Chapter 31: Catching the Female Theft Leader

Lu Cheng stared at the name, a bit helplessly: "Comrade, the registration info you provided is too crude, it doesn't even have an address."

The ticket seller, already aware of Lu Cheng's identity, cooperated and explained: "People just buy a platform ticket, mostly to give to someone else, and they don't go elsewhere, so they don't register in detail."

That sounded somewhat reasonable.

Seeing Lu Cheng quite disappointed, the ticket seller handed over a stack of ticket registration books.

"I recall that this beggar once bought a ticket to Capital City, and we were quite surprised—what would a beggar be doing in Capital City?"

"If you don't mind the trouble, check inside here; if we can find it, the address will be recorded."

Lu Cheng nodded; now that he knows the name, further investigation will be much easier.

"Ji Yue?" Lu Cheng muttered the name, touching his tongue with his finger, then flipped through the pages.

The ticket seller had a good memory and, in less than ten minutes, on a registration book from a month ago, Lu Cheng's eyes suddenly lit up.

"Found you!"

The ticket registration info is complete: name Ji Yue, gender female, address 17 Qingyuan Street, Kaihua Temple, Coal City.

"Thanks, Comrade." Lu Cheng returned the registration book to the ticket seller and headed straight for Kaihua Temple.

After a day of hustle, when he arrived at Huaihua Temple it was already evening, about to get dark; Lu Cheng quickened his pace, asked a few locals, and finally reached the address listed in the registration book.

The sky hadn't fully darkened, but the gate of courtyard No. 17 was tightly shut.

To avoid startling anyone, Lu Cheng glanced into the alley, waited until a few women buying vegetables left, then sprang onto the wall, stuck his head in to peer inside; the courtyard was empty and surprisingly tidy.

But since the courtyard gate was locked from the inside, it indicated someone was inside the house.

After scaling the wall over two meters high, Lu Cheng aimed for a spot and jumped down, landing silently.

His back pressed against the wall, he slipped along the edge, slowly moving toward the main hall.

At that moment, a rush of water sounds came from somewhere.

Looking to the side, he saw the kitchen, and the water noise was indeed coming from inside.

Could they be cooking? Lu Cheng gently pried open a crack in the door, and when he saw inside, his eyes widened instantly.

On the kitchen floor sat a large plastic basin; because the weather was cold, the hot water inside turned into steam.

Amid the swirling mist, a woman bathing was clearly visible, repeatedly wiping her body with a towel.

Lu Cheng felt his nose heat up; after a incense‑burning's worth of time, adhering to the principle of not staring at impropriety, he quickly averted his gaze.

From the woman's profile, a mole under her eye matched exactly the memory of the female theft leader.

He could now be certain that Ji Yue was the person he was after.

While the woman was bathing, Lu Cheng didn't see the beggar's clothes in the kitchen; to catch a thief, one must catch the loot.

So he tiptoed further into the main hall.

On a bench, he saw the discarded beggar clothes, with a gray‑white wig beside them.

Holding the wig, Lu Cheng had to admit that the woman named Ji Yue was quite adept at disguising herself.

It also indirectly showed how cunning this gang of thieves was.

They assigned only four members to commit the theft, then transferred the money and tools onto the beggar when alighting, so even if someone spotted and identified the four, lack of evidence would force authorities to release them.

The whole scheme hinged on that beggar; no one could have imagined that the hard‑to‑find money would end up on a beggar.

And the beggar, using the disguise of his status, easily slipped out of the station's cordon, completing a perfectly closed theft loop.

Lu Cheng rummaged through the clothes and, as expected, not only found the missing money but also four Shaving Knives used in the crime.

With evidence in hand, now see how they can still argue.

All that remained was to capture the female theft leader; Lu Cheng planned to burst into the kitchen and pin her in the water basin.

And then…

Suddenly a cold breeze brushed Lu Cheng's head!

As he turned his head slowly, a dark gun barrel stared at him.

The gun was an old Turtle Box; its power was uncertain, but at such close range it could still blast his head open.

Ji Yue, just out of the bath, wore only a thin garment, her skin wheat‑colored, eyes extremely sharp.

When he got close enough, Lu Cheng finally saw her clearly; she was a little dark‑skinned girl.

"I bet there's no bullet in your gun."

Ji Yue pressed the barrel hard against his forehead and snarled, "Bet you try it!"

Lu Cheng quickly raised his hands.

"Don't act rashly, absolutely don't act rashly."

"I see you're still young, in the bloom of your years; you mustn't walk the criminal road. Listen to your brother, put the gun down, and be careful not to have a misfire."

Lu Cheng tried to pry the barrel, but Ji Yue shouted, "Don't move! Otherwise I'll blast you with a shot."

"I won't move, you don't move, absolutely don't act rashly. Think of your family, think of your friends and siblings; killing people lands you in prison and you eat bullets, you must stay calm…"

Ji Yue frowned, "Enough chatter, who are you? Why are you in my house?"

"I, I am…" Lu Cheng couldn't admit his identity; if he said he was here to arrest her, she would surely hesitate no more and blast him.

"I am, just passing by, got lost."

"Nonsense, I have the door locked; how could you get lost and end up in my house?"

Ji Yue's eyes stared fixedly at him, "Are you Public Security?"

Lu Cheng quickly shook his head, "No, no, I'm not. Look at my shabby appearance; I couldn't possibly be Public Security!"

Ji Yue nodded, "That does make sense."

Just as Lu Cheng breathed a sigh of relief, Ji Yue suddenly seemed to recall something.

"Wait, I saw you on the train; who exactly are you?"

Seeing her recall, Lu Cheng could only go along, "Good person, I am a good person."

Ji Yue, with a face full of doubt, said: "Good person? You don't look like a good person at all!"

"You can't judge a book by its cover. I saw you get robbed on the train, so I came specifically to tell you."

"So that beggar was you, no wonder your chest muscles are so big."

"You…" Ji Yue's face flushed red, and at that moment of distraction, her wrist was suddenly grabbed, then pressed and pulled, and the gun in her hand ended up in Lu Cheng's hand.

"Young girl, you don't seem old, it's not good to play with a gun."

The situation on the spot reversed, with Lu Cheng now holding the gun to her forehead.

But Ji Yue was not panicked; instead, she gave a slight signal.

Lu Cheng's eyes slowly moved down, and on his neck there was suddenly a Shaving Knife.

Just earlier, while he was pressing down on the woman's arm, she seized the Shaving Knife on the stool, and when she stood up again, she pressed it against Lu Cheng's neck.

"Your skill is decent, I really underestimated you. But, which do you think is faster, the knife or my gun?"

Ji Yue said coldly, "Within a single step, the knife is faster."

Lu Cheng truly dared not underestimate her, because the woman's long, slender fingers holding the Shaving Knife were just like those of the four thieves.

Damn it, such long fingers—would be a waste not to go grave‑robbing.