Chapter 869: Godsons

He Yuzhu toyed with the Pistol in his hand, his gaze as cold as if it had been steeped in poison. "Zhang Suquan, if you try to play me for a fool one more time, I will blow your brains out right here."

Zhang Suquan stiffened all over, the corners of his mouth twitching in a smile that looked worse than crying: "No problem, no problem... I have thoroughly learned my lesson regarding your prowess. I won't dare to play any more little tricks!"

He Yuzhu stared into his eyes and asked unhurriedly, "How did Danzeng pass messages to you?"

Zhang Suquan was silent for two seconds, then sighed: "I started out as a secret agent, so I don't trust anyone. I saw many children here who couldn't afford to eat, so I adopted them and taught them how to read and shoot from a young age... They all call me Godfather. Over the decades, I've had at least eight hundred, if not a thousand, godchildren. Even within the upper echelons of Myanmar, there are quite a few who are my godchildren." After finishing, he suddenly splayed the fingers of his right hand and pressed them lightly against his chest.

He Yuzhu watched this gesture and felt a murmur of doubt in his heart—is he warning me not to touch him? Or is he plotting something?

"Are you warning me that I can't touch you?" He Yuzhu mocked.

"That is not what I meant. I just learned this from the locals; it means that everything I am saying is the truth," Zhang Suquan hurriedly explained.

"Then Danzeng is your godson? Lawang is too, right?" He Yuzhu asked.

"They both are," he whispered.

"Then tell me, what secret signal did Danzeng use to let you know that the person entering with him was an uninvited guest?"

"When they enter my manor, if they rub their nose three times, it means the person they brought is a dangerous individual. This is a basic rule."

A thought suddenly flashed through He Yuzhu's mind—along the way, Danzeng had been rubbing his nose and picking at his nostrils; he had thought it was just a sloppy habit at the time and hadn't taken it to heart at all.

"Tell me, where exactly is Smith Manor and where is Commissioner Smith hiding? When Danzeng entered the door, he said you were meeting someone from M Country—is that true or not?"

Zhang Suquan's eyelids twitched: "That is also part of the signal. As long as the other party rubs their nose three times, my Bodyguard will say that; it is a standard response. In reality, there is no one from M Country in the manor right now."

He Yuzhu nodded: "Then tell me, where is the M Country base in Myanmar?"

"I will take you there. They are one hundred kilometers away from here."

He Yuzhu drove the boat according to Zhang Suquan's directions, and after traveling fifty kilometers, the two went ashore—because the river had turned in another direction.

After going ashore, He Yuzhu hailed a pickup truck.

The driver was a young man with a strange snake tattooed on his arm; one look and it was clear he was no good.

He Yuzhu looked at Zhang Suquan: "Ask him, how much to go to Jingdong?"

The man shook his head: "I'm not going. The road is too dangerous; it's full of checkpoints set up by the Burmese Army."

He Yuzhu reached out his hand and said in English: "One hundred dollars, are you going or not?"

The man pondered for a long time before finally relenting: "For the sake of the money, I'll take you there. But we have to take the mountain road. The mountain road is dangerous; if the car flips or something, don't blame me—blame your own bad luck."

He Yuzhu said: "We won't blame you."

Communication between the two was very difficult, and they had to rely on Zhang Suquan to translate in the middle.

In fact, He Yuzhu could understand everything the other party was saying perfectly well by relying on the system's translation function.

He just wanted to use this opportunity to see if Zhang Suquan was being honest and whether he would secretly pass on any messages.

Fortunately, ever since this old thing found out his manor had been destroyed, he had indeed become much more honest. He had also lost that air of importance he had before—it seems that for people, one still needs money to maintain appearances.

He Yuzhu and Zhang Suquan were both sitting in the cargo bed at the back; the sun was scorching, so He Yuzhu handed him an umbrella.

Zhang Suquan had been tossed about all night, and after all, he was over sixty years old; he looked completely wilted.

He Yuzhu said: "Once I find Commissioner Smith's home, I will let you go. Where do you plan to go?"

Zhang Suquan said listlessly: "My wealth is all gone, so I can't rely on my sons or godchildren anymore. My youngest granddaughter is the best to me, so I will go find her. She does jade business on the China-Myanmar border and is doing quite well; it's not far from Jingdong."

"You mean Jinghong, right?" He Yuzhu asked.

Zhang Suquan nodded.

The mountain road was extremely difficult to travel, with nine turns and eighteen bends; driving on this road was almost like battling with the Grim Reaper, with the constant danger of falling off the cliff.

Yet this young man drove exceptionally fast, to the point that even He Yuzhu was often broken out in a cold sweat, and Zhang Suquan was even more terrified, letting out a shriek from time to time.

He Yuzhu couldn't help but ask: "Didn't you say it was only fifty kilometers to Jingdong? Why haven't we arrived after driving for two hours?"

Zhang Suquan said: "I was talking about the straight-line distance. The way he is driving, the road is at least twice as long, so of course we haven't arrived."

Just as they rounded a bend and were about to descend the mountain, they saw a checkpoint in the distance, with two cars already stopped in front.

Several Burmese Army soldiers were desperately ordering the people in the cars to unload their goods.

He Yuzhu asked: "What are they unloading? Will these people check us?"

Zhang Suquan scratched his hair: "It's probably all contraband. We don't have anything worth taking, so we should be let through."

As soon as the three of them drove the car near the checkpoint, a dark-faced man suddenly saw Zhang Suquan and immediately walked over, calling out affectionately: "Godfather, why did you come by this road? Why are you riding in this piece-of-junk car?"

Zhang Suquan sized him up for a long time before remembering: "You are Muguo, right? You are from Kachin State."

The man called Muguo actually shed tears on the spot: "Godfather, thank you for still remembering me."

"I am old, and my memory isn't what it used to be. However, I look at the photos you send every year, so I recognize most of you."

Muguo asked with red eyes: "Godfather, why didn't you even bring a Bodyguard this time? Did something happen? Don't worry, as long as you say the word, I am willing to give my life for you."

Zhang Suquan smiled and didn't hide it from him: "My manor was indeed attacked, and I can't stay there anymore. My wealth is all buried underground. From now on, I am going to live the life of an ordinary person."

Muguo immediately said: "Godfather, then I am willing to take off this uniform and follow you."

Zhang Suquan waved his hand: "If you are willing to follow me, go to Jingdong and find my youngest daughter, Zhang Ting. I still have some business to attend to, and I will return there in a few days."

Muguo threw his hat on the ground and took off his uniform: "I'm quitting right now; I'm going straight to Jingdong to find Zhang Ting."

Zhang Suquan nodded: "Good, be careful on the road, hurry over."

Muguo immediately shouted: "Let them pass!"

After the car had driven a long way, He Yuzhu asked slowly: "You are quite popular; you were pretty good to that bunch of orphans, huh?"

Zhang Suquan shook his head: "Muguo is honest and kind. A large portion of them stopped associating with me long ago. The human heart is a difficult thing to fathom! Sometimes those who speak flowery words may not be sincere; on the contrary, those who aren't very good with words are often more filial. However... once these people find out that I have lost my wealth and power, I'm afraid not many will still come knocking."