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A man can see without his eyes, but he cannot see without his heart.
Hua Manlou learned this truth after his sense of sight was taken away from him at a young age. But he's for...
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Rays of the sun's light sauntered into the room, bright and strong through the thin paper lining of the windows. Hot puffs of steam from a small teapot and accompanying teacup enveloped the rays of the sun, swirling against it. And yet, Hua Manlou could not see any of it, could only feel their synchronizing energies as he patiently awaited Lu Xiaofeng and Jiang Qing's arrivals.
Although his cup of tea was rapidly cooling by the moment, Hua Manlou had not thirsted for it, nor did he have any hunger for the food placed on the table. Instead, he paced amongst the small room, tapping the edge of his folded fan against his palm.
He had been awake for what seemed like countless hours, and yet Lu Xiaofeng and Jiang Qing had yet to return. But without the map to Pingnan Palace that Lu Xiaofeng had taken with him, he would only be putting himself in danger, without being able to save his two dearest friends.
Perhaps the Snake King would be of some help, he thought to himself.
However, before he could leave the room, the doors in front of him creaked open. "Qing'er, Lu Xiaofeng," he said, his voice filled with more exasperation than he had truly intended. "You should have really brought me along as well."
"Ah, the Pingnan Palace is much more confusing than you could ever imagine," Lu Xiaofeng waved him off, taking the untouched teacup from the table and downing its contents quickly. "It's safer to have you here. And Constable Jin was —"
"Constable Jin was able to give us an important clue," Jiang Qing quickly cut him off, unsure of what exactly about Jin Jiuling he had been planning to disclose to Hua Manlou. "It seemed that the embroidery bandit is hiding in the chests, and somehow has the time beforehand to alter the chests themselves."
Lu Xiaofeng narrowed his eyes at Jiang Qing; if there was one thing that he hated most in the world, it was being rudely interrupted as she had done so.
More importantly, he felt as if it was important to tell Hua Manlou about her history with Jin Jiuling, but he supposed he could tell him of their past at a later point in time.
Hua Manlou nodded at her words. "That is very interesting, indeed," he said. "Perhaps this is an inside job, after all. Every person previously tasked with any protection of the valuables is now suspected to be the mastermind, it seems."
"I wouldn't necessarily say that," Lu Xiaofeng asserted. "Jiang Qing and I stopped by Snake King's residence before coming back, and I highly suspect that the Red Shoes group has something to do with it."
"Why is that?" Hua Manlou asked.
Lu Xiaofeng then relayed to Hua Manlou what they had learned from speaking to the Snake King. According to the all-knowing man, the Red Shoes had taken over half of the casinos in the capital's Black Street for the past three years. They clearly had a big appetite for influence and domination, and they weren't afraid to make enemies in the underworld, even with the Snake King himself. Much less those living in the Pingnan residence.
