Something Beautiful and Wicked

For days, Shi Ailin had wracked her mind about the things she realized. She couldn't sleep, and she developed the courage to see Luo Wanting.     

It was after dark that she snuck over to the Luo Estate. Not wanting to use the front door, Shi Ailin went to search for another door that would lead to Luo Wanting's suite.     

She gritted her teeth, forgetting how big the mansion was. The porch lights were on, and she remembered where Luo Tian's suite was, so she went to find it, following it.     

She caught sight of Luo Tian through one of the windows, so she ducked quickly, walking with her head lowered. She traced the bricked walls until she found a door that led to one of the suites.     

Shi Ailin wondered if this was a good idea if she should turn back now.     

"I'm surprised that you didn't set off any of the security alarms," a deep voice said from the second-floor balcony. Shi Ailin looked all around, startled until she gazed up at Luo Wanting. The wind ruffled his ash-blonde hair, and he held a small smirk on his face.     

Shi Ailin's mouth opened and closed, but no words left her lips.     

"Wait there," Luo Wanting said. He turned and went back inside, and Shi Ailin waited, rubbing her arms from the night chill. He opened the backdoor, and Shi Ailin yelped when she felt him pull her inside.     

He gently caged her against the closed door. "Sorry," he said, his breath warming her face. "You had been outside for too long, and I don't need my brothers to see you."     

Shi Ailin looked at him eye-wide. She nodded in response. "I should be the one who is apologizing for showing up uninvited."     

His lips curved into a smile, pulling away from her. He arched a brow. "Why are you here?" he questioned in a teasing manner.     

"I…" She was at a loss of breath. Shi Ailin wasn't one to sneak around and show up to a man's house in the late hour. "I need your help. I want to hold you to the favour you owe me."     

Luo Wanting narrowed his eyes slightly. "Yes. I'll do anything you ask."     

"I want you to teach me how to kill a man."     

Luo Wanting blinked, and he blinked again. He felt as if his hearing deceived him. He shook his head, "I'm sorry, WHAT?"     

Shi Ailin looked at him seriously, dead-set in the eyes. Her lips then curved into sheepish laughter. Luo Wanting then began to laugh, too, after realizing she was teasing him.     

She then patted him on the shoulder. "Maybe you can show me another time. But for now, I need you to do something else for me." She then let herself into the suite, and she glanced around the interior. Luo Wanting was still taken aback by Shi Ailin's first request.     

"Where can we go?" she asked.     

He led her to his study. The walls were painted dark-brown, and there was a black swirl of a scorpion on one of them.     

Luo Wanting gestured a leather armchair, and Shi Ailin took a seat, clutching at her purse.     

He took a seat at the one across her. He then lazily sat, wearing his casual white shirt and grey sweatpants.     

Shi Ailin couldn't meet his eyes. They didn't have a relationship, and though they've kissed, she didn't expect him to have feelings for her. So what were they? Friends?     

"How can I help you?" he asked.     

Shi Ailin lifted her chin. She then took something out of her purse, a few photos. "I want to find out the truth about my parent's suspicious deaths," she said. "I know you have connections everywhere, so I wanted to know if you could help me."     

Luo Wanting leaned forward, crossing his hands together. "What makes it suspicious?"     

Shi Ailin swallowed hard. "It's a feeling."     

"Ai," Luo Wanting said with familiarity. "There's more that you're not letting me know."     

She then passed Luo Wanting one of the photos she found. Luo Wanting picked it up and looked at it. It was a picture of Shi Yan wearing a pilot uniform in front of a helicopter. "This is your father," he said.     

"Yes," Shi Ailin replied. "My father flew helicopters as a hobby. That's why he's wearing a pilot uniform. My parents died in a crash, and the police reported that the wreckage was so bad that they hardly found their remains. They found traces of DNA through some clothes and blood. But…it didn't make sense. There were hardly any clouds that day. I remember. My father does thorough checks on mechanics, so he knows if someone's tampered with it." She paused.     

"You think they're alive?" Luo Wanting said. "I know it's difficult to accept a loss—"     

"No," Shi Ailin said. "I gave up on that hope years ago. I remember looking at that picture so many times so I can remember what he looked like, but I didn't think about the possibility until recently." She glanced at him. "What I'm saying is that I think someone staged the accident to cover the murder tracks. My sister thought it was suspicious too, but she couldn't find anything."     

Luo Wanting widened his eyes. "If this is true," he said. "Why do you believe that anyone would go to such lengths to do this?"     

Shi Ailin shot him a sad, grim smile. "Unfortunately, my father's made many enemies," she said. "And he had a lot of power. It could have been anyone who wanted his money or his influence."     

"And who do you suspect would harm your parents?"     

Shi Ailin's heart thundered. She was afraid. "I believe it's someone from the Underworld."     

"Why?"     

Shi Ailin swallowed again. She shut her eyes. She swore to keep this secret to her grave, as required by tradition. She gave him another photo of her father. It was taken inside the house when Shi Ailin was a child. Her father was carrying her as she smiled wide towards the camera.     

There was a tattoo of Lion on the right pectoral of Shi Yan's bare chest. Luo Wanting widened his eyes. "He was a member of the Lion organization?" He asked her.     

Shi Ailin bit her lower lip. "He was a prince, like you," she admitted. "But he wasn't just that." She looked at him nervously. "He was the Emperor up until he died."     

Luo Wanting stilled, trying to recollect his thoughts. "But that would make you and your sister, princesses of the Lion organization."     

Shi Ailin shook her head. "No. My sister and I never claimed or followed the ways of my father. We didn't even know until Master Wong told us after he perished."     

Luo Wanting contemplated it.     

"I promise," Shi Ailin said. She then blushed. "I can even strip down, and you can search my body. You won't find any tattoo. If I were an official princess, I'd have the mark."     

Luo Wanting smirked slightly. "It's not necessary. I believe you," he said.     

Shi Ailin glanced away with a red flush. She then composed herself.     

Luo Wanting ran a palm over his face. "I'm sorry, this is a lot to register," he said. He then looked at her. "This is why you believe he was killed? Someone had found out?"     

"I'm not sure if he was killed as Shi Yan or the Emperor," replied Shi Ailin. "I don't know anything, but I want to figure it out. And I want your help."     

Luo Wanting nodded. "I will do everything I can," he said.     

Shi Ailin smiled. "Thank you."     

"We have to do some investigating," he said. "I will look at the reports of the crash again. I think I can find something, and I have access to any incidences that occurred in Shanghai."     

"Thank you," Shi Ailin said. She then paused, twirling her thumbs. "Can you explain to me how the Underworld works? There's still so much I don't know."     

Luo Wanting released a breath. "Are you sure you want to know? It's not pretty."     

"Yes," she breathed.     

He started. "The Underworld operates like a network. The organizations are interconnected, like the way roads lead to a busy highway. But we all listen to a head, the Emperor. He or She keeps their identity hidden to the extreme. It would be difficult to discover who they are. Now, an elite family leads each organization, since it's easier to sway or mislead the public when you already have power and authority in the business world. It also makes people less suspected of you, but it's no surprise that people believe a lot of shady shit goes down when it comes to rich people."     

"So the Shi family is one of them, which was why my father was the Emperor?" Shi Ailin asked.     

"Yes," he replied. "But it's tradition to keep the secret of a family's tie to an organization. Many members—who aren't family, but regular people—have tattoos just like their leader, so it helps hide the identity when each member carries the same symbol. If you're related to the prince or princess of the organization, and if you ever betray your family, then that whole family is wiped out, because it compromises the tradition of utmost secrecy. Then, a new family—with a different surname—replaces them. However, the former Empress didn't allow those atrocities to happen, allowing a few families to survive, even when their leader's identities were revealed out in the open." Luo Wanting paused. "The Emperor's word is the law according to us, and their successor can't do anything to overrule what their predecessor had done before."     

Shi Ailin released a breath. "The former Empress?" she questioned.     

"Yes," Luo Wanting said.     

"Who is that?"     

Luo Wanting shrugged. "Who knows? She allegedly died, and she replaced Shi Yan."     

Shi Ailin thought about it. "She died?"     

"Yes," Luo Wanting said. "That's what's the word. But we have a new Emperor now, her replacement. That's how succession works. Once one dies, another replaces them."     

Shi Ailin nodded. "All right. I am still wrapping my head around everything. So there are seven organizations, all who listen to an Emperor within a secret society? My own father was one, and my mother was his consort. All the organizations are connected like a network, and they commit crimes and rattle the police. Do they affect the rest of the country or the globe?"     

"Yes. Yes. Yes. And not exactly," Luo Wanting said. "We only affect Shanghai. Sometimes our operations connect or clash with other sectors all over China, like the Triads, sometimes in other countries like the Yakuza and Seo-bang Faction."     

Shi Ailin almost fainted when she heard the other organized crime groups.     

Luo Wanting chuckled. "Don't worry. Unfortunately, they're fading out, and so are we. But the Emperor is trying hard to maintain our operation."     

Shi Ailin had to register everything in. God, she had no idea how any of this worked. It was more dangerous than she thought, and her father was the former Emperor? She shivered, realizing that he was definitely a target for a reason. But, still, she wanted closure, and she knew Shi Yen wanted it, too.     

"I see," she continued. "Well, then. I knew you'd be the right person to come to."     

Luo Wanting smiled. "You can come to me for anything."     

Shi Ailin tried not to flush. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, gulping. "Well. That would do for now. Thank you."     

"No problem," he said.     

Shi Ailin stood up, and she gave him a curt nod. "I will see you soon. I will also call you before I show up next time."     

He laughed. "See you soon, princess."