I won't be polite, I ordered another plate of cold jellyfish. Their jellyfish is absolutely delicious. Unfortunately, at lunch, I started fighting with Chen Ke after just one bite.
After ordering, Jing Shen, perhaps afraid I would feel awkward seeing the chef again, got up and went to the counter herself to confirm the four dishes and brought back a bottle of liquor.
It was vodka again, the same brand as the one Long Yue was drinking, with a blue and white bottle. I didn't know the name.
I turned around and, with my back to Jing Shen, activated my Qi sensing technique. Oh dear, Long Yue and her group were approaching, about three hundred meters away. Just as I was about to message Lin Xi, Ya Nan's WeChat message came in: "They're here, hurry out."
Long Yue's movement speed was very fast. I calculated the time and realized there wouldn't be enough. Forget it, I'll stay here. I had just connected with Jing Shen and hadn't chatted enough. Besides, it should be safer here.
I replied: "It's fine, I'll stay inside, you guys be careful not to get exposed."
Ya Nan responded: "Okay."
Jing Shen kept staring at my phone while I was texting.
"Do you have a phone?" I asked.
Jing Shen shook her head: "Used it, don't know how, threw it away."
She could still use simple Mandarin sentences.
"After we finish eating, I'll take you to buy a new one and teach you how to use it," I said. I wasn't expecting her to know Pinyin, but I could buy her a simple phone. She probably understood Arabic numerals, and her fluent Russian indicated she had lived in the north for a while, where Arabic numerals have been in use since before the late Qing Dynasty.
"Okay," the Whale Demon agreed readily.
I poured her a glass of wine. Jing Shen wasn't as greedy as Long Yue; she only took a small sip, more like moistening her lips.
I took a big gulp, not to drink, but to mask my scent with alcohol – what if Long Yue's sensitive nose recognized my scent?
Before the first dish, "Di San Xian" (Three Delicacies of the Earth), arrived, Long Yue and her group entered the hotel.
With my back to the entrance, I heard a commotion at the front desk. The waiter was asking why so many people were coming in and if they were going to scare the customers.
I counted. Besides Long Yue, there weren't many Purple Qi experts, only three. They were likely her three female bodyguards. In addition, there was a Great Demon with Blue Qi. If I wasn't mistaken, it was that polar bear demon, Seryozha.
The rest were low-level demons of various colors, but there were many of them, over twenty. I wondered why they brought so many pawns.
Soon, they stormed into the restaurant. Using a steel spoon as a rearview mirror, I glanced towards the entrance and understood why there were so many people. Those entering were not wearing the Mohe demon hunter uniforms, but the uniforms of the constabulary. Perhaps Long Yue didn't want to be too blatant this time, so she borrowed the guise of the constabulary to pretend it was a case.
I feigned being a normal guest and turned to look at them. Long Yue, the three Purple Qi experts, and Seryozha didn't enter. It was the "constables" who came in. They scanned us, then checked the kitchen, and then left the restaurant.
"Who are they?" Jing Shen asked.
"Last time at Tianchi, did you eat a guy?" I asked in a low voice. Jing Shen nodded.
"They're his comrades, his kin."
Jing Shen suddenly understood: "They're looking for revenge on me?"
I shook my head: "They're looking for me. Just pretend you don't know anything."
Using Qi sensing, I observed them going upstairs, searching floor by floor. Some directly took the elevator to the top floor. I guessed they used their constabulary status to get my information from the front desk. They knew I was in room 707, registered under the number 9527, but the details did list the name "Wu Chengfeng."
The jellyfish arrived, and Jing Shen and I ate and drank, not paying much attention to Long Yue, who was waiting outside.
After about three minutes, those who went upstairs came down, naturally without finding me.
Long Yue and her group then left the hotel. They split into groups of three or five and presumably got into their cars.
Just as I was about to breathe a sigh of relief, the Blue Qi from one of the cars returned to the hotel and headed straight for the restaurant. It was that fierce polar bear demon, Seryozha...