Chapter 410: Decoding the Cipher

He Yuzhu drove to Xishan.

After arriving at the location, he released Lin Wanning from the space.

Lin Wanning slowly woke up, her eyes still somewhat dazed.

"Weren't we in the cave? How are we already out?" she said, looking at the collapsed Mountain God Temple.

"That was yesterday. Your Siqiang went mad and ignited the underground ammunition depot. If I hadn't used every ounce of my strength to carry you out, we would both have died there," He Yuzhu said, embellishing the story.

"My Siqiang actually set off poison gas bombs. I thought I was done for; I never expected you to have a Gas Mask!" Lin Wanning still felt lingering fear.

He Yuzhu smiled and said, "I have good news for you: from now on, you are completely free. Although, this freedom is still somewhat limited for the time being."

"Are you telling the truth?" Lin Wanning looked at He Yuzhu in disbelief.

He Yuzhu held up two fingers: "I'll give you two choices. One, work for Section Chief Tian Dan; you likely won't have to go to jail, but I can't guarantee whether you'll be settled accounts with later. Two, I send you to Hong Kong and give you a sum of money."

There was too much information, and Lin Wanning was stunned for a moment.

She thought for a while, then said with a firm gaze, "I choose to go to Hong Kong. Didn't you say you would buy me a house? Does that still count?"

He Yuzhu thought to himself that this woman really didn't like to lose out; even with her future uncertain, she still wanted to negotiate terms. "I won't go back on my word."

"When will you send me away?" Her tone was somewhat urgent.

"Liushi Trading Company has a ship docking in Tianjin on the twentieth of every month. In five days, you can set off," He Yuzhu said.

Lin Wanning nodded and bowed deeply to him: "Thank you."

He Yuzhu handed over the cipher: "Do me a favor and see if you can translate this."

Lin Wanning took it, looked it over, and said, "I need a copy of the Compendium of Materia Medica."

"I'll buy one when we get back to the city. But you'll have to put on some makeup. Before you leave, I'll arrange for you to be inside Liushi Trading Company."

Lin Wanning asked, "Do you have makeup supplies?"

"I do." He Yuzhu took a makeup bag out of his backpack; it was fully stocked.

Lin Wanning picked up the scissors, first cutting her long hair short, then carefully applying makeup while looking into a small mirror.

Before long, a middle-aged woman in her forties appeared before He Yuzhu—if not for the discerning eye of someone like Chen Xueru, no one would likely recognize her.

After finishing her makeup, Lin Wanning said in a low voice, "I want to burn some paper money for my Siqiang and senior brothers."

He Yuzhu took a bottle of liquor, a plate of pig's head meat, and some paper money and incense candles from his bag.

Lin Wanning had already seen him take the Gas Mask out of the bag, so she was not surprised at this moment.

She found a sheltered spot where the mountain had collapsed, lit the paper money, and knelt to kowtow three times. When she stood up, she brushed the dirt off her knees and said, "Let's go."

The two returned to Si Jiu Cheng, bought the Compendium of Materia Medica at the China Bookstore, and then found a teahouse. Lin Wanning quickly translated the cipher: "Contact person, arriving in the capital on the afternoon of the eighteenth of the first lunar month... code word..."

He Yuzhu took out a bankbook containing 130,000 Hong Kong Dollars.

Lin Wanning took the bankbook, her eyes turning slightly red, and she bit her lip hard.

"Can you tell me how you translated it?" He Yuzhu asked with a smile.

"Just for the sake of your good intentions, I will teach you." Lin Wanning then taught the translation method to He Yuzhu.

He Yuzhu brought her to Liushi Trading Company.

Shen Yan received the two of them very enthusiastically.

He Yuzhu picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said, "As expected of a trading business, Mr. Shen's tea is excellent."

"It's all last year's Longjing; this year's hasn't come down yet. How about this: every year when the Longjing comes down, I'll send some to you."

"I wouldn't dare refuse!" He Yuzhu put down the teacup: "This Mrs. Lin is a friend of mine who is going to Hong Kong. Please have the shipping company look after her on the way."

"No problem. Do you want to send a letter to my cousin this time?"

He Yuzhu took a thick letter out of his pocket and handed it over: "Tell her that when school is on summer break, I might go see her."

Before leaving, He Yuzhu handed another letter to Lin Wanning, on which the contact addresses for Zhao Ying and Jin Hai were written.

Lin Wanning watched He Yuzhu's retreating figure, tears flowing silently.

After handling these matters, He Yuzhu immediately delivered the intelligence to Tian Dan and informed her of the method to crack this set of ciphers.

Tian Dan glanced at him and scolded with a smile: "You brat, you're a real bastard in how you do things, but in terms of efficiency, you're fast enough. This time, I'll spare you."

He Yuzhu smiled: "Do you know how much money I lost for this?"

"That was your own choice," Tian Dan said bluntly.

"You have to reimburse me."

"I don't have any money!"

"This time, you owe me a favor. Maybe before long, I'll come to collect," He Yuzhu said, then left.

In the Qianmen Small Courtyard, Cui Xiu spent a long time struggling before finally digging a large jar out from beside the persimmon tree.

She reached inside eagerly and pulled out a dragon head carved from white jade, with two green night-luminescent pearls embedded in the dragon's eyes.

"Good heavens! What is this thing? The eyeballs look terrifying!" she muttered to herself.

At the entrance of the Ninety-five Courtyard, Yan Bugui leaned against the door frame, observing people coming and going.

Because of his injured arm, his enthusiasm for collecting "entry fees" had waned. He only came out to stand for a while when it was warm.

Seeing He Yuzhu, Yan Bugui said, "Zhuzi, does your relative's wedding really have to last a whole year? Did you bring back any wedding cigarettes or candies to share some of the joy with Third Master? My family has been having such bad luck lately, I'm counting on this joy to turn things around."

He Yuzhu took a handful of candies and a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and handed them over.

Yan Bugui accepted them happily and lowered his voice: "Did you know Xu Damao was arrested? I heard he's going to be sentenced for several decades."

"You're very well-informed," He Yuzhu smiled.

"It was the Deaf Old Lady who said so. She said that lately, every night, Cui Xiu cries and rambles on about how bitter these years have been."

"Has the old lady's hearing improved again? A while ago when she saw me, she said her left ear was completely deaf," He Yuzhu laughed.

"Her? She's always filtered out the useless stuff and only listens to what's useful!" Yan Bugui laughed.

Not long after He Yuzhu returned to the East Cross Courtyard, someone knocked on the door.

He Yuzhu opened the door, and seeing it was Cui Xiu, he hurriedly invited her into the room and poured her some tea.

Cui Xiu was carrying a black handbag in her hand.

He Yuzhu pushed the tea in front of her: "If I'm not mistaken, you've come regarding Xu Damao's matter. To tell you the truth, I saw that leader at my uncle's wedding banquet and specifically asked about it. She said Damao will get at least ten years this time."

Cui Xiu did not respond; she took a bundle out of her bag and unwrapped the layers of cloth.

The moment the package was opened, the slightly dim room suddenly brightened a little.

He Yuzhu's eyes lit up, feeling that this object was by no means an ordinary item.

"System, how is this thing?" He Yuzhu asked in his mind.

The system replied immediately: "This is an Ancient Supreme Energy Stone; contributing it to the system can trigger a major upgrade."

He Yuzhu was excited inside, but he maintained a calm expression on his face.

He took the dragon-head jade carving to examine it closely: the carving was lifelike, especially the green beads in the eyes, which seemed to possess a soul-captivating power.

"Auntie, let me say this first. I won't take this for free. My sister has always liked ancient jade, and I help her collect it. I will pay you for the item. I will do my best regarding Damao's matter, but I cannot guarantee he won't be sentenced for a year. I can guarantee that if I intervene, he will be sentenced to at most three years. If you don't agree, there's nothing I can do."

Cui Xiu was silent for a long time before she spoke: "I agree. I don't want money for this thing. As long as Xu Damao can get out sooner, that's all that matters."

"I am also a state Cadre and will not take your things for nothing. How about this, I will give you one hundred million (old currency, equivalent to ten thousand in new currency); this price should be considered fair!"

Cui Xiu did not expect this thing to be so valuable, and her voice trembled slightly: "But if I take the money, will you still help me handle the matter?"