bookcurios Chapter 519 Intuition told him
Chapter 519 Intuition told him
There was no sound.
"Who?" Su Ming finally asked, his voice low and alert. He tried to sound calm, but his heart was beating rapidly in his chest.
no answer.
"If you don't speak, I won't open the door." His tone became colder, and he gripped the dagger tighter. He had already prepared for the worst.
At this moment, a low voice finally came from outside the door, as hoarse as a dead tree blown by the wind: "Su Ming, it's me."
The voice made Su Ming's pupils shrink sharply. He recognized the voice; it was Zheng Yaoxian. Countless questions instantly filled his mind. Why was Zheng Yaoxian here? Was he a friend or foe? And what had just happened?
"Sir?" Su Ming asked tentatively, with a barely perceptible tremor in his voice.
The person outside the door did not answer immediately. Instead, he paused for a few seconds and then whispered, "Open the door."
Su Ming's hand was already gripping the doorknob, but he hesitated to turn it. His mind was agonizing over whether Zheng Yaoxian was really here or whether this was a setup for him. He didn't dare trust anyone easily, especially in this situation.
"You have to prove that you are him first." Su Ming said coldly, trying to let his reason overcome his inner panic.
The voice outside the door was filled with impatience: "Su Ming, if I wanted to harm you, do you think you could still stand here and speak?" The tone, content, and habitual sarcasm of this sentence made Su Ming's heart tremble slightly. He was too familiar with Zheng Yaoxian's way of speaking; this disdain and confidence were almost impossible to imitate.
But even so, Su Ming didn't open the door immediately. He tapped the door frame lightly with his dagger. "Tell me, what was the last thing you said to me a few days ago?"
The voice outside the door suddenly became quiet for a few seconds, and then whispered, "Don't trust anyone."
These words instantly struck Su Ming's heart. His hands trembled slightly, and he could barely hold the dagger. He took a deep breath, slowly turned the doorknob, and opened the door a crack.
Zheng Yaoxian was standing outside the door, his face pale and his clothes a bit disheveled, but his eyes were still as sharp as a deep pool. Su Ming's heart was filled with a complex mix of excitement, confusion, and uneasiness.
"Why did you show up now?" Su Ming stared at Zheng Yaoxian with a low voice, as if he was suppressing some emotion.
Zheng Yao walked in first. He didn't answer immediately, but instead glanced around the room. Then he sat down at the table, resting one hand on the back of his chair, looking a little tired. "Do you think I'd disappear for no reason?" His voice still carried the familiar coldness, but Su Ming could hear a hint of something unusual in it.
Su Ming closed the door and sat opposite him, his eyes fixed on him: "Then tell me, what happened in the past few days?" He tried to make his tone sound calm, but his heart was turbulent.
Zheng Yaoxian didn't answer immediately. Instead, he pulled out a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket and pushed it in front of Su Ming. "Look, this is part of the answer." His tone sounded a little heavy.
Su Ming stared at the crumpled piece of paper on his desk, his mind a turmoil. The complex string of numbers and symbols seemed to possess some unspoken power, captivating his gaze yet filling him with a deep sense of anxiety. His grip on the paper tightened, his knuckles turning white. He desperately wished Zheng Yaoxian would give him a clear answer, but he knew he would never easily reveal any substantive information.
Zheng Yaoxian leaned back in his chair, his eyes dark, as if observing Su Ming's every move. "Do you understand?" His voice was low, emotionless.
Su Ming raised his head, his eyes filled with anger and doubt. "I don't understand." He put the paper back on the table, his tone tinged with impatience. "You always like to test me with this kind of thing, but you never tell me what to do. Sir, how do you want me to guess this time?"
Zheng Yaoxian did not answer directly, but just snorted softly, with a meaningful smile on his lips: "That's right, you don't understand. If you can understand it easily now, that would be a problem." After he said that, he stood up, walked to the window, lit a cigarette, and the smoke swirled around him, making his face hidden in a hazy state.
Su Ming stared at the paper, his mind racing. He needed to quickly understand the meaning of these symbols, but the tools at hand simply weren't enough to support further analysis. He needed paper and pen, or more specifically, a space to record, deduce, and organize these clues. This was his only chance of success.
"I need to go out for a while." Su Ming stood up and said in a firm tone, trying to hide his inner anxiety.
Zheng Yaoxian glanced at him sideways, took a puff of his cigarette, and slowly blew out smoke rings: "What are you going to do?"
Su Ming didn't answer immediately. Instead, he picked up the paper on the table and waved it: "Get some paper and pen. You can't just rely on your brain to remember these things."
Zheng Yaoxian looked at him for a moment, his lips curled up slightly, as if he was somewhat satisfied with his answer. "Remember, don't let anyone see what you're doing." His tone was calm, but Su Ming could hear the warning in it. He nodded, and without saying anything else, he picked up his coat and walked out.
The streets remained dim at night, the shadows of the trees swaying in the wind, as if whispering secrets. Su Ming hurried through several deserted alleys, his steps hurried, his mind a tangle of thoughts. Zheng Yaoxian's gaze from earlier kept replaying in his mind, that scrutinizing, profound gaze making him feel uneasy. He knew Zheng Yaoxian had let him out on purpose, perhaps even observing his movements from a corner.
"Is this a test?" he whispered to himself, his eyes scanning the surroundings warily. Whenever he passed a shadowy area, he would subconsciously slow down his pace and listen for any unusual sounds. His intuition told him that he might have been watched by someone.
Finally, he arrived at a relatively busy little shop. The dim, warm lights inside formed a stark contrast to the desolate atmosphere outside. Su Ming pushed the door open, and the wind chimes above it chimed crisply. The owner, who was busy arranging items on the counter, looked up at the sound and offered a kind smile. "What would you like?"
"Paper and pen." Su Ming answered as calmly as possible, but his eyes were always alert to his surroundings. He observed the layout of the shop and found several stacks of notebooks and some ink pens in the corner, which looked like what he needed.