The Trial

In Xu Jie's original plan, he had intended to go with Lu Zhishan during this summer vacation to take the two boys, Lu Junwu and Du Yan, deep into the mountains for special training. But the sudden change in the current situation had completely disrupted Xu Jie's original plan. Now, let alone special training, whether Lu Zhishan could return safely from this long journey was a question. Thinking of this, Xu Jie's brow furrowed even deeper.

Persuade Lu Zhishan not to go?
He had tried.
But Lu Zhishan had already made up his mind.
Xu Jie was just a high school teacher; he seemingly couldn't help Lu Zhishan with anything.
Northern Shan—it was a paradise for criminals.
Organ trafficking, telecommunications fraud, drug smuggling, casinos, local armed forces...
Every darkness that an ordinary person could imagine existed there.
And even the darkness that ordinary people couldn't imagine was present there as well.
For Lu Zhishan to go alone, how was this any different from seeking death?

“Does Lu Junwu know about this?”
In the office, Xu Jie asked with a frown.
But glancing at Lu Zhishan's expression, he already understood in his heart.
“Have you considered what will happen to the boy if you don't return?”
Lu Zhishan let out a bitter smile and shook his head.
“Teacher Xu, I understand what you mean.”
“But back then, if it weren't for Brother Liu saving me, I would have died in a foreign land long ago.”
“And there would be no Xiao Wu later on.”
“The reason I joined the anti-trafficking team was also because of Brother Liu.”
“This time he was lured into a trap and captured, which was originally retaliation from criminals who fled abroad from domestic areas.”
“On the official side, we also have people in contact.”
“But time is pressing; I must get there quickly.”
“I know that on this trip, there is a possibility I won't return.”
“That's why before setting off, I wanted to entrust Xiao Wu to you, Teacher Xu.”

Hearing Lu Zhishan's words, Xu Jie sighed in his heart.
This seemed to be a dead end.
He worried that Lu Zhishan's trip this time was a ninety percent chance of death and only ten percent of survival.
He also worried that this would cause an indelible psychological wound to Lu Junwu.
Hide it from Lu Junwu?
How long could they lie to him?
With a living person leaving without saying goodbye, could Lu Junwu maintain his usual state of mind as if nothing had happened?
Lu Zhishan's visit this time left Xu Jie somewhat at a loss.
After all, Northern Shan was not domestic.
It was a place with private armed forces.
Human life there was worthless.
Xu Jie's thoughts spun rapidly.
Would the Interpersonal Connection Card be useful?
He thought about it; it seemed only this item had the potential to help Lu Zhishan a bit?
Thus, Xu Jie asked in a deep voice:
“Mr. Lu, how much do you know about the forces in Northern Shan?”
“And how much do you know about the criminals who kidnapped your savior this time?”
Unable to think of a better way, Xu Jie could only treat a dead horse as a living one.
In the end, he was just a teacher.
Gangs, criminals, organ harvesting, drug trafficking—these things were not only ten thousand miles away from his life.

Lu Zhishan hesitated for a moment.
In his heart, he didn't want to speak of things that had nothing to do with Teacher Xu.
Not long ago at the parent-teacher meeting, Lu Zhishan had seen that Teacher Xu was a good teacher.
Xiao Wu had mentioned his Teacher Xu in front of him more than once.
From Xiao Wu's words and expression, Lu Zhishan could fully feel that Xiao Wu truly respected his Teacher Xu.
It was precisely based on these reasons that he came today.
Otherwise, given his temperament, he would have left without saying goodbye.
Lu Zhishan's thoughts were actually not much different from Xu Jie's.
He felt that in this matter, Teacher Xu couldn't help him with anything either.
If Teacher Xu could agree to help take care of Lu Junwu, Lu Zhishan would be satisfied enough.
He could also go to Northern Shan without any worries.
But now that Teacher Xu was asking, Lu Zhishan thought it over and decided to tell Xu Jie what he knew.
“Over these years of fighting human trafficking, we have naturally become familiar with their operations.”
“Domestic trafficking and smuggling abroad—even though the government has cracked down on it continuously for several years, it still cannot be completely eradicated.”
“In a place like Northern Shan, there are countless warlords, big and small.”
“Even the so-called government army is actually not clean.”
“Aside from the government army, there are three main relatively large forces.”
“They are led respectively by General Khun Tai, General Nuo Min, and General Dan Khai.”
“They occupy jade mines, cultivate large areas of poppies, and possess the best equipment along with massive armies.”
“To call them local emperors is not an exaggeration at all.”
“The criminals who captured Brother Liu this time are the trash sheltered by General Nuo Min.”

From Lu Zhishan's narrative, Xu Jie gradually understood the distribution of forces in Northern Shan.
But just as Lu Zhishan said, Northern Shan was an extremely chaotic place.
Xu Jie thought, even if he used up an Interpersonal Connection Card, who could he establish a connection with?
A warlord leader?
Their hands were stained with who knew how much of other people's blood.
In Xu Jie's heart, he instinctively didn't want to deal with these people.
Domestic official departments?
They couldn't reach their hands into that chaotic land in a short time either.
The more he thought about it, the more Xu Jie felt that he could only try to contact the government army on the other side.
After all, even if their hands weren't clean either, on the surface, they were still slightly more reliable than those independent private armed forces.
Having made up his mind, Xu Jie said in a deep voice:
“Mr. Lu, I will take good care of Lu Junwu at school.”
“In addition, I hope you can give me a call before you cross the border.”
“I will have something important to tell you.”
Hearing Teacher Xu's words, Lu Zhishan was stunned.
Call Teacher Xu after crossing the border?
What important thing couldn't be said right now?
Although Lu Zhishan was puzzled, seeing Teacher Xu's serious expression, he nodded slightly.
“Teacher Xu, then I entrust Xiao Wu to you.”
With that, he stood up and left.
To rescue Brother Liu, he alone was definitely not enough.
Before crossing the border, he still had a lot of things to complete.
Time was pressing; he couldn't delay.

After Lu Zhishan left, Xu Jie's brow remained furrowed.
He searched the internet for all news related to Northern Shan, reviewing them one by one.
The more he read, the more shocked and terrified he became.
Having stayed domestically for a long time, Xu Jie, like the majority of ordinary people, found it very hard to understand how their neighboring country could have such an unbearably chaotic place.
The dark and bloody things that only appeared in movies were like daily occurrences in Northern Shan.
If not for Lu Zhishan's visit this time, Xu Jie would never have paid attention to such a place that devoured people without spitting out the bones.
He watched for a long time, thinking deeply.
Finally, Xu Jie cast his gaze toward the name Nuo Min, the Chief Minister of the Yun State Region.
“I, a small PE teacher from the Dragon Nation, don't even know if I can establish a relationship with a regional leader of a small country like this?”
Xu Jie smiled self-deprecatingly and used an Interpersonal Connection Card.