"Let him go." A faint and strange smell wafted through the air in the dark and cold basement as a dim light swung overhead. Hidden in the swaying light and shadow, four or five people stood vaguely. They were headed by a middle-aged man, who looked at the trussed up figure of Ku Yue and gave orders to the people around him.
The young men exchanged glances in dismay. One of them, a tall man with a red headscarf and a limp left leg, said to the middle-aged man, "Will that be okay? We haven't confirmed this guy's identity, and there's less than two months left until the deadline. If he's sent by the other side, a single misstep could make us..."
"No one will send a man who is easily knocked out to be a spy," the middle-aged man said calmly. "Have you found anything suspicious on him?"
"No, we haven't," the man with the red headscarf muttered, "but I still feel uneasy..."
"Let him go," the middle-aged man repeated, "Is my command no longer effective?"
The group of people became flustered, and the man with the red headscarf hastily said, "No, no, King, we'll release him right away." Ku Yue rubbed his numb hands and feet and stood up from the ground. They escorted him out of the basement.
"I apologize for the misunderstanding," the middle-aged man had Ku Yue's backpack brought over and returned it to him. "You can go now."
Above the basement was the Butterfly Kisses bar. Through the window, Ku Yue could only see the dawn breaking outside, making it impossible to estimate the current time. There were a few scattered tables with customers, who were teasing or whispering among themselves under the alcohol's influence, while the song "Butterfly Kisses," the namesake of the bar, played softly, swirling through the room.
"Thank you," Ku Yue rubbed his head and took his backpack from the man. "Although I don't know why you had to knock me out, I really came here to find my friend."
"What's his name?" the middle-aged man asked.
"Ah-Long[1]," Ku Yue sighed. "He's my childhood friend, and we lost contact. I put in a lot of effort to find out that he came to Moon City in Sword district. That's why I came here specifically to look for him."
"Do you have any idea how many guys named Ah-Long there are in the entire Moon City?" the man with the red headscarf interrupted loudly, furrowing his brows.
Ku Yue smiled bitterly, "I know. It's okay; I'll go door to door if I have to. Just please don't treat me like a bad citizen and hit me with a rod or something at any time."
"Do you have a picture of him?" a crisp voice came from behind the bar. Ku Yue saw her again, the girl on the rooftop. She had taken off her cap and her long hair hung straight and smooth down her shoulders, making her gender unmistakable at last.
"Yes," Ku Yue took out a partially damaged photo from his wallet. In the photo, two boys about six or seven years old were smiling brightly at the camera. "The one on the left is Ah-Long."
When the group of people crowded around to take a look, the man with the red headscarf shook his head, "Tut! It's no damned use to rely on this photo alone. Devil knows what he'll look like now."
"This is all I have," Ku Yue put away the photo. "No matter what, I have to find him. His mother is waiting for him, and she doesn't have much time left."
"I see…" the middle-aged man pondered for a moment and then turned to the man with the red headscarf. "Seven, arrange a place for him to stay and get some people to help him search."
"Alright," Red Headscarf nodded reluctantly and limped out.
"You can stay here for now," the middle-aged man poured a glass of red wine for himself and Ku Yue from a half-empty bottle on the bar counter. "But, don't go out at night, otherwise I may not be able to guarantee your safety. By the way, what's your name?"
"Ku Yue," he took a small sip, feeling the astringency flowing on the tip of his tongue. "And you? Any name?"
"Jin Feiyu. But everyone calls me King, it's simpler," he smiled at Ku Yue, swirled his wine and downed it in one gulp.
"Nice to meet you," Ku Yue held out his hand to Jin Feiyu with a bright smile.
[1] 阿龙: ā is prefix used before monosyllabic names, kinship terms etc to indicate familiarity; lóng is dragon.
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