Blind Jack beamed and said, “No wonder she’s so beautiful. She’s mine now. Let’s be clear from the start—first come, first served. You’re not allowed to compete with me! She’s your future sister-in-law!”

Logan Reed’s face still showed no hint of a smile. “I don’t know her background, but her godfather is fairly well-known in the French Concession.”

“Who?” Blind Jack seemed to sense something unusual.

“Samuel Moore!”

Chapter 0002: The Stolen Golden Talisman (Part 2)

Blind Jack plopped heavily onto the sofa, his previously flushed and excited round face instantly turning pale. Samuel Moore wasn’t just fairly well-known—he was a legendary figure in the French Concession. Not only did the Chinese respect him, even the French would greet him with a smile. He had connections in both the underworld and the authorities, and his influence in Huangpu was unmatched. Since this photo belonged to his goddaughter, it meant the owner of this wallet was likely connected to Samuel Moore. If Samuel Moore was angered, he might well turn the entire Concession upside down to find the thief.

“You mean… Simon Moore…” Blind Jack’s voice trembled a little.

Logan Reed nodded.

“How do you know? Just from a photo?” Blind Jack immediately suspected Logan Reed was playing a prank, deliberately trying to scare him—one of his usual tricks.

Logan Reed grabbed the Pujiang Daily from the table and tossed it over. “Open your little eyes and look carefully. Every front page article this past week has been about Samuel Moore promoting Grace Young, most with photos. Unless you’re Blind Jack, who wouldn’t recognize her?”

Blind Jack pulled a long face, picked up the newspaper from the floor, and immediately saw the front-page photo. The Grace Young in the paper was beautiful and enchanting, even more alluring than in the photo, but Blind Jack no longer dared to let his imagination run wild.

Logan Reed said, “But you don’t need to worry. There wasn’t much money in the wallet, nor anything important. Something this minor shouldn’t alarm Samuel Moore.” He patted Blind Jack’s broad shoulder. “Relax, just lay low for a couple of days and things will blow over.”

Blind Jack’s expression, however, only grew more anxious instead of being comforted by Logan Reed’s words.

With his extraordinary powers of observation, Logan Reed immediately sensed something was off. He frowned. “What is it? Are you hiding something from me?”

Blind Jack shook his head firmly, but his shifty eyes gave him away.

Logan Reed stood up and walked over, grabbing him by the collar. He felt something hard beneath his hand, so he pulled open Blind Jack’s collar and, following a red string, pulled out a golden pendant. Gold pendants weren’t uncommon—most were protective Buddhas or zodiac animals—but Logan Reed had never seen one like this. It was five centimeters long, as thick as a thumb at the base, then spiraled forward, narrowing to a point at the top, resembling a spear tip—a spiral-shaped spear tip. Upon close inspection, following the spiral curve, there were tiny sesame-sized characters engraved on it. The writing was so small that even Logan Reed couldn’t make it out with the naked eye. He opened his large hand, signaling Blind Jack to hand over the pendant.

Blind Jack didn’t dare disobey, but was clearly reluctant, muttering, “Looks like a lump of crap, and you’re actually interested.” He took off the pendant and shoved it into Logan Reed’s palm. Logan Reed weighed it in his hand—it was about two taels, no wonder Blind Jack was so unwilling to part with it.

He pulled open a drawer, took out a magnifying glass, and placed the pendant beneath it. The characters, when magnified, were revealed to be in Manchu script. Logan Reed had some knowledge of Manchu, and quickly recognized a passage from the Dao De Jing: “The highest good is like water. Water benefits all things and does not compete. This is the virtue of humility. Therefore, rivers and seas can be kings of a hundred valleys because they are good at staying low; thus, they can be kings of a hundred valleys. Nothing in the world is softer or weaker than water, yet nothing is better at overcoming the hard and strong. This is the virtue of softness; thus, softness overcomes hardness, weakness overcomes strength. Because it is without form, it can enter where there is no space. From this, we know the teaching of non-action and the benefit of non-striving.”

Other than being written in Manchu, there was nothing particularly unusual about the passage. However, Logan Reed still noticed something from the arrangement of the characters. On the spiral body, besides the writing, there were also variously sized pits. Logan Reed turned the base over and saw a tiny seal engraved there: the seal of Prince Rui. Logan Reed drew a sharp breath. Prince Rui—could it be Prince Rui Yixun, who was assassinated at sea seven years ago while returning from a visit to America? No doubt, the owner of this pendant was almost certainly connected to the Qing imperial family. Although the dynasty had changed, the remnants of the Qing still had deep roots. Blind Jack had clearly gotten himself into a not-so-small mess.

Blind Jack curiously leaned in. To his eyes, it was just a lump of gold. “What does it say?”

Logan Reed replied, “Crap!”

“Then give it back to me, don’t dirty your Senior Pastor Reed’s hands!”

Logan Reed narrowed his eyes and said, “Blind Jack, be honest—where exactly did you steal this thing from?”

Blind Jack smacked his lips. “A fat, pale-faced swindler!”

Logan Reed flicked the pendant into the air, then caught it deftly, and said in a low voice, “You might have caused trouble.”

Blind Jack forced a smile and said, “I’m not afraid. Worst case, I’ll melt it down and sell it as a gold ingot.”