BOOK 9. Zhao Yunlan is a private investigator who will accept almost any case as long as it pays, and when he finds a client's lost cat, they ask him to look into their friend's memory loss but he refuses. Shen Wei is an architect and after he mee...
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Yunlan was up sharp at the crack of dawn. He wanted everything to be perfect. He made his bed without a wrinkle in the sheet, the kitchen gleamed without a dish out of place, the car sparkled bright red, and he looked amazing in his newer clothes that he had bought recently. Was he going overboard a bit? Yes, but it's just how he was feeling today, on top of the world. He wasn't going to allow anything to spoil his outlook before he met Shen Wei for coffee, and he filled his kettle in the office and checked his mail, filling in time until he left to go to the cake shop.
He flew downstairs and out of the building just in time to see Wei enter the shop two doors down and ran to catch up. When he entered the bakers he stood two places behind him in the queue, same as yesterday he thought, but he couldn't get past the customers until he saw Wei wobble a little before he fell, and fainted again. Yunlan dashed forward confused and worried, while he checked that he was breathing, before he turned him on his side into the recovery position, and waited. Wei took the same amount of time to wake up as he had the previous morning and he looked at the people around him, as he tried to get up but couldn't.
"Are you alright, why don't you sit down here and I'll get you a cup of tea and some chocolate cake." Yunlan said as he helped Wei to a seat and called a waitress over to order.
"Let me take your pulse Shen Wei."
Wei stared at this stranger in front of him, how did he know his name and he acted like a doctor, he wasn't fond of doctors.
"You sound like a doctor. Have we met, how do you know me?" Wei asked as he fiercely looked at this stranger who was holding his wrist.
"No I'm not a doctor but I am ..." Yunlan never had the time to finish before Wei jerked his wrist away and broke his contact in anger.
"Leave me alone, I can manage on my own, I always have, let me pass."
Yunlan was smart enough to see the similarities of both visits and knew that Wei would faint if he tried to leave, but he couldn't stop him without making a scene. So he allowed him to stand and walk past but turned just in time to see Chu and Daqing catch him, before he had the chance to hit the floor and they supported him as they took him quietly out of the shop. Yunlan followed them out, he felt lost for a reason why Wei would faint again, in the same way.
"Take him up to my office and then you two owe me an explanation." Yunlan said he led them upstairs, and held the door open for them to enter, watching as they put Shen Wei on the sofa, and even made sure that he was comfortable before they stepped away to face Yunlan and his questions.
"Who are you exactly, who is he, why does he not remember from day to day? And he's the one you wanted me to meet. Speak quickly before he wakes up." Yunlan asked firmly.
"My name is Chu Shuzhi, this is Daqing and he is Shen Wei, the one we were talking about yesterday, but he won't wake up for at least 2 hours. The second faint is always longer, the time gradually increases throughout the day, but for some reason yesterday was different, maybe because of you. We think someone is responsible for this but not who or how they are ... "
Chu didn't know how to carry on, but Yunlan could see the distress in both their faces.
"Alright ... I think you are both still holding back. When did all this start?" Yunlan asked as he poured himself a coffee and offered a cup to both of his visitors who refused.
"It began when he started working on the plans for the old mansion, about six weeks ago, he forgets personal things, mainly people and who he really is." Chu glanced at Daqing who nodded in agreement during this silent communication, and he took a gallery postcard out of his pocket which showed one of the artist's paintings
"This is who he really is." Chu said before he gave the picture of Black Robe to Yunlan, who stared at it and then howled with laughter, until he realised that he was the only one laughing, no on else was and he stopped when he saw their expressions.
"You're serious."
"We serve him. Whoever is doing this, might know who he is and they are keeping him this way for a reason."
"Chu, I'm not saying that I believe you, but if someone is keeping him this way then yes, its for a reason. Will he know any of us when he wakes up this time? ... I'm guessing that would be No. Would it be safer for him if he woke up at home?"
"Yes My ... Once we take him to his own house, come to the gallery and we can explain more easily."
Both Chu and Daqing stepped back and nodded in respect before they lifted the sleeping beauty and carried him down to Chu's car.
Two things, Yunlan thought to himself, he had spotted Chu's slip of the tongue, nearly calling him something else. The second thing was the nod from both of them as a sign of respect. It was as if they were obeying orders from a superior which really puzzled him and he made another coffee as he started searching the internet for the phrase Black Robe but found nothing, but what he did find was information about Shen Wei and how successful he was as an architect. Yunlan didn't want this thing to end this way, he wanted to know more and he would protect Wei even though he imagined himself to be this other ego.
Yunlan's car was always parked in the lower garage where it was safe and he lifted his keys before locking up and leaving the office. He had become used to wearing the whip around his right wrist, more of a decoration with it's emerald eyes but he'd had very little practice using it and when he got down the lower level, some of the lighting was out, but it didn't worry him. However Cong Bo was glad, it gave him more cover as he watched this man heading towards his bright red vehicle. He was following orders and his boss never tolerated failures. All he knew was that he had to kill him, remove him from the architect's life who would be more likely to do what he was asked. He didn't know why his boss was pressurising Shen Wei for an old piece of ground with ruins, or what was below it, or why it had to be him specifically. There was alot that Cong Bo didn't know and maybe if he'd found out beforehand, he would never have been involved.
He was given a dart use as a weapon but his aim was lousy, which meant if he missed, he would lie to his boss and hope this guy would stay hidden after his scare. Yunlan stood beside his car to fish the keys out of his pocket and never saw the feathery dart flying towards him but he was suddenly aware of the movement of the whip which slid out from his sleeve and flicked the projectile off course before it reached him and fell at his feet while the whip slipped back into place.
Yes Yunlan definitely was shocked, firstly that the whip could move on its own and secondly that it had saved his life from some crazy who'd fired a dart at him. He lifted and examined the weapon carefully because it had to be lethal, why else would it have been used, and why now? He wasn't working on anything. He looked at his arm where the whip was resting but there was no movement, and decided to take the dart with him, figure out what he wanted to do about it later. So he carefully wrapped it and jumped in his car heading off towards the art gallery.
