213: Chapter 213 Returning to Shenzhen

"Chen Hu called me a while ago and said that the temperature-controlled vault on the third underground level is finished. He asked me to tell you that it can be put into use as soon as you return."

"Did he mention any specifics?"

"He did. After the expansion, the area is two and a half times the original size. It's divided into four independent compartments, where temperature and humidity can be adjusted individually. Large gold bars go into the innermost compartment, small jewelry and items prone to oxidation go into the two middle ones, and the outermost one is reserved for transit."

Li Xin nodded. "I trust his work."

The sea breeze blew over, carrying a salty, cool scent. The yacht had already sailed out some distance. Looking back at the shore, the lights formed a line, twinkling in the night. The sea ahead was vast and pitch black; one could only see a faint grey-blue light on the horizon, which was the city lights shining up from beneath the clouds.

He leaned back in the sofa, legs stretched out. There was still half a glass of wine left, shimmering with a dark red hue under the light. There was no data jumping in his mind from the System, no energy field from beneath the ancient castle pressing down on him, and no whispers of spirits swirling around his ears. All that remained was the sound of waves lapping against the hull, rhythmic, steady, and unhurried.

"Mr. Li, tomorrow morning's flight is at eleven. It takes about six hours to reach Shenzhen. After landing, Liu Mo will lead a motorcade to pick you up."

Ahmed set down his wine glass, unlocked his phone, and handed it over.

"The specific takeoff and landing times have been confirmed. Please take a look to see if any adjustments are needed."

Li Xin took the phone, scanned the schedule on the screen, and handed it back. "No need to adjust it, this is fine."

"Very well."

The yacht continued to sail across the sea. Occasionally, a cargo ship would pass by in the distance, its hull pitch black, with a few lights on the upper decks, looking like a low building floating on the sea. The sound of the engine drifted over, muffled, and dissipated after a short distance.

Li Xin finished the last sip of wine, placed the glass on the table, and stood up to walk to the railing. The sea breeze blew against his face, carrying moisture. He stood there for a while without speaking.

Ahmed sat on the sofa for a while before standing up and walking over to his side.

"Mr. Li, it's windy here. Would you like to go down and rest? The bedroom is ready, and the bedding has been changed to the cotton-linen material you like."

"Stay a little longer."

Ahmed didn't try to persuade him further and retreated two steps to sit back on the sofa. The deck fell quiet, leaving only the soft sound of the wind blowing across the railing and the rhythmic sound of water hitting the hull.

Li Xin leaned against the railing, watching the blurry line where the sea met the sky in the distance. There was no divine realm suppression, no searchlights from the night Patrol Team sweeping over, and no endless chanting at the temple entrance throughout the night. The entire sea was empty, black, and unrealistically quiet.

He stood there for about ten minutes until the wind picked up, blowing the hem of his shirt up. He pressed it down with his hand, turned around, and walked back to the sofa to sit down.

"Let's head back. I'm tired."

Ahmed pressed his walkie-talkie and said something in a low voice. The yacht quickly began to turn around; the tilting of the hull was very slight, almost imperceptible unless one paid close attention. The lights on the shore reappeared in his field of vision, slowly spreading from a small patch into a large area, growing brighter and brighter.

When they returned to the hotel suite, it was past eleven at night. Li Xin came out after a shower, turned on only a small bedside lamp, and lay down in the dim, yellow light. The ceiling was off-white, with a ring of light gold decorative trim along the edges, reflecting a soft glow under the lamplight.

The System interface floated quietly in his consciousness, with no pop-ups or alerts. The interference marker for the Padmanabhaswamy Temple had completely disappeared, and the detection range column displayed "No suppression, full-capacity operation."

He looked at the text for a moment, turned over, and turned off the light.

The next morning, Li Xin slept until he woke up naturally. Sunlight leaked in through the gap in the curtains, landing on the carpet in an orange-red hue. He raised his hand to check his watch; it was past nine, no rush.

He washed his face, changed his clothes, and sat down at the round table in the living room. Ahmed had already brought breakfast: fried eggs, roasted tomatoes, a few slices of rye bread, and a pot of black tea.

Beside it lay yesterday's ledger, with a note pressed on the cover, on which a line of handwriting read: "All documents have been checked, no abnormalities. Ahmed."

He ate his breakfast, flipped through a few pages of the ledger, and closed it again. After finishing, he pushed the tableware aside and stood up to look out the window. Visibility was excellent today; the sea was a shining blue, and the distant skyline was as clear as if it had been painted.

The door was knocked twice, and Ahmed walked in, carrying a small black suitcase.

"Mr. Li, your personal belongings have all been packed. The Star of Travancore is stored separately in a temperature-controlled box and has already been placed on the plane. Is there anything else you need to bring?"

"No."

"Then we can set off."

Li Xin took one last look out the window, then turned and followed Ahmed out of the suite. As the elevator descended, the indicator light jumped grid by grid. He stood in the middle of the elevator car without speaking. Upon reaching the ground floor, he passed through the side door and got into the black Rolls-Royce.

The car headed toward the airport. The palm trees on both sides of the road flashed past, their leaves fluttering in the wind. The skyscrapers in the distance reflected the sun, a mix of white and blue that dazzled the eyes.

On the private tarmac, the Gulfstream G700 was ready. The boarding stairs were lowered, and a pilot in a white shirt stood at the entrance waiting. Seeing Li Xin approach, he bowed slightly.

"Mr. Li, the flight path has been filed. We are flying directly to Shenzhen Bao'an Airport, with a flight time of approximately six hours and twenty minutes. Your lunch has been prepared in the cabin, along with several documents that require your signature."

Li Xin boarded the plane and sat down by the window. He fastened his seatbelt, leaned back against the chair, and closed his eyes for a moment. He could hear the engines starting, the sound gradually rising from a low hum, and then the fuselage began to taxi forward, faster and faster, with the ground outside the window accelerating backward.

At the moment of takeoff, he opened his eyes and saw the white marker at the end of the runway shrink into a tiny dot in his field of vision before being covered by the clouds.

After the plane entered the stratosphere, Li Xin reclined his seat a bit and opened the document the pilot had handed him. It was a transit confirmation slip for a Hong Kong bonded warehouse that required his signature. He picked up a pen, signed at the bottom, and closed the document, setting it aside.

The clouds outside the window were endless, pure white and thick like a winter snowfield. Occasionally, he could see gaps between the clouds, revealing the grey-blue sea beneath.

He leaned against the back of the chair, his eyelids heavy. He hadn't slept much over the past two days, and the fatigue accumulated from those continuous rounds of operation in India began to slowly surface now that he was safe. He slowed his breathing, let his body sink into the soft cushion of the seat, and fell asleep before long.

When he woke up, the plane was already descending. The clouds outside the window had thinned, and he could see the outline of the land below, with green areas and grey-white buildings and roads interspersed among them.

The coastline of Shenzhen curved into an arc in the distance; the seawater was greenish, and he could see a few cargo ships moving slowly nearby.

The fuselage shook, and the sound of the landing gear being deployed came from below. Then there was a slight vibration as the wheels touched the ground. The sound of braking lasted for a few seconds, and then the plane began to taxi and slow down.

Li Xin sat up straight, adjusted his seat back, and looked out the window. The terminal building of Bao'an Airport was getting closer in his field of vision. Several planes were parked on the tarmac, and ground crew members wearing reflective vests were walking on the runway.

After the plane came to a complete stop at the parking bay, the cabin door opened. Li Xin carried the small suitcase down the stairs. A gust of hot wind hit his face; unlike the dry heat of Dubai, the heat here in Shenzhen was humid, with the air wrapped in moisture, sticking to his skin in a clammy way.

A row of cars was parked beside the terminal. At the front was a black Maybach, followed by five Range Rovers, all neatly lined up, their hoods shining in the sun. Chen Hu stood beside the Maybach, wearing a dark short-sleeved shirt, holding nothing, just standing there.

Seeing Li Xin walk out, he stepped forward to meet him, didn't call out, but just nodded.

"Boss, you're back. Was the trip smooth?"

Li Xin handed him the suitcase. "It was fine."

"That's good."

Chen Hu took the suitcase and opened the rear car door.

"Everything is ready at the manor. The kitchen just received a batch of fresh goods this morning. Whatever you want to eat, they can make it anytime."

Li Xin bent down and sat in the car. After the door closed, the coolness of the air conditioning slowly covered him. He leaned against the back of the seat, watching the scenery outside the car window begin to move. The terminal building receded from his field of vision, and then they got on the airport expressway. The green belts on both sides of the road were planted with neatly trimmed shrubs, deep green, and occasionally he could see a few flowering trees, with pink flowers crowded on the branches.

"That batch of things from India," Li Xin asked, his voice not loud, "did it leave any loose ends?"

Chen Hu was driving and glanced at him through the rearview mirror. "No. Everyone who came into contact has been screened. I arranged for people to watch Ravi for two days, and he knows nothing. Those foreign treasure-hunting groups at the temple entrance are still wandering around in India, being watched closely by the local police, so they can't get away at all."

"What about Li Jiayi?"

"According to your instructions, I didn't mention that you had been to India, only that you were handling some business in the Middle East."

Li Xin nodded and didn't ask any more.

The car exited the highway and turned onto a coastal road. To the right of the road was the sea, grey-blue, with not very high visibility; there was fog in the distance, blurring the shadows of the mountains on the opposite shore into a grey mass. On the left were rows of villas, staggered in height, with trees planted in every courtyard and vines hanging down from the walls.

After driving for ten minutes, they turned into a small uphill road. On both sides of the road were neatly trimmed lawns. Walking further in, one could see a black iron gate; there was no sign on the gatepost, only a line of shallow numbers.

Chen Hu pressed the remote control, and the iron gate slowly slid open. The car drove in, and the courtyard was very quiet. In the center was the three-story villa, with grey-white exterior walls and large, transparent windows, through which the light-colored curtains inside could be seen.

On the left side of the courtyard was a large banyan tree, its canopy spreading out over a large area, blocking the sunlight from half of the courtyard. On the right was a swimming pool, the water shining blue, its surface perfectly still.

Li Xin got out of the car and stood in the courtyard for a while. There was the scent of jasmine in the air, faint, drifting over from the bushes in the corner. The sea breeze blew in from the distance, carrying a salty scent, but it wasn't heavy.

Chen Hu walked over carrying the suitcase. "Boss, the temperature and humidity of the underground vault have been adjusted, and you can go down to check it anytime. Your bedroom upstairs has also been tidied up, and the sheets have been changed to new material. The kitchen is asking what you'd like for dinner; should they arrange a Cantonese-style meal?"

"Sure, Cantonese-style." Li Xin turned and walked into the house. "Don't make it too complicated, just enough to eat."

He walked into the living room and sat down on the sofa. The floor-to-ceiling windows were open, and the sea breeze blew in from outside, causing the curtains to puff up slightly. On the coffee table were two plates of snacks, a plate of chicken biscuits and a plate of walnut cookies, with a pot of hot tea placed beside them.

He poured a cup of tea and took a sip. Pu'er, ripe tea, mellow on the palate, with a hint of aged fragrance. He held the cup, feeling the temperature in his palm was just right.

His phone vibrated in his pocket. He took it out and glanced at it; it was a message from Luo Maifa, followed by several voice messages, each over half a minute long. He didn't click to listen, but replied with a line of text: "I've arrived. I'll look for you tomorrow."

Within two seconds, a message came back, still a voice message, this time shorter. He clicked to listen, and Luo Maifa's voice came out of the earpiece, filled with unconcealable excitement, "Good that you've arrived, good that you've arrived! Come over tomorrow to try on the suit; I've already had those sets altered three times, just waiting for you!"

"Okay!"

Then he put down the phone.

Outside the window, the sky was darkening, and the orange-red light spread across from the horizon, landing on the lawn of the courtyard, casting long shadows. The sea in the distance shimmered with light like broken gold in the evening glow, and fishing boats were slowly heading back, trailing a thin, long ripple behind them.

He leaned back against the sofa, holding that cup of Pu'er tea, not drinking it, just holding it. The System interface floated quietly in his consciousness, with no pop-ups or warnings.

The matter in India was over.