I told Lin Han about my plan to go to Beijing, and she smiled and said, "Then let's hurry!"
Hearing Lin Han say this, my face was blank. "Hurry with what?"
"Your mother wants a grandson, and my mother is also competitive and wants a grandson. You also have to travel all over the place, so we should hurry."
...
Actually, I didn't really want to come to Beijing. Ever since I decided to go to Hong Kong to find Old Ghost at the end of last year, my spirit has been on edge. The constant tension has left me physically and mentally exhausted.
In this state, I am really not suitable to go to Beijing and get involved in Ye Qingcheng's affairs. But I thought, since I have climbed to this position by standing on the shoulders of my predecessors, I should do things that match my current status. Whether I admit Li Jiu is my master or not, I have to stop Ye Qingcheng from doing foolish things. She is likely to die at the hands of her enemies due to her lack of support.
...
Before coming to Xi'an, I met with Zhao Zhichao and learned some things about the "Southern School." That's right, Zhao Zhichao learned from "Shen Po," but she was only an outer disciple.
What is an outer disciple?
Ke Yingying once said that "Shen Po's" way of teaching schemers was the opposite of Mr. Wende's. Mr. Wende taught his disciples with inclusivity, while "Shen Po" strictly followed ancient methods. In this ancient method, these people had to scheme against each other, break each other's schemes, regardless of life or death. Only the strongest one would be qualified to be called a schemer.
According to Zhao Zhichao, these forty-nine people should be considered "Shen Po's" inner disciples. Zhao Zhichao just went there out of admiration and received some basic training in recognizing, planning, and breaking schemes. In other words, with Zhao Zhichao's intelligence, she was not qualified to be among the forty-nine. Of course, that's how fate works in the world. If Zhao Zhichao had been among the forty-nine, she probably wouldn't have met Lu Fan in her senior year.
Now, Zhao Zhichao has a good ending. Although this Miss Zhao next door is very calculating, she eventually lived in love with her neighbor Lu Fan because of love.
I don't like people like Zhao Zhichao, but I admire their love and sincerely wish them a long and happy marriage.
...
I didn't go to Beijing with Ke Yingying; we acted separately. Because I brought a lot of local specialties from Xi'an, I was eagerly waiting for someone to pick me up. Fortunately, Brother Pang arrived as promised.
"Brother Dah Huang, how are you?"
"Alive and kicking. Aren't I watching the kids at home so I can come out for a drink tonight?"
"He can drink now?"
"You're here now, aren't you? When you meet on a narrow road, the battle with the killer, he can't brag about it, can he?"
...
It's already May in the Gregorian calendar, the time since I returned from Hong Kong. Two months have passed without me realizing it. Time flies by!
That night, I met Dah Huang. He said he could drink, but it was still a bit early. He was discharged from the hospital only a few days ago, and while his flesh wounds had healed, the internal injuries would take at least half a year to recover.
The three of us drank while Dah Huang watched. He asked his wife to join us for a drink, but she rolled her eyes at him unceremoniously. Dah Huang likes to be boastful, and it's good that he has a wife who can keep him in check.
After a few drinks, Dah Huang's wife left early, worried about the children at home. Dah Huang then recounted the story of meeting the killer on a narrow road and bravely fighting him twice, feeling a bit unsatisfied. However, Chang Dachun persuaded Dah Huang to leave, considering his injuries, and he had likely heard the story so many times that his ears were calloused. After Dah Huang reluctantly left, the three of us continued drinking. Later, Brother Pang received a call due to his business, and I asked about Xiao Zian.
Ke Yingying told me that besides Ye Qingcheng, no one knew who Xiao Zian's son was or what he looked like. Because of this, Xiao Zian was threatened by Ye Qingcheng. However, Chang Dachun said that Xiao Zian had asked him for a favor regarding her child's schooling in Beijing. It was troublesome for Xiao Zian's son to come from another province and attend school in Beijing.
Chang Dachun was a local and, through connections and favors, arranged for Xiao Zian's son to study at a school in the Second Ring Road. I was puzzled. If that were the case, Xiao Zian should live near the school.
"How old is the child?"
"10 years old, in the fourth grade of primary school."
"If he's that young, Xiao Zian should be living nearby, right?"
I still asked, though I didn't hold out much hope. Someone like Xiao Zian would definitely hide her whereabouts very well. However, when Chang Dachun heard me, he smiled and replied, "Yes, I also helped her buy an apartment. She's quite wealthy, bought it outright."
Is that so? After Xiao Zian said this, I became even more convinced that this was not true. Xiao Zian had kept her son hidden so well all these years. For him to be exposed like this was almost impossible. This must be just one of her many safe houses.
"Shall we go take a look tomorrow?"
"Sure!"
...
The next day, Chang Dachun drove me to Xiao Zian's residence. We knocked on the door, and someone opened it, and it was indeed Xiao Zian. Xiao Zian was still the same. Without makeup, her skin condition was poor, like a fifty-year-old woman with a sallow complexion. But she was like this, with her hair tied in a fluffy braid, wearing cotton pajamas, looking like a lazy housewife.
"Sect Leader, you're in Beijing! Brother Chang, you're here too. Come in, come in."
Chang Dachun went in first, offering to take off his shoes, but Xiao Zian stopped him, smiling and saying, "No need to take off your shoes, it's not that clean at home."
...
"It's not for that reason, it's because of the Yin-Yang theory you explained to us."
The more she said, the more awkward I felt. The Yin-Yang theory was my understanding of scheming, and although it was supported by the writings of Guiguzi, it was limited to my interpretation. However, with Xiao Zian's understanding of schemers over the years, she had a different interpretation. Xiao Zian herself was a top performer in the Situational Stage System. Her greatest ability was to change her appearance and voice, like Sun Wukong, transforming into others and causing trouble. Besides the Situational Stage System, Xiao Zian also had a good grasp of the Stanislavski System and the Ultimate Game Theory System. Only in the Psychological Effect System did Xiao Zian not exhibit any related abilities.
In the Psychological Effect System, there is a psychological effect that is most easily exploited by schemers, called the "Hjalmarsson Effect." The Hjalmarsson Effect can be simply explained as: what you fear most will happen.
Xiao Zian was afraid of her son being harmed, so she kept him hidden. Because of this behavior, whether it was Ye Qingcheng, Ke Yingying, or even Lu Yao, they would all conclude that Xiao Zian's son was her weakness. At the same time, while desperately protecting her son, she was also harming him.
Due to excessive hiding, her child had no friends and began to become introverted. Sometimes, when Xiao Zian returned late, she would find her son hiding in the closet alone.
Xiao Zian asked her son, "Son, what are you afraid of that you have to hide in the closet by yourself?" The son said, "Mom, I'm not afraid of anything. I was just bored waiting for you, so I was playing hide-and-seek with myself."
Hearing her son say this, Xiao Zian couldn't help but hold him and cry. It was also coincidental that just as she was experiencing intense internal struggle, my theory, passed on by Ye Qingcheng, reached them. I believe that Ye Qingcheng, Xiao Zian, and Ke Yingying all learned a lot from my theory, but only Lu Yao ignored it, likely thinking that someone he couldn't even defeat had no right to teach him.
This time, Xiao Zian's actions were different from what I expected; she wasn't hiding anymore. Even if her son was her weakness, she would face it head-on. That's why she bought a house in Beijing and arranged for her son to study here.
"Mrs. Xiao, since that's the case, what arrangements do you have that I can help with?"
Xiao Zian rubbed her hands. "It's like this, I need someone to help me take care of my child, to pick him up and drop him off at school."
I looked at Chang Dachun, and Chang Dachun looked at me. I looked at Chang Dachun again. Chang Dachun said helplessly, "Mrs. Xiao, if you trust me, I can help you look after the child."
"Thank you, I'll trouble Brother Chang then."
After speaking, Xiao Zian turned to me. "Sect Leader, once I've made arrangements, I'll go to Sichuan to help Sister Ye. Don't you follow me. Sister Ye doesn't trust you."
"Why?"