Chapter 2307

Chapter 2307: Night Conspiracy

Although the train moved fast, Zhu Yanyi found the journey monotonous. Eventually, she and her husband began playing Gomoku to pass the time.

As night fell, the train rushed forward like a night-wandering spirit. Meanwhile, two human "night spirits" stirred. Zhou Tong, who had been pretending to sleep, slowly removed the hat covering his face. He sat up, scanned the surroundings to ensure everyone else was dozing, and then nudged Zhou Qian.

Zhou Qian woke up. The brothers exchanged a glance and stood. Their target was not here.

"Carriage seven," Zhou Tong whispered to Zhou Qian.

They moved slowly through the crowded aisle, squeezing past passengers to reach their destination.

"We face the tenth carriage next," Zhou Tong explained. "That’s where they spotted us. Beyond that is the eighth carriage, the dining car. It’s empty now, so going there would make us easy targets. The rest is manageable."

"Brother, how do we get past? The people in the tenth carriage are strong," Zhou Qian asked.

Zhou Tong thought for a moment. "If all else fails, we’ll run across at the next station."

"But brother, that’s the soft sleeper section. We can’t just enter," Zhou Qian said seriously.

Zhou Tong frowned slightly. "Let’s see. We’ll try first." He knew this was unlikely to work, but they had to take it one step at a time. This mission was frustrating. Who could have predicted encountering that twisted man in the tenth carriage? Zhou Tong was certain the man’s cultivation far exceeded theirs.

When they reached the platform, they pretended to go out for a smoke and moved forward. As expected, they couldn’t enter. The soft sleeper carriage had attendants checking tickets at the door.

Zhou Tong returned to Zhou Qian, rubbed his hands, and said, "We can’t get through."

"What do we do? Do we give up the mission?" Zhou Qian asked.

Zhou Tong shook his head. "I don’t know. The fee is high. Giving up would be a waste."

Zhou Tong and Zhou Qian were mercenaries, though not as elite as international ones. Their task was to steal documents from an old man in carriage seven. They had tried crossing the roof but were spotted by Yan Aohan. Now, they were blocked. To reach carriage seven, they had to pass through carriage ten, which Yan Aohan’s group had booked. Carriages one to five were hard sleepers, eight was dining, and the rest were soft sleepers.

Zhou Tong frowned. "We need to get a hard sleeper ticket."

"Hard sleepers are hard to get now. Should we ask the conductor?" Zhou Qian suggested.

Zhou Tong nodded. "Let’s go." They approached an attendant, asking for a place to sleep and offering to pay for a hard sleeper.

After contacting the conductor, the attendant said, "There’s one hard sleeper left in carriage seventeen. Do you want it?" Carriage seventeen was at the very end, far from their target, but Zhou Tong agreed. "Yes."

The attendant charged them for the ticket and led them to carriage seventeen.

"Brother, why carriage seventeen? It’s the furthest one," Zhou Qian asked, confused.

Zhou Tong nodded, took out the ticket, and used his hand to obscure the number. The vertical line of the '1' disappeared, making it look like a '7'. "It’s blurry at night. We might bluff our way into carriage seven."

Zhou Qian understood and gave a thumbs-up. "Fake but convincing. You’re smart, brother."

"Exactly. We’ll try it. You distract the attendant at the corridor entrance by pretending to misread your ticket and causing a scene. I’ll slip in quickly. Cover for me," Zhou Tong instructed.

Zhou Qian made an OK sign.

After planning, they rested. When the time was right, they pretended to go to the restroom and waited for the train to stop at a station. With few passengers boarding, they quickly disembarked, bought some food, and executed their plan. Zhou Qian rushed to the attendant with the ticket, blocking the attendant’s view, while Zhou Tong swiftly entered carriage seven.

"Comrade, carriage seven is that way," the attendant said to Zhou Qian, unaware of the trick.

Zhou Qian checked the ticket under the light and said, "Sorry, I misread it." He then ran toward carriage seventeen.

Their actions did not escape Yan Aohan’s notice.

Zhu Yanyi frowned slightly. "Is there something they want in carriage seven?"

Yan Aohan raised an eyebrow. "It’s fine. I’ll check." He didn’t want to interfere, but ignoring it might cause trouble on the train.

Zhu Yanyi said nothing more. Since Yan Aohan was handling it, she wasn’t worried. To her, Zhou Tong and Zhou Qian were merely clowns.

Soon, Yan Aohan returned with news. "Their target is an old man. He’s a retired expert in machine tool manufacturing. He has a design blueprint that someone wants to buy. The price offered was too low, so he refused. Zhou Tong and Zhou Qian were hired to steal it."

"Is the commission for stealing documents really that low?" Zhu Yanyi asked, puzzled.

Yan Aohan smiled lightly. "I’m not sure what they’re thinking. Let’s just watch."

Zhu Yanyi nodded. "Is the blueprint important? Should we help? Or take it ourselves secretly?"

"I’ve sent someone to investigate the old expert’s character. If he’s good, we’ll help. If not, we’ll stay out of it. It’s their problem. As for the blueprint, I’ll have someone retrieve it and hand it over later," Yan Aohan said. He didn’t meddle in everything; it depended on the truth. His "investigation" was done by Yin差 (Underworld messengers), so it took only minutes.

Soon, he knew the result. "The old expert isn’t a good person. He’s mean-spirited. His research could be bought by anyone with money. The deal failed only because the offer didn’t meet his demands."

"So, we don’t need to interfere," Zhu Yanyi said, relieved. She had worried about more train troubles.

"Dog bites dog. We ignore it," Yan Aohan said calmly. He looked at Zhu Yanyi. "Don’t worry. Even if something happens on this train, it won’t involve you."

Zhu Yanyi gave her a playful glare. Was she mocking her for always having adventures?

"I call it lively," she retorted, though she didn’t enjoy the chaos.

"Yes, it is lively," Yan Aohan agreed, saving her face.

The next morning, news spread that an old man in carriage seven had been robbed of important items. Zhu Yanyi ignored it, as promised.

Yan Aohan was curious about the documents. He had the Yin差 steal them, framing the Zhou brothers. Once in his possession, he handed them to the relevant authorities. That was a later matter.

Finally, Zhu Yanyi stepped off the train. Seeing the new station buildings, she admitted that Yao City’s economy had developed rapidly.

"Let’s go. Zhou Feng is here to pick us up," Yan Aohan told everyone.

Many people had come, including Zhu Yanyi’s family and the elders. Zhou Feng had brought a bus.

As they boarded and the bus started, Yan Aohan asked Zhou Feng, "Did the shipped items arrive?"

"Yes, they’re all piled in the Zhu family hall. Everyone can find their own. Also, per your orders, new quilts and mats have been made and sun-dried. Just lay them out when we return," Zhou Feng replied.

"Good," Yan Aohan nodded in satisfaction.

Zhu Shunyo looked out the window. "It’s been years since I returned. The development is so fast. It’s already a four-lane road."

"Indeed. Yao City has grown quickly. The roads are now four lanes, even in Sicheng Town. They’re all paved with cement and very smooth," Zhou Feng said with a smile.