**Chapter Translation:**
"Kie-hong! I hope you made this decision with careful consideration, not just a rash choice."
"Rest assured! I am not someone who acts rashly and hastily."
"Very well! Then we both agree."
You get the news information you want to know, and I can understand the mystery I want to comprehend... now first of all, let's talk about the yellow leather suitcase.
That item was entrusted by Leng Souw-hiang to Bu Tiat-cui for safekeeping.
Is that correct?"
"Such a thing never happened."
"Oh...?"
"At that time, Cu Siau-thian gave an order letter to Leng Souw-hiang. He instructed him to open and read the letter only during difficult times. When you had already cut off his hand, he thought of this letter. He immediately opened and read its contents, and then he instructed me to go to San-poa alley...."
"You are saying that Leng Taiya actually knew nothing about the yellow leather suitcase. That he was merely following orders written in the letter...?"
"Correct."
"Then perhaps Bu Tiat-cui also doesn't know?"
"Correct."
"Did Cu Siau-thian give similar order letters to others?"
"He gave them to everyone! Tan Po-hai, Oey Souw also each received one."
"Such news calms my heart..."
Wie Kie-hong felt puzzled. He asked, "Why does this news make you so happy?"
"Because this is news we had never heard before."
"Now we can talk about my father's whereabouts."
Suddenly, Thiat-yan's expression changed. He then spoke in a low tone, "Before I tell you the news you want to know, you must promise me one thing. Do not get emotional, and do not hope too much. The reality of a hope often exceeds one's expectations, and if it turns out that way, too high a hope can make you miserable."
"No matter the outcome, it remains the same to me. The most important thing is the truth; I just want to know what really happened."
"As far as I know, your father is still alive in this world; he is not dead..."
Wie Kie-hong appeared very calm, seeing this, however, Thiat-yan felt uneasy. The words to be spoken next were not good news that should be received so calmly.
Sure enough, after a moment of silence, he continued, "But it seems his life is more miserable than death."
"Why is that?" suddenly Wie Kie-hong jumped from his seat.
"Because right now he is being forced by someone. He is like a starving ghost, no different from a living corpse. He cannot do anything according to his own will..."
In an instant, Wie Kie-hong, who previously appeared very calm, turned into a madman possessed. With a regretful tone, he asked, "Who is the person suppressing my father? Quickly tell me!"
"I already told you, why are you so emotional now? Didn’t you say earlier you are not someone easily swayed by emotions?"
"Thiat-yan! You don't need to beat around the bush like this. I beg you to quickly tell me, who is suppressing my father?"
"Right now, I cannot tell you."
"Why?"
"Because you surely won't believe it."
"I have repeatedly shown you, now I come here to ask you, I will definitely believe your answer."
"Even if you truly believe my words without the slightest doubt, I still won't tell you...."
Wie Kie-hong's emotions surged even more, so much that he shouted at him, "Before, you feared I wouldn’t believe, now you fear I will believe! Under what circumstances will you tell me this news?"
"It’s best if you half believe and half doubt me."
"I truly don’t understand...."
"Listen to my words. If you don't believe me, anything I say is futile. If you believe me a lot, you will surely seek this person and take action immediately, and of course, this will become a problem. If you half believe and half doubt, it makes a big difference. You will slowly seek to understand what truly happened. You will investigate the true events carefully. Naturally, in the end, you will uncover all this mystery, only you won’t act wrongly and create more problems."
Although Thiat-yan's argument was long-winded, it made sense. Wie Kie-hong was no longer as emotional as before, now he was calmer.
He then said, "I understand what you want to say. If I promise not to act rashly and be careful in investigating your words, will you tell me?"
"Your agreement is not what matters; the question is whether you can face this issue with a calm heart."
"I believe I can do it."
"There is still one more issue. Can you promise not to tell anyone about this until it is resolved?"
"Sure."
"In that case, I will tell you. That person is Cu Siau-thian."
"Cu Siau-thian, is it true that Cu Siau-thian is the one who has been suppressing Wie Kie-hong's father, Wie Ceng?"
At this moment, Wie Kie-hong’s emotions were mixed like when someone sees someone crawling and then biting a dog in the middle of the road. Not a dog biting a person, but a person biting a dog. Anyone seeing this would first think they saw it wrong.
Now, Wie Kie-hong felt he had heard it wrong.
"You don’t believe it?"
"Not that I don’t believe it, just hard to believe."
"Your attitude truly makes my heart calm. Half believe and half doubt. You will slowly...."
"I want to ask you one more thing. Is my father in the city?"
"He is," Thiat-yan answered very confidently.
"Where?"
"In the grasp of Cu Taiya."
"Has my father not had any chance of freedom all these years?"
"It is very difficult because Cu Siau-thian's ability to control others is extraordinarily great. People like Tu Liong, Leng Taiya, Hui Ci-hong, Tan Po-hai, aren't they all in his grasp?"
The words spoken by Thiat-yan were profound, and Wie Kie-hong secretly felt shocked.
"Kie-hong! Cu Siau-thian is not an easy person to deal with. This is the last word I can say to you...."
"There is something I want to tell you. Boh Tanping is Cu Siau-thian's sworn brother; you should not trust him too much."
Wie Kie-hong hoped to see Thiat-yan surprised, but Thiat-yan instead laughed. Her laugh sounded very soft.
"The matters you know are indeed not few."
"You don't seem surprised to hear this news."
"I am not surprised at all."
"Why?"
"Because I've known for a long time."
"You already know Boh Tan-ping is Cu Siau-thian's sworn brother. Do you think he once was his sworn brother, but did not expect that until now he is still a sworn brother? Miss Thiat-yan! Until now, Boh Tan-ping is still in contact with Cu Siau-thian. Do you know about that?"
"Of course, I know."
Now the situation reversed. The one who was surprised was Wie Kie-hong...
"You clearly know but pretend not to know. Or is the secret relationship between Boh Tan-ping and Cu Siau-thian also planned by you?"
Thiat-yan laughed and said, "This matter depends on your wisdom to assess."
Although this conversation did not produce a clear decision, it clearly melted the hostility between them both. For Wie Kie-hong, he learned a lot from Thiat-yan.
His father is still alive... this is great good news. Even though Wie Ceng's life is more miserable than death, but to his child, this is vastly different.
Are Thiat-yan's words trustworthy? The answer is surely. Her unique way of delivering this news gave a different impression to Wie Kie-hong. Thiat-yan is not someone who says one thing and means another, not someone with a narrow heart.
While walking home, suddenly Wie Kie-hong thought about Cu Siau-thian's scheme of distributing order letters to everyone. He had a thought to find out all the contents of the secret order letters that had been circulated. Now he decided to uncover everything.
Hui Ci-hong is dead; the only ones left are Tan Po-hai and Oey Souw. Wie Kie-hong decided to go meet Tan Po-hai.
0-0-0
When Wie Kie-hong arrived, Tan Po-hai was not playing his musical instrument. He was playing chess. Seeing Wie Kie-hong’s arrival, he stopped his game.
"Uncle Tan! Have your injuries improved?"
"Much better!"
Hearing from Tan Po-hai’s tone and way of speaking, it seemed losing both ears was not a significant issue for him.
"How is Leng Taiya?"
"He is also fine."
Wie Kie-hong spoke very politely. Suddenly, he lowered his voice, "Gihu has sent me here to ask you about one thing."
After saying this, Wie Kie-hong felt a bit nervous in his heart. This was the first time he lied. But without lying, he feared Tan Po-hai would not tell the truth.
"What matter?"
It seemed Tan Po-hai did not notice the emotional change in Wie Kie-hong at all.
"After you harmed Tiat Liong-san, Cu Taiya distributed secret order letters. Each of you received one. If the situation became complicated and difficult, you were expected to open the letter and do what was written in it. Surely, uncle has not forgotten about this?"
"Of course, I could not forget."
"Have you seen this letter?"
"Of course, I have seen it."
"Gihu wants to know the contents of the letter given to you."
Tan Po-hai was stunned.
"Gihu has instructed me. Whether or not you will tell, that is a decision that uncle will make. I must not force it at all."
"In fact, there is nothing strange about the contents of the letter given to me. On the letter, only a few words are written... a foolish person will be safe; this aligns with what I want now, you see, am I not fine now?"
Wie Kie-hong felt like a deflated balloon losing air. The words written did not contain much meaning. This time it seemed he came for nothing.
---
**
Glossary:**
1. **Kie-hong** - A character in the novel, possibly the protagonist.
2. **Cu Siau-thian** - A character involved in distributing secret letters and controlling other characters.
3. **Leng Souw-hiang** - A character given a secret letter by Cu Siau-thian.
4. **Bu Tiat-cui** - Entrusted with a yellow leather suitcase.
5. **Thiat-yan** - A character who provides crucial information and insights.
6. **Tan Po-hai** - A character who received a secret letter.
7. **Oey Souw** - Another character who received a secret letter.
8. **Wie Ceng** - Kie-hong’s father, who is still alive but in a miserable condition.
9. **Tu Liong, Leng Taiya, Hui Ci-hong, Tan Po-hai** - Characters mentioned as being under Cu Siau-thian's control.
10. **Boh Tanping** - Cu Siau-thian's sworn brother.
11. **Gihu** - Likely a respected elder or leader figure who sent Kie-hong on his mission.