Stranger Danger

Chapter 373: The Missing Mank Ee

“Well, how should I put it...” Ye Qing tried to keep his explanation as brief as possible. “I encountered some trouble after entering the inner market, and I accidentally offended a... bigshot. They’re probably going to come find me very soon. That is why I need to leave as soon as possible.”

It would take too long if he told them everything that had happened at the Ghost Tower. It was also best if they didn’t hear about the details. He didn’t want to drag them into his situation.

“Bigshot, huh? How big are we talking about?” Chu Nianjiu asked.

“Big enough that they could take on all of us with room to spare,” Ye Qing replied. He couldn’t bring himself to say that he offended the Ghost Tower and Mister Nine as well.

“You just can’t stop attracting trouble wherever you go, can you Joyless?” Chu Nianjiu teased.

“Do you think I want this?” Ye Qing rubbed his nose in disgruntlement. Greenlake seriously screwed him over. The prettier they were, the deadlier the poison.

“In that case, let us take our leave immediately,” Lin Yuhuai declared.

“No, no, I’m saying that I’m leaving alone. We’ll be going our separate ways,” Ye Qing clarified.

“What? Why?” Chu Nianjiu asked.

Ye Qing smiled. “Did you forget about the Peng brothers? What if the person who executed the Five Punishments Ritual shows up? They need you. You’re all needed here.”

There was a chance the Ghost Tower might decide to take it out on his companions, but honestly, he wasn’t very worried. For one, they might not necessarily figure out that they were affiliated with him. Even if they did, this wasn’t the yin world anymore. They would only ruin themselves if they tried something here.

“What about you?” Lin Yuhuai frowned.

“I’ll be fine. In fact, I’ll be safer if I travel alone!” Ye Qing answered honestly. “I’m a middle-stage Spirit Purifier now.”

Lin Yuhuai: “...”

Chu Nianjiu: “...”

Both men felt offended and looked down upon, but they had to admit that Ye Qing was safer alone. If he was attacked, there was a higher chance that they would drag him down than they were of help. So, they agreed to his suggestion, “Fine!”

“Very well. I shall be taking my leave now. It’s unfortunate that Peng Hu hasn’t returned here, but do give him my well wishes. See you all later!” Ye Qing smiled.

Suddenly, Ye Qing recalled something. “Oh right. Where is Xuanyun?” The young Taoist was already gone by the time he returned to Auspicious Phoenix Market.

“He went to Mank Ee’s house[1]!” Chu Nianjiu replied.

“Did something happen?” Ye Qing asked.

Lin Yuhuai replied, “As soon as we came back, Mank Ee’s sister-in-law came to us and said that Mank Ee had gone missing. Xuanyun decided to head over and check it out first. We were just about to join him.”

“Well, it so happens that their residence is close to the exit, so I’ll join you. I would like to bid Xuanyuan goodbye as well.” Ye Qing nodded.

On the way there, Ye Qing asked, “So, give me the details. Why did Mank Ee suddenly go missing?”

Lin Yuhuai answered, “We’re not sure. This early morning, his sister-in-law knocked on his door to deliver him breakfast, but no one answered. Confused, she went inside his room but found no one. Later, she searched the whole residence but still couldn’t find Mank Ee.”

“That’s not really strange, is it? Knowing the kind of person he is, I wouldn’t be surprised if Mank Ee disappears for a whole day or two.” Ye Qing shrugged.

“We thought the same thing, but she insisted that that isn’t the case. However, she was a little too panicked to explain things clearly, so Xuanyuan went with her before we could get the full story out of her.”

They arrived at Mank Ee’s house. As soon as they stepped through the door, they saw Mrs. Hour weeping and the young Taoist doing his best to console her.

“Did you find anything, Xuanyun?” Ye Qing asked while scanning the whole place. He couldn’t find anything besides a faint mist of yin qi, and this yin qi was most likely the remnant of the two worlds overlapping with each other. While prolonged exposure would harm an ordinary person, it would naturally disappear once the sun was fully up.

“Brother Ye, Brother Chu, Brother Lin, you’re here!” Qi Xuanyun greeted them all before saying seriously, “Mrs. Hou[2] is right. Mank Ee is definitely missing.”

“And how would you know that? Maybe he’s still out there somewhere, or maybe he went out before dawn broke,” Chu Nianjiu said.

“No, Mank Ee was definitely in the house. He didn’t leave in the morning either.” The young Taoist led them to Mank Ee’s room and pointed at his bed. “Look.”

“His bed is disturbed, and his clothes are thrown over his bed. Even his shoes are still on the floor. Mrs. Hou mentioned that these were the clothes he wore when he came back last night, so obviously, he must have come back last night.”

“That doesn’t really prove anything. He could’ve put on a new set of clothes and left earlier in the morning, right?” Lin Yuhuai argued.

“Impossible,” The young Taoist declared. “Mank Ee is single, so Mrs. Hou is the one who usually tidies his clothes. She can tell you with absolute certainty that not a single piece of his clothing is missing from the house.”

“Not even one? Are you sure about this, Mrs. Hou?” Ye Qing realized his point as well.

“I am sure!” Mrs. Hou sobbed.

“Mank Ee’s clothes and shoes are right here. What are the chances he left his house naked?” Qi Xuanyun said seriously. “Just in case, I checked the doors and windows. They’re all locked from the inside, and there are no secret passages anywhere. That is why I’m certain that Mank Ee went missing right here inside his house.”

It was at this moment Lin Yuhuai stepped into the room. He declared, “I just checked the place. It is as Xuanyun said.”

“But I can’t sense anything out of the ordinary. Just how did Mank Ee go missing?” Chu Nianjiu sipped his wine, frowning.

“I want you guys to spread out and search the place again. Maybe we missed something. I’ll stay here and ask Mrs. Hou a couple more questions,” Ye Qing ordered after thinking for a moment.

“Sure.”

After the trio stepped out of the room, Ye Qing pulled a chair over and sat down next to Mrs. Hou.

“Have you found any clues regarding my Mank Ee, scion?” Mrs. Hou asked urgently.

“I’m sorry. We’re still looking.” Ye Qing shook his head before asking, “Mrs. Hou, I have a couple of questions for you. Please answer them as truthfully as you can. Mank Ee’s life is on the line here.”

“Yes... of course...” Mrs. Hou forced down her worry and impatience and asked, “What do you want to know?”

Ye Qing said, “It’s like this. Why are you so certain that Mank Ee had gone missing? I mean, it hasn’t even been twenty four hours yet.” Not that that kind of logic operates in this world, Ye Qing chided himself mentally. “Most people wouldn’t jump to that kind of conclusion so quickly, you know?”

The reason Qi Xuanyun and his colleagues were able to confirm the truth this quickly was because they were warriors. Their senses were far sharper than your ordinary person. However, Mrs. Hou was just an ordinary person. It was almost like she knew something they didn’t.

Mrs. Hou answered, “That’s... That’s because Mank Ee was acting weird the whole day yesterday. It was like his mind was elsewhere. When he came back last night, he was horribly drunk and muttering, ‘I’m haunted, I’m haunted’ non-stop, and I know he didn’t have a good night’s sleep because I could hear him tossing and turning around all the way from my room. That’s why... I’m certain that happened to him when I couldn’t find him this morning.”

“I see.” Ye Qing nodded in understanding. “Mank Ee did mention that he had a poor night’s sleep yesterday.”

“Exactly!” Mrs. Hou answered, “After he helped you guys and returned home, he asked me to boil him a sleep-well soup. He went to sleep as soon as he finished the soup.”

“I was washing his clothes at his house at the time, so I know that he slept very, very poorly. He startled awake at least a couple times during the short time I was there, and each time he was covered in sweat and looking as pale as a sheet.”

“I see!” Ye Qing frowned deeply.

“You have to save Mank Ee, scion. My... My husband died early, and Mank Ee is the sole ricewinner[3] of our whole family. If something happened to him as well, then... then... what are we going to do?”

Mrs. Hou wiped her tears away and begged, “Please save him, please! I’ll even go on my knees if that’s what it takes!”

“Please, Mrs. Hou. You don’t need to do this!” Ye Qing stopped her before she could fall on her knees and consoled her. “Don’t worry, Mrs. Hou. I promise you that we will do our best.”

“O-Okay. Thank you, scion. Thank you!”

“You’re welcome.”

It was at this moment Lin Yuhuai, Chu Nianjiu and Qi Xuanyun came back from their search. They all shook their heads when they saw Ye Qing. It looked like no one had found anything.

“I can’t sense any anomalous energy, nor could I find any signs of struggle. It’s almost like Mank Ee suddenly vanished into thin air while he was lying in bed,” Lin Yuhuai told Ye Qing.

“What are the chances Mank Ee offended someone far above his stature and got kidnapped?” Qi Xuanyun asked.

“I doubt it. You said it yourself, didn’t you? The doors and windows all look intact, and Lin Yuhuai just said he couldn’t find any signs of struggle. If someone did kidnap him, there is no way they could do it without a trace,” Chu Nianjiu answered.

“In that case... It has to be a Stranger!” Qi Xuanyun muttered.

“Maybe.” Ye Qing rubbed his nose and told them everything Mrs. Hou said earlier.

“How is it, scions? Where is my Mank Ee?” Mrs. Hou asked urgently after all four of them fell silent.

“We haven’t found him yet, but don’t worry, Mrs. Hou. It’s only a matter of time,” Ye Qing consoled her before saying, “Why don’t you go home first, Mrs. Hou? I’m sure you have things to do. Leave Hou Er to us.”

“Well... okay. Thank you very much, scions! Thank you! I’ll be heading back then!” Mrs. Hou thanked them profusely before taking her leave.

“Sigh...”

After she was gone, all four men exchanged glances with each other before sighing deeply. Although they promised the woman that they would do their best to find Hou Er, they knew that the chances that he still lived were very, very low. Assuming that he did have a run-in with a Stranger, Hou Er was most likely dead already.

Therefore, the only realistic thing they could do was to find the Stranger and take revenge for Hou Er. It was to prevent more people from falling victim to the threat as well.

“You can leave first, Joyless. Leave this to us.” Lin Yuhuai patted Ye Qing on the shoulder.

“Leave? Are you going somewhere, Brother Ye?” Qi Xuanyun asked.

“Yeah. I need to leave for some business.” Ye Qing smiled. “In fact, I came here to say goodbye.”

“Ah... does that mean you won’t be traveling to Tian Yong with us?” Qi Xuanyun asked.

“Yeah, I have something important I need to take care of.” Ye Qing gave him a pat on the shoulder. “But don’t worry. I’ll see you all at Tian Yong.”

“What’s this business you need to take care of? I can help you if you want!” Qi Xuanyun offered.

“It’s fine. I can handle this myself.” Ye Qing chuckled. “Alright, I’m leaving now.”

“Take care, Brother Ye!” Qi Xuanyun said seriously.

“I will. Thank you,” Ye Qing replied. “You should be careful as well. Auspicious Phoenix Market is not a safe place. Once you’ve wrapped up your business, I would advise you to take your leave as soon as you are able.”

As the four men stepped out of Mank Ee’s room, the painting hung at the center of the room suddenly swayed twice. Then, the two men in the painting slowly turned around to look at the group. They were both wearing strange grins on their faces.

The man to the left was Old Hu,

And the man to the right was Mank Ee.

[4]

1. Just to clarify since the author did a poor job stating this clearly, but Mank Ee does NOT live together with his sister-in-law. He has his own house. ?

2. I know it sounds kinda awkward, but technically she IS a Mrs. Hou. Also the author never mentioned her name, and Sister-In-Law Hou is way too long-winded, so Mrs. Hou it is. ?

3. Play on words on breadwinner. ?

4. Sometimes, not even the protagonist can stop the evil... ?