This is not a one-time battle with criminals, this is a war . . .

Bo Jinyan reveals his plan to flush out the masked killer and take down Buddha"s Hand, the criminal gang at the ChinMyanmar border he has infiltrated. It is clearly not going to be a walk in the park, but Bo Jinyan is determined to succeed. As he and Jian Yao prepare, then travel to the border town to meet their contact, Bo Jinyan has two unexpected encounters, one touching (and maybe chilling?), and the other, hilarious. Read on to find out more . . .

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Chapter 100

Jian Yao understood then. Firstly, the border was unlike mainland China; it was even more dangerous. That captain"s ident.i.ty could be a sensitive matter, and he would need to be very cautious. Secondly, to deduce the ident.i.ty of the masked killer from among the criminals would probably be something only Bo Jinyan himself could achieve. Moreover, if he could actually talk to a front line criminal investigator rather than merely looking at the information in the books and doc.u.ments, coupled with his powers of observation and thinking ability, he would definitely be able to dig out more clues from the conversation.

In addition, Bo Jinyan possessed such pride and this situation had hurt him greatly. He also wanted to capture the criminal personally to avenge himself and Fu Ziyu.

Sure enough, Bo Jinyan also said, "Only I can do this. The "Buddha"s Hand" gang is extremely secretive and tightly organised, and it won"t be easy to shake them up. The masked killer brought along his lackeys and hid all of them within the gang. He"s also very crafty; the slightest hint of the wind in the gra.s.s and he"s likely to bolt. The enemy we have to fight is no longer on one side, but rather on two sides. However, our advantage is that the masked killer thinks that I"ve been completely broken down and defenceless.

Therefore, I will gather all the clues that can be used and follow them, like following a vine to get to the melon*, to discover the gang"s hideout and ascertain the members" ident.i.ty. Before this, though, there must not be any indication of action which might alarm them. Each move I make will be supported by a large police force working in concert with me. Until the last step, when I will join forces with Zhu Tao to launch an all-out attack, capture all the Buddha"s Hand gang members in one swoop and ferret out the masked killer at the same time, leaving him no way to escape. This is my comprehensive plan.

*T/N 顺藤摸瓜 (shun teng mo gua) – lit. following the vine to get to the melon; to trace something using clues.

Jian Yao grabbed his hand, looked up at him and said, "This is not a one-time battle with criminals, this is a war . . ."

He smiled faintly. "Yes, this is our war."

However, when Jian Yao thought about this comprehensive plan, she felt thoroughly uneasy, and once again exhorted, "But you promised me one thing, to never allow yourself to rush to the front line again." Nonetheless, Bo Jinyan replied, "I"m surely not going to rush to the front myself. To deal with criminal gangs requires a large police force; how could I do something so foolish?"

Jian Yao thought so too. She recalled the time when they were dealing with the flower cannibal case. Actually, the situation was no different from what they were facing at this time. Bo Jinyan had also constructed a comprehensive plan, which included achieving his aim by sneaky means. He both oversaw and directed the operation as well as penetrated the tiger"s cave personally. Armed forces from land, sea and air worked together at his command, and in the end, they captured the flower cannibal and his base of operations at one go. When her Jinyan embraced his dark side he was fearfully formidable, being able to manipulate the entire situation and advance, step by step, while entrenching himself firmly with each step. Having thought about all this, she felt somewhat at ease. She looked once again at the clear sky outside the window and felt that the road ahead did not seem to be that rocky. When they had captured the masked killer, they could go home at last.

After a while, Jian Yao went downstairs to get breakfast. Bo Jinyan was sitting alone by the lake next to the forest outside the house. In this remote little town, there was actually such a stylish and refined guest house, called "Gradual Forgetfulness", which Jian Yao had found online. At this moment, Bo Jinyan was sitting beside a lake which stretched as far as the eye could see, with a boundless cloud of mist before his eyes.

He sat there for quite a while. This situation, this scenery, led him to remember a time a few years back, at the riverside by the villa in his hometown of Tong City. He and Fu Ziyu sat in the same way by the water, fishing, drinking, and chatting.

Bo Jinyan was of course an atheist. However, at this moment, he seemed to sense that there was someone by his side. Fu Ziyu was still sitting with him, a warm and concerned smile on his face, no different from before.

Bo Jinyan raised his hand and held on the sungla.s.ses on the bridge of his nose. He sat like that in silence for a very long time. Then, the hint of a cold smile appeared at the corners of his mouth.

As their transport to the border wasn"t due to leave until the afternoon, after breakfast, Jian Yao and Bo Jinyan went out to walk around with the aim of buying clothes. Jian Yao was all right, but even though Bo Jinyan was not wearing a suit, his outfit of a polo T-shirt and casual pants displayed a superior quality that was simply too dazzling for this remote town.

The few sports and outdoors shops in this little town were, contrary to expectation, not bad. Jian Yao selected some outdoor clothes for herself, and also selected simple, comfortable jackets and pants for Bo Jinyan, as well as suitable cross-country shoes and a mountaineering stick. In this way, the two of them would look like a pair of backpacking lovers on a trip. Moreover, unless someone looked carefully, they would not be able to see that there was anything different about his sungla.s.ses.

When Jian Yao looked at him dressed in this way, her heart went soft. She held his hand as they walked towards the guest house in silence. Bo Jinyan asked, "What"s up?" How was she supposed to answer? Softly, she said, "You have been wronged." He replied, "You chose the clothes, how can you have wronged me? It"s all good." Jian Yao could not hold back her laughter.

In the afternoon, a minibus departed from the town and headed southwest. The mountain road was precipitous and shrouded in clouds and mist. The inside of the bus was narrow, and very quiet. It was not the peak period, so there were not many people on the bus. Jian Yao sat next to the window, leaning on Bo Jinyan"s shoulder. As she closed her eyes, she could feel his fingers playing with her hair, just as he had before. She smiled slightly. They were clearly about to step into the tiger"s cave, but her heart was as peaceful as the trees and gra.s.s on these mountains.

But, there were still disruptive episodes.

A child seated next to them was restless. After sitting for so long, he started running around and climbing on the nearby seats. His parents did not seem too concerned about this, as if this behaviour was common. The cheap toy aeroplane in the child"s hand dropped to the ground near Bo Jinyan"s leg. The child bent over to pick it up, and when he looked up, he saw Bo Jinyan"s sungla.s.ses.

It could be because children are more perceptive about some things than adults. The child stilled for a moment, then said loudly, "Ah! There"s a blind man sitting here! He"s blind!"

When he said this, the few people in the bus all turned to look at Bo Jinyan. Moreover, Bo Jinyan"s face and temperament were quite outstanding, so, after taking one look, they took several more.

Jian Yao opened her eyes and looked at the child, unsure of how to respond.

Unexpectedly, Bo Jinyan spoke. "Blind? Child, your height is between 115 and 120 centimetres, and you have a plastic toy in your hand, which is 5 cm away from my left foot. You had mutton fried rice for lunch, and you ate your fill. This time, you are visiting your maternal grandparents with your parents. Am I right?"

The child was speechless.

The people in the bus were speechless.

"Xiao Long, come here!" The child"s parents were obviously frightened. They pulled him back to them and held him, no longer looking at Bo Jinyan. The other people started whispering one by one, because of this "weirdo".

Bo Jinyan huffed.

Jian Yao also had some "black lines"*, but when she looked at the haughty expression of the man sitting beside her, her heart suddenly felt at ease and she inexplicably laughed.

*T/N 黑线 (hei xian) – lit. black lines. Referring to how characters are depicted to be in a bad mood in comics, with black lines radiating from them, or a black haze.

Hey, kid, did you know?

This person"s temperament won"t change at all no matter how much hardship he goes through.

Little by little, he was looking once again like the person she was familiar with, although his eyes were cryptic and unclear.

After disrupting the atmosphere of the entire bus, Bo Jinyan actually felt comfortable and closed his eyes as he leaned back against his seat. He even tugged at Jian Yao"s head so that it once again rested on his shoulder. Jian Yao noticed that the other pa.s.sengers were still whispering and the child"s parents looked as if they were harbouring grave suspicion. She could not help but laugh before saying, "Sorry, he did not mean to scare the child. He is actually . . . a fortune-teller."

Everyone went, "Ahhhhh . . ."

Bo Jinyan froze, but his hand was firmly gripped by Jian Yao. After a moment"s silence, he pinched her thigh. Jian Yao bore the pain and said, softly, pleadingly, "Didn"t someone guess the same thing before? I was suddenly inspired . . ."

Thereafter, the bus was especially quiet. When the locals looked at Bo Jinyan, they did so with a degree of reverence in their eyes.

It was evening when the bus reached its destination. Jian Yao held Bo Jinyan"s hand as she helped him disembark. They had arrived at the small border town in the midst of towering mountains and precipitous ridges where, it was said, one was the closest one could be to heaven.

Translator: shl

Editor/ Proofreader: Anks