Chapter 108 of The Art of War

  The breeze gently blew through the waves that had been tossed up, carrying a salty chill, and also swaying the black Z-shaped knot back and forth in the wind.

  Rain pattered against its body, constantly pounding it. But when the wind came, it still gently danced with its clumsy body, as if provoking and trembling at the same time!

  Han Yu stood silently in front of the door for a few seconds, suddenly thinking: The red Z national knot represents joy and auspiciousness, then what does the black Z national knot represent? Is it coldness and brutality?

  Shao Yang told Murong Piaoxue that there was a simple way to find the steel pipe who helped him keep things, which was to go to the seaside and find a small shop with a black Z national flag hanging at the door. The owner of the shop was the person who helped him keep things.

  This is also why Han Yu lives nearby, but after he pushed open the door and came in, he had doubts about this statement.

  The boss looked like a man in his fifties, with a face full of wrinkles and vicissitudes. He wore a gray suit that was old-fashioned and full of creases, not to mention the two missing buttons on the sleeves, which seemed to be from a street stall.

  As soon as he saw Han Yu, he walked over with a smile on his face, the kind of smile that businessmen are best at, and greeted him in a very friendly manner. He then began to skillfully promote the goods in his store, completely like a small business owner.

  Although Shaoyang Han Yu was not seen, from Murong Piaoxue's brief description, it can be inferred that he is not a peaceful person.

  Would someone who is not at peace with themselves entrust their belongings to such an honest businessman before they are kidnapped?

  Han Yu's eyes lightly scanned the surroundings, this was an ordinary small shop, about twenty or thirty square meters. Piece by piece, either shells, sea snails, or strings of pearls hung on the walls around, with prices marked on them.

  Nearby was a simple canvas canopy, from which it could be seen that the exposed corner of the bed was the old man's bedroom.

  Looking around and finding nothing suspicious, Han Yu glanced at the old man twice, then smiled openly and asked, "Boss, do you have any steel pipes for sale here?"

  "Steel pipe? No!" The old man's eyes flashed, the smile on his face remained, but that fleeting vigilance did not escape Han Yu's eyes. He chuckled and said: "Then is there a person named Steel Pipe?"

  The old man suddenly smiled, he turned around and sat down at a small square table beside him, on the table there was a steaming fish soup, a plate of grilled squid, and wine. Apparently, when Han Yu came in, he was having a small drink.

  "I don't know what you want with steel pipes? Young man, come sit down and have a drink to warm yourself up!" said the old man politely.

  Han Yu walked over and sat down across from him, allowing the old man to fill his cup with wine. His eyes gleaming with a hint of surprise, he asked: "Steel Pipe, is that your name?"

  "It's not a name, it's a nickname! My nickname from when I was young, no one has called me that in many years. Now, people all call me Old Boat." The old man raised his cup and clinked it against his, then downed the drink in one gulp. After savoring the wine, the old man smiled and picked up his chopsticks, seeing Han Yu hadn't moved, he raised an eyebrow and said: "Why aren't you drinking? You don't think I'd put poison in my wine for a young guy like you, do you?"

  Han Yu smiled lightly and said, "If I liked drinking, even if you put poison in it, I would still drink it! However, I really don't like the taste, so let's just forget about drinking. This time, I came because of a friend's request..."

  "I knew it!" The old man interrupted him, holding up his wine cup and saying in a low voice: "I knew from the moment you walked in that you were a friend of Shao Yang's, here to collect something he left with me, right?"

  "That's right." Han Yu looked at him with some surprise. She didn't understand why he knew his identity, and just now she was still chatting with him about nonsense for half a day!

  The old boat saw the look in his eyes and knew what he was thinking, so he explained softly: "The black Z-shaped knot at the door is what he used to leave a mark for me. Since you recognized it, it must be him who told you!"

  The old sailor paused for a moment and asked in a low tone: "Has something happened to him?"

  Han Yu looked at him carefully and nodded: "Yes!"

  The muscles on Lao Chuan's face twitched slightly, and he suddenly let out a soft sigh: "You're here just to take things?"

  "Besides the stuff, I also want to save people!" Han Yu said softly: "So I want to figure out some things, such as when he came back, and when did he put the stuff here? What did he say to you in between? Does he have any enemies or foes?"

  The old man shook his head and said, "I'm not entirely clear what happened to him. We didn't keep in touch often. If he hadn't suddenly found me a few days ago, saying he was in trouble and asking for my help, I wouldn't have even known he was back in the country!"

  "He's a genius, a medical genius. He even spent several years traveling alone in Africa to study medicine! I think the trouble he's encountered this time must be related to medicine. The thing he handed over to me is probably also related to medicine!"

  Han Yu nodded, but immediately furrowed his brow again. An ordinary doctor wouldn't offend anyone. But a medical genius would easily attract attention from all sides!

  "Has he ever mentioned to you anything that might be detrimental to him?" Han Yu asked this, but actually didn't have too much hope.

  But the old ship thought for a moment and said in a low voice, "He once scolded the Japanese dog and said that traitors and Hanjian threatened him, I wonder if..."

  Han Yu's face fell, he never thought that there would still be a shadow of the Japanese here.

  "Can you bring me the things he stored so I can take a look?" Han Yu said softly.

  "Of course!" The old ship readily agreed, walked out the door, took down the black Z national flag, and handed it to Han Yu: "He, the thing he asked me to keep is inside this."

  ……

  After leaving the small accessory store, Han Yu returned to his own hostel. Zhuo Bu Fan and Ming Zai were already up. Zhuo Bu Fan was lying on the sofa watching TV, while Ming Zai was pacing back and forth restlessly. As soon as he heard the door sound and saw him, he visibly let out a sigh of relief.

  "Older brother!" Ming Zai only greeted with a shout, and Zhuo Bu Fan said: "See, I told you older brother would be fine? You still don't believe me?"

  Han Yu glanced at the two of them and smiled lightly: "What could I have been doing? The view outside is nice, so I was just taking a look around. Have you eaten yet?"

  The two of them nodded busily. Han Yu said a couple more words to them, changed into some dry clothes, and only then turned around and entered his own bedroom, took out the soaked Z-country knot and studied it for a while, but found that it was no different from an ordinary Z-country knot.

  "Hmm, no!" Just as Han Yu was about to use force, he suddenly discovered that one of the strings was thicker than the others, and the knot seemed... hmm, to have been added later.

  He quickly untied the rope and scattered it open, throwing out a red rolled paper!

  After opening it, there was only one sentence on it: "I got annoyed when I saw the sign of LSK with a knife flowing, you picked it up for me!"