CHAPTER 84: THE BLACK LEDGER FATE

"So, the ledger is really gone?" the man with the tattooed face asked, his voice low and sharp.

He sat with authority, legs spread and back against the plush leather of the worn-out sofa. Even in a tailored black suit, he looked more like a warlord than a businessman.

Thick muscles strained beneath his shirt, and the tattoo crawling up the side of his neck gave him the air of someone who’d buried bodies in silence.

Boss Chi.

Across from him, Sun Laoqi stood stiff, beads of sweat trickling down his temple. He didn’t dare meet the man’s eyes.

"Everything’s been checked, Boss Chi. We went through every safe, every office, even that room... Nothing. The ledger’s not there."

Boss Chi leaned back slowly, his arms crossing over his broad chest. His two bodyguards flanked him like silent statues—one calmly adjusting his sunglasses, the other staring forward without blinking.

The air was heavy, as if the room itself knew someone was about to get hurt.

"How about the woman?" Chi asked, his tone colder now. "His wife. You get everything she had? A peasant from some backwater village shouldn’t know the first thing about inheritance law."

Sun Laoqi swallowed hard. "That... that part’s complicated. She brought two lawyers with her. They handled everything clean. Took her share and Jin Yuexin’s."

Chi’s fingers twitched against the armrest. His jaw flexed once. Then, in one explosive motion, he slammed his palm down on the table, making the cheap ashtray jump.

"That stupid, ignorant woman?! Are you telling me she outplayed all of you?!"

"Her lawyer is smart, he wanted us to give every legal document that stated all Jin Haolong’s assets in the name of our company." added Mr. Yu from the side, stepping forward carefully.

"If we do that Boss Chi, I’m terrified they know what we ’actually’ do."

Boss Chi didn’t respond at first. His eyes narrowed as if calculating who he needed to shoot first.

"Then where the hell is the damn ledger?" he muttered.

Just then, the office door burst open.

One of the younger men rushed in, breathing hard. "Boss Chi! We... we found the ledger!"

Everyone in the room froze.

Chi slowly stood up, face grim. "Where is it now?"

The man reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a sealed plastic evidence bag.

Inside was a half-burned notebook—charred at the edges, but still intact enough to see names, figures, and red-ink markings scrawled across the pages.

He placed it gently on the table.

Boss Chi leaned over, scanning it in silence. The tension in the room was thick enough to choke on.

"This... this is really the ledger," he said, voice almost reverent.

"The police handed it over," the man explained, "Said it was recovered from the wreckage of Haolong’s car. Found it in the backseat, tucked under the floor mat."

Chi’s face darkened.

"So it burned in the crash..."

Then came the real question—heavy and bitter.

"How the hell are we supposed to report this to the Lead?"

No one answered.

Silence settled like smoke, and for the first time, the room truly felt cold.

***

Inside a dimly lit office filled with the subtle scent of sandalwood and tobacco, Ruan Lihua sat gracefully behind her mahogany desk.

Dressed in a sleek black cheongsam with gold-trimmed edges, she exhaled slowly from her ivory pipe, releasing a stream of smoke that curled above her.

On the table in front of her lay a single object: a worn, black leather book. The infamous ledger of Golden Earth. It was worth more than all the gold in her vaults.

"How is it, Peng?"

Across from her stood Peng—a tall, thin man in a fitted grey suit, his posture perfect. Round glasses perched on his nose, his expression unreadable as always.

"I’ve already paid off the right officers," he replied calmly.

"The police handed the burned copy of the ledger to Golden Earth, just as you instructed, Madam Ruan. They believe it’s real. Now they’re too busy investigating the wreckage and internal threats to even think about Lianwu Street."

A smile tugged at the corners of Lihua’s lips. She took another long drag from her pipe, her crimson-painted nails tapping lightly against the stem.

"And what about the shopping district certificates? Have they been transferred to Zhao Yiming’s name yet?"

Peng adjusted his glasses. "It’s still in progress. Even with my connections, transferring thirty-five individual property titles isn’t easy. It may take two weeks, perhaps longer."

"That’s acceptable," she said, leaning slightly over her desk, smoke trailing from her lips like silk ribbons.

"He’s still occupied with building his company anyway. Once all is complete, I want the certificates transferred again—to his company’s name."

She paused, studying the flickering flame in the small oil lamp beside her.

"Now," she continued with a sly smile, "I have another task for you, Peng."

Peng straightened, his brows lifting slightly. "What is it, Madam Ruan?"

"I want you to kidnap someone and bring him to my ’special’ room."

His lips didn’t move, but his eye twitched just slightly.

"And who might this unfortunate soul be?"

Her smile deepened into something more dangerous. "The man who had the audacity to leave my apartment the next morning... after a heated night."

She leaned back in her chair, crossing one leg over the other with elegance. "I want to be the one that handled him since he is good at material arts. Kidnapping him would be a pain."

Peng took a steady breath. He had worked under Ruan Lihua long enough to know what kind of "punishment" she meant... and how far she was willing to go for amusement especially when it was connected with a man that she found interesting.

"I understand, Madam Ruan," he replied, bowing slightly. "I’ll make sure to confuse and traumatize him—just enough to keep things... exciting."

Lihua chuckled softly, her pipe twirling between her fingers. "That’s why I value your service, Peng."

"You may go."

As he turned and exited, Lihua slowly spun her chair to face the window, smoke drifting past her cheek as she whispered with a dangerous glint in her eyes:

"I’ll make sure it’s a day he’ll never forget..."