Joy of Life: The Mei Family's Son Grows Up

Chapter 402 It's up to you (two in one)

A not very intense battle was taking place in the long corridor that ran through the front hall of the villa's front yard. Gundam kept changing opponents at a frequency of defeating one with two or three moves. His efficiency was extremely high. So far, he had not encountered an opponent who could make him draw his sword.

Wang Qinian leaned against the door of the front hall with his arms folded, watching the game with great interest, and uttered some words of support from time to time.

Hey!
Oops~
Okay.

ber, you can even knock yourself down by swinging a meteor hammer, are you trying to make me laugh, oh wow you are really good, next one, next one.

Hey, Lao Gao, take it easy. Don't try to steal someone's knife and cut off their pants again. Hahahahahaha...

Oh, hey, with your level, you don't need to go on stage.

……

"Old Wang, stop watching the fun and come in to discuss something."

Suddenly there was a call from inside the house.

"Eh."

Upon hearing the voice, Wang Qinian quickly put down his arms and stood up straight. While responding, he took one last look at the duel scene and turned to walk inside.

Inside the house, Fan Xian pointed to a certain place on the map of Shangjing.

"Haitang said that Yan Bingyun was imprisoned by Shen Zhong in this location in the south of the city. The surrounding streets should be full of spies."

Mei Cheng'an took a quick look and thought for a moment.

"Then let Lao Wang go and test the situation first to see if he can find a chance to sneak in without alerting the outside world."

Wang Qinian, who was bending over with his hands on his knees looking at the map on the table, nodded when he heard this. This was a piece of cake for him.

Fan Xian hummed and said thoughtfully.

"If there is a chance, then of course we can. If there is no chance... we have to think of other ways."

After a pause, he clicked his tongue.

"As soon as Yan Bingyun was arrested, all the spies in Shangjing went into hiding, and we don't know their whereabouts. Without their help, it will be much more difficult for us to act. What a pity."

Upon hearing this, Wang Qinian and Mei Cheng'an were both stunned. Wang Qinian was stunned because he didn't understand what Fan Xian meant by "a pity" at the end, and Mei Cheng'an was stunned because Fan Xian's mention of help reminded him of someone.

What a Taoist!
There are actually quite a lot of bugs about this person in the play, but he is indeed a good tool and has provided a lot of help to Fan Xian. But now variables are coming one after another, and it is not known whether this help still exists, and whether Chen Pingping has made arrangements for him.

After thinking about it, he gathered his wandering thoughts and looked at Fan Xian.

"It's nothing to regret. Although we didn't make any big noise when we entered the city yesterday, the commotion at the gate of our courtyard today was quite big. I think the news of our coming should have spread throughout the city. If there are any helpers, they will definitely find a chance to look for us."

Fan Xian didn't comment on this, just nodded. Then he suddenly smiled, as if he had thought of something.

"In that case, the leak of the agreement did not cause us much trouble. Instead, it helped us. I wonder if the person who leaked the information would be so angry that he would vomit three liters of blood when he found out the truth."

Hearing this, Mei Chengan curled the corners of his mouth and smiled. This was quite funny.

The conversation between the two contained a lot of information. Wang Qinian opened his eyes wide and looked left and right for a long time before he reacted a little bit late. He clapped his hands suddenly and said excitedly.

"Hey! I see! I understand!"

His sudden movement and loud roar scared the two of them, especially Fan Xian. He had just finished speaking and was drinking tea when he was startled by Wang Qinian's sudden movement. He almost choked to death. He dropped his tea and kept coughing with a red face. Although Mei Cheng'an was not as embarrassed as him, he was also startled by Wang Qinian's sudden loud voice and his body trembled.

Wang Qinian was also stunned upon seeing this. He did not expect that his sudden enlightenment would have such a great power. He wanted to step forward to help Fan Xian, who had the most intense reaction, to smooth his back and calm down, but Fan Xian simply blocked his way with his hand, which made him very embarrassed.

Mei Cheng'an rolled his eyes and exhaled speechlessly as he looked at Wang Qinian with an embarrassed expression. Before he could speak, Fan Xian coughed several times and his face finally became less red. He raised his finger and pointed at Wang Qinian in the air, then spoke in a puzzled tone.

"You, uh, you, what do you understand?"

"Forehead…"

Wang Qinian scratched his head with a wry smile.

"I want to understand why you brought that battle flag, why you said it was a pity, and why you deliberately made a big fuss today. It turned out that you wanted to attract attention and spread the news so that the spies here can find you. Your Excellency and Young Master, you are really smart!"

As he said this, he stretched out his thumb and waved it in front of the two of them.

Mei Cheng'an snorted and wanted to roll his eyes but couldn't help it. He was still amused by Wang Qinian's flattering expression, posture and tone. He smiled helplessly and shook his head, too lazy to say anything to him.

Fan Xian was different. He was not moved at all after listening to Wang Qinian's praise. He rolled his eyes and still looked at him sideways.

"That's it? I'm not saying anything bad about you, Old Wang, but your train of thought is too long. Also, if you have figured it out, then you have figured it out. What's so weird about it? Can you please stop getting so jumpy and startled in the future? It scares people to death."

"Can, can, can!"

Wang Qinian smiled awkwardly and nodded repeatedly, and promised that he would never do it again. Fan Xian felt a little better then. He picked up the teacup and wanted to take another sip of tea. Just as he brought it to his mouth, he realized that he had choked and seemed to spit out a lot of imported tea. He quickly moved the teacup away and poured out the tea in it. Wang Qinian was very tactful and took the initiative to pick up the teapot to pour tea for him. Fan Xian's anger subsided. He glanced at him and said nothing.

Mei Cheng'an, who was watching the scene with a smile, suddenly looked up at the door. After a while, he saw Gao Da coming in from outside. Hearing the noise, Wang Qinian and Fan Xian also turned their heads to look over.

"Is everything done outside?"

Fan Xian saw Gaoda enter the room and asked curiously.

Wang Qinian retracted his gaze and looked at the teacup. Seeing that it was almost full, he quickly put down the teapot and looked at Gundam again.

Gundam shook his head as he walked towards the group.

"It's still early. I just finished one and the next number is being called. I'll go in and have some tea. Brother Wang, please help me pour a cup of tea. Thank you."

Fan Xian said "oh" and didn't ask any more questions, but Mei Cheng'an felt that Gundam's voice was a little loud. It wasn't that there was anything wrong, it just felt weird.

Wang Qinian picked up an upside-down teacup from the tray on the coffee table, picked up the teapot, poured him a full cup of tea, and handed it to him.

"It's just a few, are you tired?"

"No."

Gaoda responded casually, took the teacup and drank the tea in one gulp. After that, he handed the cup back to Wang Qinian, wiped his mouth with his sleeve, suddenly looked around cautiously, and then took out a small paper ball from his waist.

Several people were first attracted by Gundam's strange behavior, and then their eyes were focused on the paper ball he took out.

Mei Chengan smiled, it turned out to be not an illusion.

"What is this?"

Fan Xian asked curiously.

Gundam whispered back.

"My Lord, this was suddenly thrown to me by the man who just duelled with me during the fight. I don't know what it is."

"Oh?"

Fan Xian's eyes were full of curiosity. He took the note from his hand and asked casually while opening it.

"Has the man who gave you the note left?"

"I left after the fight."

"Did you leave any message?"

"The man said nothing."

"Oh."

Fan Xian opened the note and took a look at it. There was a line of words on it, which looked like an address. After reading it, he handed the note to the fellow villager opposite him.

"Look at it."

Mei Cheng'an took it, glanced at it, threw it on the table and chuckled.

"Speak of the devil, and he will appear. As soon as I mentioned the help, it came."

Fan Xian couldn't help but smile when he heard this.

Wang Qinian picked up the note and took a look at it. After confirming that there was no code from the Supervisory Commission, he looked for the address on the map.

Gundam glanced towards the courtyard and saw that the new duelist was already in place, so he took the initiative to excuse himself and leave. He just came in to deliver a message and have a cup of tea, as the fighting mission was not over yet.

"Found it, here!"

Wang Qinian pointed to a place on the map and looked around.

"My Lord, the address on the note is right here. It should be a well-kept street, far away from the downtown area. There shouldn't be many people around. It's suitable for a private meeting, but..."

Fan Xian shifted his gaze from the map to him.

"Just what?"

Upon hearing this, Mei Cheng'an also looked at him curiously.

Wang Qinian said hesitantly.

"The person who passed this note is just one of us. Are you sure he is one of us? It can't be a scam."

Mei Chengan smiled.

"You think there's something wrong?"

“Well, that’s…not really the case.” Wang Qinian scratched his head.

"I just don't understand. If we are on the same side, why don't we write the code on the note? What if something unexpected happens and the note falls into the hands of the enemy, then the information will be exposed directly? Moreover, it always feels weird to leave only the note without any other information. Master, don't you think so?"

Fan Xian shrugged and replied casually.

"I don't think so."

As soon as he finished speaking, Fan Xian looked at his fellow villager again.

"What do you think?"

Mei Cheng'an smiled and shook his head, slowly stood up and stretched lazily before replying.

"You can find out what happened by going to the address on the note."

Wang Qinian: “…”

Fan Xian smiled, then stood up and patted Wang Qinian on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, Lao Wang, it's not a trap, otherwise how could we not worry at all."

Wang Qinian was stunned when he heard this and straightened up.

Fan Xian raised his hand to stop the question that was about to come out of his mouth and smiled.

"Think about it, we only have a few enemies in Shangjing, one is Shen Zhong, the other is Shangshanhu, and we also have the Marquis of Chang'an whom we just offended. It's definitely not him from the Marquis of Chang'an. If he wants to ask us for an explanation, he can just come directly to our door. It's not Shen Zhong either, so I don't need to explain this. As for Shangshanhu, let alone his disdain for seeking revenge in private, if he really had this idea, he wouldn't have let his subordinate Tan Wu show up rashly to arouse our vigilance, so it wouldn't be him. Apart from these three, we don't have to worry about the rest of the villains with our identities and skills, so..."

Fan Xian tilted his head and spread his hands.

"Any question?"

After listening to Fan Xian's penetrating analysis, Wang Qinian, who had already suddenly realized the truth, smiled awkwardly and shook his head.

"No, no more."

Mei Cheng'an patted his shoulder and smiled, then walked out without saying anything else.

"Let's go, let's go visit Mr. Guo first."

Fan Xian waited for a moment, then walked out side by side with him.

"It's almost noon, time for lunch. Why don't we go to Mei's Canteen? Do you know where the restaurant is?"

"Nonsense, we'll talk about the meal later. Go tell Lao Gao first, don't forget the business."

"Oh, I remember it, I remember it."

As they were talking, the two of them walked further away. Wang Qinian poured himself a cup of tea in a hurry. After drinking it, he thought for a while, took two snacks from the coffee table and put them into his sleeves. Then he hurriedly jumped and followed them. He was really hungry after a whole morning of hard work.

……

Guo Baokun and Zhao Da stayed in Room No. 1 at the Tiaowang Inn in the south of the city. It was not because Guo Baokun wanted to enjoy himself when he was away from home, but mainly because Zhao Da insisted on living with him, and the bed in Room No. 1 was big enough for wide sleeping.

Greetings were inevitable when meeting each other, and after that, Mei Cheng'an walked around the room with his hands behind his back and looked around with interest. It must be said that the Emperor's Room looked quite spacious and elegant, and the objects, furnishings, and decorations were far from comparable to the inn they had stayed in on the way here.

Zhao Da and Wang Qinian, one standing at the door and the other standing at the window, observed what was happening outside.

Fan Xian sat down at the tea table in the room, fiddled with the flowers on the table, then slowly poured himself a cup of tea and drank it.

Guo Baokun knelt opposite him, half lying on the table, and asked excitedly.

"You guys came here suddenly, do you have a task for me to do? Tell me quickly."

He was indeed a little impatient, mainly because he had not left the room since he checked into the inn yesterday to avoid being exposed and causing unnecessary trouble. If it weren't for Zhao Da chatting with him, he would have been suffocated long ago.

Fan Xian hissed, put down his teacup and looked at him strangely.

"What are you...so excited about? Are you eager to do the mission?"

Guo Baokun looked at him with the same strange eyes.

"Well, didn't you say that as long as I help you complete the Overwatch Council mission, I can accumulate merits to save my father? Didn't you forget?"

"Forehead…"

The corners of Fan Xian's mouth twitched. He indeed couldn't remember clearly what he had said casually, but he had no intention of going back on his word.

"Okay, I do have something for you to do this time. Shangjing City is the headquarters of the Jinyiwei, so it's inconvenient for us to show up. Now only the two of you are hiding out of sight, so I have to rely on you."

When Guo Baokun heard this, he became excited again.

"Tell me, what do you want me to do?"

Fan Xian felt that he was a little too excited. He always felt that he was hiding something and it was definitely not as simple as he just said.

After thinking for a while without any clue, he forced himself to suppress the strange feeling in his heart. He planned to go back and ask his fellow villagers. Now it was important to talk about business. After taking a sip of tea, he spoke.

"It's very simple. You just need to chat with people on the streets and try to find out where the Jinyiwei prison is."

"Prison?"

Guo Baokun thought about it and thought, it was just asking for directions, which did not sound difficult, so he nodded.

"And then? What else do you need me to do?"

"Gone."

"Gone?"

Guo Baokun was stunned, his expression slightly disappointed.

"I just want to know the location of the prison."

He truly felt that this mission was not challenging at all, and could even be said to be too simple and not exciting at all. He couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. After all, he was a man who was well-versed in military books and had the potential to become a great general.

Hearing his tone, Fan Xian almost spit out a mouthful of tea. What does that mean? It’s not like that, but you’re disgusted with it?

Mei Cheng'an, who had almost finished his stroll and was walking towards the tea table, couldn't help but laugh when he heard this. He knew exactly what Guo Baokun was thinking.

"You have to eat one bite at a time and walk one step at a time. Everything starts from easy to difficult. Besides, in the capital of the empire, the people are afraid of the Jinyiwei. This mission is not as simple as you think. It is still quite difficult."

As expected, the disappointment on Guo Baokun's face disappeared immediately after hearing this, and he nodded seriously.

"I understand, Mr. Mei. Then you guys take a seat. I'm going to go."

After saying that, he stood up and was about to go out, but Zhao Da at the door stretched out his hand to stop him.

"Hey, wait a moment."

Guo Baokun was stunned.

"what happened?"

Zhao Da looked at Mei Chengan and Fan Xian and pointed at himself.

"Well, do I want to come along?"

Although he was not asked, Guo Baokun answered without hesitation and as a matter of course.

"Nonsense, we came here together, so of course you have to go with me, otherwise you can stay for tea and snacks."

"..."

Zhao Da looked at him speechlessly.

Mei Chengan smiled and spoke.

"You go with us, and give him the questions. You will be responsible for protecting his safety in secret. Remember, don't be too close or too far away. If you encounter minor troubles, you can directly take action. If you encounter any major troubles, come back and report it in time."

"Yes!"

Zhao Da liked this kind of clear instruction. He nodded in agreement immediately after hearing it. Just as he was about to bow and take his leave, Guo Baokun, who was in a hurry to go out to complete the mission, pulled his arm directly, causing his body to tilt.

"Alright, alright, why bother with these customs at this time? Let's go."

After saying that, she let go of him, opened the door and went downstairs.

Zhao Da was really speechless. He bowed respectfully to Fan Xian and Mei Cheng'an again before walking out, closing the door behind him.

Mei Cheng'an pointed at the door and smiled at Fan Xian.

"Zhao Da is pretty good."

Fan Xian shrugged and did not comment.

"It's good to know your position clearly. By the way, what's the situation with Mr. Guo? Why does he seem to be inexplicably excited when he hears about the mission? I can't figure it out for me."

Mei Chengan smiled and sat down opposite him.

"He..."

……

(End of this chapter)