Guessing the Secret
Chapter 3/4 of the weekkkk!
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Yang Chen passed through the alley where cold wind blew. He arrived at a small courtyard where sunlight got blocked.
The courtyard looked obsolete and it wasn’t locked. A few osmanthus and ginkgo trees were there, making the place look extraordinarily desolate. Evidently, the place wasn’t cleaned in a long time as leaves covered the ground, not to mention the musty smell that filled the place.
At this moment, two people were stood in the courtyard. One of them was Gray Robe who intentionally attracted Yang Chen’s attention to come over, Gray Robe from Group of Eight.
The other person wore a dark green military coat. Facing away from the entrance, he seemed to be staring at the overcast sky absentmindedly. He was Lin Zhiguo whose personal bodyguard was Gray Robe.
After leaving Lin Zhiguo at the Tibetan area back then, Yang Chen didn’t have too good of an impression towards this man who had lived more than 50 years. Yang Chen wasn’t someone who would disrespect the elderly, but he wouldn’t respect every single one of them, though he almost never had any senior. Lin Zhiguo’s past, the way he handled things, and his talking manner made Yang Chen really uncomfortable. He could understand why Abbess Yun Miao and Lin Ruoxi, Lin Zhiguo’s wife and granddaughter respectively, didn’t want to accept him.
According his rank being the general of Yellow Flame Iron Brigade, Yang Chen didn’t feel like it was any special.
When he saw Lin Zhiguo at this moment, Yang Chen didn’t act too intimately. Tonelessly, he said, “Is there anything you need, asking Gray Robe to lure me here?”
“You seem to be very busy,” Lin Zhiguo said as he turned around, looking serious.
“Speak. I still need to send people back,” Yang Chen said. He didn’t want to say much. In fact, he didn’t like people who acted cocky just because they thought they were seniors.
Frowning, Lin Zhiguo said, “Yang Chen, I’m your senior. Do you lack even the most basic respect?”
Yang Chen scowled as he shook his head like it was none of his business. “When Ruoxi agrees to see you as her senior, I’ll do the same as well.”
“Ruoxi is just throwing a tantrum at me. Haven’t you noticed?!”
“I only noticed that you definitely didn’t act like a senior,” Yang Chen said impatiently. “If there’s nothing you want to say, I’ll leave now.”
Lin Zhiguo stared at him angrily as exerted a stern aura. The atmosphere in the courtyard seemed like it was condensed!
“Your attitude really disappoints me!”
Yang Chen wasn’t the slightest afraid. He smiled with contempt in his heart. If it wasn’t for the blood relation between Lin Zhiguo and Lin Ruoxi, Yang Chen would’ve rushed over to kick him away as he got deeply challenged.
“You better not treat me like how you act towards the people from Yellow Flame Iron Brigade. My patience has a limit too. Provoking me won’t benefit you,” Yang Chen said as he stared at Lin Zhiguo coldly.
Lin Zhiguo’s face reddened as he got extremely pissed. The longer he looked at Yang Chen’s expressionless face, the more he hesitated to land a strike. He wanted to put show the attitude of a senior to make Yang Chen admit his mistake. However, he didn’t expect Yang Chen to ignore him completely.
More severely, Yang Chen developed hatred towards Lin Zhiguo, just like Lin Ruoxi.
This was undoubtedly an enormous blow to Lin Zhiguo. He wanted to make Yang Chen obey him based on his relationship with Lin Ruoxi. However, judging by the current situation, he caused an adverse effect.
Am I too impatient? Lin Zhiguo asked himself. The answer was ambiguous. He didn’t know what it was.
Sighing helplessly, Lin Zhiguo revoked his ferocious look. He asked, “Is Hui’er coming to Zhonghai next month?”
“Which Hui’er?” Yang Chen asked.
“Lin Hui, also called Hui Lin, my granddaughter,” Lin Zhiguo answered
Yang Chen finally remembered that the old daoist Yun Miao sent her treasured little daoist to Zhonghai because she had too much time. Feeling a headache, he said, “Yeah, she really is coming. Can you discuss with Abbess Yun Miao? Ask her to stop doing something this silly. I don’t even have enough time to deal with my own matters. How am I supposed to take care of another adult?”
“Do you think that Yun Miao will listen to me?” Lin Zhiguo asked.
Stupefied, Yang Chen slapped his forehead. “Good point. All you can do is shout at your subordinates.”
“Humph.” Lin Zhiguo was obviously resented. Sadly, it was actually a fact, so he didn’t respond. “You already married Ruoxi. I don’t allow you to touch Hui Lin.”
“Who do you think I am? Why would I find trouble for myself? According to seniority, she’s my sister-in-law. A rabbit wouldn’t eat the grass outside its nest. I don’t have that much time,” Yang Chen said as he shook his head.
“Don’t think that I’m not aware of how many women you have outside. Since you did it once, you’ll definitely do it again. I can’t go defenseless against you,” Lin Zhiguo said doubtfully. “When the time comes, how are you going to arrange Hui Lin?”
Annoyed, Yang Chen said, “If I knew, do I have to be this irritated?”
“Let me give you an advice,” Lin Zhiguo said.
“What is it?”
“Let Hui Lin live with you and Ruoxi,” Lin Zhiguo said.
Listening to what Lin Zhiguo said, Yang Chen was looking forward to the future. He wondered how Lin Ruoxi would react when she suddenly saw Hui Lin who appeared out of nowhere. Logically speaking, one of their grandmothers was the legal wife, while the other was a mistress. They should be ‘enemies’. The two women were both extraordinary characters, one was cold like frost and untalkative, while the other was adorable and pure.
More importantly, both of them didn’t seem to have a liking to their grandfather. They could actually be good sisters, having a common enemy.
“Who’s older, Hui Lin or Ruoxi?” Yang Chen had been struggling with this question.
A trace of affection appeared in Lin Zhiguo’s eyes. “Hui Lin is 10 days younger than Ruoxi. Ruoxi was born on the fifth of September, while Hui Lin was the fifteenth of September.”
“Ahh… Why does Hui Lin look a few years younger? The children raised in the mountains are indeed more naive,” Yang Chen said emotionally.
Lin Zhiguo stared at Yang Chen angrily. “You indeed have a thought towards Hui Lin?!”
“Hey, don’t point fingers at me! I’m a man who admits what I do. If I ever think of her that way, I won’t try to hide my behaviour. I’m different from you, even your own granddaughters don’t call you ‘grandpa’,” Yang Chen said as he pouted.
“You!” Lin Zhiguo got so mad that smoke came out from his body, but he couldn’t come up with a single word to defend himself. His past demeanour caused this consequence on his younger generation!
Yang Chen knew that Lin Zhiguo wanted Hui Lin and Ruoxi get together because he didn’t hope his descendants to exclude each other because of his mistake. Using such an opportunity, he hoped to make his granddaughters closer to each other.
Yang Chen didn’t outright reject his request, but he had to talk it through with Lin Ruoxi when he returned home. Furthermore, how Hui Lin’s identity should be explained was a major problem as well. Although Lin Ruoxi would know the truth sooner or later, it was impossible for him to announce their relationship directly.
“Do you need anything else?” Yang Chen took out his phone to check the time. He still had three minutes left.
Lin Zhiguo pondered before saying, “God’s Stone is still with you.”
Yang Chen looked at Lin Zhiguo and smiled weirdly. “Didn’t Flower Rain witness me throwing God’s Stone to Yamata Sect?”
“That one is fake,” Lin Zhiguo said as he looked directly into Yang Chen’s eyes. He seemed like he hoped to discover something by looking at Yang Chen’s facial expression, but soon he realized it was futile.
Yang Chen’s expression didn’t change the slightest. “Why do you say so? You should be clear that God’s Stone is only a burden to me, instead of a treasure. Passing it to Yamata Sect isn’t a loss to me.”
“Although God’s Stone is useless to you, you should be aware that the world peace would be destroyed should it land on someone else’s hands. I bet you mustn’t want to witness such an outcome, so you’ve always brought God’s Stone with you,” Lin Zhiguo said. “Moreover, deliberately throwing a fake copy to Yamata Sect would only bring them trouble, as they would be the center of attraction. Not only would the other people who have their eyes on God’s Stone go for them, you could earn some time living peacefully. Am I right?”
Smiling, Yang Chen replied, “You’re merely making a guess. If Yamata Sect got the fake version, wouldn’t they announce already?”
“Not only is Noriko Okawa an absolute Chinin expert, he’s also the leader who has brought Yamata Sect to become one of the world’s strongest organisations single-handedly. He wouldn’t announce his God’s Stone to be fake even if that’s the case. That’s because no organisation would ever admit it’s real either. The more one tries to hide, the more one is exposed. Doing so will only attract more attention which leads to more enemies,” Lin Zhiguo said. He then couldn’t control his laughter. “Noriko Okawa must be extremely pissed now. Your behaviour must’ve brought Yamata Sect a lot of troubles. As far as I’m concerned, Takamagahara from Japan alone has been attacking them as a test.”
“Think all you want. At the end of the day, God’s Stone isn’t in my hands anymore. Whether you believe me or not, I hope that your Yellow Flame Iron Brigade can stop disturbing my private life for God’s Stone. You should be aware that I returned to the country to live a peaceful life, not to fight you all. Furthermore, all of you aren’t capable of being my opponents,” Yang Chen said coldly before turning around and leaving.
After Yang Chen left, Gray Robe who had remained silent walked forward. Respectfully, he asked, “Master, is the God’s Stone Uncle Yang gave away really fake?”
[TL note: Gray Robe calls Yang Chen ‘uncle’ because he’s married to Lin Ruoxi.]
Shaking his head, Lin Zhiguo replied, “I don’t know, I was just testing him. After Yamata Sect got God’s Stone, they haven’t had any movement. Noriko Okawa is an old cunning fox. He knows that silence is the best choice regardless of the authenticity of God’s Stone.”
“If that really is fake, where would the real God’s Stone be?” Gray Robe asked.
“Only Yang Chen himself would know,” Lin Zhiguo said before touching his forehead as he got a headache. “Let’s go, Gray Robe, we’ll return to Beijing. This time, we didn’t manage to stop Hannya and Tanuki from Yamata Sect because we had underestimated their abilities. When we return, we’ll increase the training frequency for Second Dragon Group to let them reflect on themselves.”
“Master, I feel like Yong Ye from Second Dragon Group isn’t suited to be their leader,” Gray Robe said carefully.
Lin Zhiguo pondered as he sighed. “I naturally know what you’re talking about. However, our country is different from American and European countries. Although Yellow Flame Iron Brigade is independent on the government, we’re still a division of the country. It’s impossible that we break away from those stupid eyes in the government. Since Yong Ye is still young, you and the few other old folks can lecture him more. Acting slightly arrogant while being rather capable is fine, we’ll slowly change his attitude.”
Gray Robe looked rather helpless. He said, “Yes, Master.”
“By the way, I asked you to check on Yang Pojun from Yang clan earlier, regarding his abnormal act of moving the amphibious troops from Jiangnan District. Have you done it yet?” Lin Zhiguo asked.
Nodding, Gray Robe replied, “Yes, Master. Yang Pojun was indeed just following the request given by his relative from Zhonghai’s Yuan clan, to help destroy the former gang in Zhonghai, Dongxing Society. He didn’t have any other intention.”
“This son of Yang Gongming is indeed complicated. He should have a secured seat in the next Politburo Standing Committee already. The seat of the vice chairman of the military commission may fall into his hands as well,” Lin Zhiguo said as he analyzed the situation. “Since the founding of the country, Yang clan and our Lin clan had had the most rigorous family traditions. However, none of Lin clan’s descendants are as dependable as Yang Pojun. How unfortunate…”
“Master, when I checked on Commander Yang Pojun, I noticed something weird. Although it can’t be confirmed yet, but it seems very possible…” Gray Robe said. He was struggling if he should reveal this information or not, but he did at last.
“Oh? What is it?” Lin Zhiguo asked. To him, it was rare for Gray Robe to speak this way.
Gray Robe leaned towards Lin Zhiguo before whispering something…
Looking Lin Zhiguo’s facial expression, he suddenly got astonished and slowly got unbelievably silent…