Chapter 399: Chapter 386: Enemy

In other words, the tapping sound that he had mistaken for a cry for help was nothing more than Zhuang Qingning passing time with a small game.

At that moment, Zhuang Qingning did not scream for help; rather, she was calmly playing.

This Zhuang Qingning’s calmness, noted under even the direst of situations, was truly extraordinary.

She had been like this when she was almost kidnapped, when she was taken by the thieves led by Jiang Yu, and when she was confronted by them. Now, even with a trap sprung, she remained just as calm.

Chu Jinnian couldn’t help but wonder, what had Zhuang Qingning gone through that allowed her to maintain such calmness in the face of danger?

As he was lost in thought, Chu Jinnian suddenly felt something thrown at him, and without thinking, his hands clenched around it.

He opened his palm to find not just anything, but a stone.

Chu Jinnian, surprised, glanced down at Zhuang Qingning’s beautiful face, her big watery eyes were as deep as whirlpools in a deep lake, drawing one’s gaze irresistibly.

“What’s the matter?” Chu Jinnian promptly withdrew his gaze, lowering his eyes to ask softly.

Zhuang Qingning suppressed a chuckle, “Nothing, I just noticed you seemed a bit distracted, Master Chu, and wanted to see if you could dodge it.”

It turned out, not only could he dodge, but he moved very quickly to do so.

Probably even if there were ten of her, all throwing stones at the same time, Chu Jinnian could handle it with ease.

How much agility must one have to achieve such a feat?

Thinking of the dazzling effects she had seen in martial arts films, where the characters moved with an ethereal gracefulness, Zhuang Qingning suddenly felt a thrill of excitement.

[Host, don’t overthink it. Even if your agility attribute could increase, it would ultimately be a percentage increase based on the host’s physical constitution. In other words, the better your physique, the better the effect. For someone like you, Host, even if your agility attribute were maxed out, you would still be far from matching him.]

Well, so much for that.

A cold bucket of reality poured over her, and Zhuang Qingning immediately wilted in disappointment.

Meanwhile, Chu Jinnian held the stone in his hand and looked at it, then at Zhuang Qingning again.

Previously, he had only thought of Zhuang Qingning as mature and steady, but now he saw an unexpectedly lively and playful side to her.

But

She seemed unhappy at the moment.

Was it because he had caught the stone she had thrown at him, thwarting her attempt to tease him?

But that was due to a natural reflex in the face of potential danger. Even if he wanted to not catch it, his hand had already moved on its own. He really hadn’t done it on purpose.

“Ahem…” Chu Jinnian lightly coughed to ease his embarrassment, then opened his mouth to explain, “Earlier…”

“By the way, Master Chu,” Zhuang Qingning interrupted, “Have you ever offended anyone? Or, are there any grudges that would go as far as to wish harm on Jinzhou?”

Chu Jinnian was taken aback, then glanced at her sharply. “Why would Miss Zhuang ask this?”

“Earlier, when this place collapsed, there was a loud noise first, then the mountain shook, and the cave collapsed. This does not seem to align with the usual sequence of a landslide, which should start with movement, followed by sound,” Zhuang Qingning explained. “Also, I came here with Jinzhou because we heard about a rare flower that had bloomed on Cuiwei Mountain. But just now, I noticed that the flower appeared to have been deliberately planted.”

“So, Miss Zhuang’s implication is…” Chu Jinnian’s eyebrows raised slightly, “this was all intentional?”

“There’s a high chance, yes. Someone probably buried explosives around here, intending to trap people.”

Zhuang Qingning nodded, deep in thought. “I presume, this person chose not to plant the explosives directly in the cave for two reasons. First, they might have been worried that completely blowing up the cave would not trap anyone. Second, they might have wanted to create the illusion of an accident to make it seem like such an unreliable method of killing couldn’t possibly be intentional.”

“There’s also a third possibility; that the perpetrator derives pleasure from inflicting suffering. They might’ve wanted to witness the helplessness of people unable to save their loved ones, or the pain caused by injuring someone while attempting to save them.”

“If we speculate on the basis of this, the person must harbor a considerable amount of hatred for Master Chu. But then again, this is just my speculation. Perhaps this was an accident caused by someone illicitly mining, and they might not have intended to target Jinzhou.”

“However, to err on the side of caution, you might want to investigate this, Master Chu, before the roof of the cave is blasted.”

Otherwise, once the explosives break open this place, many traces may completely disappear, making it impossible to investigate.

Chu Jinnian lowered his eyes, the cold light in them flashing, but towards Zhuang Qingning he expressed his gratitude. “Thank you, Miss Zhuang, for informing me. Now, I’m more certain of this.”

“Oh?” Zhuang Qingning looked rather surprised, then narrowed her eyes, “Does Master Chu not need to investigate further?”

“No need.” Chu Jinnian gave a slight smile, his tone cold. “I have a pretty good guess who it is.”

Indeed, he had a good idea of who it was. Of those who hated him to such an extent and would dare target Jinzhou, only a few people in Beijing came to mind.

Mr. Wei, the First Prince, the Empress, and Mrs. Ruo and her son.

Mr. Wei, the First Prince and his group would not stoop to such intricate assassination schemes, but Mrs. Ruo and her son, who had borne deep grievances because of Hang Xueyun’s situation, probably assumed this was his doing and were looking for revenge.

Wanting to kill someone while preferring not to let them know who was responsible, such characteristics of delicacy and cunning could only be employed by the likes of Mrs. Ruo and her son.

It seemed like the lesson he had previously taught them was not harsh enough; they now had the audacity to plot such a scheme.

Chu Jinnian suppressed the chill in his heart and bowed to Zhuang Qingning.

“I apologize for getting you involved, Miss Zhuang. It was all my fault.”

“You’re being too hard on yourself, Master Chu.”

Zhuang Qingning smiled in reply, “It’s wrong to want to only enjoy the benefits without bearing any risks. It’s like how in the business world, it’s too selfish to only want to earn more profits without enduring the jealousy and resentment that comes with competition.”

If it were as Zhuang Qingning had said, with Zhuang Qingsui and Zhuang Mingli benefiting from their association with Chu Jinnian under Fan Wenxuan’s tutelage, it was only fair that they share the accompanying risks.

“Miss Zhuang is quite right,” Chu Jinnian replied with a thoughtful smile, “but it seems that you have quite the fondness for business.”

Even her analogies involved business.

“Indeed, I do.”

Zhuang Qingning responded, looking at Chu Jinnian with a peculiar gaze.

Was there anyone in this world who didn’t like money?

However, it was clear that Chu Jinnian, who likely came from a highborn background and was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, never lacked for money or had an interest in business.