Chapter 141 — Old Buffon's Origins

The scope was far too broad. Moreover, the population of Henry Island was highly fluid. Though Henry Island was not a public island and anyone wishing to come ashore had to register, the servants and bodyguards of the wealthy needed only to accompany their masters and go through a cursory registration to gain entry.

If the killer had hidden among the retinue of some tycoon or celebrity, there would be no way to trace him at all. The trail had gone cold, and Little Dorsk agonized over these matters every day.

Then, just as Little Dorsk was at his wit's end, drowning his sorrows in a bar, he overheard a crucial lead.

"You know that fellow Dorsk, don't you?" a man who looked rather distinguished said in a low voice to one of his companions.

"You mean Dorsk? Isn't he the big drug lord who died on the Alice a while back?" his companion asked. "Why, were you acquainted with him? Oh, that's right—you were at the Alice party too, weren't you?"

"Me? I certainly didn't know him," the man said with a twist of his mouth. "A perfectly good party—I'd been hoping to meet a few more celebrities—and because that bastard went and died, the whole thing had to be cut short. Damn it."

So Dorsk's reputation really was poor. Little Dorsk's face flushed red at once, but he did not lose his temper, because his investigations over this period had made it clear that his father was thoroughly disliked and that plenty of people cursed him—one more in front of him made no difference. Besides, Little Dorsk still hoped he might hear something useful from this man's mouth.

Events proved his decision correct, for he did indeed hear something. "Ha, so he's dead—good riddance. What's it to us?" The man's companion raised his glass and said, "Come on, cheers. Forget him."

"Exactly, cheers," the man said, raising his glass as well. "That bastard had it coming. Who told him to be so arrogant?"

"Oh?" The companion drained his drink and then asked curiously, "So he was arrogant to you? Did he push you around?"

"Push me around? I wouldn't say that, but the man's arrogance was just too much," the man cursed. "Just looking at that smug face of his made me sick. I went back to my room to rest and saw a bunch of men in black grabbing an Oriental woman. I asked, out of the goodness of my heart, what was going on, and those men in black told me they were doing business for Dorsk and that I'd better not stick my nose in."

"No kidding? Grabbing people right there on the Alice? That's bold—even for him," the companion said in astonishment.

To be continued.

668. Xiao Qing's Confession

"You said it," the man said resentfully. "Let him be arrogant. See? Sooner or later somebody was bound to do him in."

Little Dorsk, sitting nearby, had heard the whole exchange clear as day, and a strange astonishment rose in his heart. He had never imagined there was such an episode behind it all—his father had sent men to kidnap an Oriental woman?

Then this Oriental woman—perhaps she was a witness, or at least someone in the know. Little Dorsk quickly reasoned that the woman his father had kidnapped was very likely that Shu Ya.

Suppressing his excitement, Little Dorsk walked over to the table where the two men sat, politely indicated an empty chair, and said, "Good evening, gentlemen. May I sit here?"

"And you are?" The man who had been speaking eyed Little Dorsk with suspicion.

"Hello. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Radon Dorsk—you may call me Little Dorsk," he said. "The Dorsk you were just discussing was my father."

"What do you want?" The man and his companion started, staring at Little Dorsk warily. Little Dorsk was no good sort, and he looked fierce, with a scar across his face, so the man's instinctive guard went up. He had just been slandering the fellow's father, and now here the man was before him. Stammering, he said, "S-sorry—I was wrong. I shouldn't have spoken ill of your father behind his back. Please forgive my rudeness."

"No, no." What a cunning man Little Dorsk was. He still hoped to learn something from this fellow, so naturally he would not fuss over such a trifling matter as reputation. He waved a hand and said, "You spoke the truth. My father was an exceedingly arrogant man, and getting himself killed was his own doing."

"Ah?" The man and his companion stared at Little Dorsk in astonishment. After a long pause the man said, "I-is that so?"

"Indeed. But then again, say what you will, he was still my father. Alas." Little Dorsk sighed and said, "Could you tell me the details of what you saw when my father's men seized that woman?"

"Well—all right." Seeing how easygoing Little Dorsk's tone was, the man relaxed and recounted his experience in detail.

"That Oriental woman—was she the star called Shu Ya?" Little Dorsk asked.

"That, well, I suppose so," the man said with a nod. "Those men were so vicious that I didn't dare go closer for a proper look."

"Thank you. What you've told me is very important," Little Dorsk said, patting the man on the shoulder. "This round is on me."

Little Dorsk's eyes blazed. Yes—he had obtained a hugely important piece of information. Before his death, his father had kidnapped Shu Ya. That meant Shu Ya had very likely seen how his father had died at the end—seen what had killed him.

As long as he found Shu Ya, he could find that money. Little Dorsk was elated. Over thirty billion euros, after all—no small temptation to anyone.

Now that he had found a lead, young Dorsk lost no time and immediately began investigating Shu Ya's movements. Xiao Qing hesitated again and again, but in the end decided to come clean to Yang Ce and tell him the truth of the matter. After all, this was not something that could be kept hidden forever; sooner or later the fire would not be contained by paper. Besides, Xiao Qing did not want to conceal it from Yang Mo Yi either. Yang Ce trusted her, had told her everything about himself, even the secret of his ability, and yet she still had things she was hiding from him. Just thinking about it made Xiao Qing uneasy.

Fine, then. She would confess. No matter how Yang Ce might look at her afterward, no matter whether he still loved her the way he once had, Xiao Qing would accept it. Who had told her to be muddle-headed for a moment and do those things?

Of course, reaching that decision had been extraordinarily difficult. Xiao Qing was in great pain as well. After all, her attachment to Yang Jue Huan had now reached a point where she could not bear to let go. From the first reading to now, whenever something happened she habitually thought of Yang Ce; she had come to regard Yang Ce as the support for the rest of her life. Whether or not Yang Ce could give her a proper status, she would not fuss over it, so long as Yang Yong Jin simply abandoned her.

But the problem now was this: if Yang Ce really learned of that matter, would he despise her, loathe her? Xiao Qing did not know what Yang Ce would think. Yet if she looked at it from the other side, if the one involved were Yang Ce, and Yang Ce had gone behind her back to play that unnatural game with other men, it was truly unimaginable. Xiao Qing felt disgusted just thinking about it; at the very least, she would never accept it. Now reversing the roles, Yang Ce should probably think much the same way. Of course, Xiao Qing had no idea of Yang Jue Huan's grand ideals; otherwise she would not have been so panicked.

Trembling, she dialed Yang Jue Huan's number and said cautiously, "Yang Ce, this is Xiao Qing."

"Oh, Sister Xiao Qing. Missing me?" After seeing Chen Shu Tang home last night, Yang Ce had detoured to Liu Yan's place. He had been away from home so long that it was only proper to pay his godfather a visit upon returning.