Chapter 45 A Scheme Within a Scheme
"Master's wife, you're back." Fang Zong asked with concern, "They didn't give you any trouble, did they?"
"It's my fault. I made a commotion and attracted them here." Over the past ten years, he has blamed himself for every mistake that occurred during the investigation.
Fu Ying gave her a gentle smile as usual: "What's it to you?"
"It was the commotion caused by some unknown reason last time that made them suspect something was wrong in the empty carriage, so they went to check it out." The commotion Fu Ying was referring to was the time when Shi Yuan and the others fought with Ran Wen.
"I see." Fang Zong breathed a sigh of relief, but said regretfully, "It's a pity that their plan was interrupted, otherwise we would have already taken our revenge."
"Yes." Fu Ying sighed deeply, which Fang Zong interpreted as him sharing the same regret.
He was secretly delighted and tentatively asked, "Master's wife, what should we do next?"
Fu Ying gave a faint, bitter smile: "Shi Yuan and the others are willing to help, but she wants us to promise not to resort to vigilante justice and to leave everything to the law." Her voice was calm, as if she had already reached a consensus with Shi Yuan and the others.
But these ten years were enough for Fang Zong to become familiar with Fu Ying's micro-expressions; she was clearly resisting and unwilling.
Fang Zong felt a sudden sense of relief. He decided to take a step back to move forward: "Actually, if the law can provide a fair trial, I am not unable to accept it."
He immediately added, "But Madam, don't forget that the case from back then also vaguely points to a certain big shot in Beicheng."
Seeing Fu Ying's expression gradually turn frosty, he relaxed a bit more and lowered his voice to press on: "In these ten years, haven't we seen enough wrongful convictions and miscarriages of justice?"
"What if?" The question of what "what if" meant, and the two of them already knew.
Fu Ying remained silent, clearly moved by Fang Zong's words.
After a long silence, a resolute glint appeared in her eyes, and she said softly, "Fang Zong, are you willing to take the gamble?"
A fleeting glint of emotion crossed Fang Zong's eyes, but without hesitation, he stood firmly behind Fu Ying, just as he had countless times before: "Master's wife, I'll do whatever you say!"
"Okay! Then you go do what you weren't doing, I'll go lure the person over." Fu Ying's hand unconsciously reached into her pants pocket.
There were incense and a matchbox inside. Her fingertips trembled very slightly, a mixture of nervousness and excitement. If Fang Zong hadn't been watching her, he would never have noticed.
"I'm going right now!" Fang Zong picked up his tools again and walked to the door of the private room. Suddenly, he turned around and saw that Fu Ying was not paying attention to his movements. She was just standing there alone, stroking her wedding photo that she never parted with.
Fang Zong was relieved, turned around, opened the door to the private room, and walked out.
Fu Ying carefully wrapped up the wedding photo and put it back in the pocket on her chest before turning around and looking at the closed door of the private room, her eyes filled with complex and unreadable emotions.
At that moment, she didn't even know what she was looking forward to.
Fortunately, she didn't hesitate for long before there was a knock on the door of the private room, where Shi Yuan was waiting for her.
In the empty carriage, Huan Ni had already succeeded.
Fang Zong was immersed in the illusion, his face full of a triumphant smile. The first thing he said was in Japanese!
He spoke in Japanese in a voice completely unfamiliar to Fu Ying: "Takeda-kun, after ten years, you have finally lived up to expectations!"
What else is there to say?
I am perfectly clear about this!
Let's ask something useful then.
Fu Ying struggled to suppress the murderous intent surging in her eyes and asked, "Fang Zong, you had countless opportunities to kill me, so why did you spend ten years getting close to me? What exactly do you want?"
At this moment, Fang Zong saw the following scene: Fu Ying was successfully captured, and his group got off the train in Haicheng without incident, and arrived at their hidden stronghold in Haicheng without any further trouble.
At this moment, he injected Fu Ying with the antidote, and Fu Ying was tied to the electric chair and questioned him.
As the victor, Fang Zong was naturally generous in answering Fu Ying's questions.
"Ten years ago, Mr. Takeda made a wrong decision, which caused us to miss the most crucial data for weapons research."
"The people of Huaguo are so principled that they would rather die than utter a single word."
At that time, Takeda Raku was highly valued at a young age. He was also a successor of the Hidden Organization, and his ninja skills were unparalleled. He was arrogant and unsophisticated.
To him, being ordered to steal weapons data from the Flower Kingdom was a piece of cake.
He captured Fu Shouzhen and his students with almost no effort, and to intimidate Fu Shouzhen, he cruelly slit the throats of the three students right from the start.
He calmly sheathed his short blade and smiled as he asked Fu Shouzhen to hand over the data on weapons research.
Having lived a refined and scholarly life, even his temper was mild and measured. Fu Shouzhen used his sharp, intellectual tongue to hurl the most vicious insults at Wu Tianlu for a full half hour, mocking his appearance and height and cursing his ancestors. He ended the tirade by spitting phlegm in Wu Tianlu's face, thus ending his life as well.
After realizing he had fallen for the kind of provocation often used by the people of Huaguo, Wu Tianlu was not upset. He took a thick document from Fu Shouchen's briefcase and then disappeared into thin air.
He just hadn't expected that the document would be missing key information.
He respectfully accepted his boss's two slaps and the label of "idiot," and was then placed in solitary confinement.
A few months later, things took a turn for the better. They received information that the core information should be in the hands of Fu Shouzhen's wife, along with Fu Ying's biography.
Thus, a conspiracy targeting Fu Ying was launched.
This time, they plan to obtain this core information through a more subtle approach.
Fu Ying raised her head from the electric chair and looked at him coldly, saying disdainfully, "Weapon manufacturing is advancing by leaps and bounds. Is it really worth you spending so much effort on a core document from ten years ago? It shows how incompetent the Japanese Emperor you serve is!"
Fang Zong was very excited and mumbled a long speech in Japanese. Shi Yuan didn't understand, so Fu Ying translated for her. The gist of it was: Fu Ying should commit seppuku to apologize for her outspokenness, and he added a lot of words of apology.
Then he said in Japanese, "What do you know? Weapon research is indeed progressing rapidly. Under the leadership of the Emperor, we have made breakthrough progress in this field."
"However, Fu Shouchen's core document concerns atomic directional detonation, and we only need the data and evidence from this core document!" This is a refreshing and elegant way of describing incompetence and shamelessness.
Fang Zong said proudly, "Thank you for your guidance over the years. When I return to Japan, I will definitely become the most valued scientist!"
Then his expression changed again: "I've helped you so much, accompanied you on your journey to catch the killer for years, but you're hoarding core information and refusing to hand it over to me or teach me. You deserve to die!"
"The best ten years of my life!"
After suppressing his emotions for ten years, Fang Zong finally found an outlet. He couldn't stop talking; without Fu Ying even asking, he started pouring out his feelings.
"For the past ten years, I was afraid that you might suddenly not want to live anymore, so I released information about the murderer little by little, guiding you to investigate step by step."
"Teacher's wife, haven't you noticed that every time I give you news about the murderer, I ask you all sorts of questions?" Fu Ying was at her most talkative then. "But why are you so tight-lipped?"
"Ten years have passed, and you've almost trained me into a weapons expert capable of working independently, but why are you hiding the core information and refusing to teach me?"
Fortunately, he finally found Fu Ying's weakness.
"Master's wife, you knew from the start that someone would be investigating the core information, didn't you?" Fang Zong said smugly. "You're such a clever woman from the Flower Kingdom, but no matter how well you hid Fu Shouchen's unborn child, we still found it!"
Fu Ying was startled, her eyes filled with murderous intent as she looked at Fang Zong. She quickly regained her composure, then said, "You wouldn't dare touch her!"
"Yes, we didn't dare to touch her before we successfully took you down, but now..."
"The teacher's wife will be able to reunite with her daughter in a few days."
"If I had told you you had a weakness earlier, I wouldn't have had to worry about you trying to kill yourself at any time, and I would have carefully pretended for ten years!"
Was it easy for him?
Fu Ying was the only one who knew the whereabouts of the core information. When he first found Fu Ying according to the plan, she was a madwoman, so emotionally unstable that he had the feeling that she might slit his throat at any moment!
These past ten years have been tough and stressful for him too!
Fang Zongchang let out a long sigh of relief: "It's finally over!"
"Don't worry, Madam. Considering how diligently you taught me, I will bury you and your daughter together. Of course, the condition is that you cooperate."
“I believe you wouldn’t want to watch us slit your daughter’s throat, would you?”
"Slap!" A slap landed hard on his face. Fang Zong's eyes narrowed, and he was about to turn around and question him when he found that the scene in front of him had spread out like a water curtain and disappeared in an instant.
After the illusion disappeared, he was tied up by Shi Meili and lay on the ground with a fresh slap mark on his face. He looked utterly pathetic, a far cry from his arrogant demeanor in the illusion.
He wasn't stupid; he guessed he'd been exposed, but he still wanted to try and explain: "Master's wife, what's going on?"
"Weren't we going to take action against those people?"
"They're making their move." Fu Ying's voice was cold, a stark contrast to the gentle warmth he usually showed when speaking to him. "Killing you as a sacrifice is the signal to attack!"
"Master's wife, please stop joking." Fang Zong's face was deathly pale under the palace lanterns. It seemed that although the past ten years had been filled with pretense, his understanding of Fu Ying was genuine.
Fu Ying really will kill him!
No one knew better than him how much she hated him.
In the past, he often used information about those people to either take credit or provoke Fu Ying. Unexpectedly, on the eve of their plan's success, the boomerang pierced him directly, and he became one of those people hated by Fu Ying!
"Teacher's wife..."
"Shut up!" Fu Ying said coldly. "Don't tarnish those two words!"
Fang Zong knew that with Fu Ying, it wasn't about old friendship; the fact that he didn't immediately slap Fu Ying on the neck was all to get more information out of him.
He turned his gaze to Gu Linyuan and Shi Yuan. These two were, after all, government employees, and given his special status, there should be room for communication.
His brain started working at lightning speed.
"I'm sorry," Fang Zong apologized to Fu Ying sincerely. "I simply admired your knowledge too much and wanted to be under your tutelage, which is why I forged an identity to get close to you!"
"I am actually Japanese. I came to Japan through legitimate channels." As if to make his words more convincing, he struggled to sit up, but the vines on his body seemed to be deliberately working against him, pressing him firmly to the ground.
Shi Meili: ...Hmph! I can't beat Ran Wen, but I can't beat you!
Fang Zong remained kneeling on the ground in a disheveled state, and could only continue to defend himself in this position: "I came here for exchange and learning."
"The land of flowers is a land of etiquette, this is not the way to treat guests."
"Please let me go."
Shi Yuan was fed up with it. What was this Japanese devil pretending to be? Even Chinese language teachers don't talk like that anymore, okay?
She usually prefers to fight rather than argue with her enemies, but this time she couldn't hold back: "The Japanese are indeed despicable, vile, and shameless!" And they even talk about exchanging ideas and learning!
"Is your surname Ibe or Fujishita? Or maybe Inada?"
Fang Zong thought Shi Yuan was asking for his name, and he thought that this meant there was hope, so he quickly said, "Hello, my name is Jing Tian Song Zhi."
"Oh~ in the fields by the well, wild ones, huh? No wonder, in our Flower Kingdom, wild things are all called beasts!"
Huan Ni couldn't help but chuckle. Anyway, she was completely in the dark and it didn't look out of place at all when she pretended to be a myna bird.
Fang Zong was furious and wanted to glare at Shi Yuan, but his awkward posture prevented him from seeing Shi Yuan's face. He could only twist his head forcefully but still couldn't see her face: "What do you mean?"
Out of consideration for their past ten years of "friendship," Fu Ying kindly translated for him: "She said you were born by your mother in the fields by the well, you're a beast!"
"You! You've slandered my character! I'm going to take this to the embassy!"
"To the embassy in the underworld?" Shi Yuan said ominously.
"You dare!"
"Is your Seventh Division acting in a rebellion by handling foreign guests without authorization?"
Fu Ying slapped Ida Matsunao hard in his awkward position again: "You beast, how dare you call yourself a foreign guest!"
"Fu Ying! My men have gone to pick up your daughter! You'd better be sensible if you want her to be safe!"
Although Fu Ying was anxious about her daughter's safety, she was not easily fooled: "You haven't completely controlled me yet, you won't harm my daughter!"
"Someone's coming," Ran Wen announced again. "Five of them."
Shi Yuan nudged Ida Matsunao and said, "He loitered outside the water dispenser before entering the carriage, probably to tip him off."
Fu Ying sneered: "They must be getting impatient. I'll go and lure them over here."
Just as Ida Matsunao was about to warn someone, a hard stick was shoved into his throat. He couldn't even gag, let alone make a sound. He was forced to open his mouth wide, and saliva flowed all over the ground.
Shi Meili was already very angry, and the vines were also stained with dirt, making the whole plant look gloomy.
She subtly tightened the tendrils, making Jing Tiansong's bones creak, but she knew exactly how to do it, loosening them when they were about to break, and then tightening them again, playing with them in this way, having a great time.
Even the gloom of having to become family with that big devil Ran Wen in the future has lessened considerably.
Fun! Hehe!
Shi Meili's actions, of course, did not escape the notice of those present, but no one said a word. The child was having a great time, why spoil the fun!
“I’ll go,” Shi Yuan said. “The visibility is poor at night. Let me change your clothes and I’ll go lure them over.”
"No! Shiyuan, you've already helped me so much." She glared at Ida Matsunao with hatred. "If it weren't for you, they would have succeeded by now."
“It doesn’t matter if I die, but my daughter with Chen Ge can’t die.” She smiled bitterly. “I’m not a good mother. I’ve never taken care of her, and I’ve never even visited her.”
But how should she look at it? From the day she decided to pursue the murderer, her life was destined to be unstable. She also knew that someone might be eyeing that core information. She even knew that she should hand it over, but Fu Shouchen's injustice had not been redressed. She didn't know who to trust.
I finally trusted someone, only to find out they were a wolf in sheep's clothing.
How could she dare to see her and bring her danger and trouble?
"I must lure them here myself, personally!" She had waited so many years for this opportunity, and even if she couldn't personally kill her enemies, she would personally lead them into a deadly trap!
Shi Yuan glanced at Ran Wen, and in the dim light of the palace lanterns, a ginseng root floated down from Huan Ni's wings and landed on Fu Ying's shoulder.
“Go ahead, we’ll wait for you here,” Shi Yuan said.
"Thank you!" Fu Ying said solemnly.
On this day, at this moment, Fu Ying had rehearsed for a long time, calculating every detail, from what expression to use and how much of her profile to reveal, to how to take the steps to lure them into the game.
Of course, she succeeded!
Presumably having received a coded message from Ida Matsunao, the five men in black cooperated perfectly, step by step walking into the deadly trap that Fu Ying had laid out for them.
Ida Matsunao is wrong about one thing: the Seventh Division is different from other departments. Otherwise, she wouldn't have gone to so much trouble to get the files into the Seventh Division.
These people are doomed!
She was certainly disappointed that she couldn't slit their throats herself, but she had known long ago that life is full of regrets.
"Bang!" She slammed the door of the empty carriage shut.
Before the five men in black could fully show their smugness, Shi Meili had already tied them up tightly.
However, unlike the inexperienced Ida Matsunao, they all began to fight back. In particular, the leader of the men in black, who was bound by Shi Meili, turned into black smoke and disappeared into the night the next moment, and it looked like he was about to escape.
Ran Wen snorted coldly, "Showing off your skills before an expert!" With a flick of his wrist, he knocked the man in black down from mid-air.
The man in black spat out a mouthful of blood, feeling that the bone in the place where he had been struck was broken. However, he had suffered countless hardships before mastering ninjutsu, and he could withstand this level of injury!
The next instant, he disappeared from the spot again, but in a flash, he was pulled out again.
"Who?" He spat out another mouthful of blood, looking somewhat weak. "No one has ever been able to break my ninjutsu. Who is it? Show yourself!"
The beautiful vines arrived late, and they tightly bound the man in black's mouth.
What are they shouting about in the middle of the night? Don't they know they're doing something important? What if they attract the train police?
Another man in black exclaimed, "Huh?! A strange demon!"
"It's the seventh one!"
After saying this, he began to recite obscure and difficult-to-understand Japanese folk songs.
"Is he trying to summon something?" Shi Yuan asked Huan Ni.
Huan Ni stroked her chin with her wing: "Generally speaking, the more powerful the summoning spell, the less we understand it."
"Do you understand?" she asked Shi Yuan.
Shi Yuan shook her head sincerely and said, "I don't understand." She then added, "That's really impressive."
"No," Huan Ni said decisively, "It's because you're inexperienced!"
"Ran Wen, why don't you broaden our Comrade Shi Yuan's horizons!"
Ran Wen chuckled, and with a flick of his ginseng tendril in the void, pulled out, uh, a giant octopus.
Shi Yuan's first reaction was: "Can we finish this?"
Huan Ni chimed in, "We can pickle them and eat them slowly."
Their banter eased the hatred and ruthlessness on Fu Ying's face, and her tense nerves relaxed.
They seem to be handling this so easily; they can't escape it, and it's not time for them to perish together yet.
When the octopus was pulled out, it still didn't understand what was going on and started babble at the reciter.
The reciter was scolded like a dog, and was interrupted by the octopus several times when he tried to interject.
Finally, the octopus finished scolding and remembered its business. It was about to find Ran Wen to fight when, in the next instant, it was tightly bound by Ran Wen's ginseng tendrils.
Shi Meili assessed her own strength and didn't dare to step forward.
The other men in black were also quite strong, but they were skilled in hard-hitting techniques. Fu Ying might be at a disadvantage against them, but against someone like Shi Meili, they would be entangled after only a few struggles.
Gu Linyuan withdrew the peach leaf whip and remained silently protecting Shi Yuan.
Along with Ida Matsunao, all six Japanese were arrested.
According to procedure, Gu Linyuan should have stepped forward to interrogate them at this time, but Ida Matsunao's reaction in the illusion just now has already explained everything.
They are the murderers in the unsolved train case from back then; there's nothing to interrogate them about.
The only thing worth worrying about is that although Fu Ying is important, to be honest, with a combination of intentional and unintentional tactics, plus the ninja skills of the leader in black, capturing her wouldn't be difficult.
Furthermore, since they had found Fu Ying's daughter and had leverage over her, there was absolutely no need to mobilize so many people or use such a roundabout method to arrest her.
There are probably some inside stories here that even Matsunao Ida doesn't know.
"Comrade Fu, what are you waiting for? Hurry up!" Shi Yuan glanced at Gu Linyuan and then urged.
"What?" Fu Ying asked, puzzled.
Shi Yuan said, "Don't you always carry a sharp blade with you? Just kill whoever you don't like the most."
Fu Ying's pupils contracted. Could this be true? She would take it seriously!
Of course, she wouldn't be foolish enough to ask. The instant Shi Yuan finished speaking, she drew her exceptionally sharp dagger and walked towards the leader of the men in black.
Ten years ago, this was the man who slit Fu Shouchen's throat.
Fu Ying's eyes were filled with deep hatred. She grabbed the man in black's hair and pulled him up slightly to expose his neck. Without hesitation, she thrust the dagger in her other hand toward his throat!
"Don't kill me!" The man in black prided himself on his warrior spirit and fearlessness, but he didn't want to die such a pathetic death. "Shouldn't you interrogate me first?"
"Is it necessary?" Shi Yuan asked Gu Linyuan, who shook his head. "We're traveling in a private capacity this time." The implication was that interrogation was out of the question; they could just slit their throats.
"No! You can't do this to me! I am a warrior, and I demand to be killed in the duel!" The leader of the men in black tried his best to get away from the dagger at his neck, showing none of the arrogance and indifference he had displayed when he cut other people's throats in the past.
"We are Japanese! We demand diplomatic rights!" Shi Meili cut him off before he could finish his sentence.
I told you to stop arguing! Let's get down to business!
Fu Ying avoided the throat and the carotid artery, and slashed the neck of the leader of the men in black with a sharp knife!
Then he did the same to the other five people, slashing their necks.
She carefully put away the dagger, closed her eyes, and the image of her daughter's clean and innocent eyes filled her mind.
Although Matsunao Ida's words were vicious and cruel, they also awakened Fu Ying. Her rationality dispelled the fog of hatred and made her realize that if she still wanted to live a normal life with her daughter, her hands could be stained with the blood of her enemies but not with human lives.
Shi Yuan breathed a barely perceptible sigh of relief; she had made the right decision to give the choice to Fu Ying.
Don't get me wrong, she wasn't saddened by the deaths of these Japanese people. To be honest, if these people had met when she first arrived, she would have already killed them. Killing Japanese people is easier for her than cutting down zombies!
But she didn't start by cutting zombies like vegetables.
Everyone knows that zombies are mutated humans.
She would never forget the sticky blood splattered all over her when she killed a zombie for the first time, the scene of the zombie being decapitated and its head rolling around at her feet.
Yes, later she would kick away the zombie head that was blocking her way, but at that time, she was stiff for a long time, so long that she was almost scratched by the zombie.
At that time, she had not yet awakened her superpowers; she was just an ordinary person who had undergone standardized training and was forced to go out to kill zombies in exchange for food and water. She had not yet met Ji Ying.
She will never forget the moment when she forced herself to swallow food with trembling hands and tears streaming down her face, clutching her mouth tightly to avoid vomiting.
You'll die if you don't eat, and you'll die if you don't fight zombies!
In the end times, the first priority is to survive, and only then will you have the chance to live like a human being.
Even if the killing is for revenge, it will have a significant impact on the mind and body of any normal person for a long time to come, and they may even be unable to overcome that hurdle.
From Shi Yuan's perspective, she felt that Fu Ying shouldn't sacrifice everything for revenge. She still had her daughter, and if she wanted to, she could go very far in the field of weapons research.
But Shi Yuan is not Fu Ying; what she thinks may not be what Fu Ying wants.
Therefore, she handed the initiative over to Fu Ying. A few Japanese people, so be it, she naturally had a way to clean up the mess.
At worst, she'll just leave the Seventh Division.
The world is so big, it doesn't matter where you live!
Fortunately, Fu Ying was rational. Although she didn't take the lives of these Japanese people with each cut, the hatred in her heart was finally released.
It's not her fault that she harbors hatred; she deserves a new beginning.
Gu Linyuan noticed something and gently patted Shi Yuan's shoulder.
Whatever Fu Ying's final choice is, he will always have the ability to cover for her.
Of the six people whose necks were slashed, five were experts in their respective fields. They all knew that Fu Ying's blade hadn't caused a fatal wound, but even knowing that was true, excessive blood loss could still kill someone!
No one wants to die if they can live.
The man in black was still struggling internally.
But Matsunao Ida started to writhe; he didn't want to die!
He had spent ten years in seclusion, and finally learned almost all of Fu Ying's skills. He was about to return to Japan and have a bright future. How could he bear to die?
He kept twisting his body, trying to get their attention; he had something to say!
How could Shi Yuan not notice such a large maggot wriggling around?
She just couldn't be bothered to pay attention.
She thought that perhaps one day she could tell Ji Ying the truth about the train mystery herself.
As for what these men in black might be planning by making such a big fuss to board this train, that's Gu Linyuan's business; she just needs to play along.
It's late, so it's best to finish up early and go to sleep!
Shi Yuan glanced at Shi Meili, who pulled the vine out of Jing Tiansongzhi's mouth, shook it disgustedly, and then rubbed it on Jing Tiansongzhi's clothes.
Hmm~ I'm starting to not want it anymore!
Ida Matsunaga gagged violently a few times, as if he wanted to vomit up his heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys, which made Shi Meili even more disgusted. She pushed him towards the leader of the men in black.
The leader of the men in black also found it disgusting, but he was also completely bound, and with the injury on his neck, he had no time to care about whether it was disgusting or not.
"Help me!" Ida Matsunao struggled to utter, his tongue slurring, "Help me!"
"I can tell you about the follow-up plans. Capturing Fu Ying is part of the plan, and we will do many other things in Haicheng!"
"Save me, I'll tell you everything!" The voice grew softer and weaker.
The leader of the men in black wanted to glare at him to death, but his most prized ninja technique had been broken, and he was also seriously injured, so he was powerless to do anything.
Neither Shi Yuangu Linyuan nor Fu Ying moved, waiting for Ida Matsunaga to continue.
Matsunao Ida knew that if he didn't produce something substantial, he wouldn't be able to see the sun rise tomorrow.
He was different from the man in black. The Ida family was a very prestigious family in Japan. He had been working as a lowly servant in Japan for ten years so that he could make a name for himself when he returned, instead of being dumped on the train tracks.
“We still have people in Haicheng.” He tilted his head with difficulty, looking at the octopus that was trembling and trying to minimize its presence. “Haicheng black market, lure us into the trap.” After saying this, Ida Matsunao fainted.
Huan Ni, quick to speak, slid her hand from Shi Yuan's right shoulder to his left and said to Gu Linyuan, "Inviting someone into a trap, are you the one being invited?"
As dawn broke over the northern city, Old Master Mo, a light sleeper, had been sitting in his study for a while, still wearing his coat.
The study window was half-open, and the morning breeze blew in, lifting a corner of the curtain to reveal Old Master Mo's dull and aged face.
His arm was pressed against a document, and he didn't move for a long time.
Mo Xun brought in breakfast and called out softly, "Dad," waking Mo Qianwu from his reverie: "You're here."
"Yes, Dad, have something to eat."
Mo Qianwu waved his hand and said he had no appetite.
"Dad, these are early cherry blossom petals that I picked myself in March. I've been keeping them in honey. I made cherry blossom cakes. Please have a few bites."
“Sakura mochi,” Mo Qianwu said with a touch of nostalgia, “is your mother’s favorite food.”
Mo Xun handed Mo Qianwu another cup of tea and said with a smile, "This will help you suppress the odor."
Mo Qianwu's face finally brightened a little: "Your cooking skills are not as good as your mother's. Her cherry blossom cakes are sweet but not cloying, while yours are too sweet." It seemed like a complaint, but his tone was affectionate, and he was clearly pleased with Mo Xun's kindness.
"Dad, I want to go to Haicheng myself to clean up the mess," Mo Xun said after a moment's hesitation.
"You still dream about that woman every day?"
“Yes.” Mo Xun rubbed his temples. “Ever since the strange demons started causing trouble in Haicheng, I haven’t had a good night’s sleep.” He was a little embarrassed to say it, but he still confessed to Mo Qianwu, “I haven’t touched a woman in a long time.”
“Peilian tried many methods but none of them worked, but she always advised against me taking medicine.” Once she opened up to her own father, things went more smoothly. “She said it was probably a psychological problem.”
"Dad, the one who tied the knot must untie it. Besides, I feel more at ease handling things in Haicheng myself."
Mo Qianwu hesitated for a moment: "Gu Linyuan is not easy to deal with, not to mention Shi Yuan is by his side." He was afraid that Mo Xun would go over to deliver the vegetables.
"Dad, how could a plan you personally devised go wrong?" Mo Xun said dismissively. "Besides, I will bring all the people with me, so don't worry."
Aside from being a bit unrestrained in his pursuit of women, Mo Xun was always reliable in his work.
To be honest, Mu Qianwu was a little worried about leaving the cleanup in Haicheng to someone else.
After all, neither Gu Linyuan nor Shi Yuan were ordinary people.
The plan to eliminate Gu Linyuan had been in the works since he first developed a covetous interest in the black market, and it reached its peak when Gu Linyuan took away the lifeline of the black market.
Especially when Gu Linyuan pretended to be generous and gave him the treasure hunting team's contact information, he really wanted to shoot him!
However, Gu Linyuan was a low-key person with an unpredictable whereabouts, and given his considerable abilities, he had not yet found a suitable opportunity.
It wasn't until news of unusual activity came from the Haicheng black market that he confirmed his plan to use a counter-strategy to lure the enemy into a trap.
He knew that Gu Linyuan was unhappy that the Mo family had swallowed up the black market and was definitely looking forward to a good show, but it didn't matter. Whether they were in the play or not, the one who stayed until the end was the winner!
When he contacted Gu Linyuan, his actions ranged from probing to frustration to helplessness and finally to compromise, each step likely reflecting the outcome Gu Linyuan desired.
He knew that Gu Linyuan met his master, who was also his mentor, in the Haicheng black market, which changed his fate. He must have a special feeling for the Haicheng black market.
Therefore, even though the Haicheng black market has changed hands, there is a high probability that Gu Linyuan will personally resolve the issue.
Of course, it doesn't matter if Gu Linyuan doesn't go in person this time. If the alien demons can cause trouble once, they can cause trouble twice or three times. As the director of the Seventh Division, Gu Linyuan has to solve the problem.
Fortunately, everything went smoothly.
The recent situation in Huaguo made Mo Qianwu uneasy. He always felt that those who had been exonerated and reinstated were targeting him intentionally or unintentionally.
But it doesn't matter. Once he hands over the core data on the weapons research, the Mo family will have at least another ten years. By then, he will be able to arrange everything.
After much deliberation, Mo Qianwu finally agreed to let Mo Xun go to Haicheng to clean up the mess. He gave Mo Xun an address and a few names and instructed him: "Remember, you are only going to clean up the mess. Don't directly confront Gu Linyuan and Shi Yuan!"
"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."
After leaving the study, Mo Xun went to Liang Peilian's room: "Pack your things, come with me to Haicheng."
"Go to Haicheng?" Liang Peilian was surprised and subconsciously advised, "Brother Xun, there are strange demons there..." Seeing Mo Xun's cold expression, she bit her lip and said, "I'll pack up right away."
Mo Xun was very satisfied with Liang Peilian's understanding. He made a few phone calls in front of her, gathered his men, and then drove directly to Haicheng.
On the train to Haicheng, Gu Linyuan revealed his identity to the train police and, under the cover of night, brought the six people and the strange demon back to his compartment. He also had the train police bandage the wounds of the six people.
After that, two railway police officers stood guard at the entrance to the compartment, preventing anyone from getting close.
Fu Ying had already composed herself and was sitting at a small table by the window, talking quietly with Shi Yuan.
“When I return to the north of the city, I plan to bring my child back.”
"This is wonderful news. Congratulations on your reunion with your daughter." Shi Yuan smiled and pushed the plate of snacks towards you. "Do you have any other plans?" she asked with a smile.
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