The Scheming Ex-Husband's Courtship-Chapter 657 - 570: Nan Zhan’s Password

Nan Zhan tucked the portrait back into his pocket, didn’t answer right away, but instead stood up and patted the young man’s shoulder: "Heaven’s net is wide yet lets nothing through; I will make sure he receives the full punishment of the law."

The youth stared at him blankly for a long time, the man before him had distinct features, a tall figure, he had seen his capabilities, instantly knocking down two burly men and bursting out of an encirclement despite being attacked by four or five people.

The youth felt trust emanating from him, saw his integrity, and found himself believing in his words solidly.

"You’ll probably have to make do and stay at my place tonight. They’re definitely still looking for you, they might even be blocking the entrance to the village. Tomorrow, I’ll figure a way to get you out." The youth got up, fetched a bucket of water from another well, "First, wash your wounds, I’ll go find some gauze that we can use to bandage them."

"Thank you." Nan Zhan stood in front of the bucket of clear well water, his reflection on the water’s surface showing his somewhat disheveled appearance, he couldn’t help but smile. Although Kui Ge had run away, it was not a wasted effort, because Kui Ge was the hit-and-run driver that Jian Si had been looking for.

After learning that Jian Si was looking for the original perpetrator, Nan Zhan covertly notified friends in various places who were reliable, asking them to keep an eye out for people from Aus City who were drifting in other areas.

He rarely showed his face, his identity concealed, often claiming to the outside world that he had gone bankrupt in business.

Nan Zhan washed his face, and the youth had already brought over several pieces of gauze, "Just do a simple bandage for now, here’s some Sanqi powder; my grandfather said it’s for stopping bleeding."

Nan Zhan thanked the youth and began to tend to his injuries by the light of the moon.

The youth sat beside him looking at the sky, while the chirping of crickets came from the grass behind the house.

Thinking of Jian Si, Nan Zhan suddenly stopped his medication application.

For Kui Ge to have received a message so quickly, it must have been leaked by someone in the prosecutor’s office; it appeared the staff who gave him the phone number had betrayed him in the shortest possible time.

The prosecutor’s office had played this hand very cleverly; they feared he would uncover more truth, yet as law enforcement officials, they couldn’t intervene personally. So they came up with this strategy to use a borrowed knife to kill, hoping Kui Ge would deal with him. After this, they’d probably become even more aggressive, continuing to exploit...

The thought made Nan Zhan’s expression suddenly darken. Jian Si, she was in danger.

"Is there a reliable place to make a call?"

Seeing his suddenly anxious appearance, the youth thought seriously for a moment: "Kui Ge has a lot of power in the village, everyone is scared of him, you see how many people were chasing to chop you, and nobody dared to call the police, because everyone knows those are his men, as soon as you show up, it’s likely to blow your cover immediately."

"What if I don’t show myself, but you do instead?"

"Not far to the west is my uncle’s house, we could use their phone, but, my cousin-in-law works at the repair shop and he lives in my uncle’s house."

Nan Zhan considered this for a moment, "Remember this number, then repeat after me."

The youth looked up to him deeply, believing whatever he said, so he nodded: "You speak, I’m committing it to memory."

~

Nan Zhan’s phone was still unreachable, and Jian Si was even more certain that something had happened to him. This feeling left her completely helpless and restless, pacing back and forth in the cramped room.

When the phone ringed, she nearly answered it the second it did, without even checking the caller ID, "Hello, Nan Zhan?"

But what came from the other end was a young boy’s voice, uttering a string of words that bewildered her before hanging up.

Jian Si sat on the bed, initially thinking it was a wrong number call, but the more she thought about it, the more suspicious it seemed. The youth’s words sounded more like some sort of secret code.

Jian Si grabbed paper and pen, and quickly wrote down: Doctor, my grandfather’s condition is very stable now, I would like to confirm with you the medical expenses for these few instances. Yes, they are 45 yuan and 36 cents, 65 yuan and 47 cents, 88 yuan and 22 cents, 102 yuan and 33 cents, oh, and I’ve finished reading the book you left on the table, I’ve also marked the parts I didn’t understand, could you help me explain those when you have time, that’s all, goodbye doctor.

On the surface, this appeared to be a conversation between a child whose grandfather was sick and the doctor, checking medical expenses whilst also mentioning having borrowed and read a book from the doctor.

But upon closer inspection, Jian Si found it suspicious; first off, the youth had not confirmed her identity when calling, a normal person would question upon hearing an unexpected voice, ’Is this XX doctor?’ But he didn’t, as if he was certain she was the person he was calling for. Secondly, what era are we in now, who still calculates down to the cents?

Jian Si started to circle the numbers with her pen, but the more she looked, the less it made sense; there was no pattern at all.

Just when she was baffled and at a loss, suddenly, she thought of someone who could help her, like a ray of light in the darkness, and she immediately picked up her mobile phone.

Clearly, the little guy was asleep, and his voice was weak and tired.

Zhengzheng didn’t have a mobile phone. Jian Si was calling the nanny that Nan Zhan had found for her; she had been in contact with this nanny these past few days.

"Zhengzheng, wake up for a moment, I have an extremely urgent matter to ask you."

Zhengzheng sat up and rubbed his eyes: "What is it?"

Jian Si told him about Nan Zhan’s disappearance, then repeated the content of what the youth had said on the phone.

Zhengzheng said, "Wait a second, let me find a notebook to jot this down."

The rustling sound came from the other end of the phone, and Jian Si’s heart suddenly settled down, always feeling that with him there, every problem could be solved swiftly, even though he was still a child.

"Alright, go ahead."

Jian Si repeated it, and Zhengzheng picked out the main content and took note of it.

"So, did you find anything?" Jian Si asked anxiously and expectantly.

"Yes." Zhengzheng’s little brows relaxed, a proud smile on his lips, he looked exactly like his dad with that confident air.

The nanny beside them was somewhat stunned, finding it hard to believe that this child was really only seven years old?

"Firstly, this was a call made by my real dad, he said ’the condition is stable’, which means he is all right for now, but something has delayed him and it’s inconvenient to make a call, perhaps he’s under surveillance. Secondly, the string of numbers is the real message he wants to convey to you."

Jian Si said, "I also thought the numbers were strange, but what are they, coordinates? Morse code? Or a math formula?"

Zhengzheng laughed: "He’s already hinted to you."

Suddenly, an idea struck Jian Si, and she exclaimed with a surprise: "Are you referring to the last two sentences? Is it about books?" 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

"Correct." Zhengzheng circled the numbers, "What book have you been reading recently, and it has to be one that he has gone through."

Jian Si thought hard and got a bit excited: "Principles of Criminal Law, I left it on my desk at home, and had lots of book cards in it; the next day I found all the problems I couldn’t do were answered by him, but I don’t remember when it was."

Idiot, it was while you were asleep.

"That’s right, do you have the book with you?"

"I have it. I haven’t finished it yet. I was planning to read it on the way."

"It’s simple, 45 yuan 3 mao 6 would be the 45th page, 3rd line, 6th word."

Jian Si took out the book and quickly flipped to that page, finding the corresponding word, which was "马" (horse).

"Horse." Jian Si said.

"65th page, 4th line, 7th word?"

"Up."

"Away."

"Leave."

Leave immediately?

After Jian Si spoke, Zhengzheng also felt a sense of urgency.

"Your place of stay might be in danger, it’s best that you leave right now."

Jian Si too felt a chill down her spine, Nan Zhan went to such lengths to send her a warning, it must be that he foresaw some imminent danger.

While she was packing up, she didn’t hang up the phone either; Zhengzheng was worried about her and insisted on staying on the line until she was safely out of the hotel.

Not wanting him to worry, Jian Si spoke with forced lightness and humor: "Nan Zhan really went through all this trouble to send a message with such a complicated code; wasn’t he afraid I wouldn’t be able to crack it?"

"The truth is, you didn’t crack it," Zhengzheng gave no face.

Jian Si pouted: "I had already sensed something was off, and if given enough time, I would’ve definitely figured it out. It’s just that I was worried, and when I’m worried, I get flustered. How could I calm down to solve any code?"

"Heh." Zhengzheng laughed, not very convincingly, "He really took a big risk this time. But, fortunately, he’s lucky; although his woman is a bit slow, she has a smart son."

"Jian Zheng---" Jian Si shouted in frustration, "is that how you talk to your mother?"

"Oh, my mistake, I won’t say you’re slow to your face next time," Zhengzheng was laughing, "It’s enough that I know it in my heart."

Jian Si: "..."

Is this really her own son?

"Alright, Kudo Shinyichi, I’m packed and ready to go settle the bill with the owner," Jian Si said, picking up her bag and quickly heading downstairs.

"Grab a cab when you go out, head to a hotel farther away, preferably one near a police station, for safety."

"Got it, thanks."

In the end, Jian Si didn’t go to a hotel farther away, but instead took a risk and stayed in the one opposite, because she was curious who exactly would pose a threat to her.