Yu Daochen walked outside and saw Su Lai and Qiao Wei waiting for him.
Qiao Wei cupped his hands towards Yu Daochen, "Master Yu, long time no see!"
Yu Daochen smiled faintly, "I'm a bit curious what Tian Xuan Entertainment promised to get Master Qiao to join them."
Qiao Wei didn't hide anything and revealed a little, "Money and people!"
"Oh, hearing Master Qiao's tone, do you have a score to settle?" Yu Daochen teased.
Qiao Wei nodded, a smile on his face, "Something like that, I need to get back some things that belong to me."
Yu Daochen nodded and didn't pry further. Curiosity killed the cat, that was an eternal truth.
"Since my brother's deadly lock has been undone, we'll take our leave now." Yu Daochen, without further ado, cupped his hands and prepared to leave with Su Lai.
Qiao Wei nodded, "Master Yu, until we meet again!"
Yu Daochen nodded and left Tian Xuan Entertainment with Su Lai.
Upon reaching the entrance, the two staff members returned their weapons to them.
Su Lai stretched and let out a long sigh, the heavy weight in his heart finally lifted. He said smugly, "Now I'm free of debt."
"Gambling is a ruinous vice, keep that in mind," Yu Daochen gave him a sideways glance, not mentioning his conversation with Liu Jiawen.
Su Lai looked at Yu Daochen beside him, his face showing some apology, "I'm sorry, Master Yu, for making you spend so much this time."
Yu Daochen looked at Su Lai's apologetic face and teased, "Are you very touched?"
Su Lai nodded affirmatively, "Touched. I can't repay you in this life, but I'll definitely marry you in the next!"
The image of two grown men getting married flashed through Yu Daochen's mind. He shivered involuntarily and quickly said, "Stop, stop, just don't gamble anymore."
Hearing this, Su Lai coughed dryly, "Master Yu, it's worse than taking my life if you ask me not to gamble."
Yu Daochen shook his head speechlessly. He knew Su Lai would say such things, after all, he wouldn't be Su Bu Ying if he didn't gamble.
"Fine, just don't lose this much again."
Su Lai nodded and asked, "Master Yu, where are we going now?"
Yu Daochen smiled faintly, "Of course, we're going to collect a debt as promised."
Inside Tian Xuan Entertainment, Liu Jiawen had given Yu Daochen an address where he could find Liu Hongguang.
Although the snow in Chengdu wasn't heavy, it was cold enough to make one shiver. The two decided to have a hot pot meal before setting off.
After the hot pot, they took a taxi directly to Huangbao Village.
The winter sky darkened quickly. By around 7:30 PM, it was completely dark.
The taxi driver dropped them off at a small road before the village and refused to go any further, "Young man, Huangbao Village has too many winding paths, I'm afraid I won't be able to find my way out if I go in. I'll have to trouble you two to walk the rest of the way. I can charge you twenty yuan less."
"It's fine, just stop here."
Yu Daochen waved his hand, paid the fare, and got out of the car with Su Lai.
After the car left, Yu Daochen looked at the village not far away.
The road leading into the village was flanked by a mountain on one side and a river on the other, with a dirt path in between covered in a thick layer of snow.
Su Lai looked at Yu Daochen beside him, "Master Yu, what do we do now?"
Yu Daochen shook his head helplessly, "What else can we do? We walk in, of course."
The two stepped into the village. Perhaps due to the weather, they didn't encounter any villagers along the way.
Before long, two motorcycles sped towards them from behind. The bright yellow headlights blinded them, making it impossible to see the riders' faces.
Su Lai, with quick reflexes, reached out and stopped the approaching motorcycles.
The two motorcycles stopped steadily. Su Lai, with a smile, took out a cigarette pack and offered one to each rider, saying, "Fellow villagers, are you heading to Huangbao Village?"
One of the middle-aged men, around forty years old, spoke in Sichuan dialect, "That's right, we're from Huangbao Village."
Hearing this, Su Lai's smile widened, "Fellow villagers, it's so cold, why don't you give us a ride?"
The middle-aged man looked back hesitantly, and the man on the other motorcycle also glanced behind him.
Su Lai was bewildered. There was no one behind them. Why were these fellows looking back?
Yu Daochen, beside him, frowned and sized up the two men.
"Alright, get on," the middle-aged man nodded in agreement.
"Great, thank you, fellow villagers," Su Lai said, plopping himself onto the motorcycle.
Yu Daochen, not sensing anything amiss, also sat on the motorcycle.
The motorcycles started and headed into the village. Because the ground was covered in snow, the wheels tended to slip, so the motorcycles moved very slowly.
Yu Daochen couldn't help but shiver. Why had it suddenly become so cold?
Along the way, Su Lai, as usual, chattered incessantly, while the other party responded with brief answers.
As for Yu Daochen's motorcycle, neither of them liked to talk, making the ride eerily quiet.
The snow ahead was getting heavier, and due to it being nighttime, they couldn't see anything beside them.
After about an hour of riding, Yu Daochen felt something was strange and asked, "Fellow villager, haven't we arrived yet?"
From where Yu Daochen had looked at the village lights earlier, it wasn't that far. Walking would take at most an hour, let alone riding motorcycles.
Why hadn't they arrived after an hour?
Yu Daochen suddenly realized something. Could it be that he had encountered...
Seeing that the man in front didn't react, and glancing at Su Lai riding ahead, Yu Daochen quickly took out his phone to call him.
As he was disabling the signal blocker, he accidentally swiped to the camera. When he saw his reflection in the camera, Yu Daochen's face changed drastically, and his nerves instantly tensed.
In the camera, a ghastly pale face with bloodshot eyes was leaning close to his, grinning eerily. It was terrifying.
"Holy crap!" Yu Daochen's hair stood on end from fright. He couldn't help but curse, and instinctively drew the Kang Long Mace from his waist.
The tires were already slippery on the snow, and with Yu Daochen's sudden turn, the motorcycle flipped sideways.
Yu Daochen also stumbled and fell. Fortunately, the ground was covered in snow, so he wasn't seriously injured.
Yu Daochen quickly got to his feet, gripping the Kang Long Mace, ready to destroy whatever it was.
But upon closer inspection, the area was empty. Even the rider had vanished without a trace.
Yu Daochen's expression turned serious as he looked at the location of the motorcycle, gripping the Kang Long Mace tightly, and slowly walked over.
As he approached the motorcycle, Yu Daochen sensed something was wrong and his face changed. He raised his foot and stomped forcefully on the motorcycle.
His foot landed on the motorcycle as if it were made of paper. The entire motorcycle looked like it had been drawn with a piece of cardboard.
"Made of paper?" Yu Daochen finally saw clearly.
This wasn't a motorcycle at all, but a paper vehicle burned for the deceased during grave sweeping.
Yu Daochen looked ahead and found that Su Lai, on his motorcycle, had already disappeared.