Second Uncle smiled and said, "That man can survive no matter where he goes. He's not the sort to lay down and die." "Where is he?" Han Sen asked.
Second Uncle sat at the end of a wooden table. He poured out three cups of tea, then passed two to Han Sen and Ning Yue. After having a sip of his own, he said, "I want to know where he is, too. The thing is, I can't find him."
Han Sen was disappointed. He patted Littleflower and said, "If you're looking for that answer from me, you'll be disappointed. I don't know where he is. I've never seen him before."
Second Uncle shook his head and said, "I know you don't know where he is."
If so, then why have you requested a sit-down with me? Han Sen asked.
Han Sen did not understand what Second Uncle wanted from him.
Second Uncle looked at Han Sen and sighed. He said, "If I told you Han Jinzhi had no blood relation with you, would you believe me?"
Han Sen froze, then asked, "Why?"
Han Sen had harbored doubts about this in the past. But his father had told him Han Jinzhi was his great-grandfather. Now Second Uncle was telling him this, and Han Sen did not believe him. But still, Han Sen was willing to listen and ask why.
Second Uncle didn't immediately reply. He nodded to Ning Yue. Then, Ning Yue brought out some information to show Han Sen. He said, "Since we found out that you possessed the Nine-Life Cat pendant, we have been investigating the things that surround you. That includes your relation to Han Jinzhi. This is a compilation of what we have discovered."
Han Sen flipped through a few pages of what he had been given, and he noticed the contents were very detailed. It showed that whenever he left the house or went somewhere, it was recorded and noted.
Within the investigation, he also found information regarding his family. They had even been watching Han Sen's aunts and uncles.
It didn't really bother Han Sen, though. Even if they had found out his aunts' favorite parity colors, Han Sen didn't care.
You guys conducted a lot of work, Han Sen said, as he went through the information.
We needed to find out whether you're a friend or foe. It's nothing out of the ordinary. Ning Yue smiled.
Second Uncle was just sipping his tea. He didn't say a word.
Ning Yue pointed to the information, and then went on to say, "After concluding our lengthy investigation, we found a decent amount of evidence that you and your father are indeed related to Han Jinzhi."
If that is so, then why did your Second Uncle suggest I wasn't related to Han Jinzhi? Han Sen glanced at Ning Yue and Second Uncle with visible confusion.
The things they said were very contradictory, so Han Sen knew there had to be something else he hadn't been told yet.
Ning Yue looked serious as he said, "During the investigation, we found a lot of suspicious activity. So we aren't able to 100% confirm that you and your father are related to Han Jinzhi. We're spending a lot of time and resources to get to the bottom of this. It might be possible you two are related to Han Jinzhi, but..."
Han Sen didn't say anything. He wanted him to continue.
Ning Yue sighed and said, "We ran into a problem, one that we are unable to solve."
What is it? Han Sen asked with curiosity.
Ning Yue pointed to the reports titled "Han Jinzhi," and with a weird tone of voice, said, "Why is your great-grandfather called Han Jinzhi?"
Han Sen froze, and he understood now what Ning Yue meant.
Han Jinzhi was Han Jinzhi, but even Han Sen wondered why the doppelganger he found was called Han Jinzhi.
If Han Jinzhi used the identity of a Blueblood officer to hide you and your father, then he shouldn't have used another man named Han Jinzhi. Any other name would have surely been a million times safer. But he chose that name.
Ning Yue paused for a moment before continuing. "And this name makes it difficult to determine the power Han Jinzhi wielded. We spent a lot of time and resources figuring all this stuff out I believe it is not just the Ning family conducting such research, either. I am sure there are many other factions spending such resources in this pursuit, eager to discover your true identity. And also to reveal the truth behind Han Jinzhi's tricks."
But all the mystery behind you and your family has misled our investigations. It prevented us from being able to confirm whether or not you were related to Han Jinzhi. When we do finally get to the bottom of all this mystery, we'll probably discover that you are indeed relatives. But if so, it leaves us with one greater mystery: why is Han Jinzhi Han Jinzhi?
Did you not find your answers to that mystery? Han Sen asked.
Ning Yue shook his head. "We haven't found any answers yet. We have made some predictions and have a hypothesis. Would you care to listen?"
Please, go ahead. Han Sen looked at Ning Yue. He wanted the answers just as much.
Ning Yue sighed and said, "If we assume Han Jinzhi is not your relative, and if he used the name Han Jinzhi for a purpose, what would that purpose be? What we think is that your family is involved with another family and another faction's power.
They're all focused on you guys, and they learned you are actually Han Jinzhi's relative. Who would benefit from this knowledge?"
Han Sen's face changed. If this was the story, then the one who would benefit from this was none other than Han Jinzhi himself. The sacrifice would be Han Sen's family.
Han Jinzhi's name was more like bait left behind by Han Jinzhi. It was the sort of bait every shark would try to claim. He let others focus on that while he went on to do whatever it was he wanted to do.
The scarier thing was, they did not know if Han Jinzhi was alive or not. And if Han Sen was confirmed to be a relative, then the family would have to face all his enemies.
If Han Sen's father had not faked his death, and Han Sen hadn't grown up so well, none of this would have happened. Only the New Community had the chance of ruining his family now.
But this was just a theory. It wasn't 100% factual. Still, the mere thought gave Han Sen a shock, and sent a chill running down his spine.
We can't guarantee the accuracy of the hypothesis, but aside from this, we couldn't find another plausible explanation as to why Han Jinzhi is still Han Jinzhi, Ning Yue said, as he looked at Han Sen.