CHAPTER 117: CHAPTER 116: THE EVENTS OF THAT YEAR

Back at the company, Wei Xueqing said to Zhou Lan, "Help me get a passport for Yang Chen. We need to go to Gotham on the 11th."

"Okay!" Zhou Lan noted it down.

Wei Xueqing organized some materials and asked Zhou Lan to gather the staff for a meeting to prepare for the arrival of Frank Gregory’s team tomorrow.

"Yang Chen!" Wei Xueqing said to Yang Chen, "You’re the main character of this meeting. You need to document how to take care of Gregory, including the habits and preferences of the people from Lancy Country, so everyone is prepared to make them feel at home."

Yang Chen nodded.

...

Ningchuan Guard District.

In a courtyard designed for entertaining guests.

Li Muyang asked, "Have you found anything?"

Xiaowang replied, "Major, I found a lot of information about Yang Chen, but only a few are suspicious, and only these five meet the standard for retired guardsmen. Take a look."

Li Muyang sat in front of the computer, reviewing the information.

A retired guardsman, returning home to farm?

Not this one!

A retired guardsman, a governmental official?

Not this one either!

...

Finally, Li Muyang focused on one piece of information.

Yang Chen, joined the Guard at sixteen, transferred to a special forces unit at seventeen, lieutenant at eighteen...

Hiss!

Li Muyang took a sharp breath.

A lieutenant at eighteen!

Special forces?

Li Muyang frowned in deep thought, looking at this sparse information.

After a long time, Li Muyang said to Xiaowang, "Bring out the Dahongpao tea I brought. I’m going to see Uncle Zhuo!"

"Yes!"

Soon, they prepared and headed to Old Zhuo’s courtyard.

Old Zhuo was trimming bonsai in the courtyard; seeing Li Muyang approach, he smiled and said, "Come, come, see how Uncle Zhuo’s work looks?"

Li Muyang walked over, observing the dragon pine tree with its tangled roots and branches, lush needles, with a large branch extending to the left, vibrant with a forward momentum. Overall, it looked robust and vigorous, as if ready to burst forth.

"Amazing!" Li Muyang praised, "Only you, Uncle Zhuo, have the skill to cultivate a dragon pine like this. The bonsai is absolutely perfect, magnificent!"

"Hehe!" Old Zhuo laughed and trimmed a few leaves, saying to Li Muyang, "How about I give this bonsai to Old Ye? Its grandeur and explosive tendency symbolize Flame Country’s vibrant development."

"Very good!" Li Muyang said gravely, "Elder Ye will definitely like it!"

"Haha! That’s good!" Old Zhuo set down the scissors and said to Li Muyang, "Take it with you when you go back."

"I think you should deliver it personally. My father often mentions you, wondering when you’ll come to Jin Chen to be neighbors and have company." Li Muyang looked at Old Zhuo with a frown.

Old Zhuo waved his hand, gesturing Li Muyang to stop.

Back inside, Li Muyang brewed Dahongpao for Old Zhuo.

Old Zhuo took a sip, looking content, and exclaimed, "Good tea! Really good tea!"

After speaking, Old Zhuo stared sharply at Li Muyang, smiling as he asked, "Go ahead, you’re giving me such good tea, you must have some motive, just spit it out!"

Li Muyang laughed helplessly, "Sure enough, nothing escapes you."

Old Zhuo looked at Li Muyang with amusement.

"Uncle Zhuo, do you know a special guardsman named Yang Chen? He’s in our Ningchuan."

Upon hearing this, Old Zhuo raised an eyebrow, looking at Li Muyang in surprise, and asked, "Why are you asking about this person?"

"You know him?" Li Muyang could tell from Old Zhuo’s reaction that he must know him.

Old Zhuo nodded, recalling the very limited information and high-level permission settings he had come across back then.

"What is his true identity?" Li Muyang asked.

Old Zhuo pondered slightly, then smiled, "What kind of identity could he have? He’s the child of an old friend. I arranged a security job for him some time ago, and he’s working as a bodyguard at the Shangdong Group. Why?"

Li Muyang nodded; the information matched up now.

"His information is very sparse, but becoming a lieutenant at eighteen — do you know anything about his guard unit?"

Old Zhuo shook his head, "I know as much as you do. The information on this person is very restricted, beyond what I can access. Maybe you could try having your family elder look into it. But why are you so curious about him? Has something happened?"

In truth, Old Zhuo was also concerned. These special forces guardsmen, if utilized well are talents; if not, they could be extremely dangerous.

Li Muyang thought for a moment, then spoke the truth plainly, "He married Ye Xin, and they’ve already received their marriage certificate!"

"Whoa!" Old Zhuo was very surprised and asked, "Ye Xin got married? Does her family know? How come something this big hasn’t made any noise?"

Li Muyang shook his head, "The family doesn’t know. Ye Xin registered with Yang Chen on her first return day, and Yang Chen did the same on his first day back. According to my investigation, the two weren’t acquainted beforehand. Ye Xin claims they knew each other since childhood. Do you have any impression if there was a Yang family connected to the young Ye Xin?"

With Li Muyang’s prompting, Old Zhuo recalled one particular family.

However, considering what happened to that family later...

Wait!

A sharp glint flashed in Old Zhuo’s eyes.

He seemed to have discovered something.

If Yang Chen really could have interacted with Ye Xin in childhood, and his surname is Yang, then it must be that family.

But that family’s later experiences were quite tragic.

But if Yang Chen is an orphan, it might just match.

Reaching a deductive conclusion, Old Zhuo’s mind was stormy with shock, thinking to himself, "Old Qin, old Qin, you’re such a stubborn mule! So many people dared not get involved, yet you did!"

Thankfully, nothing untoward had happened over the years.

He looked at Li Muyang and laughed, "There’s no problem with this person. My old comrade was a wartime old guard, definitely no problem. Stop looking into it further."

He was genuinely afraid that Li Muyang might uncover something, dragging in matters from twenty years ago, potentially leading to uncontrollable consequences.

Li Muyang looked at Old Zhuo with doubt.

Though Old Zhuo hid it well, Li Muyang could still tell he was concealing something.

But, since Old Zhuo was unwilling to speak, Li Muyang didn’t press further.

"Uncle Zhuo, have some tea!" Li Muyang smiled.

Old Zhuo took a sip of tea, his gaze somewhat heavy.

Everything intertwined had given Old Zhuo a sense of foreboding. He could feel that some significant events were destined to happen. Whether these would be for better or worse, he couldn’t say.

Since Yang Chen had returned, he was bound to investigate the events of that year.

And with Ye Xin, Li Muyang, none of them are easy characters.

It seems that hiding what happened back then won’t be possible for much longer.