Golden Temptation – A Yuri Story - Chapter 63

By the time Lan Qing snapped back to reality, all she could hear was the beeping tone in her ear—Jing Xuan’s call had been cut off!

Lan Qing slowly lowered her hand, stunned. Junye and Gao Zhe hurriedly rushed over to her and Qiao Fei, anxiously asking, “What happened? Was that Ajing just now?”

Lan Qing remained silent.

“Sister Lan Qing… was it really Jing Xuan?” Qiao Fei grabbed Lan Qing’s wrist tightly, her voice trembling.

Lan Qing slowly lifted her head. Her eyes were filled with fear and disbelief as she uttered a single word, trembling, “Yes…”

“Then… that explosion just now…”

“Jing called to say she had discovered Jing Cheng’s plot. But then…”

“What happened?” Qiao Fei grabbed Lan Qing’s shoulders, her fingernails digging into Lan Qing’s delicate skin.

“She might already be…”

“Don’t say that!” Gao Zhe quickly cut her off. “Impossible! Absolutely impossible! Aing would never be in danger!”

“Everyone, calm down. I’ll go take a look!” Yan Junye said before dashing outside. Lan Qing, Qiao Fei, and Gao Zhe quickly followed. All of them silently prayed in their hearts that it wasn’t the worst-case scenario.

Meanwhile, inside the grand hall, the guests who had fallen during the explosion were slowly helping each other to their feet. No one noticed the three who had just run out.

“Uncle Jonin! Didn’t you say the bomb had already been disarmed? What’s going on?!” Nishikawa Goro scolded as he helped his disheveled father up, blaming the Iga clan’s security for their failure.

Nianqing couldn’t stand it anymore. “If you’ve got the guts, why don’t you investigate yourself? If we knew what was happening, would we have let everyone just wait here to die?”

“Nianqing! Watch your tone!”

“Ah… wait to die…” Some wives of high-ranking officials in the crowd nearly fainted at her words.

“Jonin, we should evacuate everyone to a safer place,” Hasegawa Xiu said as she fixed her slightly smudged makeup and reminded the Iga clan leader of the urgency of the situation.

“She’s right! Brother Jonin, you make the arrangements. I, Nishikawa Heiji, will fully cooperate!”

“Alright, everyone listen to me!” Jonin Iga raised his voice, cutting through the murmuring crowd. “My attendants are currently checking if the hall is secure. Please remain calm. Let’s move to a safer location for now—this way, please!” He took the lead out of the hall.

—
In the garden, far from the site where the truck bomb had been discovered, a luxury sports car was engulfed in flames, radiating intense heat that prevented anyone from approaching. The air reeked of burning chemicals.

Junye and the others arrived at the edge of the fire, unable to get any closer. Several security staff were attempting to extinguish the blaze using garden hoses, but it was clearly ineffective. Since there was nothing flammable nearby, the fire slowly began to die down.

Risking the remaining heat, the group searched the surrounding area for any sign of Jing Xuan. All they found was her burned, destroyed phone.

“She’s really…” Qiao Fei’s tears burst forth uncontrollably. She was drowning in guilt—she had hurt Jing Xuan, exposed her identity, and now her fate was unknown. If she could turn back time, she would never have argued with Jing Xuan. She would have listened.

Jing Xuan had warned her: her identity was a life-or-death secret, never to be revealed. Had her slip of the tongue led to this tragedy?

Qiao Fei collapsed to the ground, burying her face in her knees, sobbing. “Xuan… please, don’t be hurt. I’ll never forgive myself… sob…”

“No! We’ve searched the whole area and there’s no sign of her body. If she had… there would’ve at least been remains. Ajing must’ve escaped!” Junye encouraged.

“Right! Ajing is so smart—she must be okay! Qiao Fei, Lan Qing, don’t despair. If she got out, she’ll find a way to contact us!”

“Junye is right. She called to warn me, told me we had to stop everyone from entering the secret passage…”

“The secret passage?”

“Yes! The Iga residence has a hidden tunnel that—”

“I get it!” Junye suddenly interrupted. “Lan Qing, is the entrance near the waterside pavilion?”

“Yes… how do you know that?”

“That’s it! I noticed a construction crew working outside the pavilion earlier, but there are no ongoing projects in the area. That crew must be suspicious!”

Lan Qing caught on immediately. “This explosion site is far from the hall—it wouldn’t harm many people. Clearly, Jing Cheng used a diversion tactic to cause panic in the hall and…”

“We checked that tunnel before. All the ventilation ducts had been tampered with,” she continued. “Jing Cheng must’ve thoroughly investigated our residence. But how does this all connect? Bomb… tunnel… vents… construction crew…”

“That crew opened up the tunnel’s ventilation system. Jing Cheng used the blast to stir chaos, predicting your father would lead the guests into the tunnel… Then…”

“There must be a second move!”

“This smell…” Gao Zhe suddenly exclaimed. “It’s benzene!”

“He plans to gas the guests in the tunnel! They’re all VIPs from politics and business—Jing Cheng wants to frame the Iga family for mass murder! Ruthless!”

“Jing Xuan figured it out earlier than us, but couldn’t stop it in time. That’s why she called to warn me not to let anyone into the tunnel. Damn it!”

“What is it?”

“We’ve wasted too much time. My father might have already led the guests into the tunnel! We have to stop him!”

“There’s no time! Let’s go—maybe we’re still in time!”

—

Despite rushing toward the tunnel as fast as they could, Lan Qing and the others were a step too late. Jing Cheng had already released toxic gas inside. As they approached, several bullets suddenly flew toward them.

Junye quickly drew her gun and returned fire. Gao Zhe pulled Qiao Fei aside, expertly shielding her behind a bush. Lan Qing also ducked behind cover, repeatedly trying to call Nianqing’s phone, but all she got was the same cold, automated voice:

“We’re sorry, the number you’ve dialed is not in service…”
—

Inside the tunnel, Nianqing had felt uneasy from the moment they entered, though she couldn’t explain why. The deeper they went, the stronger the strange smell became. At first, everyone thought it was just the tunnel’s age, but Nianqing, trained in the arts and familiar with various paint solvents, had a heightened sensitivity to chemicals—and immediately sensed danger.

She rushed to tell her father, just as some frailer women began showing signs of poisoning. Jonin Iga quickly took a headcount—Jing Cheng and the Nishikawa father and son were missing!

At the entrance, Jing Cheng and the Nishikawas shared a smug look.

“Heiji, thanks to our coordination, the Iga clan will be wiped out in one blow!”

“Haha, don’t get too cocky. Better safe than sorry.”

“Time flies, doesn’t it? It’s been twenty years since we last worked together,” Jing Cheng said, grinning.

Just then, one of his own men crept up behind him and whispered coldly into his ear:

“It really was you.”

A hard object pressed sharply into Jing Cheng’s lower back…