Chapter 169 - A Small Clue

A pale girl lay stretched on the bed with tubes attached to her little hands. Her eyes which should have been bright with innocence and happiness were dull and glassy with pain and disillusion from the world.

Shi AI went and sat next to the girl but Shan Shan's eyes were glued to the person who had just entered. She kept staring at the dangerous man with wide eyes before tears started to roll down her eyes and she cried earnestly.

Shocked at her reaction,Ah Hai went close to the little girl and held her small frail hand in his. He touched her hand gently and slowly so as not to scare her. She had seen the worst side of the male species and he did not wish to scare her more. But instead of being scared of him,she clutched at his fingers in desperation before sobbing,"Thank you for saving me,Mr Knight!"

This caused Ah Hai's browse to rise in suspicion and shock. He could not think how the little girl would know his name. But Shan Shan was going on babbling,not at all aware of the a.d.u.l.ts' reaction."I prayed to God every night to send you to rescue me. Now I won't have to go back to that dirty place and those dirty people again.." Even as Shan Shan said this,she looked at Ah Hai for confirmation that he really would not send her back. Ah Hai tried to give Shan Shan a reassuring smile as he gave a gentle pressure in her fingers."Yes,your prayers were answered because you were a good girl. Tell me Shan Shan, how did you know to ask God to send me?"

For a moment,Shan Shan's face reflected terror as her walleyes widened and she tried to explain herself while stuttering,"I... I didn't mean to eavesdrop but they were talking and I just heard it.."

Seeing the fearful look,Ah Hai tried to console the girl again,"Shan Shan,it's ok if you heard anything. There is no shame in it. Try to tell me correctly what you heard."

Though Ah Hai's eyes were as cold and emotionless as always,Shan Shan actually felt a measure of relief. She would not have been able to tell him everything if she had seen any pity or sympathy in them. But the oddly lack of emotions made her feel as if she was talking to herself and that reassured her. "That man,Yung is scared of you. He..he came to the room one morning and said how Knight would create troubles and how his daughter was connected to you. He..he was also talking about some jewels but master shut him up and told him to not say anything more. I did not know who they were talking about but later I heard a few guards talking among themselves. They said how master was going to try to get to your good side but using your innocent wife. They have recently hired a new maid. She does not know yet that I am..I am not a young miss of the family and she should be alert around me.Actually it was because of her that I have also survived. When they started giving me the medication, she was the one who mistakenly alerted me. She had sent he guard mix the tablet in my food so she offered me a chocolate so that the butter taste would not linger. That was how I knew that something was wrong with my food.. One morning while she was cleaning the room I took her phone and looked you up. There was an article about how you were setting up security in the hospital that is governed by master and thus he was scared of you..so I knew that if I could be saved by you then master would not be able to catch me and bring me back like the last time."

Shan Shan finished theblast part on a sob making Ah Hai pat her head softly to help her calm. Unable to control hherself,Shi Ai gathered the little girl in her arms,even as she herself cried. There was one thing that Shi Ai was having difficulty keeping mum over was how Shan Shan dare not call Shi Qinglan's name. Even now she referred to that man as 'master'. It took all of Shi Ai's training to not snap and correct her. But she knew that Shi Qinglan had conditioned Shan Shan slowly and torturously to think of him as her master so similarly it would be a long therapy before Shan Shan would be able to let go of that stigma.

Soon,the little girl was exhausted and fell asleep in Shi Ai's arms who then lay the girl slowly back on the bed,before wiping her brow with a wet napkin and tucking the girl in. Ah Hai went out of the room,his mind deep in thought. Unknowingly, Shan Shan had given them a valuable clue. Through the beginning,there was one thing he had been unclear of. Why would they try to keep the real Shi Ai alive when they believed everyone else to be dead. If Shi Qinglan's motive had been s**  trade,then he would not have kept her in captivity for so long. And pretending to be someone for a year or two was understandable but Qin Yung kept Shi Qing for more than a decade? Why did they use such a deception? And at the end everything in this puzzle was related to that antique jade set which was in Shi Qing's possession.He looked up to see Yang Mei staring at him with the answer to his questions. There was only one person who could help them with finding the motive- Elder Shi..

With a nod in Yang Mei's direction,Ah Hai ordered,"Call your grandfather."

Just then Shi Ai came out of the room and without a care,threw herself into her husband's arms l,crying her eyes out.

In bitter sobs she looked up at her husband questioning him,"Ah Hai!They are not humans!They are monsters!How can anyone be so cruel? My sister must have suffered so horrible because of me and these horrible men!She was also this age!And it is all because of me. If I had not been so dumb she could have at least saved her self. My stupidity caused her so much harm." Shi Ai was buried under the mountain of guilt as she tortured herself with imagining whatever her sister had suffered.

Unable to see this finally Yang Mei burst out,"That is not true."

That abrupt outburst caused Shi Ai to come back to herself as she looked at Yang Mei in confusion. Realizing that she had almost flown her cover,Yang Mei composed her expression and tried to explain,"Shi Xaio. Everything those horrible people did is their fault not yours. Your sister saved you because she loved you and wanted to protect you and your innocence. Don't blame yourself and make her sacrifice go to waste. With the beautiful person you have turned out,I am sure your sister and mother would be proud of you and given a chance,Your sister would not hesitate to sacrifice herself again. Please be brave for her and focus on finishing off these monsters and then living well with your husband." Oddly reassured,Shi Ai let go of Ah Hai and gave Yang Mei a hug thanking her profusely for taking her sister's place and for reassuring her. Yang Mei returned the high with mmmoist eyes because what ever she had said was true. All she had wanted for her sister was to protect from the bad in this world and though she had failed last time,this time she would succeed and finish off those monsters. She would kill them and then herself. For the last many years,her life had only two purposes,killing hose monsters and seeing her little sister happy and safe. Now that she had seen for herself how Ah Hai cared for her,shebcould peacefully rest once those people were dead. Yang Mei tightened her hold on her sister and the hug turned fierce even as her eyes flashed a cold light. 

However,this coldness was witnessed by Ah Hai and his instinct told him that Yang Mei's end goal was different from theirs and they would have to be careful. Their purpose was to expose and then punish but Yang Mei had already decided to kill.

Turning his back on the girls, he closed his eyes to think of a new plan to unravel this new complication. If Shi Ai got to know her sister and then lost her again then she would be devastated. Yang Mei was going to have to be handled very very carefully. If she needed to kill those bas***** to finish her revenge,then he would orc.h.e.s.trate it in a way that would not implicate either of the girls..