The moment the alarm sounded, I turned my head, and the walkie-talkies of those security guards also crackled to life.
Soon, three of them ran towards the source of the thick smoke, while the remaining two stood their ground, speaking into their walkie-talkies.
At this moment, a waitress rushed over, saying to one of the security guards, "There's a fire over there, hurry up and check it."
"Someone's already gone," one of them replied.
Huh?
As I looked at the waitress's face, my heart skipped a beat. Wasn't this Feng Shu?
Before I could even express my surprise, Feng Shu struck one of the security guards with a knife-hand. In the blink of an eye, both security guards collapsed on the ground.
It all happened so fast that I barely had time to react.
"What are you waiting for? Hurry up and follow me!" Feng Shu shouted at me.
I quickly ran over. Despite being full of questions, I knew this wasn't the time to ask them.
She led me into the backyard and quickly to a storage room. "The key."
I took out the key and handed it to her. Without a word, she opened the door.
Inside, a safe sat next to a table.
She strode over to the safe, wrapped a tissue around her finger, and began to input the password.
With a series of "beeps," the safe opened.
Inside the open safe was a Water Moon Guanyin statue, identical to the one I was holding. Seeing this, I quickly took out the Water Moon Guanyin from my embrace and handed it over.
After swapping the Guanyin statue, Feng Shu handed it back to me. "Find a place to hide it, take it out, and Yang Han will contact you when he learns it."
With that, she left the storage room without delay.
I also quickly followed her out.
After exiting the backyard, Feng Shu had disappeared. I quickly retraced my steps.
The swap of the Guanyin statue took less than five or six minutes, yet it felt like hours.
I hid in the restroom again, sweating profusely.
The Guanyin statue in my arms had also become somewhat hot.
After some thought, I used the plastic bag I had earlier to wrap the Guanyin statue and placed it back into the toilet tank, then closed the lid.
Only after completing all this did I finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Just then, Fatty's voice sounded from outside the door, "Brother Xiang! Are you in there?"
I opened the door and went out, looking at Fatty with confusion. "Why are you here?"
Fatty asked, "Did you have diarrhea?"
I nodded, not offering any further explanation.
Fatty told me that there was a fire in the yard and that many people had gone to fight it, telling me to go back quickly.
I followed him back to the main hall, which was in a state of commotion, with many staff members running outside with fire extinguishers.
Thick smoke billowed outside, and by the looks of it, the fire was quite significant.
When Fatty and I went out of the hall to assess the situation, we saw that the fire not far away was raging fiercely, with a dragon of flames shooting straight into the sky. It looked like it wouldn't be extinguished anytime soon.
Seeing this, I knew that today's competition was probably out of the question.
I clutched my stomach and said to Fatty, "No, my stomach hurts again, I need to go back to the restroom."
"Ah?" Fatty exclaimed, "Brother Xiang, at a time like this, you still need to go to the restroom? Didn't you see that huge fire? It might spread inside any moment."
"I'll be quick."
After speaking, I ran back into the hall, which was now empty.
I retraced my steps back to the restroom, but to my surprise, the restroom door was locked.
I knocked on the door, "Is anyone inside?"
After waiting for a long time with no response, I abruptly pushed the door and found that it wouldn't budge.
"Is there anyone inside? I need to come in!"
Just as I was about to lift my foot to kick the door, it opened, and Zheng Shuxuan walked out.
Our eyes met, and I was stunned. I blurted out, "Sister Ying..."
She glanced at me, then looked around the surroundings, shoved her bag into my hands, and dropped a sentence, "Wait for my call..."
With that, she brushed past me and left.
Holding the ladies' bag in my hand, I opened it and saw the familiar plastic bag inside. I took a deep breath.
By the time I reached the yard, Yan Yuhe was already looking for me. Fortunately, Fatty had said I had a stomachache and had gone to the restroom.
At this point, the fire trucks had also arrived, and the farm, now disfigured by the flames, was being subdued by several streams of water.
The yard was crowded, and everyone was discussing the losses caused by the fire.
I asked Yan Yuhe where her father was. Her expression was solemn as she said, "He should be in the backyard."
"The backyard?"
She hesitated for a moment. "The Water Moon Guanyin statue is placed in the backyard..."
For some reason, when she mentioned the Water Moon Guanyin statue, I felt an unbearable nervousness, and the ladies' bag in my hand grew heavy.
This was Guangbei, the territory of the Four Great Families, and I had swapped the most important Water Moon Guanyin statue in this event. Moreover, this fire might have been set by Yang Hanxue.
If this were to be investigated, I figured I wouldn't be able to leave Guangbei.
The more I thought about it, the more guilty I felt.
"Fatty, the smoke is too thick here, let's go over there for a cigarette." I winked at Fatty.
Fatty, though unaware of my intentions, was very cooperative. "Alright, I was thinking the same thing."
After bidding farewell to Yan Yuhe, Fatty and I walked out of the farm.
I don't know if it was my imagination, but I noticed Yan Yuhe glance at the ladies' bag in my hand.
After Fatty and I came out, I thought about it and took the plastic bag out of the ladies' bag, stuffing it into Fatty's arms. I then wrapped it with my clothes and said in a low voice, "Go find a place nearby, dig a hole, bury this thing, and mark it properly."
Fatty was stunned. "Brother Xiang, this..."
"Don't ask too many questions, hurry up. I'll keep watch here. Go and come back quickly!" I said.
Seeing my tense expression, Fatty nodded and, without another word, slipped into the nearby bushes.
This farm was in the middle of nowhere; without a car, it was impossible to leave.
Moreover, I figured that the incident of two security guards being subdued in the backyard would definitely arouse suspicion.
For now, I could only bury the Water Moon Guanyin statue somewhere nearby and retrieve it later after leaving.
After about ten minutes, Fatty emerged from the bushes, panting.
I gave him a look, asking if he had finished.
Fatty nodded and walked over, whispering, "Brother Xiang, that thing you gave me seems to be..."
I quickly interrupted him, "Just know it in your heart, don't speak carelessly."
Fatty nodded, clearly looking quite nervous.
Just then, Yan Yuhe walked out of the courtyard. Fatty and I quickly pretended to smoke and chat.
"I'll take you to eat Buddha Jumps Over the Wall tonight." I said.
"That would be great, Brother Xiang. Is the Buddha Jumps Over the Wall there delicious?"
"I haven't eaten it either, but I heard it's quite good."
I said with a smile, then looked at Yan Yuhe, who was approaching. "Miss Yan, what's the situation inside?"
Her expression was grave. "The Water Moon Guanyin statue has been stolen..."