries laid to rest, naturally had no more misgivings. He took his seat with Chief Ku, and they began to eat...

On Yang Ce's side, seeing the Right Elder arrive, they had all bitten their fingers again, ready to give each member of their squad a mouthful of blood, standing in strict readiness—only to find that the fellow had gone off to eat. They were somewhat disgruntled.

"Let's wait. The Right Elder has gone to dine with Chief Ku; he likely won't come for us for a while yet," Yang Juehuan said with a chuckle.

"You're kidding? He comes all this way and, instead of dealing with us first, goes off to eat?" Liu Yu was rather disappointed too—all that biting and blood for nothing.

"Waiting a while is fine. Hasn't Lan Ling still not replied? With Lan Ling's help, things will be easier for us," Xia Xue said. She was a woman who knew right from wrong, and Lan Ling could be counted as the first woman Yang Ce had acknowledged as his own; naturally she could not hold any aversion toward her.

Besides, she, Xia Xue, could not yet be counted as Yang Juehuan's woman, and she had been hesitating all along, never having decided whether she wanted to be with him.

Yang Juehuan already had quite enough women. If she threw herself into the mix, to put it bluntly and realistically, how many days a month could she even sleep beside him? Two at most, surely? If the two of them stayed in Yunnan forever, that would be one thing, but Yang Ce would have to go back eventually, and whether by Yang Juehuan's nature or by the heart gu afflicting Yang Ce, he could not abandon those women. So Xia Xue's heart was deeply conflicted.

Fortunately, her whole attention was now fixed on the mission, and she had come to view other matters with a somewhat lighter heart.

"True enough. Lan Ling still hasn't called me—I wonder how the discussions on her end are going... Probably it's a lost cause," Yang Ce said with a sigh.

"Oh? Why would that be? Won't the Blue Miao Stockade support us? This is a prime opportunity to wipe out the Right Elder in one stroke!" Xia Xue asked, puzzled.

"An opportunity, yes, but the Blue Miao Stockade's strength is insufficient at present. They are in a period of recovery and are no match for the Right Elder," Yang Yan said. "If they could stand against the Right Elder, would they have waited until now?"

"Wasn't it said that the Right Elder's whereabouts are hard to trace?" Xia Xue asked in surprise.

"Hard to trace, true, but however hard, in the Miao territory, after all this time, there would surely be some word? We had only just arrived on our first day and were fortunate enough to run into the Right Elder—they of the Blue Miao Stockade are here all the time, so how could they never have had the chance to meet him?" Yang Ce shook his head. "The only explanation is that they never made a real effort to look. Such things don't come to those who don't deliberately seek them. Before their strength was sufficient, of course they would not search with any earnestness—finding him would be useless, since they are no match for him!"

"So that's how it is. Then this time, we can only rely on ourselves?" Xia Xue's spirits sank a little. Without Lan Ling's help, with only the few of them, they were rather too few and too weak to contend with the Right Elder.

"Yes, we can only rely on ourselves. We'll act as circumstances allow," Yang Yu said with a nod.

"And her your first girlfriend, too. If I were Lan Ling, I would move heaven and earth to persuade the Blue Miao Stockade to help—how could I stand by and watch you walk to your death at such a perilous moment?" Xia Xue was somewhat disgruntled.

"Heh... The Blue Miao Stockade is not Lan Ling's alone; it is run by many people together, and Lan Ling cannot sway the whole stockade. I believe she will do her utmost, but we must not put her in a difficult position!" Yang Ce understood Lan Ling well. If it were possible, she would certainly help, but if it could not be done, there was nothing she could do. "As it stands, the Right Elder's Vajra Gu has not yet been successfully refined, but he has altered it—turned it into a kind of evil gu, and the evil gu has now met with some success. Meanwhile, the Blue Miao Stockade's Guardian Deity Gu, which could counter it, has not yet been perfected. That they are being cautious is only natural, and entirely understandable."

"That's true enough!" Xia Xue nodded and sighed as well. "Some things are simply beyond our power to control..."

Just as they were speaking, Yang Juehuan's phone rang.