HBWMA -Chapter 214 Let’s Set Three Rules

Golden Bay, Mirage.

The once noisy banquet had been abruptly halted. Black-clad bodyguards stood guard at every entrance and exit of the venue. Inside the hall, the guests remained seated at their tables, not daring to breathe too loudly.

Top-floor private suite.

The massive glass wall of the wide hall reflected the oppressive, eerie atmosphere inside.

Old Master Shen sat in the main seat, hands resting on a cane, eyes closed as if resting.

Shen Lanxi and Shen Qingyu stood on either side—one expressionless, the other barely suppressing anger.

Yao Ge slumped on the sofa, covering her face as she sobbed quietly.

Shen Qian grew irritated by her crying and worried the old master might take it out on the second branch. He feigned a stern tone and snapped, “Enough! You lost face at your own banquet and you still have the nerve to cry?”

“That’s exactly why I feel wronged!” Yao Ge cried harder. “I don’t even know who did this! If anything happens to Shanshan and A-Ling, I’ll never be able to clear my name even if I jump into the Yellow River!”

The more she spoke, the more aggrieved she sounded. She looked tearfully toward Old Master Shen.

“Dad! As soon as I found out Shanshan was missing, I contacted you immediately. This really has nothing to do with me!”

Shen Qingyu glanced at her and said coolly, “Grandpa never said it was related to Auntie. Why is Auntie explaining so much? Fifth Uncle has already sent people to investigate. We should have results soon. Auntie should just stay calm and wait.”

Yao Ge was momentarily speechless. Seeing that Old Master Shen gave no reaction, she could only lower her head and wipe her tears in frustration.

After Bai Zheng had taken the people away, she had deliberately chosen the timing to report the situation, intending to clear herself of suspicion.

But she never expected that half an hour later, five helicopters would appear over Golden Bay, and Old Master Shen, along with half of the Shen family, would arrive directly at Mirage by air.

Her earlier crying wasn’t entirely an act—half of it was genuine fear.

Shen Qian quietly observed Old Master Shen, but the old man’s eyes remained closed, revealing nothing.

The room fell silent again.

Then, footsteps sounded outside.

Shen Rang pushed the door open and entered, with Shen Zhi following closely behind.

Old Master Shen slowly opened his eyes—still unreadable.

Yao Ge’s heart immediately tightened at Shen Rang’s arrival.

Shen Rang said, “Dad, the surveillance from the banquet has been damaged. We can’t find any leads for now. However, based on the missing time provided by Sister-in-law, they are most likely still within Golden Bay. I’ve already ordered all roads and ports in and out of Golden Bay to be sealed.”

Hearing this, Yao Ge quietly let out a breath of relief.

Little did anyone know she had deliberately offset the timing by ten minutes. By now, that little bastard and that wretched girl had already left Golden Bay territory and would be boarding the Bai family’s “Lucifer No. 1” in three hours. Once they left A-country’s internal waters, they would never be able to return.

Shen Qian immediately stood up. “Dad, since the area has been locked down, let me handle this.”

Recently, Shen Qian had deeply infiltrated the Golden Bay authorities for the parliamentary leadership election. Taking charge now would both please Old Master Shen and demonstrate his capability.

Old Master Shen shook his head. “No rush. Wait a bit longer.”

“Wait?” Shen Qian frowned. “Wait for what?”

Yao Ge suddenly felt an uneasy premonition. She turned to look at Shen Qian, but he too looked confused.

At that moment, Zheng Song pushed the door open and walked in.

“Old Master.”

Old Master Shen lightly brushed the wooden beads in his hand. “Found them?”

Zheng Song nodded. “Yes. The tracker shows Miss Jiang is currently at South Bay Pier, on the ‘Lucifer No. 1’ ferry.”

“!”

Yao Ge froze in shock.

How was that possible?

Even Shen Rang looked incredulous.

“The ‘Lucifer No. 1’?” Old Master Shen’s expression sharpened with a hint of killing intent. “So the kidnapping of Shanshan and A-Ling is related to the Bai family?”

Zheng Song replied flatly, “It appears so.”

After a brief pause, Old Master Shen stood up.

“Shen Zhi, notify the South Bay naval fleet. Seal off the inner sea.”

Shen Qian was stunned. “Dad, unapproved sealing of the inner sea would be inappropriate.”

South Bay was the largest trade port in the country. Blocking it would disrupt countless vessels and could easily trigger diplomatic incidents.

Old Master Shen’s tone was absolute. “If I don’t seal it, am I supposed to watch my grandson and granddaughter get taken away?”

Shen Qian hurriedly explained, “That’s not what I meant. A-Ling is my son—I’m of course worried. But Fifth Brother just said the suspects might still be in Golden Bay, and now we’re saying they’re on a Bai family ship. Shouldn’t we verify everything before acting?”

Zheng Song said expressionlessly, “It’s been verified clearly. Before Miss Jiang went missing, she requested an invisible tracking device. The location is confirmed at South Bay Pier.”

“!”

Yao Ge nearly lost her composure. She blurted out, “W-what invisible tracker?”

Zheng Song explained, “It’s a newly developed lab device. It doesn’t need to be implanted—just attached to the skin with special adhesive. It’s indistinguishable from normal skin, and cannot be detected by any instrument.”

“……” Who asked for the explanation?!

Yao Ge could barely keep her expression under control. “You’re saying Shanshan has a tracker on her?”

Zheng Song nodded.

Shen Qian finally understood—but then frowned. “If she had a tracker, why didn’t we go rescue her immediately after she went missing? Why let her be taken all the way to the South Sea?”

Zheng Song hesitated briefly, then looked at Old Master Shen.

“This was Miss Jiang’s instruction. She said she wanted to ‘catch ghosts.’”

“Catch ghosts?” Shen Qian looked baffled. “What ghosts? This is just reckless disregard for her own safety!”

Zheng Song continued, “The tracker also monitors Miss Jiang’s heart rate. If she is in danger, our people will immediately act. But if she doesn’t send a distress signal, we wait. Just now, her heart rate increased, so I’ve already sent people onto the ship.”

Shen Qingyu frowned. “She’s in danger?”

Zheng Song shook his head. “Not exactly. It speeds up and slows down intermittently—we’ve never seen this pattern before.”

Old Master Shen spoke again. “Do you still have anything to say?”

Shen Qian and Shen Rang fell silent.

Only now did they realize the old master already knew the children’s whereabouts and had people secretly tracking them the entire time.

Old Master Shen ordered, “Shen Rang, go with them. See which blind fool from the Bai family is responsible.”

Since this involved a family dispute, military and political forces couldn’t intervene directly. The Bai family wielded immense influence in S-country, and to avoid international complications, this had to be handled privately.

Shen Lanxi stepped forward and lowered his head slightly. “Grandpa, I’ll go too.”

Before Old Master Shen could respond, Shen Qingyu spoke up as well. “Grandpa, I’m going too.”

Shen Qian quickly added, “Dad, Lanxi and Qingyu are still young. I’m more familiar with the South Bay navy. Let me go instead.”

Old Master Shen waved him off. “It’s precisely because they’re young that they need experience. Lanxi, Qingyu—you two go. Bring A-Ling and Shanshan back safely.”

“Yes.” Both of them bowed in response.

After Shen Rang led Shen Lanxi and Shen Qingyu out of the room, the atmosphere inside turned heavy again.

Shen Qian’s emotions were in turmoil. He knew Bai Zheng had come to Golden Bay—but how had it escalated into kidnapping?

If the old master found out he had private dealings with Bai Zheng, he would lose not only his chance to return as parliamentary leader, but his entire standing within the Shen family.

The more he thought about it, the more suspicious it felt.

Shen Qian slowly turned his gaze toward Yao Ge, his eyes darkening with unreadable intent.

Yao Ge knew that Shen Qian had already started to suspect her, but if she admitted to this matter, it would be a death sentence. She could only grit her teeth and pretend she knew nothing.

Right now, she could only hope Bai Zheng would be more reliable and not leave behind any evidence.

The sea breeze was damp and salty, carrying a lingering, almost melancholic melody into the dark room.

Inside the dim space, a laptop screen glowed faintly, but the eyes beside it shone even brighter than the light.

Jiang Huashan slapped Shen Guiling’s hand away and deliberately tilted her head closer, her eyes darting around restlessly.

“Shen Guiling, what is this?”

Shen Guiling subconsciously leaned back.

Jiang Huashan refused to give up. “It looks like gibberish? Shen Guiling, you even understand this?”

With every probing question, she carefully watched his reaction. If he was willing to risk his own innocence over this, then this information must be extremely important.

Shen Guiling pretended not to hear her.

Jiang Huashan narrowed her eyes and reached out to poke the back of his hand. The moment their skin touched, both of them froze at the same time. Shen Guiling’s hands, which had been flying across the keyboard, suddenly stopped, and Jiang Huashan quickly withdrew her finger as if shocked.

“…”

Shen Guiling tapped twice above the mouse, then turned to look at the instigator.

“I told you to stay away from me, didn’t I?”

Jiang Huashan pursed her lips. “It’s my first time being kidnapped. I’m scared~”

“Scared?” Shen Guiling tilted his head, his gaze sweeping over her. “Do you even know what drug that woman injected us with?”

Jiang Huashan blinked innocently. “I don’t know. Didn’t she give it all to you?”

“You don’t know?”

Shen Guiling casually glanced at the fruit tray on the coffee table. If he remembered correctly, there had been two fruit knives there. He had taken the smaller one—but now even the larger one was gone.

There were only two of them in the room. How could something just disappear?

Jiang Huashan leaned slightly forward, her right hand hidden beneath her arm, gripping a sharp knife.

Her heartbeat was unstable, like a roller coaster climbing and plunging uncontrollably. Even she was like this—so it was obvious what state Shen Guiling was in.

She knew better than to provoke him right now. But instinct told her that the thing in front of her was important—maybe even the very variable she had been searching for in the storyline. So she forced herself to act.

Shen Guiling smiled slightly, the corners of his eyes tinged with a faint blood-red hue. “Then try getting closer again.”

His smile was different from usual—charming, yet dangerous.

Jiang Huashan let out two awkward laughs and subtly increased the distance between them. “You keep working. I’ll go keep watch for you.”

Forget it. Wrong timing. She’d find another chance later.

She immediately backed away step by step, hands clasped behind her back, retreating out of the study.

The disturbing presence was finally gone. Shen Guiling silently cursed under his breath, but his expression remained calm.

“Shh!”

Just as he relaxed, that troublemaker popped her head back in again.

“How much longer?”

“Twenty minutes,” Shen Guiling said without looking up.

“So long?” Jiang Huashan frowned. “I don’t trust you. Fifteen minutes. If you’re not done in fifteen minutes, I’ll knock you out.”

“…”

The one who came to tease him with a knife was her. The one guarding against him afterward was also her. How was she this capable? Even a clay figurine would be provoked.

Seeing him not respond, Jiang Huashan grew dissatisfied. “Did you hear me?”

“I heard you,” he said hoarsely.

Satisfied, she turned and slipped back into the inner room.

The room was unlit, only faint moonlight revealing shapes.

She circled the room first, checking every possible hiding spot, then pressed her ear against the door to listen outside. Footsteps came and went—she judged that there were guards outside.

By now, her heart was pounding violently, her body growing hotter and hotter. She fanned herself with her hand.

No way—this drug was too strong. Just a little and she was already like this?

In the study, the crisp tapping of the keyboard suddenly stopped just before her heartbeat could spiral out of control.

Cloud storage setup complete. Data upload: 100%.

Shen Guiling finally exhaled in relief, closed the laptop, and walked out holding his head.

Where was she?

He had just heard rustling moments ago—now it was completely silent.

“Wuu…”

He paused.

His eyes darkened slightly as he followed the sound.

Someone was crouched pitifully by the bed, biting the blanket. Compared to her usual arrogant and aggressive behavior, this sight was… strangely fresh.

Shen Guiling folded his arms and slowly walked over.

“Now do you know what drug that woman gave you?”

Jiang Huashan looked at him with reddened eyes, still biting the blanket.

He crouched down a meter away, hesitating for a moment before grabbing her arm. “If you don’t have experience, willpower alone won’t hold it off.”

With that, the knife in his hand fell.

She let out a muffled groan as her feverish body suddenly broke into a cold sweat. A sharp cut appeared on her pale arm, blood gushing out.

Shen Guiling tore off his black tie and tightly wrapped it around the wound to stop the bleeding, then carefully bandaged it.

“Pain comes from two sources: the body and the mind. Right now, your body is experiencing two conflicting sensations. Whichever one your consciousness leans toward will control you. Understand?”

Jiang Huashan nodded and slowly sat up, leaning against the bed.

After a moment, she looked at the black tie on her arm and hesitated before speaking softly.

“I have a tracker on me. Grandfather should already be sending people to rescue us.”

Shen Guiling paused, looking at her with slight disbelief.

“The door is locked and there are guards outside. Escaping is impossible. So we can only delay.”

He looked at her. “How do we delay?”

Jiang Huashan scanned the room. “Hide-and-seek?”

“…”

She continued seriously, “I believe Grandpa will come save us, but we can’t just sit here and do nothing. So Shen Guiling… let’s make three rules.”

She tightened her grip on the knife.

“In case… in case we’re really that unlucky, we have to make sure at least one of us survives. Whoever gets found first must try to delay the captors for the other. Deal?”

Shen Guiling thought for a moment.

“Alright.”