Chapter 498: A Promising Child

Bai Qiru stared at the mother-child talisman in her hand and said, "This message has become a mother-child talisman. They want to establish direct contact with us."

Li Xianghong snorted, "Does he think I'll just do as he pleases?"

With that, she immediately cast a spell on the talisman, sending a questioning message: "Who is this?"

In the bookstore, Shi Chun, who had already arranged the furnishings, was boiling water for tea by the stove. He glanced at the new message but ignored such a trivial question.

Today, the bookstore's customers seemed to have arrived exceptionally early and in large numbers. Most weren't there to read but because of the city lockdown, seeking a place to chat, engaging in lively discussions and various speculations.

Earlier, Shi Chun had admired these scholars from the bottom of his heart. However, after hearing too much of their talk, he realized that many weren't made foolish by their studies, but were naturally foolish, making more reading useless.

With so many people, pot after pot of tea was brewed and emptied.

Shi Chun noticed Dong Liangying behind the counter was quite happy collecting money. When he went to refill her tea, she quietly murmured to him, "If the city were occasionally locked down like this, it wouldn't be so bad."

Shi Chun smiled at her words, realizing that this woman could be so happy just by earning a few extra small coins. She wasn't greedy; he, on the other hand, wouldn't bother with such small sums.

Meanwhile, Li Xianghong, seeing no response from the other side, became a bit agitated. She kept sending various messages, some questioning, some threatening, and some attempting to negotiate.

Shi Chun completely ignored them. He had sent that mother-child talisman with a clear purpose: it wasn't for chatting. As for their claims that they would throw away the talisman he sent, he scoffed, "Do they think I'm a three-year-old?"

He could guarantee that, given the accuracy of his previous secret denunciations, as long as he remained silent and kept the other side guessing, they wouldn't discard the mother-child talisman. They might even actively wonder if he hadn't seen the message. Even if they threw it away, they would eventually pick it up again.

They were all adults handling serious matters; having a potential channel for evidence, how could they easily discard it?

His composure made the usually calm City Lord Li Xianghong somewhat agitated. With a flick of her hand, she threw the mother-child talisman down the mountain, declaring she would no longer deal with it.

Bai Qiru, observing, watched the object fly down the mountain, puffing on his cigarette. He reminded her, "Perhaps there were some internal details to be revealed to you."

Li Xianghong replied, "Those who play mysterious tricks surely have ill intentions. Lord Poyuan has already personally arrived and is stationed outside the city. If things aren't clear, we'll use force."

Bai Qiru hesitated, wanting to speak. Using force was simple, but what about Huang Yingying's life?

Sunrise and sunset, the busy day at the bookstore quickly passed. Shi Chun, bustling about, had seen Fan Wuzhe multiple times and observed no obvious abnormalities in his demeanor.

With unrest in the city, Dong Wenshu had instructed his family not to go out unless necessary. Fan Wuzhe was obedient and didn't wander off.

The night deepened, then gave way to a hazy dawn.

In the inner court's back hall, Mei You was placing small flags on a rough map of the city.

Once finished, he pointed to the layout with satisfaction and said, "Our personnel have been extensively deployed in a grid pattern. As long as we can provide the approximate location of the target, nearby personnel can quickly rush there and follow the clues."

Lou Xiu, holding a mother-child talisman and communicating externally from time to time, said, "They've also somewhat conceded, agreeing to an exchange: goods for person. As long as we hand over the item, they will tell us Huang Yingying's location."

To ensure close cooperation, some matters that had previously been kept secret were eventually revealed to this trusted subordinate.

Mei You hesitated, "They'll hand over the person without verifying the authenticity of the item? Can they be trusted to keep their word?"

Lou Xiu, staring at the map layout, said, "They know we wouldn't dare to trick them with fake items, otherwise this transaction would be meaningless to us. Whether they keep their word or not isn't crucial. What's important is that a transaction will stabilize them, prevent suspicion, and make it easier for us to follow the clues. Our primary goal is to uncover the mastermind. Do you think we can rest easy just by getting Huang Yingying back without knowing who our opponent is?"

Mei You pondered and nodded, "Then how will the exchange take place?"

Lou Xiu explained, "After the lockdown is lifted, at the beginning of the Sishi hour (9-11 AM), at the East Gate, prepare a fine-scaled steed with a black cloth strip tied to its tail. The item will be placed on the steed, and someone will ride it away to complete the transaction. I will arrange for this."

In the bookstore, Shi Chun lay on his side under a quilt on a makeshift table, feigning sleep. After much thought, he pulled out a mother-child talisman from under the covers and sent a message: "Jinliang."

A short while later, Wu Jinliang's reply came, asking: "What's up?"

Shi Chun: "It's decided. We'll exit from the East Gate. On the way, Ah Xun's belongings will be thrown into the heart-wrapping grass woods by the roadside. You pick a suitable receiving spot and go there yourself."

Wu Jinliang expressed doubt: "It'll be that simple? No obstacles?"

Shi Chun: "If we encounter obstacles and can't get away smoothly, it's fine to expose our identities. At worst, we'll just fight our way out. We already have the items, so there's no need to stay in this wretched place anymore."

This was their current confidence, having a pile of high-level magic artifacts. That's why they also wanted to repair more and better artifacts.

Wu Jinliang: "The problem is, are you sure the exchanged item will contain what we want?"

Shi Chun: "As long as it's among Ah Xun's belongings, it shouldn't be missed."

He was very certain about this. First, Lou Xiu didn't know what he wanted. Second, Bai Qiru's side also didn't know what Lou Xiu wanted.

If Bai Qiru's side wanted to verify the accuracy of the denunciation, without knowing what Lou Xiu wanted, they would gather all of Ah Xun's belongings and hand them over to Lou Xiu.

And this was one of the key reasons why he had exposed information to Bai Qiru.

Since the boss was confident, Wu Jinliang didn't object. The two then finalized the relevant details...

After daybreak, Shi Chun, who was tidying up the front hall, occasionally observed the courtyard through the back door.

He saw Fan Wuzhe come out, stand by the door, and stretch his arms. Shi Chun then ducked behind the door, took out the mother-child talisman connecting to Mei You, which he had found on Fan Wuzhe, and was about to send a message directly to Mei You when he suddenly paused.

Considering the difference in status between Mei You and Fan Wuzhe, and that Fan Wuzhe was the weaker party, he changed his mind. Instead, he took out the mother-child talisman corresponding to Fan Wuzhe and directly sent a message asking: "How are things?"

He immediately tilted his head, peeking with one eye to observe Fan Wuzhe's reaction.

Indeed, Fan Wuzhe, who was stretching his arms, froze, quickly stopped, turned, and went back into the room, closing the door.

Inside, Fan Wuzhe quickly pulled out the mother-child talisman. He saw the message, and just as he was about to reply, he suddenly noticed something was wrong: the incoming message lacked the secret code. He immediately shot back: "Who are you?"

Shi Chun cursed back: "Damn it, who are you? Give me the code."

Fan Wuzhe was perplexed and uncertain, not daring to say more. He only sent a "mountain" shaped pattern to verify.

Upon seeing this, Shi Chun immediately picked up the mother-child talisman he had searched from Fan Wuzhe. After marking it with the "mountain" pattern and attaching "How are things?", he sent it out.

Mei You, who was secretly making preparations on the city wall, noticed the incoming message and quickly entered the gatehouse. He pulled out the mother-child talisman to check the message. After seeing the content, he immediately cursed back: "Don't bother me. I'll naturally inform you when there's progress."

The accompanying code was also a "mountain" shaped pattern, but one where the peak was tilted to the right.

So Shi Chun directly copied that code and sent it along with a message to Fan Wuzhe: "Are you sick, kid? Don't you know to include the code when sending messages? You startled me."

Fan Wuzhe, hiding inside the house, was speechless after reading it. He thought, "You were the one who forgot to send the code first, and now you're blaming me."

However, there was nothing to explain, as he wasn't in a position to criticize the other person. He could only accept it and honestly replied: "Everything here is as usual."

Shi Chun messaged: "Leave at the end of the Chenshi hour (7-9 AM), arrive at the East Gate by the beginning of the Sishi hour (9-11 AM). There will be a fine-scaled steed with a black cloth tied to its tail at the gate. Ride it out of the city; no one will stop you. Ride quickly without stopping; you'll receive further instructions."

Fan Wuzhe stared at the message, his face clouded with worry. He didn't know what he was supposed to do, as it seemed unrelated to the established plan. However, he had no choice but to reply: "Understood. I will leave at the end of Chenshi and arrive at the East Gate by the beginning of Sishi to find the fine-scaled steed with the black cloth tail."

Shi Chun replied: "A teachable child."