GHLCS Chapter88

Xiao Yan watched outside the yard for a long time until Shen Jingmo coaxed the children back, and then he slowly walked back with the help of his bamboo stick.

 

He walked at a slow pace, with Xiao Yan trailing unhurriedly behind him.

 

At first, it was the other way around. Shen Jingmo used to quietly follow Xiao Yan after class, worried he might get into another fight. He thought he was being discreet, but in reality, Xiao Yan had already noticed.

 

He just felt that it was good to be followed by this teacher and to have him worry about him, so he never exposed him.

 

So… this is what it feels like to follow someone.

 

Seeing him stagger, he almost rushed to protect him. Seeing him stop, he was worried that something might have happened to him.

 

Xiao Yan followed for a long time, watching Shen Jingmo enter the door of Jinyan Tang and being led in by a maid.

 

He stood outside the door for a while until Liao Qin came to find him.

 

“Ghost Master, we have checked everything that can be checked.”

 

“Speak.”

 

“Shen Jingmo taught at Cunxi Academy for five years. There was nothing unusual during these five years. Later, he went to Shanghai with a man. I asked his neighbors at the time, and they all said that he went to look for relatives, so no one knew about it. The strange thing is that the brothers in Shanghai sent a message saying that he disappeared after arriving in Shanghai. During these five years… there was nothing that could be found out.” Liao Qin’s voice became lower and lower as he spoke.

 

Xiao Yan’s eyes turned fierce: “Did you check it carefully?”

 

“Lord Sen checked it himself.”

 

Lord Sen is a highly respected senior figure in the Yan Gang, known for his expertise in gathering information. If he takes on a task personally, he’ll give it his all. So if he comes up empty-handed, it means there were genuine obstacles—not that he didn’t try his best.

 

“Anything else?”

 

“When he was spotted again was this month in Hezhou City. When he showed up, his eyes were already blind. I suspect it has something to do with the relative he went to look for.”

 

Xiao Yan carefully thought about what Liao Qin had just said, “What kind of relative?”

 

“It’s the Chief of Staff, Zhang Yaochen.”

 

“What?!” Xiao Yan’s eyes widened. He glanced around, then quickly pulled Liao Qin into a side alley. Lowering his voice, he asked, “What’s his relationship with Zhang Yaochen?”

 

Liao Qin lowered his voice and whispered in Xiao Yan’s ear, “Lord Sen used a lot of connections to find out that Shen Jingmo is Zhang Yaochen and his ex-wife’s son. However, after Zhang Yaochen became successful, he abandoned them and married his current wife, who gave birth to the current Zhang family children. Shen Jingmo took his mother’s surname, and they didn’t like to fight over it, so no one knew about it.”

 

After hearing this, Xiao Yan finally remembered when he went to visit the Zhang family before, there were only two brother and sister in the Zhang family, but they were ranked from the second, one was Second Young Master Zhang, and the other was Third Young Lady Zhang. It turned out that there was an unknown eldest son above them.

 

That makes it quite clear—Shen Jingmo must have had a close connection to that family over the past five years.

 

Liao Qin still had something on his mind. He looked at Xiao Yan’s face for a while before choosing his words carefully: “Actually… this Shen Jingmo has something to do with you as well…”

 

“If you have something to say, say it now! Stop acting like a f*cking girl!”

 

“Do you still remember… that the Zhang family said that they would send someone to you as a hostage before?”

 

Liao Qin’s reminder reminded Xiao Yan of the incident he had forgotten.

 

Some time ago, Xiao Yan seized a batch of guns at the dock. It was a Japanese ship, but it was flying a Chinese flag. It turned out that Zhang Yaochen was acting as a cover for the Japanese to help them smuggle military supplies.

 

After being intercepted, Zhang Yaochen sent people to give him a lot of money, using both soft and hard tactics, hoping that Xiao Yan would turn a blind eye and cooperate with him.

 

Although Xiao Yan did not have a good impression of the Japanese, but he also knew that it would not be good for both parties if he fell apart with Zhang Yaochen.

 

So he casually set a condition, saying the guns could be returned, but since they had passed through his hands, he’d be the one held responsible if anything went wrong later. To show mutual trust, he asked the Zhang family to send their own son to him as collateral—and if everything went smoothly, he’d send the person back.

 

He thought Zhang Yaochen would not agree to such an unreasonable request, but the next day they sent someone to say they would send the person over.

 

At first, Xiao Yan was confused as to why Zhang Yaochen was so willing to give him up, but later he found out—it was just an illegitimate child. A couple of days later, word spread that the illegitimate son had run away.

 

It’s good that he ran away.

 

Xiao Yan felt a bit sorry for the guy, so he didn’t send anyone after him. But he used the incident to stir up trouble, claiming the Zhang family was untrustworthy—giving him the perfect excuse to weaken their influence.

 

Now that Liao Qin has mentioned this matter… could it be that…

 

His expression changed: “Are you trying to say that the person the Zhang family sent here and then escaped was Shen Jingmo?”

 

Liao Qin nodded: “…Yes.”

 

He has come back to the starting point after many twists and turns. If he had known that things were so simple, he would not have taken such a troublesome path.

 

Xiao Yan took out another cigarette, and just as he was about to light it, he asked again, “Does he… have a family?”

 

“According to the results of the investigation, no.”

 

“Then what’s his relationship with this family?”

 

“He used to be a tutor here. The owner of this house is the same age as you, so it seems they also have a teacher-student relationship.”

 

This answer did not seem to satisfy Xiao Yan. He threw the cigarette to the ground, crushed it with his foot, and a frown appeared between his eyebrows.

 

“Go get ready.”

 

“Ah?” Liao Qin was stunned. “Ready for what?”

 

Xiao Yan’s eyes were like torches, and he gave two words in a clear and powerful voice.

 

“Rob people.”

 

————

 

Xu Hang, who had just had a quarrel with Duan Yelin, was still working in the medical hall in an orderly manner.

 

Duan Yelin had a quick temper, but he also cooled down just as fast, so Xu Hang never let his own matters be influenced by it.

 

But as the saying goes, if you walk by the river, you will get your feet wet. Even if he is confident, there will always be unexpected events.

 

For example, now he just grabbed a packet of lighter sleeping pills, thinking of going back to coax Shen Jingmo to drink it and then taking him to the hospital for a checkup. If those eyes can be saved, they must be treated early.

 

But something went wrong.

 

Chan Yi ran in breathlessly, with her hair bun a little crooked. She rushed to Xu Hang without even having time to fix it.

 

“Head of the Household! Mr. Shen was kidnapped!”

 

Xu Hang’s mind exploded, and he grabbed her wrist: “Who did it?”

 

“I don’t know. He just came back today, and suddenly a lot of people in black clothes broke in. The leader… had a tattoo on the corner of his eye… they looked ferocious. I… I watched Mr. Shen being dragged into the car and taken away by them… What should we do…” Chan Yi cried anxiously.

 

What courage!

 

The person who dared to break into Jinyan Yang to arrest people must be someone extraordinary. Could he be Zhang Xiuming’s man? But how did Zhang Xiuming know that Shen Jingmo was with him?

 

No, Xu Hang denied this idea.

 

Zhang Xiuming is not a reckless person. Even if he knew, he would not go out of his way to seize people as well.

 

Xu Hang felt a headache coming on as he recalled Shen Jingmo’s frightened expression from earlier. No matter who came to capture him, it seemed that he feared he would be in danger.

 

Now… what should he do?

 

Chan Yi gave him a good idea: “Head of the Household, let’s find the Commander and ask him to send troops to rescue him!”

 

After hearing this, Xu Hang’s headache became even worse.

 

He just had a quarrel with Duan Yelin, and going to find him now is the most embarrassing time.

 

How did they make up when they quarreled in the past? Xu Hang thought about it carefully… it seemed that it was always Duan Yelin who took the initiative to lower himself.

 

Thirty years in the east, thirty years in the west[mfn]Everything in life is cyclical; life has its ups and downs.[/mfn] the situation changes, and finally there is a time when he has to bow his head.