Yihshyong clenched his right palm. He pressed the calluses against the table in front of him.
"If my guess is correct, Dahge is currently investigating all matters relating to the matter we are facing."
"That's what you had said earlier." Iren stretched his hand forward. "So what?"
"This matter about Songfei's disappearance is in line with Shinnshiow's kidnapping. Maybe it's just one of the things he's investigating. Perhaps he's also investigating other things that he thinks are related to each other. Things we're not even aware of."
"Hmm..." Iren only made a brief comment.
"As to why he disappeared, I have the impression that Dahge thought that without him we could handle our problems. And that's true! You see, so far we have been able to act without direction or even without Dahge's presence."
Iren nodded while hearing Yihshyong's explanation. But his face still looked unsure.
I really don't know how to make him believe my explanation!
"Miss Liuchiou is not with Dahge. Where do you think she is? Didn't they disappear together?" Iren cupped his palms together.
How do I know where that girl is?
"I believe that Miss Liuchiou disappeared with Dahge. It is possible that Miss Liuchiou is currently in a safe hiding place. It could be that Dahge has actually prepared a hiding place for Miss Liuchiou." Yihshyong tried to get the words out in a tone that should sound like a sentence spoken with conviction. He hoped Iren didn't realize that the last sentence he said was unreasonable. Yihshyong was just talking nonsense.
"Isn't there already Tsaehorng's apartment? That place is where the elite live. The security is super tight."
"I know Tsaehorng's apartment is a very safe place," Yihshyong said. "But Miss Liuchiou doesn't seem comfortable living there. I believe she chose to be with Dahge."
Iren smirked. "That girl is completely in Dahge's hands. I never thought that Dahge would have that kind of ability."
"Dahge doesn't have that kind of ability. It's just that she's at the right time and the right place. Other girls probably wouldn't do that."
"You're right," said Iren. He smiled. "So you don't think we need to worry about them anymore?"
"Not for the moment. But we'll wait for further developments. Maybe later Dahge will contact us."
"Should we tell this to the others?"
"The others, who?"
"Jenqyih, Chioujen, Jinqkang, Tsaehorng, and maybe also Jongli Jyhren," answered Iren.
Yihshyong snorted. "I don't believe in Jongli Jyhren. He is a very mysterious person. Maybe because he is part of a very secretive institution, then he has to act like that."
"What about Jenqyih?"
"Jenqyih is one of us, so Dahge must believe in him. But we don't know how close Jenqyih is to Jongli Jyhren. That man could have manipulated Jenqyih to tell him everything. So we shouldn't tell him just yet. Except later when Dahge told us to tell him."
"Then what about Tsaehorng? He's helped us a lot. I don't think it's appropriate for us to keep this a secret."
"I know Tsaehorng has sacrificed time, money, and energy to help us. I don't want to be presumptuous, but you also know that Dahge doesn't fully trust him. Dahge is always careful when Tsaehorng is around us."
"You mean the secret passage under our house?" Iren asked.
"Yes, that's one of them. There are other things that show Dahge's caution. Therefore, regarding Tsaehorng, I will follow Dahge's policy."
"What about Jinqkang? He is a Duanmuh. I think Dahge trusts him."
"Dahge does seem to believe in him. But don't forget, he is currently Tsaehorng's employee. So he has an obligation to be loyal to Tsaehorng. It is possible that he will leak everything we tell him to Tsaehorng. I don't want to take that kind of risk. "
"What about Chioujen? He's one of us. He deserves to know we've seen Dahge."
Yihshyong laughed. "You are so naïve. What makes you think Chioujen doesn't know where Dahge is?"
"So he already knows?" Iren's eyes widened as he looked at Yihshyong.
"I don't know for sure that Chioujen knew about Dahge's plans or not. But if you look at Chioujen's movements, there seems to be something strange."
Iren rubbed his chin. "Yeah, I do feel since he got home, he's been acting a bit weird. But I thought it was because he hasn't seen us in a long time. So he needs a little adjustment."
"I suspect Dahge has told Chioujen a lot of things. Do you remember that night, before Chioujen came home? Dahge had time to go to the underground station. Maybe that time they met there and Dahge explained everything to Chioujen."
"Oh!" Iren exclaimed. "Dahge told me to go into the secret passage first. He said he was going to stop by the drugstore. So you might be right that they met at the station. No wonder Dahge was there so long."
"What I said makes sense, right?" Yihshyong said.
"But why did Dahge choose to tell Chioujen this, and not us?"
"First, there are some of our new neighbors who are very suspicious. Chioujen doesn't know them, so he can be more objective. The second is that Dahge has known Chioujen since Chioujen was a child, so it's only natural that Dahge has a high trust in Chioujen. Then third, Chioujen is very good at hiding his emotions. His face can look so flat, without a conspicuous expression when he is angry or sad. If you had known about Dahge's plans beforehand, then you wouldn't have been able to pretend to be worried. Jongli Jyhren would easily have guessed that you were lying."
"Chioujen isn't good at lying, either."
"True, but like I said earlier, people find it hard to read his facial expressions."
"Then why didn't Dahge tell you?"
"I don't know," Yihshyong said. "Maybe Dahge thought that if I found out, then I couldn't bear not to tell you. So he decided not to tell me. Or, there could be other things Dahge is considering."
"Do you think this was Dahge's plan from the start?"
"I don't know. It's possible that Dahge had considered this from the start, but yesterday's events could have given him this idea."
"You mean Dahge used the events at the mall as an excuse to disappear?"
"That's possible, right?" Yihshyong laughed.
Iren shook his head. Then he looked back across the street.
"Hey, someone's coming!" Iren exclaimed in a loud voice.
Yihshyong turned his head towards where their dahge was standing. There was a van that stopped a few yards from where their dahge was standing. He couldn't see how many people were in the car and what they looked like. Apart from the fact that the van's windows were very dark, it was also too far from their position.
The back door on the right opens. The side was facing them so that Yihshyong and Iren could clearly see the figure that came out of the car. He was a man of great stature. Yihshyong estimated that the person's height was probably over 190 centimeters. Judging from the proportions of his body, that person must weigh over 120 kilograms. He carried a long wooden stick. The wooden stick seemed to be made of a very hard type of wood. The tip was not sharp, but it looked so sturdy.
"Shyongge! What do you think he will do?" Iren got up from his chair again.
"I don't know. But let's not act rashly. Let's see what happens first." Yihshyong also stood up. But he did not intend to get out of the restaurant to run towards the car. Yihshyong gripped Iren's arm. He tried to restrain his friend from doing things that were impulsive like before .
The big tall man walked to the front of the car. He moved closer to the person who was similar to their dahge, who was standing at the end of the front of the car.