Chapter Ninety-Two: Have I made it onto the Black Fish List?

After I had settled everything, I remembered Red Sister’s promise. So I set out for her villa.

Just as I was about to leave, Luo Yier happened to come back. Seeing me ready to go, he asked with concern, “Boss, where are you headed?”

I smiled and said with studied ease, “Nothing much. I’m just going out for a walk to clear my head.”

Luo Yier nodded, though he still seemed worried. “Should I arrange a car and people to take you?”

I waved him off. “No need. I’ll just go out for a stroll and get some air. Don’t call anyone. It’s a nuisance.”

With that, I walked straight out of the office.

Half an hour later, I was back in my shabby rented room, and my mood had eased a little.

The place was crude, but it was my temporary refuge.

There were still traces of Little Miao in the room.

After rummaging through a few things, I gave a bitter smile and threw them all into the trash.

I went downstairs and took out the old bicycle I usually rode.

Though the bike was worn, every brake and every turn was as familiar to me as the back of my hand.

Mounting it, I headed for the villa district where Red Sister lived.

On the way, I passed a small produce market and casually bought some vegetables.

The bustle of the market and people’s warmth gave me a little comfort, as though I could briefly forget the struggles and schemes.

At the entrance to Red Sister’s villa district, a guard stopped me. “May I ask who you’re looking for?”

I smiled faintly and pointed to the bicycle.

The guard laughed. He knew I was one of the people in this villa district.

After all, I was the only one who ever rode a bicycle in here—especially a beat-up one like mine.

So he knew me well.

He nodded and let me through.

I wheeled the bicycle into the villa district, and the familiar gardens somehow put my heart at ease.

At last I reached the front of Red Sister’s villa. Taking a deep breath, I pressed the doorbell.

After a moment, the door opened—not Red Sister, but an elderly woman.

From her attire, she seemed to be the housekeeper.

When she saw me, she paused, then smiled gently. “You’re here to see Red Sister, aren’t you? She’s in the back garden. Please come with me.”

I nodded and followed her inside.

The villa was still richly decorated with exquisite, ingenious luxury. Every detail revealed Red Sister’s taste and standing.

We passed through the spacious living room and came to the back garden.

The garden was full of flowers and shaded by lush trees, the air faintly fragrant with blossoms.

From a distance, I saw Red Sister seated in a wicker chair, holding a book in her hands, absorbed in reading.

At the sound of footsteps, she lifted her head. Seeing me, her face showed its usual cold indifference.

That is, until she noticed the vegetables in my hand.

Her expression changed slightly, and she said coolly, “There’s no need to bring vegetables. You haven’t been here for a long time, so I’ve already hired help.”

As she spoke, she gestured toward the housekeeper.

I said nothing more. I handed the vegetables to the old housekeeper, and Red Sister shook her head before motioning for the housekeeper to prepare dinner. She wanted to talk to me.

The housekeeper took the vegetables and silently turned away.

I stood before Red Sister and felt the complicated emotions in her gaze.

She set the book aside and lightly patted the wicker chair beside her, signaling me to sit.

“You’ve really changed your fate, Chen Laobao... Though in this city you may not count as top-tier rich and powerful, you are still someone with great standing. It’s just that you’re getting on in years.” Red Sister spoke, her voice carrying a trace of concern, but more disdain and coldness.

“It’s all right. Life has to go on,” I answered with forced ease, though the turmoil in my heart would not settle.

Red Sister frowned slightly, as if thinking.

After a moment, she raised her head and looked straight at me. “You know I didn’t ask you here just to catch up.”

I nodded, having long expected that she had something important to say.

“Wang Hu, before this gambling-on-stones convention, if you had not left this city, you still had a sliver of a chance to survive. But now I’m telling you, you’d better leave this city.” Her tone grew serious, and a determined glint flashed in her eyes.

“You’re chasing me away again?” I asked with a cold laugh, my gaze carrying a touch of provocation.

After a moment, she sighed, helplessness seeping into her voice. “Wang Hu, you know this isn’t what I want. But the situation now is no longer something you and I can control.”

I frowned, dimly sensing how grave things had become. “What exactly happened?”

Red Sister put down the book, stood up, and walked to the edge of the garden, gazing at the distant sky. “Your name has already been put on the city’s Black Fish List... What comes next is a string of catastrophic disasters.”

“The Black Fish List?”

I looked at her in confusion.

Red Sister turned back to me. “Do you know what a black fish is?”

I nodded. “A kind of predatory fish. I’ve heard of it.”

Her expression turned even colder. “You should know that the industries aboveboard in this city are mainly two things: construction and jade.”

She took a deep breath and said slowly, “What you’re doing has nothing to do with construction, but the jade dealings you’ve gotten involved in will inevitably touch the interests of the ten great families.”

My heart stirred slightly. Though I had anticipated as much, hearing it from Red Sister still sent a jolt through me.

The ten great families were the true center of jade power in this city. Each of them controlled a portion of the jade trade.

Red Sister went on, “Your outstanding performance at the stone gambling convention has already drawn their attention. The people on the Black Fish List are all those they consider potential threats. Now that you’ve been placed on it, it means every move you make will be under their watch.”

I clenched my fists, a surge of unwillingness welling up inside me. “So all I can do is run?”

After a moment of silence, I said, “I still can’t figure it out. Why would they put someone like me, with no backing and no family left, on the Black Fish List?”

Red Sister came to my side and gently patted my shoulder.

“Black fish is a carnivorous fish in nature. If even one black fish appears in a pond, the other kinds of fish can easily be eaten clean through.”

“It’s a fish no fish farmer would ever raise.”

“The reason the ten great families put you on the Black Fish List is precisely because you fit the nature of a black fish so well.”

“You’re alone, with no clan behind you... Your old mother means nothing in their eyes. And yet you possess the ability to gamble on stones against people like Chen Laobao and Gao Youde, veteran jade men of many years.”

“Especially that jade fox mask you uncovered...”