Chapter Thirty-One: The Gluttonous Pendant (Part One)

After the whirlwind of passion, my already frail body was left utterly exhausted as I lay sprawled on the bed.

“Mengya, there’s something else I need to tell you,” I said.

Mengya caught her breath for a moment, looked at me, and asked, “What is it?”

“I suspect Yu Tianhua is also aware of that incident.”

“What?” Mengya shot upright, startled. “How do you know?”

My gaze lingered on her flawless, alabaster body, utterly captivated. For a moment, I forgot what I was going to say.

“Um, maybe you should cover up a bit. I can’t focus when you’re like that.”

She laughed softly, pulling a sheet over herself. “Go on.”

I nodded. “The three restless spirits in Shao’s barn weren’t his cousin’s family, but three unknown people. So the matter wasn’t resolved. Yu Tianhua said his cousin was dead, but the spirit couldn’t be summoned. He knew the soul was trapped in Kowloon, Hong Kong, in the LZ building, and that we needed to go there to release it. He said there might be clues about our own situation.”

I had barely finished speaking when Mengya let out a cold laugh. “He tells you to go and you just agree? Are you out of your mind? The LZ building in Kowloon is notorious for supernatural incidents. Are you trying to die?”

I sighed, looking at her. “I don’t think he’s lying. We’ve seen… well…” Cold sweat broke out on my forehead as I spoke.

“Seen what?”

I looked at Mengya and told her about the terrifying “Xizhao” incident. Her face paled in fright as she listened.

“All right, so you plan to go with Shao alone?” she asked.

I nodded. She sighed. “I’ll go with you.”

I hesitated, recalling Yu Tianhua’s cryptic note, torn by indecision.

Seeing my awkward expression, Mengya grew suspicious, then smiled. “What’s wrong? Now that you’ve slept with me, you want to break up?”

I shook my head quickly. “No, I… I’m worried something might happen to you.”

Mengya smiled gently, moved closer and embraced me. In a soft voice, she said, “I’m worried about you too. From now on, I don’t want to be separated from you.”

Her words touched me deeply. I held her tightly.

“Qiutong… let’s stop for now. I’m fine, but you’re not fully recovered yet,” Mengya said with a smile.

“It’s your fault, for being so beautiful,” I teased, stroking her cheek.

“You rascal, just listen to me and rest. When you’re better, we’ll talk,” she said, giving my shoulder a gentle push, though with little force.

I moved closer to her, and her hands, which had been pushing me away, slowly encircled my waist.

“To die beneath the peony is still a romantic end,” I whispered in her ear.

Mengya’s cheeks flushed as she smiled and nodded, relaxing in my arms.

“How many loves can come again, how many people are willing to wait…”

I was roused from sleep by the sound of Dick Cowboy’s “How Many Loves Can Come Again.”

“Hello?” I answered groggily.

A panicked male voice came through the phone. “Qiutong, something’s happened! Li Jianjun’s been taken away by the police. Come quickly!”

A chill ran down my spine, instantly clearing the haze from my mind.

“Uncle Tian, calm down. I’ll be at the shop right away.”

I hung up. Mengya was already sitting up. “What happened?”

“It was Uncle Tian. Li Jianjun’s been arrested, taken to the station.”

“What? Why?” Mengya looked anxious.

“I don’t know. Hurry and get dressed. We need to get to the shop—Uncle Tian will be there soon.”

We arrived at the shop in twenty minutes and switched on the lights. No sooner had we sat down than my phone rang again.

“Qiutong, I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

After the call, Mengya handed me a cup of West Lake Dragon Well tea in my crystal lotus cup, her face adorned with an alluring smile.

“Hey, you changed your ringtone…” she said coquettishly.

I nodded. “Yes, you said you hated Buddhist music, didn’t you? Besides, you really like this song.”

Mengya grinned mischievously. “Good boy. Here’s a reward.” She kissed me on the forehead.

“Oh dear, I’m seeing things I shouldn’t,” came Tian Minwei’s voice from the doorway.

We both looked over, finding Tian Minwei peeking in, laughing behind her hand, leaving Mengya and me rather embarrassed.

“Uncle Tian, please, come in, have a seat,” I said quickly.

She sat down, still smiling. “Ah, youth is wonderful. I can only wish you two a speedy addition to the family.”

“Uncle Tian, it’s not what you think…”

“I understand, I understand…” She waved a hand dismissively.

Mengya poured her a cup of tea and set it on the table. I asked, “Uncle Tian, how did Li Jianjun end up in the station?”

Uncle Tian took a sip of tea, sighed, and recounted the story.

Since the Radish Vase incident, Li Jianjun had lost credibility not just among his peers but also with his boss.

One day, Li Jianjun was at the antique market, sipping tea and bantering with the shop assistant.

“Welcome,” chimed the doorbell.

Both Li Jianjun and the assistant looked up to see a man enter—heavy-set, with gold rings on his fingers, several thick gold chains around his neck, a face full of fat, and small, squinting eyes. On his arm was a stunning woman, dressed rather provocatively.

The fat man, his left arm draped around the woman’s slender waist, casually pointed at a “Qianlong Period Celadon-Ground Blue-and-White Heavenly Globe Vase with Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea” in the display case. “How much for that porcelain vase?”

“Fifty thousand.”

Li Jianjun, unimpressed by the man’s swagger, replied impatiently. To be honest, this folk kiln vase wasn’t particularly valuable—just a common wedding gift porcelain, really worth maybe ten thousand at best.

He quoted the price offhandedly, not expecting that the fat man would turn out to be a “big spender.” With a flourish, the man produced a black China Merchants Bank credit card. “Swipe it.”

Li Jianjun realized he’d found a “white-hat fat sheep” today. Secretly delighted, he didn’t take the card right away, but said with a smile, “No rush, have a seat and enjoy some tea first.”

The fat man took him up on the offer, and he and the woman sat at the table.

Li Jianjun told the assistant, “Go fetch the ‘Orchid Knot’ and the ‘House Collection Mountain Cat.’”

Shortly after, the assistant returned from the storeroom with a white jade vase about ten centimeters tall and a Japanese Taisho period red lacquered octagonal box with gold leaf, about the size of a palm, and set them in front of Li Jianjun.

Opening the jade vase, Li Jianjun poured some black powder into a mid-Qing Dehua white porcelain tripod incense burner with faux-Warring States taotie patterns, then lit it with a lighter. A curl of white smoke rose, filling the air with a sweet, invigorating fragrance.

“This is the legendary ‘Orchid Knot’ kyara, also known as purple kyara,” Li Jianjun explained with a smile. “It fetches around ten thousand a gram, and that’s if you can even find it.”

Kyara is the rarest and most valuable form of agarwood, with the highest oil content. It’s extremely precious, divided into six types: white, purple, red, green, yellow, and black. Earlier, we mentioned the “Oriole Green” used in Master Jun’s Fengshan Hall—one variety of green kyara. This “Orchid Knot” is a type of purple kyara, highly prized.

Li Jianjun then opened the Japanese lacquer box, revealing a small white paper packet sealed with a red seal reading “House Collection.” Unwrapping it, he revealed a bundle of white tea leaves, fine as threads and covered in silvery fuzz.

Li Jianjun used a tea scoop to take a little, placed it in a glass pot, and, after checking the water temperature, poured it in at seventy degrees. The tea leaves swirled in the water, releasing delicate, downy filaments like dust.

“This is Mountain Cat, the House Collection tea of the Kazo family in Japan. It’s made from only the very first tender leaf of green tea, processed with an exclusive secret method. The silvery fuzz gives it its name—Mountain Cat.” Li Jianjun poured the tea into small cups. “Please, enjoy.”