Xia Lei thought Linda’s home was in the crowded city but when he arrived, he realised it was a house on the coast. It was situated on a gra.s.sy hill with tiny flowers littered around it. It was beautiful. The waves from the ocean crashed onto the reef at the bottom of the hill making the most calming sounds. The lighthouse faraway was lit, guiding fishermen out at sea. There was a small town at the bottom of the hill too. The Baroque style architecture was picturesque under the sky, he felt like time had stopped in the seventeenth or eighteenth century.

Although this was his first time here, he was already in love with the scenery.

“This is beautiful,” sighed Xia Lei in awe as he stood on her balcony.

“This is beautiful indeed but it gets boring after a while. You’d want to get out or move somewhere else.” Linda brought him a cup of coffee. “It’s how humans think, no? Most people like new things.”

Xia Lei sipped some coffee and smiled. “And yet you’re an oddball. You like old stuff, right?”

“You?” Linda stared at him intently with her blue eyes, as if reading his past.

He did not mind. “I am a logical person. I think I’m in the middle of both. I like new technology but I also like antiques pa.s.sed down generations. Have you seen Chinese dramas? I am a Chinese theatre enthusiast.”

He’s just finished when Linda suddenly sang a line, “The red-faced Zhang Fei, green-faced Cao Cao…!”

Was she imitating a Chinese opera singer? Xia Lei was very confused.

“Hehe, apologies. I only know one line. It’s not bad, right?”

“You sing well,” said Xia Lei kindly, despite what he thought.

“It’s fine, I just like Chinese culture but I know too little. Mister Ma Lei, wait a few minutes here. I’ll make a call and then let’s go to the town for dinner.” She smiled. “You promised you’d get me dinner.”

Xia Lei smiled. “No problem.”

Once she left, he took out his satellite phone and dialled.

“Boss, I thought I’d only receive a call from you tomorrow morning,” came Alessio’s voice. “If you know what I mean,” Alessio added suggestively.

Xia Lei replied, “Nonsense. She’s Linda, an archaeologist from Italy. She happens to be going to Malta for some archaeological work. Her ident.i.ty is a good cover for me.”

Alessio said, ‘Yelena took pictures of her. Sa’im did a background check. We can confirm that she is all clear, you can go to Malta with her. I have a question. What about us? Should we follow you in secret too?”

“Go to Malta first but lay low. You just need to wait for my call.”

“I thought so. See you in Malta then.” Alessio then added, “Boss, Italian women are famous for their pa.s.sion. She’s a good one. Don’t waste this opportunity. I am sure she hasn’t done it in a while.”

Xia Lei did not respond.

After hanging up, his gaze turned to where Linda left. He then saw her in a room, on the phone.

Perhaps out of habit, his left eye locked on her lips, reading them.

“Professor Oman, right, I have just returned to Sicily. I will rest a day then leave for Malta. Yeah, I’ll be bringing a friend to town for dinner later. You can just pa.s.s me the things. I won’t be coming to your house. I know it’s very important, don’t worry. I will be very careful with them. Yeah, alright. See you later.” Linda hung up and then turned to leave the room.

Xia Lei looked back.

“I’m ready, can we go now? I’m starving,” said Linda with a smile.

Xia Lei nodded with a smile.

The town at the bottom of the hill was named Witch Town. It was named after a powerful witch from the middle ages. However, Xia Lei was not interested in Linda’s story.

Both of them entered an Italian restaurant. He ordered their best dishes and best wine, then hired a street performer to play a song on the violin, the romantic ‘Serenade’.

“Mister Ma Lei, you’re a romantic man. I don’t know why our time together has felt so familiar, so warm. We have only known each other for a short while, but it feels like years. This is peculiar, no?” She was smiling from ear to ear.

Xia Lei smiled. “Miss Linda, are you hinting at something?”

“What do you mean?” There was a mysterious smirk on the corner of her lips.

“Let’s toast to that.”

Dinner was enjoyable. However, Xia Lei did not see Professor Oman and had already called the waiter over to pay the bill.

Linda looked at her phone frantically. “I’m not sure what happened. Professor Oman isn’t here yet, we’d agreed on the time.”

She called him but no one picked up.

“We can wait here,” said Xia Lei.

“Let’s just go to his house.”

“Let me go with you. It’s late, it’s not safe for you to be out in the streets alone. This is Sicily,” said Xia Lei.

“Hehe.” She chuckled. “Mister Ma Lei, first, thank you for your concern, but you are wrong. Everyone thinks Sicily is a paradise for criminals, but that is the past. Now, the mobs are earning their fortunes from gold, property or investing in oil. Who’d still want to kill and fight when there are much safer ways to earn more money? Don’t worry, it’s safe.”

When he heard this, Xia Lei thought she didn’t want him to come but when she finished, she came over to hold his hand. “Let’s go, we’ll go together.”

Xia Lei suddenly thought Alessio might be onto something.

Professor Oman’s house was not far away. They arrived in ten minutes.

It was a very old house, perhaps more than two hundred years old. However, it was well-kept and there were few signs of wear and tear. The house was like a composed, clean old man with many stories to tell.

Linda knocked on the door but no one answered.

He wasn’t picking up the phone, nor was he answering the door. This was not normal. Xia Lei was suddenly alert. With a twitch of his left eye, the door and walls disappeared. It was at that moment he grabbed her waist and they both dove to the ground.

Tut-tut-tut!

The wooden door shook and several holes appeared. They were bullet holes. One second later and these bullets would have pierced through Linda’s chest.

“What are you doing?” She didn’t know what had happened.

Xia Lei did not explain. He leapt and picked her up, carrying her towards the corner of the wall.

“Mister Ma Lei!” Linda was upset now.

The door behind them burst open and a shooter ran through the door.

Xia Lei had already brought Linda around the corner, away from the shooter.

Linda was about to scream but Xia Lei covered her mouth. His left eye saw through the wall and locked in the shooter.

The shooter walked over with a gun in hand. His arms were extended before him, aiming at the corner of the wall. His posture was on form and his hands were steady. He must be a trained professional.

However, Xia Lei was calm. He could see the man through the walls. Even if he didn’t have any weapons, he could still disarm this sharpshooter. He had a knife hidden in his waist. Just as the shooter turned the corner, he would stab him.

However, this shooter was not his enemy. His target was the armour in the Knight Hospitaller’s hands. This was not a hero-saves-damsel story. That was why unless his life was threatened, he would not kill this man.

The shooter approached.

Xia Lei’s brows furrowed. He did not want to kill anyone in Sicily, yet this person seemed to want death. He let go of his arm around Linda and fumbled around his waist.

“Who is there? Come out!” The shooter stopped one meter away from the corner. However, his shadow was cast by the street lights on the ground. They could see his arms and the gun in his hands!

Seeing the shadow, Linda suddenly understood what happened and panicked.

A car suddenly stopped in the street and someone yelled, “Hey! What are you doing?”

This startled the shooter. He looked at the car and sprinted off.

Xia Lei let Linda go and put down the hand that was about to grab his knife.

Linda looked around and saw that the shooter had already hurried off into an alley. Very soon, the sound of car engine roaring came. A very cool car rushed out like a ferocious beast and escaped into the darkness.

“Oh no! Professor Oman!” Linda rushed out of the corner.

Xia Lei hesitated, then walked out. Just as he contemplated looking into the house, Linda had already rushed into the professor’s house.

“Hey! Sir, what happened?” asked the car driver on the street.

In Italian, Xia Lei said, “I don’t know either. We were just attacked. Can you call the police?”

“No problem.” The driver took out his phone and called the police.

Xia Lei walked to the door in deep thought. “Should I leave her here? But her ident.i.ty really was a good cover…”

He did not reach a conclusion because he had already stepped into the house.

The room smelled faintly of blood.

“Professor Oman!” He heard Linda’s shriek from a room.

Xia Lei rushed over.

It was a study. There was an old man lying in the middle of the room. He was shot in the chest and his s.h.i.+rt was already drenched with blood. There was also a loosened floorboard.