Chapter 223 Returning to Beijing
Clang, clang...
Three days later, at noon, a green train pulled into a station in Beijing.
The Lu family's old residence.
Inside the study, the air was filled with the fragrance of sandalwood.
Grandpa Lu, dressed in a slightly worn Zhongshan suit and leaning on a gleaming cane, sat upright in his armchair. He didn't look at his grandson; his gaze was fixed on several items lined up on the table.
A tattered lab log, an "Eagle's Nest" cufflink stained with dark blood, and several photos taken from the log with illegible handwriting.
In the entire room, only Lu Jingyan's deep and steady voice echoed as he recounted everything that had happened during his trip to the Northwest in great detail.
He spoke calmly, without adding any personal emotion, as if he were giving a routine task report.
But the air in the study seemed to solidify, making it hard to breathe.
Su Wantang sat quietly to the side. She could sense that although Lu Jingyan's voice was steady, the taut muscles under his military uniform betrayed the turmoil in his heart.
Meanwhile, the old man in the main seat was gripping the head of his cane, which he had rubbed until it was warm and smooth, so tightly that his knuckles were white.
"...Ma Weiguo and his cronies, along with the individuals involved in the case from the Fok Group on Hong Kong Island, have all been transferred to the Special Investigation Team. During the interrogation, Ma Weiguo confessed that for the past twenty years, he had maintained a single-line contact with a Hong Kong Island contact codenamed 'Butler'."
Lu Jingyan's report was coming to an end.
"'Butler'?" Old Master Lu finally spoke.
"Yes. The technical department is tracing the source of the number," Lu Jingyan replied.
Just then, there was a gentle knock on the study door.
A young guard in military uniform strode in, holding a newly printed telegram in his hand. He handed it to Lu Jingyan with both hands and saluted.
"Reporting, sir! We have results from the investigation!"
Lu Jingyan took it, glanced at it, and handed it to the old man.
The old man squinted his cloudy eyes and leaned closer to look at the paper.
Su Wantang glanced over out of the corner of her eye and only caught a few words.
"Number source: Sacred Heart Clinic, Hong Kong Island."
Sacred Heart Clinic.
Upon hearing these four words, Su Wantang paused slightly in her teacup.
This name...
She remembered.
In the vast Northwest, when she inserted silver needles into Su Yuting's acupoints, using the ultimate psychological warfare to destroy her last mental defenses, those were the words she uttered intermittently in her breakdown.
At the time, Su Yuting was incoherent and kept saying things like "Eagle's Nest," "Mr.", and "Hong Kong Island," among which this name was mixed in.
But more importantly...
Su Wantang's heart skipped a beat.
It seems that her name is also on the massive list of overseas assets left by her mother, Bai Xiuzhu!
She glanced at it briefly, thinking it was just one of the countless charitable donations her mother had made during her lifetime, and didn't take it to heart. After all, there were at least eighty or a hundred similar hospitals, schools, and welfare institutions on that list.
But now, this name has emerged simultaneously from the mouth of "Eagle's Nest" and from the military's tracking results.
This is no coincidence!
Su Wantang put down her teacup, the bottom of which made a soft sound as it hit the table.
Lu Jingyan and the old man both turned their gazes toward them.
"I remembered something."
Su Wantang stood up; at that moment, she was the capable and decisive Su Wantang.
“Among my mother’s belongings was a list of overseas assets. I remember there was an anonymous donation to the Sacred Heart Clinic on it.” Her voice was calm and clear. “I didn’t pay much attention to it at the time, but now it seems there might be another meaning. I need to go back and confirm it immediately.”
Old Master Lu looked at her, a sharp glint flashing in his weathered eyes. He didn't ask about the origin of the list, nor did he question it; he simply nodded slowly.
"Go."
"Jingyan, you stay. We'll discuss the Hong Kong Island matter again."
"Yes," Lu Jingyan replied, looking at Su Wantang with a questioning and worried look in his eyes.
Su Wantang shook her head at him, gave him a reassuring look, and then quickly walked out of the study.
She had to confirm it immediately.
If her guess is true, then this game is more complex than anyone imagined.
...
Courtyard No. 1.
Qin Zheng had barely brought the car to a stop when Su Wantang pushed open the car door and jumped out.
She strode across the courtyard without even greeting Wang Ma who came out to greet her, and rushed straight into her room, locking the door behind her.
With a thought, one enters the Begonia Space.
The space remained perpetually spring-like, with the babbling of a spiritual spring and the fragrant aroma of herbs. But Su Wantang had no interest in appreciating any of this; she headed straight for the antique-style heritage library.
The second floor of the library is dedicated to storing various documents, manuscripts, and account books left behind by the mother, Bai Xiuzhu.
Su Wantang has an excellent memory; she clearly remembers which sandalwood box contained the asset list.
She opened the box, revealing a thick stack of documents wrapped in special oil paper. She quickly flipped through them, her fingertips tracing over trust agreements, share certificates, and land deeds.
Found it!
It was a summary of donation records printed in English, more than a dozen pages thick.
Her gaze swept quickly across the list, from top to bottom, going over each name one by one.
Got it!
In the middle of the seventh page, she saw that name—"Sheng Xin Clinic, HK".
This was followed by a string of numbers, representing a donation of $500,000 from eleven years ago.
This amount of money wasn't particularly outstanding among the many donations, which is why she initially overlooked it.
Su Wantang's heart began to race.
She looked closely at the line of text, trying to find more information.
Suddenly, her gaze fell on the very bottom of the list page, where there was a tiny handwritten note in pen.
It wasn't English, nor Chinese, but a coded language she knew all too well, a secret language created by her mother.
Su Wantang immediately took out the codebook specifically used for cracking business codes from another hidden compartment in the library.
She consulted the codebook and translated the seemingly random letters and symbols one by one.
When the last letter was deciphered, Su Wantang's hand holding the pen froze in mid-air.
On the paper, a line of words was written clearly.
"Dean 'Benjamin' is trustworthy, but his deputy 'Anderson' has been infiltrated."
Su Wantang stared blankly at the words, a chill instantly running from the soles of her feet to the top of her head.
Her mother, Bai Xiuzhu...
She did more than just donate money to the clinic.
She even knew the internal relationships within the clinic perfectly, knowing who could be trusted and who were the enemies!
This is not a donation!
This is clearly an investigation, a strategic move!
A terrible thought began to frantically grow in Su Wantang's mind.
The Sacred Heart Clinic, the institution used as a liaison point by the Eagle's Nest organization, the place tracked down by the military's technical department... Could it be a pawn planted overseas by her mother, Bai Xiuzhu? Or perhaps, a stronghold that her mother attempted to infiltrate but failed to complete?
As Su Wantang pieced together the whole story, her hands and feet began to feel cold.
Her mother's death was far more complex than the apparent alliance between the Su family and the Hongmen. The "Eagle's Nest" connection stretched from the Northwest Expedition Team twenty years ago to the present day. And her mother, more than a decade ago, had already had an unseen interaction with the "Eagle's Nest's" stronghold on Hong Kong Island.
Is she the prey or the hunter?
Su Wantang closed her eyes, took a deep breath of the spiritually rich air in the space, and forced herself to calm down.
Regardless, this line of text is the most crucial and also the most fatal trump card she has obtained so far.
This means that she is not completely in the dark about the upcoming battle on Hong Kong Island.
She now possessed eyes that could see out from within the enemy ranks.
Su Wantang opened her eyes, the shock and coldness in them fading away, replaced by an unprecedented sharpness and determination.
She carefully put away the list and the deciphered note.
Hong Kong Island, the Fok family home, the "Eagle's Nest," the "Butler"...
She originally thought she was going to a completely unfamiliar battlefield to avenge Lu Jingyue and her mother.
Now she understands that perhaps... she is just walking a path that her mother did not finish.
A cold smile slowly curved onto Su Wantang's lips.
"Mom, so you had this all planned all along."
"I'll take over the game for you."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com