# 1164
Chapter 1165: Five
Hearing this sound, Li Jianbai's legs went weak, and he dropped to his knees on the ground.
His hand jerked, throwing the phone onto the stone steps in the distance. In the screen filled with black and white static, a pale woman's face grew increasingly distinct.
"Ghost... Ghost!"
After being frightened three times in a row, Li Jianbai felt his mind go blank. Under unprecedented terror, his eyes rolled back and he fell backward.
Before losing consciousness, Li Jianbai still couldn't understand—he had only been developing the old district. Why had he attracted so many supernatural things?!
Bang—!
With a dull thud, Li Jianbai collapsed unconscious on the ground.
"Sizzle sizzle... Qingyu, why did he faint?" From the phone, the originally icy and terrifying voice had vanished, replaced by a young woman's puzzled, pleasant tone.
"..."
"Yeah, I just said two words and he fainted. I haven't even gotten to the part about forbidding violent demolition yet... A grown man, how can his psychological defenses be so fragile?"
"..."
"It's fine, I did it very discreetly. Qiye and the others won't find out."
"..."
"I've deleted all the documents and contracts related to the old district project from within Li Corporation. They can't recover it. Poetic justice—if there's going to be any punishment, punish me. It has nothing to do with Qiye and the others..."
The young woman's figure disappeared from the phone screen. As the static sound ceased, the entire manor fell into deathly silence.
...
The next day.
Morning.
Lin Qiye pushed open the door, yawning as he walked into the courtyard.
"Qiye, good morning." Cao Yuan, just waking up, saw Lin Qiye and greeted him with a smile. "How did you sleep last night?"
Lin Qiye raised an eyebrow. "Pretty well, slept straight through to morning. How about you?"
"I didn't sleep well." Cao Yuan rubbed his nose bridge helplessly. "Pangpang snored all night, sounded like an electric drill... I'm never sleeping with him again."
As they were talking, Old Man Liu emerged from the kitchen carrying a pot full of hot porridge. When he spotted Lin Qiye and the others, he spoke in surprise:
"All awake so early? You truly are from the military... Come, have breakfast."
Lin Qiye and Cao Yuan exchanged glances and followed him over.
Old Man Liu grabbed several empty bowls and ladled hot porridge into each one. The children stumbled sleepily out of their small dormitory and gathered around the table, waiting for breakfast.
"Hm? Wu Quan?"
Cao Yuan didn't see Wu Quan among the children and asked with curiosity.
"Oh, he went to school." Old Man Liu looked up and gestured with his chin toward a certain direction. "His school is close, just two blocks away. He walked there himself."
"Nearly forgot, it's already Monday." Cao Yuan nodded slightly.
"Stay for lunch before you leave?"
"No." Lin Qiye shook his head. "We have matters at our unit. We should leave after breakfast."
"Ah... alright, I won't keep you. But when you get back, remember to tell Shen Qingzhu—we're planning to move."
"Move?!"
Lin Qiye and Cao Yuan both choked on their hot porridge, looking up in astonishment.
"Yeah, I thought it through carefully. Ordinary folks like us just can't compete with Li Corporation... For the children's safety, it's better to leave." Old Man Liu sighed. "I've already rented a place. I'll write down the address for you to bring back."
Lin Qiye stared for a long while before speaking, "Actually, you don't have to move... Li Corporation won't be touching this old district anymore."
Upon hearing this, both Old Man Liu and Cao Yuan turned to look at Lin Qiye—the former with confusion in his eyes, the latter with a hint of guilt.
Cao Yuan thought: Could it be... does Qiye know what we did last night?
"I heard Li Corporation has given up on developing this old district, so you don't need to worry." Lin Qiye said the excuse he had prepared long ago.
When Old Man Liu heard this, his expression brightened with surprise. "Really? That's for the best!"
After everyone finished eating, Cao Yuan went back to the room to wake Baili Pangpang. Lin Qiye, seeing this, quietly walked to Old Man Liu's side and led him to the corner of the courtyard.
Lin Qiye took a bank card from his chest and handed it to Old Man Liu.
Old Man Liu froze.
"This is..."
"It's a small token of my affection for the children." Lin Qiye said seriously. "The amount isn't much, but it should be enough for you to live comfortably without worries. The password is on the back of the card."
"No, we can't accept this." Old Man Liu firmly shook his head. "Shen Qingzhu sends back plenty of money every month, and this old man has some savings too. We definitely don't need this much. Keep the money—I'm not accepting a comrade's money from the Night Watch..."
Lin Qiye tried persuading for a long time, but Old Man Liu wouldn't budge.
With no other choice, Lin Qiye could only wait until Old Man Liu walked away, then secretly slip the card through the gap under his office door. That way, the next time he opened the door, he'd see the bank card on the ground immediately.
After finishing this, Lin Qiye went back to pack. The others woke up one by one, strolled around the courtyard, and finally gathered at the front gate.
The rain had decreased considerably from last night, pattering down from the eaves. The children and Old Man Liu stood at the iron gate, waving goodbye to Lin Qiye and the others.
"Be careful on the road! Come visit again sometime." Old Man Liu grinned.
"We will! You all stay safe. If anything happens, call us." Baili Pangpang waved repeatedly.
Lin Qiye and the others turned the corner and returned to their vehicle.
As the car started, their figures gradually disappeared into the distance.
After seeing off Lin Qiye and the others, Old Man Liu stroked Li Xiaoyan's hair beside him, sighed, turned, and walked toward his office.
He gripped the door handle, gave it a slight twist, and pushed the door open to step inside.
Just then, his peripheral vision caught something on the ground, and his entire body froze!
There, scattered on the ground before the office, several bank cards lay in disarray, as if they had been slipped through the door gap from different angles and fallen out.
Not many, not few. Exactly five.
...
"Back to the capital again."
Baili Pangpang sprawled across the car seat, lazily yawning. "Young Master hasn't had enough sleep yet..."
"Waking this late and still this tired? You didn't go robbing last night, did you?" An Qingyu joked.
Baili Pangpang's expression stiffened.
"You can sleep on the plane. It's still quite a while before we reach the Linjiang airport." Cao Yuan spoke up at the right moment, helping Baili Pangpang change the subject.
"But... why is the rain getting heavier again?"
Lin Qiye turned to look out the window. Just as the weather had been preparing to clear, it had darkened again. Under the pitch-black clouds, rain poured down like a waterfall, obscuring most of the view.
"Tsk, this rain is perfect for sleeping. Young Master is going to sleep first."
Baili Pangpang adjusted his position and fell into a deep sleep. With Secretary Jin driving steadily, the others in the quiet car also began dozing off one by one.
After an unknown amount of time, just as Lin Qiye was in a half-asleep state, the vehicle suddenly braked to a stop.
Lin Qiye was jolted awake by the brake. He looked up at the window.
The vehicle had arrived at the private airport entrance, but it didn't drive in. Because standing in the torrential rain before the car were two figures draped in dark crimson cloaks.