It was one ordinary midnight when a much younger Xing happened across her father and another strange man talking in hushed whispers. She overheard her father address that man as 'Kobayashi'. That was why the name sounded so familar to her. However, the foreigner woman that was seen with him... should be her mother, and considering the time of his death, she would have been pregnant with her at the time. What was she doing with Hatsu Kobayashi? From what she gathered, her mother disappeared soon after, not to be heard of until months later, when she gave birth to her.
Why would her mother feel the need to escape from her father's home, which was akin to an impenetrable fortress? She would be more than safe there. God knows the amount of traps positioned all around the area, very few people in the world would be able to dismantle them. This probably meant that her mother was threatened by someone more powerful than her father. But what was the connection with Katsu Kobayashi? What was she doing there with him? Yuan Xing rubbed her temples in annoyance.
She knew going into this wasn't going to be easy, yet why did she feel this uneasy feeling of dread? Yuan Xing was smart enough to realise the connection between her family's demise and the past incidents she was uncovering. This was a scheme 19 years in the making. And the masterminds had an indescribable grudge against her parents, waiting all these years just to enact their torture on her family. Her face went cold. 'No matter, they have incurred my wrath. I'm going to hell, but I'll sure as well take them down with me.' Yuan Xing took another look at the screen again, reviewing the information.
Her next step would be to find out who the witness was. It didn't mention anything in these files. The witness must have entered a protection program; Kobayashi was still a drug dealer that had connections with people who would have liked to know more about his death. Her father may have left him to his own devices because he trusted him, but it seemed like Kobayashi didn't necessarily feel the same. Otherwise, why would he have gone missing during the time my father was betrayed by one of his men? Awfully convenient.
She would have to dig deeper into the Police files but it was too risky. Guess it was time to make use of Mr Feng's connections. Yuan Xing exited the building and drove back to the Yuan household. There was so much she needed to do. She quietly entered the mansion and made her way through the house and into her room without anyone noticing. Yuan Xing walked to where her in built wardrobe was. Sliding the mirrored doors open, she pushed her clothes to the side and knelt down, feeling around the base of the wardrobe's corner. She made a small 'aha' noise and opened the small inconspicuous trapdoor with a key she kept on her body at all times.
Inside the trapdoor lay an intricate pagoda puzzle made of metal. She grabbed it and went through the familiar motions of disentangling it. After a few seconds of sliding the blocks around and moving the metal balls, a click was sounded and she horizontally twisted the pagoda to reveal a secret compartment. Yuan Xing gently held the USB drive and caressed it as if it was her own child. An onslaught of memories came to her then.
".....remember, you first twist this final piece around aannnddd viola! It clicks open."
"Seems...difficult. You know I'm not that smart when it comes to these things."
"Just follow my lead. You'll remember it anyway with your photographic memory. Unlike someone we both know." We both chuckled.
"Hey! Is that how you speak to your.. "
Yuan Xing came back to the present and smiled fondly at the flashback. Her thoughts darkened as those warm voices faded away. That's right. They weren't here anymore. She would no longer be able to feel their loving touch or listen to their nagging lectures filled with care. Yes, they weren't here anymore. But she was. 'Don't worry, I'll find them, and I'll make them sorry for doing this to us.' She took the USB and locked away the puzzle back inside the trapdoor.
Yuan Xing messaged Zhang Jie using a disposable phone and texted him the details of their next meet up. She hid the USB drive in the soles of her shoes. No way was she letting it out of her sight. She stretched her stiff limbs and flopped onto her bed in exhaustion. Her muscles were a bit lax these days, she'd have to double her training regimine. For now, she slept.