Shanquan came out of the shed and took Zhengyi to go to the backyard.

What did Dage actually mean? Going around in circles like this really didn't make the situation any easier.

"Let's sit here first." Shanquan put his ass on one chair. He asked Zhengyi to sit on the chair in front of him. At that moment Shanquan sat facing the wall in the backyard.

I hope this isn't some kind of test. I'm so tired right now.

"How is your friend doing? Does he look all right?" Shanquan opened the conversation.

"He looks a lot older. But he's fine." Zhengyi didn't lie. Indeed, that was what he had witnessed.

"When was the last time you saw him? I mean, before six months ago?" Shanquan's tone was soft yet firm.

"About fifteen years ago."

"It's been a long time, huh?" Shanquan nodded. "Over the past fifteen years, have you had any contact with him? I mean, by phone or letter?"

"Nothing. I was surprised when I met him six months ago on the train."

He still didn't understand the meaning of the series of questions that were successively asked by Shanquan. But from what Shanquan had just said, he concluded Shanquan suspected something.

From the look on his face and eyes, Shanquan seemed to have guessed that Zhengyi had such thoughts. He let out a long breath. While gazing far away at the high wall behind him, he opened his mouth. "You were being followed by an unknown person. You don't know how far the person following you will go. He might injure you. In that situation, instead of going to the police station, you visit your friend. If the person who was following you was really a dangerous person, then you're tantamount to putting your friend in danger."

Shanquan stopped his speech. He was still looking at the high wall that separated their backyard from the backyard of the house behind them.

Ah! Turns out I was right! Dage must have thought that my friend was a special person!

After about ten seconds, Shanquan continued his speech. "Unless your friend isn't an ordinary person."

Shanquan was silent for another moment.

What should I do now? I couldn't have told Dage all of our backgrounds.

"If your friend isn't an ordinary person, then the person following you might not be a match for your friend. You must have thought that your friend would be fine. So your act of visiting your friend makes sense."

To anyone, all this time, Zhengyi had never once told a part of his past that he really shouldn't tell. But from his words, it was clear that Shanquan had already guessed certain parts of Zhengyi's past that he had never shared with his friends. Shanquan seemed to have guessed what kind of organization had been a part of Zhengyi's life.

This is really a dilemma! I need a little time to think.

Zhengyi was speechless.

"Don't worry," said Shanquan. "I understand that someone must have a good reason to tell something, or not to tell something."

Zhengyi nodded several times, listening to Shanquan's words. He still didn't utter a word.

Shanquan still said more. "Do you think your friend is worthy of your trust?"

Zhengyi took a deep breath. "I've helped him in the past. I could say that he owes me my life. Therefore, it seems unlikely that he intends to harm me."

"But that was over twenty years ago. In twenty years, people can change." Shanquan's voice was relaxed yet firm.

Zhengyi was surprised. Shanquan could guess that the incident he had helped his friend with had happened over twenty years ago.

Who exactly is this Dage? How did he know it was over twenty years ago? It turns out that there are many mysterious things about him.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Zhengyi thought further. He realized he wasn't the only one who didn't tell Shanquan much. All this time, it also seemed like there were a lot of things that Shanquan didn't tell others.

So many mysterious things about Dage. Maybe he also had more or less the same experience as me.

Such a thought was not too strange. Shanquan came from a family from privileged background. The people in the Duanmu family should be familiar with such mysterious matters.

"I hope you're right. If that friend of yours can still be trusted, then he can help us. But before we can be completely sure of that, we better be careful."

Zhengyi nodded. He agreed with that thought.

"How many things have you told your friend?"

"I told almost everything. Except for things related to Miss Lüqiu. I said nothing about her at all. I just said we got the bag because Songfei called us. He wanted to leave the bag with us for a while. I also didn't tell about the notebook we found. I told him that from inside the bag, we found a brown envelope filled with paper filled with red ink scribbles, a photograph, and a map. Regarding the photo, I didn't say that we recognized any of the faces in the picture. We've never seen the kidnapping incident, so there's no way we'd know that the woman in the photo was the victim of a kidnapping."

"Good!" Shanquan nodded. "We don't need to involve Yingyue. As originally planned, if anyone asks, just say that Yingyue is my relatives."

Zhengyi nodded. "About that jacket..." Zhengyi said the sentence with full of doubts.

"Ah! I just want to be careful. I'm afraid that the jacket has been fitted with some kind of sound-tapping device. I heard from several people, currently there are some sound-tapping devices that have sky-high sensitivity. So if you just put the jacket inside room, it could be that the sound of our conversation is still within the reach of the eavesdropper installed there. The box in the shed is an extraordinary box. It is made of sound-absorbing material."

"How do you know?"

"I have already tested it. At that time, I once inserted a voice recorder, which I lit into the box. Then I screamed and banged on the box. After I checked, it turned out that the sounds I made were not recorded on the recorder at all."

Oh! So that's what Dage actually did back then!

Zhengyi remembered that several months ago, they had gone camping in a mountainous area outside the city, about three hundred kilometers from the southern border of this city. At that time, they brought the box because it was a multipurpose box and could hold many things. When they all went to explore the area surrounding the campsite, Shanquan refused to come. He chose to stay at the camp. When they returned to the camp, they saw Shanquan sitting cross-legged on the box, screaming and pounding it with a hammer. They had thought Shanquan was releasing his pent-up emotions.

Many people had a habit of screaming in nature and open spaces, such as mountains when they climb mountains, or on the beach, when they swim in the sea, or some were desperate to scream on the roofs of skyscrapers. They said it was beneficial to release emotions that have been pent up. After that, they could feel better emotionally. Zhengyi didn't know if it was true or just a placebo effect. Zhengyi had never tried it, so he didn't know for sure.

The kitchen door opened. Yiren came out from behind the door. "How about the continuation of our plan? Are we going down that hole tonight? We have little time."

Zhengyi was surprised when he heard those words. He rolled his eyes at Yiren. "You mean we're going to hide in the room in that hole?"

Shanquan laughed. "For the umpteenth time, I have to explain again about it."

Zhengyi straightened his back. He wanted to hear more clearly what Shanquan had to say.

"Isn't it obvious that Dage wants us to hide out there," said Yiren.

"Not quite like that. Hiding in the basement is only a last resort if we don't find another way. I mean, tonight we're just going to double-check the state of the room below. Not tonight going down there to hide."

"Then I'll get changed first. I can't possibly go down to the dungeons dressed like this." Zhengyi got up from the chair.

"Ah! You don't have to come. I want you to just rest. You must be exhausted by now. Not everyone has to come down to the dungeons," said Shanquan.

"Isn't Xinxiu tired too?" Zhengyi said. "Doesn't he need to rest?"

"But Xinxiu is not as tired as you," said Yiren. "He's younger after all."

Zhengyi glared at Yiren.

Shanquan patted Zhengyi on the shoulder. "Xinxiu will only keep watch in the living room."

"How about the others?" Zhengyi asked.

"Yixiong will guard the edge of the hole. So only Yiren and I will go down there," said Shanquan.

"But I feel refreshed now. I'm ready for some action that requires energy. Checking the dungeons sure isn't a trifle." Zhengyi could no longer contain his curiosity. Since they entered the hole a few months ago, Zhengyi had wanted to repeat the action again. However, because his friends hadn't shown any enthusiasm at all, Zhengyi never said anything either.

Shanquan sighed. "All right! Then you stay on guard at the edge of the hole with Yixiong. If we need you later, then you or Yixiong will be called down to help."

After that, they went straight into the house. Shanquan and Yiren then went to the shed to get two oxygen cylinders and a rope. Soon after that, they intended to check the conditions in that dungeon. Zhengyi was really excited. The drowsiness that had attacked him vanished.