Chapter 54 The Mysterious Phone Call Returns

Lu Jingyan practically sprang to his feet, stretched out his long arm, and grabbed the microphone the moment the second call sounded.

He didn't speak immediately, but his other hand's fingers were already moving rapidly on a hidden dial on the side of the telephone, trying to connect to the military switchboard for reverse tracking.

"Hey." His voice was very low, and all the muscles in his body were tense.

There was no breathing on the other end of the phone, only a crackling of static. Then, a distorted, hoarse voice, indistinguishable in gender or age, came through again.

"Peace...Restaurant..."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than, with a "click," the other party deftly cut off the line.

All that came through the receiver was a cold, monotonous busy tone.

The veins on the back of Lu Jingyan's hand, which was holding the microphone, bulged.

"Investigate!" Lu Jingyan practically roared. He didn't hang up but quickly dialed the switchboard. "Trace the source of that call! Immediately!"

The operator on the other end of the switchboard was startled by his thunderous command and frantically began to operate the equipment.

But the result was as expected.

"Reporting to the commander... the other party... the other party hung up too quickly, and the signal switched multiple times. We... we can't locate them at all."

The answer was as expected.

The other party was an absolute master; from the moment they dialed the number, they erased all traces.

Lu Jingyan slammed the microphone back into place with a heavy thud.

His handsome face was ashen.

This is a provocation.

A blatant provocation from the darkness!

Are they Lu Wenbo's accomplices swaggering around? Or is it some unknown enemy?

Lu Jingyan's anger was almost tangible, but Su Wantang remained unusually calm, recalling the mysterious phone call she received upon arriving in Beijing, which was exactly the same situation.

Peace Hotel?

The name struck Su Wantang like a bolt of lightning, exploding in her mind.

She remembered.

In the last letter left by her mother, Bai Xiuzhu, after mentioning her stepmother Liu Liyun and the Hong Kong Hung Society, she wrote a seemingly unrelated sentence in an extremely cryptic tone.

"The storms of peace of yesteryear will eventually blow into this day."

At the time, she took it as her mother's remark and didn't think much of it. Looking back now, she realizes it wasn't just a remark; it was a landmark! A signpost her mother had long anticipated she would need!

Who was that mysterious person making the phone call? Was it one of Mother's former subordinates? Or a third party who knew the whole story and wanted to use someone else to do the dirty work?

It's hard to tell friend from foe.

But none of that matters anymore. What matters is that this clue was left by her mother!

"I'm going to get something." Su Wantang stood up, said this, and quickly walked out of the study.

Watching her resolute back, Lu Jingyan's anger was suppressed by a sense of doubt. He didn't know what she was thinking, but he chose to believe her unconditionally.

This woman always manages to tear open a hole in unexpected places when he thinks he's reached a dead end.

Soon, Su Wantang returned.

In her hands, she held the sandalwood box she had brought from the Su family in Shanghai.

She placed the wooden box on the desk and slowly opened it in front of Lu Jingyan.

Inside are all of Bai Xiuzhu's belongings.

A few pieces of jewelry that weren't particularly expensive, a stack of yellowed letters, and a Parker pen.

Su Wantang had looked through these things countless times, so much so that she could remember the scratches on every piece of jewelry and the creases on every letter.

She hadn't noticed anything unusual before.

But this time, with a clear goal in mind—the Peace Hotel—she examined these things a completely different way.

She didn't look at the letters, but instead picked up a plain-looking jewelry box from the bottom shelf.

The box is made of silver and has oxidized and turned black. It has no patterns on it and is so ordinary that it is even a bit simple.

Her fingertips traced the surface and inside of the jewelry box inch by inch with meticulous care.

Lu Jingyan unconsciously softened his breathing, his gaze fixed on her slender and nimble hands.

Looking at her focused expression, and seeing the light cast a small shadow on her long eyelashes, his anxiety subsided.

Finally, Su Wantang's fingertip stopped at an inconspicuous corner at the bottom of the box.

There, there is a protrusion smaller than a grain of rice, almost integrated with the box.

You wouldn't notice it at all unless you looked closely.

She gently pressed her fingernail against the raised area.

“Clatter.”

A very faint, almost inaudible sound.

A thin, hidden compartment popped out from the bottom of the seemingly seamless box!

Lu Jingyan's pupils suddenly contracted.

This technique...this thought process...

He looked at Su Wantang, his eyes filled with shock. This woman's meticulousness and keen insight had once again broadened his understanding of human nature.

Su Wantang's heart also began to pound wildly at this moment.

She steadied her breathing and carefully pinched something out of the dark compartment, which was only as thick as a piece of paper.

It was neither gold nor silver jewelry, nor secret letters or ledgers.

It was just a yellowed, worn-out black and white photograph.

The background of the photo, with its towering buildings and classical style, is none other than the Peace Hotel, a landmark in Shanghai that everyone knows.

In the photo, a young woman stands at the entrance of a restaurant, wearing an elegant cheongsam, smiling brightly and radiantly. Her eyes and brows exude the gentle grace unique to women from Jiangnan, while also displaying the confidence and composure of a well-bred lady.

She is my mother, Bai Xiuzhu, when she was young.

Lu Jingyan's gaze was also drawn to the woman in the photo.

For the first time, he saw Su Wantang's mother's appearance so clearly.

Pure and beautiful.

Su Wantang's eyebrows and eyes are at least seven-tenths inherited from her.

Su Wantang turned the photo over.

On the back of the photograph, a name was written in an extremely elegant and beautiful penmanship.

—Du Kangnian.

Three simple words, no title, no postscript.

But in Su Wantang's eyes, these three words were heavier than a thousand troops or ten thousand taels of gold.

Lu Wenbo's network of connections in Beijing is an inescapable web.

But the photograph her mother left behind pointed her to another path, outside of the inescapable net!

One road in Shanghai!

Su Wantang raised her head and handed the photo to Lu Jingyan.

Their eyes met under the lamplight.

In her eyes, he saw the relief of seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, the excitement of a hunter locking onto his target, and also a trace of... a deep-seated longing and sorrow for her mother.

In his eyes, she saw shock, understanding, and a tacit understanding that said, "I understand you."

“Peace Hotel, Du Kangnian.” Lu Jingyan took the thin photograph, his voice low but firm, “This is the first person we’re looking for in Shanghai.”

Su Wantang put the photo back in the hidden compartment, carefully put the wooden box away, and her entire aura changed.

She smiled.

It was a smile of relief after surviving a catastrophe, and seeing hope again.

“No.” She shook her finger and corrected, “This is a road sign my mother left me.”

"That was also... the first horn that sounded our counterattack."