Chapter 156: He Yuzhu Returns to the Country

That mature voice sounded again: "Your bandit nature hasn't changed. We are Gold-Touching Captains, not murderous, looting robbers; don't go killing people at the drop of a hat!"

The short, stocky man lowered his voice and said: "Big Brother, but, but we've already killed someone; leaving him alive, I'm afraid it'll be a disaster!"

"Pull him up."

The short, stocky man grabbed Xu Damao by the collar and dragged him up from the river as if he were a drowned rat.

A torch flared with a "hiss," and a man in his thirties with a knife-cut face held the torch up, leaned in to illuminate Xu Damao's face, scrutinized him for a moment, and curled his lips: "Your bone structure is unique; you're material for Doudao."

Xu Damao trembled all over, flopped onto the ground, and kowtowed repeatedly: "Siqiang! Please take me in! I am willing to follow you for the rest of my life, serve you, and provide for you in your old age!"

The knife-cut-faced man chuckled, "You kid sure know how to climb the pole. You want to apprentice under me? It's not that simple; first, you must pass a test."

"Siqiang, even if I have to go through fire and water, I won't frown even once!" Xu Damao said.

The short, stocky man to the side interrupted him impatiently: "Stop flapping your gums here! Speak, who are the people chasing you?"

"They are... they are human traffickers! If you don't believe me, go to the village and see; there are still six little children locked in a dilapidated house."

These three were none other than Hu Yunbin, Wang Donglai, and Ma Chun of the "Mud Society."

Tonight, they had come to rob a tomb of a Jin Dynasty princess; because the tomb was close to the main road, they had no choice but to act under the cover of night.

Who would have thought that just after opening the tomb tunnel and before they could even touch any funerary objects, they heard someone shouting.

Wang Donglai, a bandit by origin, feared the matter would be exposed and directly moved to slit the person's throat.

Although Hu Yunbin was also ruthless, he believed in "honor among thieves." Once he saw blood, he was unwilling to go down into the tomb again and ordered his men to throw the corpse into the tomb tunnel and bury it.

Worried that these two people had accomplices, he hurriedly led his men to search everywhere and happened to see Xu Damao.

Upon hearing that there were still children in the village, Hu Yunbin pondered for a moment, then waved his hand and said: "Let's go, let's go take a look."

The night was like ink, and the few of them stepped across the wild fields toward the village.

Hu Yunbin asked: "Kid, what is your name?"

"Xu Damao."

"What do you plan to do about those children in the village?"

Xu Damao's mind raced: At this moment, if he appeared kind, it would actually be easier to gain their trust. He looked up and said in a sincere tone: "They are all miserable people; their parents must be worried sick. If Siqiang agrees, it would be best... if we could send them back to Si Jiu Cheng."

Wang Donglai immediately started cursing: "You little brat, you sure know how to boss people around! With one word from you, I have to run my legs off!"

Hu Yunbin, however, nodded slightly: "Your heart isn't bad. Tomorrow, we will return to Si Jiu Cheng, send all the children back, and accumulate some hidden virtue."

The group returned to the deserted village with Xu Damao. Hu Yunbin saw a corpse lying in the main room and asked: "Damao, did you kill this person?"

Xu Damao nodded and said indignantly: "They were too wicked; they wouldn't even let us go to the bathroom while traveling during the day, so we could only, only go in our pants! They also tied us up so tightly that if they had tied us any more, we would have been crippled..."

Hu Yunbin nodded and ordered: "Wang Donglai, Ma Chun, you two bury the corpse; don't scare the children!"

Hu Yunbin introduced Wang Donglai and Ma Chun to Xu Damao and also gave his own name.

Xu Damao also told them a half-truth, half-false story about his family situation. He truly wanted to apprentice under this Siqiang.

After Xu Fugui died, he deeply felt that it was hard to stand alone; when something happened, he couldn't even find anyone to ask.

Seeing his burning gaze, Hu Yunbin took a pitch-black pill from his bosom, "If you want to enter my sect, swallow this. This is the rule of my school."

Xu Damao's heart tightened, knowing this was a life-or-death choice. If he didn't eat it, he might die; if he ate it, there might be a glimmer of survival. He no longer hesitated, took the pill, tilted his head back, and swallowed it. Instantly, he felt his hearing and vision sharpen, and his body felt much lighter.

Hu Yunbin curled his lips and patted his shoulder: "Consider yourself passed. This medicine is called the 'Spirit-Settling Pill'; in the future, if you encounter evil spirits while tomb-robbing, it can protect your heart and mind from chaos."

"Thank you, Siqiang!" Xu Damao's voice trembled, not knowing if it was from the cold or fear.

The next day, Xu Damao returned to Si Jiu Cheng and told his mother, Cui Xiu, about his encounter.

Cui Xiu cried bitterly, regretting that she hadn't been able to take good care of her son.

Xu Damao said: "I don't want to go to school anymore. I've recognized a Siqiang outside who does business. Dad is gone, and I don't want to be a freeloader; I want to learn some real skills."

Cui Xiu asked about the situation and, after repeated exhortations, finally agreed.

In the days that followed, Xu Damao began to travel north and south with his Siqiang, working as a Gold-Touching Captain.

At the same time, He Yuzhu, far away in New York, was standing at the entrance of the cinema, watching Zhao Ying buy popcorn and cola.

They had just completed the handover procedures for the shipping company acquisition today.

To celebrate, He Yuzhu treated the group to a meal.

After the meal, Zhao Ying insisted that He Yuzhu accompany her to watch Hitchcock's "Notorious."

As the movie started, Zhao Ying watched intently, but He Yuzhu was uninterested—coming from a later era, he was already accustomed to fast-paced narratives. Watching this slow-moving movie made him want to sleep.

After He Yuzhu finished his own bucket of popcorn and still felt bored, he went to steal from Zhao Ying's bucket.

But Zhao Ying grabbed his hand and wouldn't let go.

At this moment, that famous long take appeared on the screen (Hitchcock, to circumvent the rule that "a kiss must not exceed three seconds," used two and a half minutes of hugging and intermittent kissing to avoid inspection), which ended up becoming a cinema classic.

Seeing this shot, He Yuzhu couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Zhao Ying, however, thought He Yuzhu was laughing at her—after all, she, like the heroine, had worked as an agent.

She reached out and pinched He Yuzhu's waist hard.

He Yuzhu winced in pain, but because there were people all around, he didn't dare to make a sound.

Zhao Ying looked at him and smiled, then suddenly imitated the heroine in the movie and kissed him for three seconds.

He Yuzhu's body trembled slightly, and he was somewhat unable to hold himself back.

Zhao Ying suddenly let go, pouted, and said: "Little brat, this is a reward from your sister; don't think too much about it."

Hearing this, the raging fire in He Yuzhu's body had to slowly cool down.

In the days that followed, everyone was busy with their own affairs.

Su Qing helped He Yuzhu purchase large quantities of grain, medicine, lathes, and other supplies.

He Yuzhu frequently visited nearby Military Camps, armories, and even gun shops, managing to get over three thousand Thompson Submachine Guns, more than twenty thousand M1 Garand Rifles, and countless bullets.

For a time, the whole of the United States was in a state of panic; the authorities did not know where the stolen guns had gone and had to declare a state of national emergency.

On the other side, after several rounds of negotiations, Zhao Ying's entertainment company finally signed Peggy Lee.

Being able to invite her was not due to heavy payment, but rather due to a flexible contract and the fact that He Yuzhu's song "Jambalaya" had touched her heart. Of course, Kevin Yang from Columbia University acting as a go-between was also very important.

However, when Peggy Lee walked into the recording studio, she realized that she had not married down, but had instead married up.

When He Yuzhu laid out the sheet music for "Jambalaya," "500 Miles," "Yesterday," "Hey Jude," "Let It Be," "I Want to Hold Your Hand," and "A Day in the Life" one by one, she stood frozen in place after reading them—one good song is luck, but an entire album of classics is strength.

When recording "Hey Jude," she choked up several times and was almost unable to complete the recording.

A female jazz singer, through a twist of fate, obtained rock songs from later generations and also experienced the feeling of time travel, from then on creating a legendary tale.

One month later, once these songs were released, they instantly ignited all of New York.

On every street corner, these unfamiliar yet moving melodies drifted from radios.

Record giants like Columbia, RCA, and DECCA all went around inquiring about what kind of background "Eastern Records" had.

Peggy Lee's vinyl records were sold out completely.

He Yuzhu did not expose himself, but instead used the pen name Mark White, and his spokesperson was Kevin Yang, a professor in the drama department at Columbia University.