Chapter 16

Diamond Words 1: Diamonds and Night

Receiving an urn in the middle of the night jolted Anger awake from his sleep. Confused, he looked up at Mo Fei and asked, “Ashes? Whose are they?”

Mo Fei almost laughed, observing Anger still caught between confusion and clarity, and replied, “I asked them, but they wouldn’t say. Maybe you should ask?”

Anger blinked, took a moment, then patted Mo Fei's shoulder, seemingly displeased.

Mo Fei couldn't help but smile; even Anger resorted to hitting someone today…

Then, Mo Fei brought him a coat to put on. As Anger stood up and got out of bed, he noticed a baseball bat and the somewhat disheveled sofa nearby.

At the door, Mo Fei explained, “I heard the doorbell ring and went to check. There was an urn sitting on the doorstep.”

Anger nodded and followed Mo Fei downstairs.

The urn, untouched on the table, drew Anger's attention. He walked over, slowly opened the box, and frowned slightly.

“Is it ashes?” Mo Fei asked.

Anger scooped up a handful of white ash. Mo Fei was about to stop him, but then noticed under the light, tiny particles shimmering in the white powder... like crystals.

“The main component seems to be white sand,” Anger murmured softly, “Whether it contains any actual ashes is unclear.”

Mo Fei cautioned, “Remember to wash your hands later, and don’t touch your mouth or eyes.”

Anger, wordless, stood lost in thought. The fine white sand slipped through his fingers back into the box, forming a small mound. A thin layer of powder coated Anger’s pale fingers, giving his hands an almost unreal appearance.

Mo Fei shook his head, gazing at the pitch-black night outside, and suggested to Anger, “Let’s buy some curtain fabric tomorrow.”

“Curtains?” Anger looked at Mo Fei, puzzled, unable to see any connection between curtains and the urn.

Mo Fei shrugged, offering no explanation, but simply said, “Shall we go together in the morning?”

Anger nodded, then returned his focus to the urn.

Suddenly, Mo Fei approached, closed the box, and pulled Anger saying, “Let’s go upstairs and look around!”

“Why?” Anger asked, confused, but Mo Fei was already leading him upstairs briskly. For some reason, Mo Fei always felt uneasy in the downstairs hall, as if something in the dark night outside the glass display was watching them.

Once the room door was closed, Mo Fei’s discomfort vanished. Anger, however, was weighing the urn, commenting, “Why is it so heavy? The wood isn’t particularly valuable.”

“Heavy?” Mo Fei leaned in closer. Anger reopened the box, intending to delve into the pile of sand, but Mo Fei stopped him. Then, Mo Fei fetched a basin, took the urn from Anger’s hands, and poured all the contents into the basin.

As the white sand poured out, several glittering items tumbled out with it. Mo Fei frowned, brushed aside the sand, and picked up the items.

Examined under the light, their dazzling brilliance and substantial weight immediately revealed their value. Mo Fei had extracted four ornaments from the sand: small in size, made of white gold and encrusted with diamonds, depicting a lizard, a goldfish, a cat, and a crow.

These finely crafted diamond ornaments were exquisitely lifelike. Mo Fei, though not an expert in jewelry, knew such white gold and diamond pieces could be costly - a single ring could cost tens of thousands. Could these four items be worth several hundred thousand? Who would be so bizarre as to deliver diamonds worth so much in a cremation urn in the dead of night?

An Ge'er studied the four items for a long time, placing the lizard on the table and said, "The lizard incident at the Midsummer Hotel." He then placed the goldfish beside it, "The time with the Goldfish Blossom." Next, the cat, "The black cat from the Gilded Dancing Shoes." Finally, the crow, "This time's Xu Kelo."

Mo Fei furrowed his brows deeply and said, "The gift-giver seems to be paying close attention to you."

An Ge'er nodded and asked Mo Fei, "Is there anything else?"

Mo Fei rummaged through the sand again and pulled out a white card, handing it to An Ge'er.

An Ge'er took the card and observed that it was exquisitely crafted; one side featured a printed design of two white magnolia flowers beside a handgun, with a few grey letters - 'Midnight Carnival'.

"Midnight Carnival?" Mo Fei, puzzled, asked An Ge'er, "Is it some organization? Or a club perhaps?"

An Ge'er shook his head in confusion, flipped the card over, and saw the front was completely white with a message written in elegant penmanship: "To An Ge'er," signed by - Your Admirer, Black.J.K.

An Ge'er scrutinized the card for a while and then passed it to Mo Fei.

"Black JK?" Mo Fei, perplexed, looked up at An Ge'er, "Someone you know?"

An Ge'er shook his head, "I have no recollection at all. With such a unique name, I would have remembered if I had met them."

"This is so strange, should we call the police?" Mo Fei asked.

An Ge'er thought for a moment and replied, "Let's decide in the morning. Otherwise, we won't get any sleep tonight." He then said to Mo Fei, "Put the things away and get ready for bed."

"Okay." Mo Fei tidied up and then both washed their hands and returned to the room.

An Ge'er lay on the bed and, looking at Mo Fei sitting by the sofa, propped his chin with one hand and asked, "Why are you sitting over there?"

Mo Fei glanced at him and said, "You sleep, I'll keep watch."

An Ge'er smiled slightly and asked, "Is this your way of standing guard?"

Mo Fei, a bit embarrassed, said, "What if something happens to you while I'm sound asleep?"

An Ge'er stared at him and said softly, "That doesn't look comfortable, and you might catch a cold."

"You know about catching colds, huh?" Mo Fei teased him.

An Ge'er gave him a look, still unsatisfied, patted the space next to him on the large bed, and said, "Come here."

Mo Fei hesitated, looked at the bed, and said, "I'd rather not, the sofa will do for me."

An Ge'er didn't insist, just covered himself with the blanket and said, "If you feel uncomfortable, you can join me here." Then he lay down to sleep, reminding Mo Fei, "Turn off the light."

With a sigh of resignation, Mo Fei stood up to turn off the lights. Just as he was about to return to the sofa, he paused, reconsidered, and walked over to An Ge'er's bed, lying down to sleep.

After a while, Mo Fei asked, "An Ge'er, are you asleep?"

After a long pause, An Ge'er responded in a low voice with a questioning "Hmm?"

Hesitating for a moment, Mo Fei asked, "I was wondering, how did you manage alone before? Or did you have an assistant?"

A good while later, An Ge'er replied, "I had assistants."

"Why did they all leave eventually?" Mo Fei probed further.

Waiting a long time with no response, Mo Fei thought An Ge'er didn't want to answer and decided not to press further. Just as sleep was about to overcome him, he noticed An Ge'er turning to face him, eyes open, clearly awake.

Mo Fei looked questioningly at An Ge'er, who was staring back at him.

An Ge'er, resting his head on the pillow, watched Mo Fei for a long time before saying, "Two died, and three left within less than two months."

Mofei, staring blankly at Anger, asked, "Why did they leave?"

An Ge'er smiled faintly, "Perhaps they thought staying would mean death?"

Mo Fei uttered an "Oh," nodding in understanding.

Suddenly, An Ge'er asked, "Would you ever leave?"

Mo Fei was already drowsy and murmured, "That can't be true."

"Why?" An Ge'er asked softly, "This job is very dangerous."

Mo Fei raised an eyebrow, mustered energy but still couldn't hide his fatigue, and muttered in a daze, "What's so dangerous about it? When I was bartending at the bar, I encountered a gunfight with drug offenders, saw gang firefights while parking cars at the hotel entrance, and even witnessed a crazed janitor slashing with a kitchen knife while selling newspapers early in the morning... What job in this world isn't dangerous?"

An Ge'er didn't know whether he had heard it all or not. After a long silence without a response, Mo Fei comfortably prepared to sleep. In his hazy state, he heard An Ge'er's faint voice by his ear, saying, "Hmm, I don’t want you to go either."

Mo Fei, with his eyes closed, nodded and fell asleep.

Once Mo Fei was deeply asleep, An Ge'er slowly got up, walked to the window, drew the curtains, and stared at the dazzling night sky. He then sat down on the sofa, propped up his leg, rested his chin in one hand, and gazed blankly at the glamorous night... until the sky gradually lightened and a fiery red sun rose among the towering buildings.

One disadvantage of a city with too many buildings is the inability to see the horizon. Thus, when the sun rises, you miss it, and by the time you see it, it has already risen high.

The next morning, Mo Fei woke up early, before seven. Mo Fei was a hard worker in the traditional sense, typically waking up on time no matter how late he slept, especially if he had something to do the next morning. He never delayed and didn't need an alarm clock. People often say it's a life of toil... but no one's life of toil is innate, just like the poor never suffer from diseases of the wealthy.

Upon waking, Mo Fei instinctively looked at the clock on the wall, only to find An Ge'er sitting on the sofa at the foot of the bed, leaning on it and staring out the window motionlessly.

"An Ge'er!" Mo Fei sprang up suddenly.

Startled by An Ge'er, he turned his head to look at him and asked, "What's wrong?"

Seeing that An Ge'er was alright, Mo Fei sat on the bed and took a breath before asking, "Did you wake up early? Or did you not sleep all night?"

An Ge'er did not respond but simply said, "Weren’t you going to buy curtains? When shall we go?"

"Oh, that's not urgent." Mo Fei rubbed his brow and said, "Hungry? What shall we have for breakfast?"

An Ge'er thought for a moment, "I'd like some porridge."

"Alright, I'll make it." Mo Fei got up and seeing the urn on the table, said, "Should I call Oss while I'm at it?"

An Ge'er nodded and gestured for him to come closer.

Puzzled, Mo Fei walked over, and An Ge'er pointed at himself, saying, "Carry me to bed for a while, I don't want to move."

Mo Fei was stunned, and after a long pause, he asked, "Did you really not sleep last night?"

An Ge'er nodded somewhat displeased.

"Why?" Mo Fei wondered, "Aren't you the one who loves sleep the most?"

An Ge'er said, "I initially just wanted to sit for a little while, then didn't feel like getting up, so I just kept sitting."

Mo Fei couldn't help but twitch the corners of his mouth, shook his head, bent down to pick up An Ge'er and placed him back on the bed, covering him with the blanket. "Wake up and have your porridge," he said, then turned and started his busy day. An Ge'er adjusted his position on the pillow, listening to the city outside the window becoming noisy with the arrival of morning, and drifted off to a light sleep.