Chapter Nineteen: Farewell

  The sky has gradually darkened, and the Shanghai Bund, this ten-mile foreign concession, seems even more lively than during the day. Everywhere is a scene of lanterns and wine, but these are all for those wealthy people who sing through the night. The common people go to bed early as soon as it gets dark, they still have to rush around tomorrow to make money to support their families, who has the heart to wander around aimlessly?

  Zhao Zhi had not gone to sleep yet, he was still pacing back and forth in the courtyard. This time's task, Han Te had urged very urgently, Zhao Zhi did not know when he could return to Shanghai, the house and servants were nothing to worry about, handing them over to Han Te to help take care of would be fine, but what about Xie Xiuyun who was still living here?

  It's not that Zhao Zhi didn't have a good impression of Xie Xiuyun, but rather he just didn't like forcing others, especially women. In his past life, Zhao Zhi had spent lavishly for the sake of women and even killed in anger for them, but this Xie Xiuyun gave him a different feeling, he couldn't quite put his finger on why, and so he couldn't bring himself to drive her away from his courtyard.

  Zhao Zhi had placed many weapons in his home because he never felt safe, especially in this chaotic era. However, since Xie Xiuyun moved into his house, Zhao Zhi had slept soundly for half a month without waking up in the middle of the night. Zhao Zhi couldn't explain why, but in short, he had a special affection for Xie Xiuyun in his heart.

  After thinking for half a day, Zhao Zhi finally went upstairs and knocked on Xie Xiuyun's door. Su Mei was still inside teaching Xie Xiuyun embroidery, the lamp was still lit. Su Mei opened the door, looking at her husband in surprise, what's wrong with him? Why is his face so solemn, not like his usual self who would joke and laugh with her.

  "You're here" Just then, Zhao Zhi walked in. Xie Xiuyun's face turned slightly red as she quickly put away the embroidered pieces on the small table. Zhao Zhi had sharp eyes and had already seen that Xie Xiuyun was embroidering a mandarin duck pattern, which seemed to be some handkerchiefs.

  "Ah, I have something to discuss with you," Zhao Zhi said, glancing at Su Mei who had moved a chair for him. She quietly exited the room and closed the door behind her.

  "I'm going to make a trip to Beiping, just for these few days" Zhao Zhi deliberately slowed down his tone, making his voice sound less stiff. As expected, Xie Xiuyun only lowered her head and didn't respond to Zhao Zhi's words. Helplessly shaking his head, Zhao Zhi raised his voice, "I'm saying, I'll be leaving for a few days, going to Beiping"

  Xie Xiuyun, who had been hanging her head low, finally lifted it up and looked at Zhao Zhi with her dark eyes. Her voice was already shaking slightly, "Are you leaving? Are you going to be gone for a long time? Will you come back?" Xie Xiuyun asked several questions in a row, not even knowing what she was asking herself. Her small white hands unconsciously scratched the small table by the bed, and her eyes fell again.

  Zhao Zhi gazed at Xie Xiuyun's snow-white neck, and suddenly had an urge to pull her into his arms. He took a few deep breaths, and just as he was about to reach out to touch Xie Xiuyun's back, she suddenly lifted her head, her starry eyes filled with a loving expression. "So, am I supposed to leave now? Are you going to send me back?" Zhao Zhi's outstretched hand froze in mid-air, and he awkwardly used the excuse of picking up the teapot from the small table to barely cover up his own embarrassment.

  "I didn't mean it that way, I just don't know how long this will take" Zhao Zhi stood up and walked a few steps in the room unconsciously, suddenly took out a key and a small bag from his pocket and handed them to Xie Xiuyun, "Ah, this is the key to my safe deposit box at Citibank, this is my seal, I have some assets stored there. If you're willing to stay here, just stay, if anything happens, just instruct Su Mei, I'll let her know"

  Zhao Zhi threw down a bunch of words that didn't match what he said before, and before Xie Xiuyun could react, he tossed the key to the safe deposit box and turned around to leave the room. "The key to the safe deposit box? Property? What does it mean?" Looking at the steel key lying quietly on the small table, Xie Xiuyun was stunned, she didn't know what Zhao Zhi meant. Why would he suddenly give her the key to the safe deposit box, and it seemed that this guy still had a lot of money.

  "Madam, just now the master said that from now on this household will be decided by you." Xie Xiuyun was still admiring the key to the safe deposit box, while Su Mei brought in a bowl of chicken soup. This was Zhao Zhi's arrangement, every day before bedtime, the kitchen would prepare a bowl of chicken soup with tonic herbs for Xie Xiuyun.

  Xie Xiuyun casually put the key under her pillow, but she didn't ask Zhao Zhi what he was up to. Xie Xiuyun, who usually had a thick nerve, forgot what Zhao Zhi had just said to her after drinking the delicious chicken soup, and completely forgot about it.

  Zhao Zhi, who had gone downstairs, was unable to sleep, tossing and turning. He finally fell asleep, it was the first time he had insomnia since coming to this era. Zhao Zhi did not deny that taking on Hunter's task was because he was very bored. Money was no longer a problem for him, in Shanghai as long as you have money, any kind of woman is available, and now Zhao Zhi also had an American identity. A person like him with both wealth and status should be living well in this big city of Shanghai.

  But all of this came too easily, Zhao Zhi was already a bit bored, the mercenary blood in his veins was boiling, he needed an exciting life, and such a dull day he couldn't bear. The days of gunfire and rain of bullets in his previous life were filled with death and danger, but that kind of exciting life was more suitable for Zhao Zhi, he was born to be a mercenary.

  Hant only handed over part of the materials to Zhao Zhi, and the rest would be delivered to him after arriving in Beiping. As for Hant's mysterious way of doing things, Zhao Zhi could only respond with disdain, thinking that compared to the all-pervasive power of the Central Intelligence Agency in his past life, the current CIA was just a crawling infant.

  The pay for this mission, Zhao Zhi had never mentioned to Hunter, he just needed Hunter to provide him with the necessary weapons and equipment. Even if Zhao Zhi had more money, some things were still unbuyable, such as the silencer pistol that the CIA had just equipped its own people with, which was on Zhao Zhi's list. There were also those for sale in Shanghai's black market, but they were all converted from revolvers and installed with homemade silencers, which would not last long after a few uses, Zhao Zhi needed genuine goods.

  The only reward Zhao Zhi asked of Hunter was to have two Browning M1935 automatic pistols made for himself, with silencers installed. As for how Hunter would deal with the CIA, that was not Zhao Zhi's concern. This 13-shot pistol was Zhao Zhi's favorite, its super-strong firepower earning it the nickname "large-caliber handgun" in Europe. Its muzzle energy reached 490 joules, and at 50 meters its impact energy was still 365 joules. Such a large amount of energy was more than sufficient to kill unprotected living targets within the effective range. This also gave the user of this pistol stronger individual firepower, which was important for close-quarters combat.