Stolen Love Chapter 22

Chapter 22: Entering Southeast Asia

Li Xin spared a glance into the rearview mirror again. There was Qi Mo, unflappable as always, leaning back against the car seat, gazing out the window with a stony, bloodthirsty look in his eyes. Next to him, Red Falcon was surveying their surroundings indifferently, clearly on guard, but otherwise unmoved. It was apparent that they were no stranger to these spontaneous bursts of violence.

"Sir, Black Falcon is exchanging fire with the attackers. We don't know who they are yet." A ginger-haired man that Li Xin didn't recognize was in the pa.s.senger seat, making constant reports to overlord.

"Exterminate them all," Qi Mo said evenly. His face remained impa.s.sive, revealing nothing.

"Yes sir."

Neither the ginger-haired man nor Red Falcon blinked an eye at Qi Mo's candid mercilessness. The Qi Clan had just gained control of the Southeast Asian territories. There were bound to be groups trying to usurp their power; unfortunately, they were digging their own graves. For the Qi Clan, getting rid of them would deter future enemies from attacking so easily. Their reputation in the underworld existed for a reason.

"You have exactly ten minutes to get us to the Sheraton hotel at 8 on the dot."

Li Xin swiveled her head around to look at the other occupants of the car. When she saw that neither of the other two men responded, she realised that Qi Mo's words had been meant for her.

"Where am I supposed to go?" She ground her teeth in frustration. "It's not like I've been here before." Before, there had been another car in front of them guiding her, but now she was on her own.

"That's your problem. Hurry up," the ginger-haired man said, eyeing her judgmentally. "Boss doesn't like being late."

Qi Mo ignored her question altogether. He never found it productive to waste time with people who were useless to him. They either did what he required of them or they died and he found someone else, it was that simple.

Li Xin cursed under her breath. What an overbearing bunch of a.s.sholes. She glared at the red-haired man. "I'm your boss's servant, not yours," she said snidely. "If you don't shut up, you're welcome to get out of the car and walk." She stepped on the brake and brought the car came to a screeching stop.

The ginger's eyes widened in bewilderment. He was Yellow Falcon, one of Qi Mo's most capable a.s.sistants. Together with Red Falcon, Black Falcon, and White Falcon, these four men managed the Qi Clan's territories all throughout Asia. Their status in the clan was high.

He couldn't believe he was being lectured by a servant. He watched Li Xin through narrowed eyes as she opened the car door and climbed out, and he wondered if she was going to go so far as to disobey Qi Mo and leave them there.

But instead, she went up to someone on the street and exchanged a few words with them before coming back, starting the car up again, and speeding off. Her driving was steady and undeniably skilled, but she was going insanely fast. Only someone like Li Xin would push a Cadillac up to whirlwind speeds of 200 km per hour.

At precisely 7:58, Li Xin brought the car and all its occupants to the entrance of the Sheraton, having driven over twenty kilometers in six minutes. News came from Black Falcon just as they pulled in front of the hotel. He had gotten rid of all their attackers and spared none. No one knew which group the rebels belonged to, but small organizations like that rarely mattered anyway.

Two rows of people stood in front of the hotel entrance waiting for them. Their faces were expressionless, but all of them were bulging at the waistline. Li Xin could tell that they weren't good, law-abiding types. Their presence was a stark contrast to the elegant, bright hotel behind them; Li Xin thought that they looked like human-eating demons. Her lips twitched uneasily and she leaned forward against the steering wheel, unmoving.

"Get out of the car. Don't forget the boss's orders," Red Falcon reminded her before leaving the vehicle.

s.h.i.+t.

He was right, she was supposed to stay within Qi Mo's sight at all times. Red Falcon's words sent her scrambling out of her seat and running after the other men. She had no intention of dying any time soon.

She stared at the human barricade from her position behind Qi Mo. She could feel her legs shaking. The fiery exchange that they had just narrowly escaped came so suddenly that she hadn't had time to feel fear until now. Truth be told, she considered herself daring and gutsy, but that didn't mean she was indifferent towards being one of the targets of an onslaught of bullets.

If it weren't for her driving at breakneck speeds, she could be dead. It wasn't so bad if she didn't think about it, but every time the scene of the flying bullets flashed through her mind, she couldn't stop her legs from trembling.

What kind of world had she ended up in, she thought, that she would end up navigating through a precarious jungle of bullet storms.

"Don't embarra.s.s yourself," came a low voice next to her. She felt a hand steadying her from behind, pus.h.i.+ng her forward insistently until her steps matched Qi Mo's quick pace.

Qi Mo hadn't even climbed up the stairs to the entrance of the hotel when several men came out, saying, "Overlord Qi, greetings. It's so nice to have you."

Some of the men appeared polite and amicable; a few looked refined, like scholars; some had a head full of silvery white hair that made them look like kind, harmless old grandfathers. Not a single one of them looked like criminals, but despite their well-mannered appearances, Li Xin wasn't fooled. These were some of Southeast Asia's most influential criminal bosses. It really wasn't a good idea to judge a person from their looks, she mused.

They followed close on Qi Mo's heels, entering the hotel and heading through several doors before finally arriving outside an expansive conference room. Li Xin was about to step in when she found herself stopped by Red Falcon. He gave her a look indicating that she was to wait outside the door.

She raised her eyebrows. So that's what it meant to be a servant. He and Yellow Falcon could join the meeting with Qi Mo, but she was supposed to stand outside like some door-watching deity. She cursed inwardly at the injustice of it all, then reminded herself that it was better to not attend the meeting anyway. The less she partic.i.p.ated in crime syndicate affairs, the better.

Through the gla.s.s door, she could see Qi Mo sitting at the head of the table. The other bosses sat around him in a circle like planets circling the sun; they clearly admired him. Li Xin couldn't blame them — the Qi Clan overlord's presence was incredibly imposing; just sitting there, his very existence exuded dignity from somewhere deep within. The sheer physical force of him seemed to crush everything around him, dominating over everyone else in the room.

Li Xin leaned against the wall outside, taking deep breaths and controlling the overwhelming panic she felt rising at her current situation. She looked up and discovered that there happened to be an exit door right across the conference room. She suddenly felt a spark of hope.

Qi Mo and the other two were still in the conference. It had only been two days since they arrived in Southeast Asia, so the Qi Clan people here didn't recognize her yet. Running away from the Qi estate was impossible because that was their territory and the place was swarming with gun-toting guards, but Southeast Asia was remote and large enough to be beyond their total control. A few door locks certainly weren't enough to stop her.

She felt her spirits rise as she turned the idea over in her head. It was a rare opportunity. She was the only person standing out here. She smiled radiantly and stuck her hands in her pant pockets, prepared to make her way to the exit door.

Right at that moment, Li Xin suddenly felt danger penetrating through the gla.s.s conference door. s.h.i.+vering, she turned and saw Qi Mo's dark, bottomless eyes staring at her through the crowd of people between them. His blue-black eyes were like pools of deep ocean water that simultaneously flared with white-hot fire; it was as if they could smother the entire world in flames with just a look.