Empreinte de main en sang

Chapitre 18

That same morning, after breakfast, Xiaotong insisted on playing on the computer. Since the child usually has a busy school schedule, and it was winter vacation with the Spring Festival approaching, Ma Nan and Hongmian were somewhat indulgent towards her. Ma Nan told her to go to the study and turn on the computer first, while he helped Hongmian clear the table before going upstairs.

A little while later, when Ma Nan went to the study, he saw Xiao Tong sitting in front of the computer, but her eyes were fixed on something in her hand.

"Dad, come quick, look what this is!" Xiaotong called to Ma Nan.

Ma Nan didn't pay much attention at first and slowly walked over, but when he saw the item in Xiaotong's hand, he immediately trembled, quickly took the item, and for a moment, he was stunned and speechless.

The object he picked up was a piece of jade, round in shape, with some patterns carved in the middle, and a design engraved on the top of the jade.

Ma Nan knew that the jade was called Xuanhuang. The person in the carving had a bird's face and a human body, with a pair of large wings, two small snakes hanging from his ears, and two large snakes under his feet. In ancient mythology, his name was Yuqiang, also known as Xuanming, and he was a subject of Zhuanxu, the Northern Heavenly Emperor.

This piece of Xuanhuang jade is not unfamiliar to Ma Nan, because its owner is Chu Yan.

Like Ma Nan and Hongmian, Chu Yan was once an orphan, later adopted by Ba Rong. Ba Rong was originally the leader of the Ba tribe. After stealing the tribe's sacred artifacts, he hid in a small town on the northwestern border with his seven adopted children. Later, their whereabouts were discovered by their tribe, who then scattered the children to different cities. Except for Ma Nan and Hongmian, he left each of his other five children a jade artifact: a green jade tablet, a red jade tablet, a white jade tablet, a blue jade disc, and a black jade pendant. The clues to the stolen Ba tribe's sacred artifacts were hidden within these five jade artifacts. Later, Ba tribe assassins appeared, targeting Ba Rong's five children. Only Chu Yan escaped; the other four perished. Later still, Chu Yan helped the amnesiac Ma Nan regain his memories and deciphered the code within the five jade artifacts, obtaining clues to the Ba tribe's sacred artifacts. Using these, she exchanged them with the Ba people for Hongmian and her daughter.

But the ending was completely unexpected. Chu Yan turned out to be a traitor who betrayed many of her brothers. It was she who provided the Ba tribe with information about her brothers, allowing the Ba assassins to repeatedly succeed in their attacks. However, while she could betray her other brothers, she couldn't bear to see Ma Nan die a tragic death. In a moment of crisis, she resolutely took Ma Nan away, but this led to an even greater tragedy later—her adoptive father, Ba Rong, was killed by the Ba assassin, Yu Lei. After informing Ma Nan of the whereabouts of his wife and daughter, Chu Yan quietly disappeared, her whereabouts unknown for the past six months.

Therefore, one can imagine the shock Ma Nan felt when he saw the Xuanhuang.

How did this jade artifact end up in Xiaotong's hands? Could it be that Chu Yan came to this city?

He had just received chrysanthemums yesterday, and today he saw Xuanhuang. Was there any connection between them? Ma Nan felt a growing sense of unease, as if he had already realized something—the appearance of chrysanthemums was telling him that the Ba people were nearby, and sending Xuanhuang to him meant that Chu Yan was also involved in what was about to happen.

Of course, only the Ba people can do these things.

For over a decade, the Ba people relentlessly searched for Ba Rong to recover the stolen sacred artifact. Later, with Chu Yan's help, they forced Ma Nan into a trap, finally discovering the artifact's whereabouts. However, it turned out to be a meticulously planned scheme by Ba Rong, resulting in the loss of the Ba people's elite, all perishing in the labyrinth of Peach Blossom Mountain. The mastermind behind all this was, of course, Ba Rong, Ma Nan's adoptive father, but Chu Yan was also crucial—she was a pawn planted by Ba Rong within the Ba tribe; without her, his plan could not succeed.

If Chu Yan falls into the hands of the Ba people again, the outcome is predictable.

—That was a hatred that could lead to the extermination of an entire clan; every Ba person would love nothing more than to devour their flesh.

Ma Nan became increasingly worried, but at this moment, he had to figure out how the jade ended up in Xiao Tong's hands.

“Tell Dad, where did this come from?” He squatted down and asked gently.

Xiaotong shook her head: "I don't know either. I just touched my pocket and it was in there."

Ma Nan was stunned. There was no way this mysterious jade could have flown into Xiaotong's pocket on its own. He thought for a moment, then asked, "Did you encounter any strange people when you went out with your mother yesterday?"

Xiaotong shook her head again.

Ma Nan hesitated for a moment, patted Xiaotong on the shoulder, took the jade and went out to find Hongmian.

“I was with Xiaotong all day yesterday, you could say we were inseparable.” Hongmian thought for a moment, then suddenly became uncertain. “But there were a lot of people on the street yesterday afternoon. If someone wanted to slip something into Xiaotong’s pocket, it shouldn’t have been difficult.”

Yesterday afternoon, Hongmian took Xiaotong to the mall and they played for a while in the children's playground on the rooftop of a supermarket. The playground had an inflatable castle, and Xiaotong went in and played with other children for about half an hour. Before going home, they went to a fast-food restaurant for a bite to eat, and for a while, Xiaotong sat alone in her seat. It wouldn't be difficult for someone to deliberately slip something into the pocket of a 7-year-old child.

As Hongmian recounted the situation, Ma Nan's expression grew increasingly grave. The Ba people were now lurking all around them, and even something as simple as Hongmian taking Xiaotong shopping was under their surveillance. Perhaps right now, someone was waiting outside their door, constantly watching them.

Hongmian also saw the Xuanhuang in Ma Nan's hand, and she immediately knew what Ma Nan was worried about.

Chu Yan is her and Ma Nan's younger sister. Although she betrayed several of her brothers, she was only following her father's orders and had no choice in the matter. In the end, she saved Ma Nan.

"Should we call the police?" Hongmian asked anxiously. "Or we could call Qin Ge."

Ma Nan shook his head: "Qin Ge is a policeman. If he knows about this, he will definitely handle it according to the usual procedures. The police are certainly capable of dealing with the Ba people, but they cannot guarantee that there will be no mistakes. And any negligence could put Chu Yan's life in danger."

Hongmian was well aware of the gravity of the situation. In the battle of Peach Blossom Mountain, almost all of the Ba tribe's elite perished in the maze. According to Ba Rong's estimation, the Ba tribe was severely weakened and would need at least several decades to recover. But now, only six months later, the Ba tribe had attacked again. Without absolute certainty, how could they have launched such a rash attack?

"What exactly are they trying to do?" Hongmian asked, her face filled with worry.

“Revenge.” Ma Nan blurted out, “The Ba people fell into Father’s trap. So many people died in the labyrinth on Peach Blossom Mountain. The remaining Ba people must hate Father to the bone.”

“Father is dead, killed by Yu Lei.” Hong Mian said sadly. “We didn’t know about Father’s trap. He only used us as pawns in his game. Didn’t the Ba people know that?”

“Yu Lei is still in the detention center. The Ba people must have found him by now. Yu Lei was also there on Peach Blossom Mountain that day. He knows the truth, and I think he must have told his people as well. But—” Ma Nan sighed and continued, “No matter what, I was the one who led the Ba people into the labyrinth of Peach Blossom Mountain. So, I think even if they know I was unaware at the time, they will still hold a grudge against me.”

"So that's why they came looking for us?"

“Perhaps there are other reasons,” Ma Nan frowned. “If they just wanted revenge, they could have launched an attack when we were completely unprepared. But now, by sending chrysanthemums and this Xuanhuang jade, they are clearly telling us that Chu Yan is in their hands. I think their purpose in doing this is simply to make us hesitant to cooperate with the police.”

"Why would they do this?" Hongmian was still puzzled.

“I bet they want me to do something for them.” Ma Nan’s expression grew increasingly grave. “They’re using Chu Yan to blackmail me. If I don’t comply, then you and Xiaotong will be in great danger.”

Hongmian understood Ma Nan's meaning perfectly—although Chu Yan was Ma Nan's sister, they were not related by blood, and moreover, Chu Yan had betrayed her four brothers, causing their deaths at Yu Lei's hands. If they couldn't use her to blackmail Ma Nan, then Hongmian and Xiaotong would become their targets.

“Therefore, we must not alert the police to this matter,” Ma Nan said.

"What do they want from you? Is there any danger?"

Ma Nan paused for a moment, then uttered four words slowly and deliberately: "A sacred object of the Ba people."

The sacred artifacts of the Ba people include the head of Chiyou and the Thunder Hammer, as well as many other ancient relics that only appear in legends. Each of these items is priceless. However, beyond their monetary value, they hold even greater significance for the Ba people.

"But we don't know where those sacred relics are."

“When Yu Lei approached me half a year ago, I didn’t even know that the Ba tribe still existed in this world.” Ma Nan shook his head helplessly. “For more than ten years, the Ba people have never stopped searching for the sacred object. Although Batu and his tribe’s elites are dead, the remaining tribesmen will surely inherit his will and not give up any opportunity to find the sacred object.”

He paused for a moment, then continued, “In this world, perhaps only Father knew the whereabouts of those sacred artifacts. Now that he is dead, he took his secret with him. However, the Ba people will certainly not accept this reality, and they must keep searching. Of the children Father adopted, only you, me, and Chu Yan remain, so it is not hard to understand why the Ba people have come looking for us.”

"So what should we do now?" Hongmian asked.

"The fact that the Ba people sent these two items means that they don't want to harm us, at least not yet. I must immediately send you and Xiaotong to a safe place so that I can deal with the Ba people without any worries and see if we can resolve this crisis."

Hongmian remained silent, but her worry was evident.

Ma Nan, concerned for Chu Yan's safety, was unwilling to seek help from the police. Although he didn't say it explicitly, Hong Mian already knew that he was determined to face the Ba people alone. She didn't want Ma Nan to risk his life alone, but she really didn't know what she could do.