Chapter 039
Shimen Yihshyong
Yihshyong and Shannchyuan speedily crossed a reasonably large intersection. The incident was truly an unexpected thing. At that point, they were no longer walking leisurely. Shannchyuan walked quick. It was so fast that Yihshyong had a hard time keeping up with Shannchyuan's pace.
In no time, they had already crossed five hundred meters from the intersection. They had arrived at a big fork. On the left was a large road leading to the gate of the elite housing estate inhabited by Yinqyueh's relatives. The road there was very jammed, and the two-way street was filled with various kinds of vehicles. Lots of vehicles trying to move away from the housing. There were also many vehicles, which had just arrived, lining the road leading to the gate. The newly arrived fire trucks struggled to move forward because too many vehicles were blocking their path.
Shannchyuan and Yihshyong kept walking. Because the roads were very congested, many of the passengers in those cars got off and chose to walk. The sidewalks on both sides of the road were congested with pedestrians. Not only people who were using the sidewalk. In fact, several bicycles passed through the sidewalk.
When they had walked about three hundred meters from the turn, Yihshyong suddenly grabbed Shannchyuan's arm.
"What's wrong? The residential gate is still about five hundred meters ahead of us!" Shannchyuan said.
"Dahge! Look at that," Yihshyong pointed at the crowd in front of them.
"What should I see? So many people in front of us."
"That! Fifty meters ahead of us," Yihshyong raised his hand. He pointed his index finger forward.
Shannchyuan followed Yihshyong's direction.
"Could you see clearly?"
"Why? Why is she here?" Shannchyuan shouted so loudly. His tone was full of astonishment. As a result, several people turned their heads toward them.
About fifty meters in front of them, a girl was also walking fast. Yihshyong could only see her from behind. But from her posture and clothes, he was absolutely sure that the girl was Yinqyueh. Shannchyuan quickened his pace. That time, he was half running. They couldn't run freely because there were too many people. It was almost thirty seconds later that they managed to approach the girl. Shannchyuan patted the girl's shoulder.
The girl turned to them.
"Uncle Shannchyuan!" The girl stopped walking.
"Sheautyan, what are you doing here?"
Sheautyan? Uh? Dahge has a special nickname for this girl?
"There's a fire, Uncle! I'm worried..."
"Uncle Duanmuh, how are you?" A young man greeted him warmly. He was standing right next to Yinqyueh.
"Tsaehorng? Why are you here too?" Yihshyong really didn't expect that person to be there too. That young man was Tsaehorng. The person they helped about half a year ago. He called Shannchyuan and his friends "uncle" because of the considerable age gap between them and Tsaehorng.
Shannchyuan turned to the young man standing next to Yinqyueh. "Why are you here together with Yinqyueh?"
"I came to Uncle's house earlier. There, it was only Uncle Dongfang and Miss Liuchiou. All of you are away."
Tsaehorng didn't meet Iren and Shinnshiow. It means they were still underground when Tsaehorng came.
"Then we saw the news of the fire on television, so we rushed over here!" Yinqyueh continued Tsaehorng's words.
Yihshyong and Shannchyuan looked at each other.
"Now, where is Jenqyih?" Yihshyong asked.
By now, he should have gone to the station, which was very far away, to pick up the backpack he had left there last night.
"He didn't come with us. He said someone had to be on guard at home," said Tsaehorng.
Uh? He let Miss Liuchiou go alone with Tsaehorng?
"The location of the fire is very close to my relative's house. So I have to look here." Yinqyueh's face looked so worried.
'"So you asked Tsaehorng to drive you here?" Shannchyuan raised eyebrows.
"It's not like that, Uncle." Tsaehorng smiled. "I have relatives living in this estate as well. So I also want to know if they're all right."
Yihshyong looked at the young man. Logically, his words made a lot of sense. The Mingju family was rich and respected. They could not possibly live in a simple hut. For them, housing, such as buildings in such elite housing, could then be called a house.
"You two didn't try calling them?" asked Shannchyuan.
"Earlier at uncle's house, Miss Liuchiou tried to call her relatives' house. I also tried to contact my relatives. But no one answered our calls," said Tsaehorng.
"Where's your car?" Yihshyong looked around. Tsaehorng and Yinqyueh could get there that fast, so they must have taken their own private vehicle.
"That, far behind," Tsaehorng pointed at the cars lined up along the road.
"Which one?" Yihshyong asked.
"Not visible from here," said Tsaehorng. "There are a lot of traffic jams. Cars run like snails. So we decided to just walk."
Yihshyong looked at Shannchyuan. Promptly, he hugged Yinqyueh's shoulder. The girl looked a little shocked. Yihshyong understood. Even though the girl didn't know the relatives who would host her in a few days, they were still her relatives. If something terrible happened to them, the girl would surely languish.
"Let's get closer to the housing gate," said Shannchyuan.
The four of them then rushed towards the gate. All the way to the entrance to the housing complex, Shannchyuan didn't let Yinqyueh's fingers out of her grip.
Police in full uniform and local security officers were on guard in front of the gate. They forbid people to enter the housing complex. At the moment, there were still a few cars coming out of it. Newly arrived cars were ordered to turn around and stay away from the place, except for cars that really needed to be there, such as fire engines, police cars, ambulances, etc.
"Looks like it's impossible for us to see the situation inside." Shannchyuan squinted at the gate. He let go of Yinqyueh's palm, which he just held tightly.
Seeing the tightness of the guard, Yinqyueh covered her face with her right hand. The skin around her eyes looked wrinkled. Her lips pursed and blew air, accompanied by a sound like a gust of wind. This was the first time Yihshyong had seen Yinqyueh put on a sullen face.
Tsaehorng strolled towards the gate. Yihshyong followed him. They arrived at the spot where the officers had put a yellow line. Yihshyong stopped there. Tsaehorng broke through the yellow line. He walked up to the security guards, who were standing there. After getting close enough to them, he called one of the security guards. Tsaehorng seemed to whisper something to him. The security guard then entered the guard post there. Tsaehorng returned to where Yihshyong was standing.
The security guard who had previously spoken to Tsaehorng stepped out of the checkpoint. He was with someone who seemed to be his boss. The two of them then approached Tsaehorng.
"Young master Mingju! We were ordered not to let anyone in. Things are chaotic inside." The person who seemed to be the commander of the security guards looked tired.
"Did my relative's house catch fire too?" Tsaehorng looked straight into the person's face.
The commander of the security guards took Tsaehorng by the arm. He led Tsaehorng to walk away from the gate. They walked over to Shannchyuan and Yinqyueh. Yihshyong instantly followed behind them.
"I can't say anything yet. The fire department is still trying to put out the fire, which is still raging in some parts."
"What part of the housing complex actually caught fire?" Tsaehorng glared at the person.
"I don't know exactly myself either. Today I was on duty at the front gate, so I haven't toured the complex at all. But from what I heard, a fire broke out in the middle. The Mingju family's house is indeed in the middle but a bit to the back. So it's most likely that the house is okay."
"Thank you Commander Hehruoh," said Tsaehorng. "This friend of mine also has relatives living here." Tsaehorng pointed at Yinqyueh.
"Your family lives here. What are their names?" Asked the commander, who turned out to be named Hehruoh.
"Hehlian," Yinqyueh replied.
"Ah! The owner of Hehlian Mining!" Commander Hehruoh nodded vigorously.
"Yes, they are!" Yinqyueh said.
Hehlian Mining was a prominent business group that played in the mining field. They exploited a lot of minerals. Starting from gold, silver, nickel, copper, tin, and so on. In recent years, they have also penetrated other fields. Those fields were usually still related to Mining.
"The Hehlian family residence is far back," said Commander Hehruoh, "the fire obviously didn't reach there."
Yinqyueh took a deep breath. He lifted her chin and cupped the back of her head with both hands. Her eyes were directed upwards as if staring at the blue sky, filled with clouds that drifted and clumped like cotton that morning. Her mouth opened, but no words came out. Maybe she couldn't describe the relief she felt at this moment.
"What do you think caused this fire?" Yihshyong joined the conversation.
"I don't know either. We have to wait for the investigation results from the competent authorities," said Commander Hehruoh. "But I heard, this morning around five o'clock, there was an explosion from one house in the middle of this housing complex."
"Did the explosion have anything to do with this fire?" Tsaehorng asked.
"Regarding that, I can't say for sure. But the fire broke out right after the sound of the explosion."
They all looked at each other.
If there is an element of intentionality, what are the motives behind the action?
"The thing you explained really made us relieved. Again, thank you, Commander Hehruoh," said Tsaehorng. The youth seemed didn't want to keep Commander Hehruoh there too long.
Commander Hehruoh nodded respectfully. He directly returned to the guard post.
Tsaehorng looked at Shannchyuan. "What do you think, Uncle?"
Shannchyuan looked at the guard post inside the housing complex, right behind the majestic archway. His eyes stared as if he wanted to expose the secrets that were happening behind the gigantic wall surrounding the housing complex.
"I don't think there's any point in him lying. So I guess Commander Hehruoh is telling the truth. At least that's what he knows."
Yinqyueh looked surprised at what Shannchyuan had just said. She tried to open her mouth. At that moment, a question came out of her mouth. "You mean, there's still a chance that what he just said isn't entirely true?"
"I didn't say that. I just wanted to say that we must carefully digest any information. But for the time being, we must believe the things we have just heard!"
"I hope the fire will be extinguished soon," Yihshyong said.
"Right now, there's no point in standing here for long. In fact, if it rains soon, we'll be in trouble. So we better head back. Tomorrow we can come back here for more information." Shannchyuan looked at them one by one.
Yihshyong looked up. "Is it going to rain soon?"
"I don't know," said Shannchyuan. "But the last few days, the weather has been erratic. A clear sky can suddenly turn into heavy rain."
"If it's going to rain heavily, that's even better." Tsaehorng smiled. "That would be of great help to the firefighters."
Shannchyuan nodded. He smiled too.
There's something different about this kid. Since then, he was always smiling. Very different from six months ago. Is six months enough time to change people so drastically?
"Okay! Now let's get out of here," said Shannchyuan.
Yinqyueh was still rooted to where she was standing. Shannchyuan had to persuade her patiently to leave the place.
After that, they walked back in the direction they had come. They continued towards Tsaehorng's car, which was still stuck in traffic.
"Turns out the car only moved less than a hundred meters," Yinqyueh said after seeing Tsaehorng's car.
All the vehicles that filled the road could not turn around there. All vehicles have to go forward all the way to the front of the gate, then they can turn around from there.
"If we have to wait for the car to turn around, it could take a long time. I'm afraid we won't be able to get out of here until lunchtime." Tsaehorng frowned. He then got into his car. About a minute later, he came out again after having a little chat with the driver.
"What's your next plan?" asked Shannchyuan.
"I've given instructions to my driver. Later, after he made it from here, he must take the car to the painting exhibition without delay."
"Where are you going now?" Yihshyong asked.
"Of course, I'll go to the painting exhibition," said Tsaehorng. "My initial plan was to go straight to the painting exhibition site after leaving uncle's house."
"By the way," said Shannchyuan, "what exactly do you want to tell us? The thing that made you take the time to come to our house."
"Actually, nothing special. I just wanted to know about the news of Uncles. Two days ago, when I met with Uncle Nangong, he did not tell in detail about the condition of the other uncles."
"Oh yeah, I haven't had time to thank you for the lockers at the station. We should have come to visit you. You don't have to come to our house," Shannchyuan said.
"Uncles. You don't have to be shy. If there's anything else I can do, please tell me right away," said Tsaehorng.
"Okay. Later, when I know what I want, I'll just say it." Yihshyong laughed.
The four of them walked towards the subway station, which was not far from there. Since it was still early in the morning, their condition was still fresh, so they were on the road leading to the intersection in no time.
"Now, where do you want to go?" Tsaehorng asked kindly.
Yihshyong and Shannchyuan looked at each other. This morning they just wanted to see what Yinqyueh's relative's house looked like. They haven't thought about where to go after that.
"Nothing. Maybe go home," said Shannchyuan.
"How about you go to a painting exhibition instead?"
Yinqyueh's face brightened. She seemed to like Tsaehorng's idea.
Shannchyuan looked at Yihshyong. "What do you think?"
Yihshyong smiled. "I think that's a good idea. I also want to see some bright young painters, like the one Iren told me yesterday."
"Alright! Then let's go there now."
After hearing Shannchyuan's answer, Tsaehorng immediately waved his hand at an empty taxi speeding towards them. "Let's just take a taxi so we can hurry."
After the taxi stopped, the four of them got into the cab. Tsaehorng sat in the front, next to the driver, while Shannchyuan, Yinqyueh, and Yihshyong sat in the back. The taxi then departed for the location of the painting exhibition where Tsaehorng was taking part.
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