Chapter 437: Arson

When they came to their senses, all the officers realized one thing: during the sparring with Lao Deng just now, Xu Mo had held back.

And he held back a lot.

The fact that Xu Mo just knocked down those petty thugs showed his skill; he could at least take on three Lao Denges.

The method Xu Mo used to subdue those thugs was none other than the Qinna Technique—the very Qinna that Lao Deng had just taught him!

He only watched Lao Deng demonstrate it once, yet he had already fully grasped the essence of the Qinna Technique; this talent was undeniably terrifying.

So the officers' gazes at Xu Mo now were like looking at a ghost.

Not only the officers from the Qinghewan Branch gave Xu Mo strange looks, even Han Fei and Chen Ke stared at him with surprised faces.

They are colleagues who work with Xu Mo day and night.

What they can confirm is that before this, Xu Mo did not know the Qinna Technique.

For someone who had never learned Qinna, to watch a demonstration once, master it, and then skillfully apply it against an opponent is absurd!

No wonder Xu Mo can do everything and is proficient at everything— with his talent, what can't he learn?!

Now the officers finally understand how Xu Mo can master so many skills; it's simply because the heavens have blessed him with a great gift.

For someone with such an excellent talent, any skill he masters seems reasonable to them.

At that moment, Han Fei felt a bit relieved— glad he had coaxed Xu Mo into the Police Station earlier, steering his abilities onto the right path instead of letting him use them for wrongdoing; otherwise the consequences would have been unimaginable, and the police would have been very troubled.

Just as he was thinking that, Han Fei suddenly saw Chief Gao staring at Xu Mo with a scorching gaze.

Is he plotting to undermine him? No way! With that thought, Han Fei immediately found an excuse to lead a few people out of here.

He raised his wrist to glance at his watch, then looked at the thugs who had been subdued at the restaurant entrance, now crouching on the ground holding their heads.

"Chief Gao, if you have work to do, go ahead; you don't need to worry about us. The designated driver we called will be here soon, and it's getting late, so we won't keep you any longer."

Having said that, Chief Gao could only go along with Han Fei's words and continue speaking.

"Fine, I'll have someone take these guys back for processing."

Before leaving, Chief Gao gave Xu Mo a few more looks, looking as if he wanted to say something but held back, his thoughts unknown.

The officers from the Qinghewan Branch, guided by Chief Gao, said farewell to Han Fei's party and escorted the troublemaking thugs back to the Police Station.

Not long after they left, the designated driver that Han Fei's group had called arrived.

……

The next day.

Xu Mo came to the Police Station for work as usual.

As soon as he arrived, he learned of some terrible news.

Last night, a Music Shop at Hexi Road 388 caught fire unexpectedly, and the on‑duty officer received the alarm.

After the firefighters extinguished the blaze, the officers found a large amount of gasoline residue at the scene; preliminary judgment was that this was not an ordinary fire and was likely arson.

Moreover, when the Music Shop burned down at night, a couple who owned the shop were inside; the fire severely burned them, and they were rushed to the hospital overnight, now out of immediate danger.

Upon learning this, Han Fei quickly gathered the officers for a meeting and gave a brief briefing.

"There is a large amount of gasoline residue at the scene; we can basically conclude this is arson, and the arsonist likely holds a grudge against that couple."

"The officer on duty last night has already photographed and recorded the scene, briefly collected the couple's information, and listed potential suspects…"

"ZhangChunjuan, the owner of another Music Shop on Hexi Road, is in competition with the burned shop; as soon as the burned shop opened, it stole customers from her shop. Consequently, ZhangChunjuan repeatedly reported the other shop's fire safety violations to the authorities, hoping they would investigate and shut it down, and she also spread rumors to smear that shop. The two have publicly quarreled many times over this matter."

"LiSheng, a customer of the Music Shop, sent his child to learn piano there, but his child was bullied by other students. After learning this, LiSheng repeatedly came to demand explanations, caused disturbances, and sought various compensations. The shop's manager offered compensation, but LiSheng was dissatisfied with the outcome and later threatened to burn the shop down someday."

"The remaining suspects are residents from the neighborhood behind the Music Shop. They consider the shop a serious nuisance, repeatedly petitioned the authorities for action without success, and eventually formed a group to confront the shop, during the scuffle many residents were inadvertently injured. The incident even reached the local police station, yet the conflict remains unresolved to this day…"

After briefly summarizing the current information, Han Fei noticed Xu Mo's furrowed brow, unsure what he was thinking, and couldn't help asking him.

"Team Leader Xu, what's your opinion?"

"We could start with the surveillance. Hexi Road 387 is a SirenBowuguan, with fairly comprehensive cameras, and it's right next to the Music Shop that caught fire. Checking its footage might reveal some clues," Xu Mo said.

"A private museum? Is there one?" Han Fei glanced at the report the night‑shift officer had compiled, which made no mention of a private museum beside the Music Shop.

"Have you been there?" Han Fei inferred that Xu Mo knew Hexi Road 387 was a private museum because Xu Mo had been there before.

"I haven't been there, but that private museum is mine; I obviously know where my property is…" Xu Mo didn't tell Han Fei that he owned the private museum; he merely nodded, "Hmm."

Han Fei thought for a moment, then said.

"Then let's go check it out first; we can do an on‑site investigation and also ask the locals for information."

……

Hexi Road 387.

Several police cars parked at the entrance.

The officers got out of the cars one after another.

A private museum differs from a proper museum; its footprint is much smaller, and its location is less particular— you can set it up on a busier, more spacious commercial street.

Of course, although a private museum's area can't compare to a proper museum's, on a commercial street it's still a mega‑size establishment.

The private museum before us is considerably larger than any storefront on this street, and its décor far surpasses the others; even the façade exudes grandeur.

The officers expressed their understanding of this.

Anyone who can open a private museum isn't short of money.

Buying the biggest storefront on the whole street and spending on renovations is normal; even though it's a private museum, it's still a museum and needs a proper appearance.

"Who opened this private museum? Look at him… He's got a couple of filthy cash and doesn't know how to flaunt it, huh? Too many artifacts to fit at home? So he opens a private museum to show off— damn!" Wang Dachuan said disdainfully from his police car.

The moment his words finished, he felt a sudden chill run down his spine…