"Master, the old master's men have gone to the Golden Triangle, and someone from the Cheng family has also gone there."

Both families have gone to the Golden Triangle. It's not impossible that they're after a poppy order; large families often prepare top-quality poppies as gifts.

The better the quality of the poppies, the more face they gain. This year, new orders have begun in the Golden Triangle, and since they're all going, we should go too. He couldn't help but link their movements to Hua Yan.

"You go prepare for our trip too."

"But according to investigations, there have been many cops from all over the world there in recent years. Will we get into trouble?"

"We're not buying poppies. What can the cops do?"

"I'll get ready right away."

Still no news of Hua Yan, and Hu Li's nerves were fraying. Hu Er, watching his master grow thinner, was terribly worried.

"Master, the madam said she's prepared some health soup at home and wants you to come back."

"No need. Just go downstairs and get me some chicken soup and spaghetti."

Li Jiaojiao is definitely at home. Mother is using an excuse to get me to go back. But since the engagement banquet is over, he was too lazy to go through the motions. The newspapers said he was a cold-blooded gentleman, making a big deal about his indifference to Li Jiaojiao, seemingly manipulated by someone behind the scenes.

Do they think he would be coerced by public opinion? How naive. If he were that easily threatened, he would've been dead ten years ago, not living as he is now.

Hu Li's decision to go to the Golden Triangle quickly reached Hu Father's ears. At that time, Hu Father just smiled and said nothing. However, his calmness reassured Long Da and Long Er quite a bit.

Since the kidnapping of Hua Yan, they had known how persistently Hu Li was pursuing her whereabouts, filling them with fear and unease. They were deeply worried about the consequences if the truth were revealed.

"Look at you, acting like cowards," Hu Father laughed, scolding them as he saw them being cautious. In fact, he felt a bit proud. His young son was already someone to be feared. As a father, he couldn't help but feel happy.

This kid is still not giving up, avoiding the Golden Triangle until now, and now he's going along. Hu Li's aversion to drugs must have greatly annoyed Hu Father.

Not that he, as a father, wanted him to take drugs, but in their line of work, avoiding drugs was impossible. He had to get rid of this principle of his.

Hu Father originally didn't need to go to the Golden Triangle himself this time, but he changed his mind to achieve his goal.

As for the Cheng family going to the Golden Triangle, it wasn't because they had news of Hua Yan. They were also after poppies.

Meanwhile, Wu Lin arrived in the Golden Triangle with a secret mission, with several groups heading there at different times. Hua Yan was completely unaware of this.

Upon arriving at the Golden Triangle, Hu Father and his group started wandering around with a disguised tour guide. On the surface, it was a sightseeing tour, but in reality, they were exchanging information.

Hu Li had people keeping an eye on his father and the others while he stayed in the hotel on the first day. Starting from the second day, he began to wander around. By the third day, he was dressed in ordinary clothes, with makeup on. Each time, he would dive into shabby underground casinos, gambling a little but mainly collecting information.

Hu Er was assisting with these tasks, but Hu Li was focused on using this opportunity to find any information about Hua Yan.

Two men, smoking and leisurely walking out of an underground casino, were discussing something, looking very pleased.

"What you just said, is it true?"

"Of course. It's something others don't know, but I definitely do. If you weren't my brother, I wouldn't have told you."

"But you don't have to treat it like a treasure. Every boss has a few women around."

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

"But you don't know, do you?" The man kept the secret, not annoyed by his brother's sarcasm. Instead, he felt that his brother's disbelief was causing him to miss out on a huge secret.

They didn't notice someone squatting in the shadows, a pair of sharp eyes fixed on the smug man. Originally, Hu Li had come up from the smoky underground casino to get some fresh air, but unexpectedly, he overheard something about a woman.

His sharp instincts told him that what the man said was no ordinary matter. Silently, he followed the two men, using the terrain map he had studied earlier. Hu Li found a shortcut and ambushed them at the entrance of a secluded alley.

Afterwards, he made a quick call to Hu Er. Moments later, the two men were bound in an abandoned building.

Before Hu Li could even start his interrogation, the man spilled everything he knew. Seeing that they only knew this much, Hu Li dealt with them and returned to the hotel, leaving Hu Er behind.

"Master, do you think the beautiful female bodyguard that appeared in the Golden Triangle could be Miss Hua Yan?"

"We'll only know after we investigate."

Hu Er looked troubled. Although the Hu family had some allies in the Golden Triangle, their relationships were primarily maintained with money. Moreover, these people only communicated with his father. Hu Li had always avoided dealing with this place.

Now, the information they had only mentioned a woman, but her exact location, which armed base she belonged to, or which local warlord, remained unknown.

They wanted to investigate without revealing themselves, which was very difficult. So Hu Li decided to meet with his father the next day and say that he had changed his mind and wanted to meet those people. This way, it would be much easier to gather information.

The next day, when Hu Li shared his thoughts with his father, the old man looked doubtful but still agreed.

After obtaining the details of the allies from his father, Hu Li immediately started studying them, playing to their preferences.

In the following days, he either accompanied some people to gamble or sent women handpicked by Hu Er from other places. After a few exhausting days, Hu Li was still getting nowhere.

In fact, there had been a major purge of the armed bases at the end of last year. Several families allied with the Hu family and those who could talk to the big bosses at the armed bases were cleared out.

Thus, only a few people knew about Hua Yan's duel. Moreover, under Brother Qiang's strict orders, the people at his armed base dared not slack off even a bit regarding information about Hua Yan.

Earlier, Ah Shui and Hua Yan had speculated that Brother Qiang would release information to investigate Hua Yan's identity through others. However, they hadn't expected that while Hua Yan's identity was important to Brother Qiang, it couldn't compare to the poppy orders.

Therefore, Brother Qiang's orders were that unless explicitly instructed, no one was to discuss or inform others about Hua Yan. The other armed base leaders also wanted to avoid accidents and did not plan to disclose this matter.

"Father, I want to visit the major armed bases tomorrow." Since the lower-level people didn't know about Hua Yan, Hu Li decided to approach the higher-ups.

Hu Father's brows immediately furrowed in mild displeasure. "There are too many cops around. You don't have to be so eager. The poppy inspection videos will be shown soon. We don't need to go out to see the growth status of the poppies."

Every year, buyers would not personally visit the poppy fields. Instead, they relied on videos from the major bases and the subsequent inspections by trusted agents. Combining these two sources, they would decide on the orders without risking being tracked by the cops.

"I just want to see for myself. I'm not doing business with them. Even if the cops see me, so what?"

After pondering for a moment, Hu Father's expression softened slightly. "Which base do you plan to visit first?"

"The one run by Brother Qiang, who's about my age."

Hu Father laughed, unclear whether from amusement or some other reason. "You want to take on that tough nut, huh? Go ahead. But remember, this place is different from others. Never underestimate or act rashly."

After Hu Li left, Long Da asked curiously, "Master, why is the young master going to the armed bases?" For a family like the Hu's, which didn't deal in drugs, there was no need to be familiar with the heads of the armed bases. Usually, it was enough to avoid conflict.

"I'm not sure yet. Just send someone to watch over the kid."

"Yes, sir. I'll get on it right away."

The night before, Hu Li had arranged to meet with Brother Qiang, who specially set aside some time to host Hu Li today. Brother Qiang was so enthusiastic because he hoped to convince the Hu family to get involved in the drug business.

However, during their conversation, Hu Li's answers to Brother Qiang's questions were vague. Seeing that he couldn't extract any useful information and having other matters to attend to, Brother Qiang excused himself. Before leaving, he politely suggested that someone accompany Hu Li to tour the base.

Unexpectedly, Hu Li agreed. Brother Qiang was puzzled by Hu Li's intentions, but he didn't connect it with Hua Yan.

Hu Li was accompanied by Ma Zi as he toured the area, while Hua Yan, suffering from a cold, had been bedridden all day. According to Ah Shui, taking medicine was necessary, and staying bundled up was especially important.

So, when Hu Li and his guide passed just a street away from Hua Yan's attic, they didn't meet. Hu Li returned empty-handed, feeling downcast but hopeful that he might gather some information from the other bases.

That night, Hua Yan heard from Ah Jin about Ah Jin's admiration for their guest, Hu Li.

"You seem very interested in this Mr. Hu. Have you fallen for him?" Hua Yan teased Ah Jin from her bed.

Annoyed and embarrassed, Ah Jin retorted with a laugh, "You little rascal, I haven't fallen for anyone. It's just that Mr. Hu is quite remarkable. If our Brother Qiang is like the warm sun, then this Mr. Hu is like a millennium-old iceberg. They are like the collision of fire and ice."

"Do you mean this man could rival Brother Qiang?" Hua Yan couldn't help but wonder what kind of person could earn such praise from Ah Jin, who idolized Brother Qiang.

Ah Jin pondered seriously for a while before sighing, "Although I think Brother Qiang is the most incredible man in the world, I must admit that Mr. Hu is also an extraordinary talent. It's just that..."

"Just what? Don't leave me hanging," Hua Yan urged, feeling bored out of her mind in bed and eager to hear about this unusual person.