Chapter 371: Surveillance

The summer of the Eternal Peace River, the reeds in Lu Wei Dang were so green they looked black.

The cicadas' shrill cries mixed with the gurgling of the river flow, making people feel drowsy.

Li Ping'an sat in his usual spot, a bamboo fishing rod slanted into the stone crevice before him.

The float bobbed slightly with the waves, remaining still for a long while.

He appeared to be resting with closed eyes, leaning against the rough willow trunk behind him.

But his Divine Perception spread like an invisible spiderweb, centered on him, silently extending outward.

Within a radius of 150 meters.

The trajectories of fish schools swimming beneath the river surface.

The faint sound of waterbirds preening their feathers in the reed beds.

The occasional creak of an ox cart passing on the dirt road in the distance.

Even the faint vibrations of earthworms wriggling in the mud along the bank.

All of these sketched a clear and rich picture in his mind.

This was not deliberate probing.

Since his suspension, whenever he went out fishing or strolling, he habitually maintained this outwardly relaxed but inwardly vigilant state.

The shopkeeper would not let him go easily.

Surveillance, or a test, would come sooner or later.

Indeed.

Today, amidst this tranquility, a discordant 'noise' had appeared.

Diagonally behind him, about a hundred meters away, at the edge of a taller reed patch.

There was one more person.

That person seemed to be fishing as well, wearing a large straw hat, his back turned toward this direction, remaining motionless for a long time.

But Li Ping'an's Divine Perception saw it clearly.

His fishing rod had no bait, and the length of line dangling in the water was laughably short.

His breathing rate was slightly more hurried and deliberately restrained than that of a truly leisurely angler.

His heartbeat was unnaturally steady, bearing the rhythm of trained discipline.

More importantly, at least seventy percent of his attention was directed toward Li Ping'an.

This was not the surveillance method of the public security.

Public security personnel would be more concealed, more dispersed, and would not stay fixed in one spot for so long.

Nor was it the investigation team of the armed forces department.

Their investigative focus was on internal procedures; they would not waste manpower on such peripheral surveillance.

Then it could only be someone from the shopkeeper.

Wanting to see his reaction after being suspended?

Is he depressed, agitated, or... taking some other action?

Li Ping'an's mouth corner twitched almost imperceptibly.

The float suddenly jerked downward!

He flicked his wrist, and a half-foot-long catfish was lifted from the water, thrashing uselessly in the air.

He removed the fish and tossed it into the fish basket.

The motion was smooth and natural, without the slightest hesitation.

As if he were completely unaware of the eyes behind him.

He even stood up, stretched, moved his limbs, and glanced at the sky.

Then he gathered his fishing gear, mounted his bicycle, and, retracing his route, rode away at a leisurely pace.

From start to finish, he never once glanced in the direction of the watcher.

As usual, the fish basket held only three or four small fish.

At the reed bed edge behind him, the man wearing the straw hat only slowly lowered his baitless fishing rod after Li Ping'an's figure disappeared at the end of the dirt road.

Under the brim was an ordinary, forgettable face that would blend into a crowd.

He narrowed his eyes, gazing in the direction Li Ping'an had gone; a flicker of doubt crossed his gaze before turning cold.

He pulled out a small notebook and quickly jotted down a few notes with a pencil.

Then his silhouette silently slipped into the denser reeds and vanished.

The night curtain grew deep.

Snoring rose from all corners of the Siheyuan.

The lights in the Xi Kua Yuan had long been extinguished.

Li Ping'an rose silently.

Beside him, his wife Lin Xueqing breathed evenly, already fast asleep.

He slipped out of bed like a shadow, changed into dark old clothes and pants, and put on a pair of soft-soled cloth shoes.

He did not go out the door.

He gently pushed open the rear window, leapt out like a civet cat, landed silently in the backyard, and made no sound.

The darkness was his best cover.

He launched the Carefree Step, landing without a sound, moving so fast that only a faint afterimage lingered in the moonlight.

He did not go elsewhere.

His target was clear—the staff quarters of the City Bureau.

Deputy Director Zhao.

The daytime watcher was like a tiny thorn.

Although harmless, it reminded him that the Shopkeeper's network was still running and watching him.

Passive waiting has never been his style.

Since the other side wanted to see him idle, he would use that idle time to do something the other side didn't expect.

The City Bureau family compound in West City is a relatively orderly Soviet‑style red‑brick building.

There is a gate post, but the security isn't especially stringent, after all the residents are internal staff.

Li Ping'an did not enter through the main gate.

He went around to the side, under a relatively low surrounding wall.

Divine Perception swept over first.

There was no one inside the wall.

He lightly tapped the wall with his toe, his body floated up as if weightless, and with a single hand braced on the wall top, he flipped over.

When he landed, even the weeds at the wall base were undisturbed.

According to earlier information, Deputy Director Zhao's home is in Building No. 3, second‑floor east unit.

He moved like a true shadow, sticking to the building's shade and moving swiftly.

He avoided residents who occasionally returned late and the patrolling guards.

He quickly arrived at the foot of Building No. 3.

Divine Perception silently extended upward.

Like an invisible tentacle, it passed through the wall and probed into the interior of the second‑floor east unit.

Living room, bedroom, study…

Most rooms were pitch‑black and quiet, with only even breathing sounds.

In the master bedroom, a man and a woman were sleeping soundly.

The man's face matched the photo of Deputy Director Zhao that Li Ping'an had seen.

He was around fifty, slightly plump, and even in sleep his brows seemed habitually furrowed.

Li Ping'an's Divine Perception focused on the study and living room.

Books, documents, furnishings…

Most were ordinary items.

But in a locked drawer of the study desk, he saw something different.

Inside the drawer, besides some work notes and private letters, there was a kraft‑paper file folder.

The bag's opening was wrapped with cotton thread, and the seal bore a vague, private stamp.

Divine Perception could not penetrate the paper to read the contents directly.

But it could sense that the folder itself carried an aged aura, its edges slightly yellowed and curled.

It was at least a decade‑old item.

More importantly, next to the folder lay a very small, open velvet jewelry box.

The box contained no jewelry.

It held several old buttons of varying styles.

One copper button, its edges worn and bearing vine‑like patterns, was almost identical to the one found at Lao Sun Tou's place!

Li Ping'an's spirit tightened.

Indeed!

Deputy Director Zhao is connected to this button used as a token!

He is either the Shopkeeper himself or an important link in the Shopkeeper's network, at least one of the token's custodians or distributors!

Continue scanning.

In an old leather suitcase, dust‑covered, atop the bedroom wardrobe, he discovered several hard‑cover notebooks.

The notebooks were very old, their covers dark green with no markings.

Inside, they were filled with dense ink‑pen writing, some sections containing simple sketches.

But at that distance, Divine Perception could not read the tiny characters clearly.

It could only vaguely sense that the script was neat and forceful, exuding a rigorous, even rigid aura.

Unlike Deputy Director Zhao's usually slightly sloppy signature when reviewing documents, it seemed different.

Was it Deputy Director Zhao's earlier notes?

Or… belonging to someone else?

Aside from that, no Radio Station, Code Book, weapons, or other direct evidence were found.

This household appeared to be a standard, even somewhat stereotypical, cadre family.

Li Ping'an did not act rashly.

He knew that a single similar button and a few unreadable old notebooks were insufficient for a conclusion.

Deputy Director Zhao could easily claim the button was a collectible and the old notebooks were early work records.

Stirring up the grass to scare the snake could instead cause the real clues to be completely destroyed.

He needs more concrete evidence.

Or he must find a direct link between these old items and the old Yongli Factory case, Foreman Tan, and the Shopkeeper's orders.

Just as he prepared to withdraw his Divine Perception and slip away,

In the master bedroom, the sleeping Deputy Director Zhao suddenly turned over.

He muttered a dreamlike sentence indistinctly in his mouth.

His voice was extremely low, indistinct and unclear.

But Li Ping'an's Divine Perception caught those few blurred syllables.

It sounded like…… "Lao Tan…… not possible…… too conspicuous……"

Lao Tan?!

Li Ping'an's pupils constricted slightly.

Was it a coincidental sleep-talk?

Or a connection in the subconscious?

Was Zhao Deputy Director, in his dream, worrying that "Lao Tan" was too conspicuous?

He hid silently in the shadows downstairs, waiting another moment.

But Zhao Deputy Director showed no further movement, his breathing returning to an even rhythm.

Li Ping'an no longer lingered.

Just as he had come, he silently scaled the wall and melted into the deep night.

He did not go straight home.

Instead, he circled the city a few times, confirming no one was following before returning to the Siheyuan.

Entering through the back window, as he lay back on the bed, his wife beside him was still sound asleep.

It seemed as if he had merely gotten up for a moment.

Outside the window, the moonlight slanted westward.

Li Ping'an kept his eyes open, gazing at the blurred rafters of the roof in the darkness.

Zhao Deputy Director.

Button.

Old notebook.

The "Lao Tan" in the sleep-talk.

The clues seemed to have increased by one, and their direction became a bit clearer.

But still separated by a final thin mist.

Is Zhao Deputy Director the Shopkeeper?

Or is he merely a part that the Shopkeeper uses to safeguard tokens and even transmit orders?

What exactly is recorded in those old notebooks?

Is it related to the old machinery diagrams of the Eternal Profit Factory, to the Shopkeeper's organizational structure, or to something more ancient?

He needs to find a way to see the contents of those notebooks.

But this is difficult.

Zhao Deputy Director's home is not a place one can come and go freely.

Moreover, after tonight, might the other side heighten their guard due to some intuition?

Also, the observer during daytime fishing.

Was he sent by Zhao Deputy Director?

Or is he part of the Shopkeeper's other forces?

Li Ping'an slowly exhaled a breath.

No rush.

The bait has already been laid.

The line is also held in hand.

Next, it's a matter of seeing how the fish swims and how it bites the hook.

He needs more patience, and also a bit…… of an opportunity.

An opportunity that could cause Zhao Deputy Director, or those behind him, to reveal a flaw themselves.

At the horizon, the first hint of grayish white appeared.

In the Siheyuan, the rooster began to crow.

A new day was about to begin.

For most people, this remains an ordinary day.

But for Li Ping'an, for the Shopkeeper hidden in the shadows, and for those still engaged in the game.

Beneath the calm surface, the undercurrents are accelerating.

And a new contest might quietly begin its overture amidst this ordinary morning light.