Chapter 344: Intuition

The weather was between cold and warm, and the Wind felt like it carried knives, drilling into the gaps of one's bones.

Ren Danhua held her mobile phone, dialing incessantly.

"I'm sorry, the number you have dialed is not answering..."

Once, twice, three times... Yu Jiyao did not answer, and Yu Jichuan did not answer either.

If one didn't answer, it could be said they didn't hear it, but both of them not answering?

It certainly wasn't Wang Chun's doing; she was still waiting to see, waiting to see if the three siblings would lead the Police to the hook.

Therefore, it could only be that they had been caught...

She stared at the phone screen, her pretty, pale complexion turning even paler.

Before, Ren Danhua had always thought Wang Chun was just scaring herself: it was only a routine inspection, and with so many peers suffering, compared to them, her own losses were completely negligible.

But Wang Chun was like a bird startled by the mere twang of a bowstring, always suspicious and paranoid?

Only now did Ren Danhua realize how shrewd Wang Chun was, and how keen her sense of smell was...

Subconsciously, an old leader who had been exceptionally caring toward her surfaced in Ren Danhua's mind.

"Little Ren, the thing you are doing now is very dangerous... I don't mean the thing itself, but rather your division of labor and the positioning of your role..."

"What you should do, what you shouldn't do, you take it all upon yourself; you are more like the boss than your boss... If this continues, it is very dangerous..."

"Let me give you one more piece of advice: no matter how good a friendship is outside of blood relations, it cannot last long. Little Ren, slow down, be a bit lazy..."

At the time, she didn't feel it; she just thought this old lecher was getting a bargain and still acting coy. But starting from the year before last, when the eldest sister completely stopped touching Grave-robbing and instead willingly helped the two bosses handle the remaining stock, Ren Danhua finally understood: the eldest sister wanted to wash her hands of the business.

The reason she threw her lot in with the two bosses was not to compromise or live under someone else's roof, but to find a way out...

And before this, how many dirty jobs had she done for Wang Chun?

Contacting, organizing, receiving goods, fencing stolen goods, money laundering... Just like that old lecher said, she was more like the boss than the boss.

Ren Danhua didn't even dare to be sure, if they really fell, would her crimes be heavier, or would Wang Chun's crimes be heavier?

Wang Chun had counted on this point, which was why she was so fearless and unscrupulous. Including before, Ren Danhua had been thinking: as long as she could run away, even if she knew the eldest sister was setting her up, she would accept it.

But even Yu Jiyao and Yu Jichuan had fallen, so how could she still run away?

Then they would all die together...

Ren Danhua pulled her zipper tight and put on the hood of her down jacket.

The clothes were very thick, making her look exceptionally bloated.

But it wasn't strange; it had been overcast for several days, and there were even people in the market wearing cotton-padded coats.

Passing "Paozhentang," Ren Danhua did not stop, only glancing at it with the corner of her eye.

Those on the inside knew that this was a shop opened by Qi Hao in partnership with someone: he supplied the goods, and the woman he partnered with was responsible for selling them.

But only a few knew that this woman was not some Partner, but his wife. Although they hadn't registered a marriage certificate, they had two children in the woman's hometown.

The eldest sister definitely didn't know, otherwise she wouldn't have been so good to Qi Hao all along.

So, Wang Chun didn't know everything like the back of her hand either.

Continuing forward, passing through the Cultural Relics market, and arriving at the pet market one street away, Ren Danhua glanced again.

This was the shop the eldest sister opened for Qi Hao, specializing in guinea pigs and Dutch pigs.

The eldest sister was a Grave-robber and so wealthy, yet she let her lover sell pets; was that not very awkward?

Actually, the eldest sister was passing down her craft to Qi Hao: the family secret technique of the Wangs of Baoding, which had been passed down for five generations and dominated Hebei for over a hundred years.

But very few people knew about this, besides Qi Song, Qi Hao, and herself.

A casual glance, then she hurried away. Continuing forward, out of the pet market, Ren Danhua arrived at Ruyi City.

This place specialized in Jade; years ago, Qi Hao had opened a Jade shop here, but later the eldest sister had it transferred.

Only Ren Danhua knew that the Jade shop hadn't been transferred; it had just changed to someone else's name. Qi Hao wasn't doing any Jade business either; it was just to provide cover for the basement below: that was a secret chamber, and the eldest sister's final retreat was there.

This matter, even Qi Song and Qi Hao didn't know.

Ren Danhua also knew: the eldest sister's most valuable goods were hidden in Tianjiao City. But she wasn't sure if the Treasury that Qi Song was always watching was also just a front.

If it was, where were the real ones?

It certainly wouldn't be easy to find, but Ren Danhua wanted to try.

Even if she couldn't find them in the end, she had to cut off Wang Chun's last retreat...

Just as she was secretly hardening her heart, a somewhat familiar figure entered her eyes. Ren Danhua's pupils shrank, and she turned into the side corridor without leaving a trace.

Like her, they were wrapped up tightly: wearing a hat and also wearing a mask. But having hung out together for so long, Ren Danhua could recognize at a glance that this was Qi Song.

Sneaky and furtive.

But how did Qi Song know there was one of the eldest sister's dens here?

It must have been Wang Chun who told him...

Ren Danhua didn't move, hiding behind the glass and watching quietly. After about five minutes, Qi Song came out of the Jade shop, locked the door, and entered the stairs next to it.

Ren Danhua followed lightly and stood quietly at the entrance of the stairs.

The basement was mostly a Treasury, very empty, and the sound of footsteps traveled up clearly.

He went down to the basement, to the secret chamber?

Ren Danhua frowned: Wang Chun wanted to run?

It seemed she also knew that Yu Jichuan and Yu Jiyao had fallen. Even if these two wouldn't talk for a while, just in case, she definitely couldn't stay in Beijing.

At the very least, she had to go out of town to avoid the limelight.

But with Wang Chun's caution and her selfishness, even if she wanted to run, she would only run away secretly by herself.

Let alone Qi Song, even Qi Hao, whom she endured the disgust of sleeping in the same bed with every day, she wouldn't take.

The logic was simple: bringing one more burden meant one more point of danger. Leaving one more person to take the fall could help her buy a little more time...

Thinking and thinking, a flash of light crossed Ren Danhua's mind: was this place also just a front?

Perhaps Wang Chun already knew this place was exposed, or perhaps her paranoid heart condition had flared up again.

But regardless of which it was, it all indicated that Qi Song had also been deceived.

For a split second, Ren Danhua even had the impulse to warn Qi Song.

Forget it, let dogs bite dogs.

It seems Wang Chun is going to run; the question is, where will she run from?

And where are those goods of hers stored?

Suddenly, Ren Danhua's eyes lit up...

"Teacher Lin, this is the information on that chinchilla shop. The registration information is not Qi Hao, but the boss is indeed him. However, his public name is not Qi Hao, but Hao Haitao!"

Hao, Hao?

Lin Sicheng pondered for a moment: "Is his real name Song Hao, or a homophone?"

"Correct, Song Hao, the 'Hao' from 'luxurious'!"

Unsurprisingly, this must be Wang Chun's peculiar taste: her original name was Song Chun, and after being adopted into the Wang Clan, it was changed to Wang Chun. Later, fearing her roots would be traced, she changed it again to Song Chun.

Then, her subordinates followed suit: Ren Danhua's original name was Dan Hua, Yu Jichuan's original name was Li Jilin, Yu Jiyao's original name was Li Yao, Qi Song's original name was Song Qi, and Qi Hao's original name was Song Hao.

If it were just one of them, it would certainly be hard to investigate, but for all the trusted core members to change their names like this, it is a bit too arrogant.

Just as he was thinking this, the Special Duty Team reported again: "Teacher Lin, the analysis group infers that the pet shop should be a front business used to cover their identities. The gourd-ware shop is a joint venture between him and that woman, half-open and half-hidden, belonging to Qi Hao's own business.

That woman went to Ruyi City; it should be Qi Hao's third hideout, very likely a Jade shop. The Expert analyzes that the possibility of Qi Song being in Ruyi City is the highest..."

Lin Sicheng was noncommittal: a pet shop, a gourd-ware shop, and a Jade shop—how much energy could this Qi Hao possibly have?

It's not that one can't open them; let alone three, those with ability opening a dozen is common.

But the problem is, this cross-industry jump is a bit too large: not to mention the pet shop, just looking at the gourd-ware and Jade. Although they are both cultural artifacts, there is a mountain between the two.

The key is that this Qi Hao's craftsmanship is also extremely high. Just looking at those things in the gourd-ware shop, one knows he truly loves this; over ninety percent of his energy is used to study this.

Reversing the logic: how much time and energy could he have left to commit crimes?

Nine times out of ten, he only occasionally helps his brother with odd jobs, such as when Qi Song is short-handed. And he would only do tasks that aren't deeply connected but require a trusted person to handle.

For example, Tai Mausoleum, or managing the Treasury.

So in all likelihood, even if Qi Song is hiding, he wouldn't be hiding there...

"Have you found his previous whereabouts? Before Qi Hao went to the Lengku, where did he go?"

"Found it. He went to the Lengku from Tianjiao City; he did today, yesterday, and the day before yesterday too. But because of missing surveillance, we haven't found exactly where he lives!"

Lin Sicheng was noncommittal: what he wanted to investigate was not where Qi Hao lived, but where those lacquerware items previously stored in the Lengku had been transferred.

It's almost certain that Qi Hao watches the goods at night and tails people during the day. Otherwise, where would the smell of lacquerware on him come from?

"Let's go take a look!"

"Go to the Jade city?"

Lin Sicheng shook his head: "No, the pet shop!"

His craftsmanship in imitation gourd-ware is so high, and his own brother is a leader in Grave-robbing, yet he opened a pet shop?

If it were to cover his identity, wouldn't opening a gourd-ware shop directly work?

The industry jump is too large; Lin Sicheng always feels there is something strange.

They were both in Tianjiao City, not too far away, and it took about twenty minutes to walk.

Standing at the entrance, Lin Sicheng sized it up for a few moments: the shop is very large, more than three times larger than the gourd-ware shop just now.

There are many pets, all kinds of mice: hamsters, guinea pigs, fancy rats (domesticated white rats), and chinchillas.

Cages are everywhere along the walls and on the floor, stacked very high, basically five to six layers. Feed and medicine are piled up randomly, and stains on the floor are visible everywhere.

There are basically no customers in the shop, only a few employees cleaning up, preparing to get off work.

Lin Sicheng estimated that even if they weren't getting off work, there wouldn't be many customers in this shop: it's too dirty and too smelly.

While pondering, Lin Sicheng stepped onto the platform, and a woman holding a mop straightened her back: "Hello, what do you need!"

"Buying a chinchilla for a child!"

"Oh, the floor is a bit slippery, why don't you come back tomorrow?"

There are people who do business like this?

"It's fine, I'll be careful!" Lin Sicheng smiled, "It will be quick. If I see one I like, I'll buy it; if not, I'll leave. I won't delay you from getting off work!"

The woman was stunned for a moment and curled her lip slightly: their wages are not linked to sales volume, so she really didn't want to serve him.

But the person had already come in.

She put down the mop and let the other employees move aside.

Lin Sicheng scanned casually: all kinds of mice, they are raised quite fat and their spirits are quite good, but they don't look very shiny, feeling like they haven't been bathed in a long time.

There is plenty of feed, but it is all ordinary grains: corn, whole wheat, and wheat bran; no high-quality feed is seen.

The medicine is mainly for disinfection and sterilization, as well as a very small portion of antibiotics.

After a rough look, Lin Sicheng looked at the woman who appeared to be the manager: "I want to buy a chinchilla. Should the cage and feed be included?"

"The cage is included. Whichever one you like, take it away with the cage. As for the feed, just take some of these on the floor!"

Lin Sicheng paused: how dirty is that cage? The feces and urine have formed crusts.

It feels more like a breeding farm here, rather than a pet shop.

Lin Sicheng pointed to one of them: "How much?"

"One hundred!"

Sure enough, it's more than double the market price. This shop probably never intended to do business with outside customers.

Since they aren't doing business, why raise so many mice?

The feeling is getting stranger and stranger...

Seeing him not speak, the woman smiled: "Why don't you go look somewhere else!"

Lin Sicheng nodded: "Alright!"

As he spoke, he turned around and had already lifted his foot, but then he suddenly paused.

Wait... wax tung oil?

When he ran into Qi Hao at the Lengku, wasn't that the exact smell on him?

In the dim light, he turned back around and twitched his nose slightly.

Not far away, by the water tank, a green work uniform was hanging on a hook.

"Huh, you guys even sell fish?"

"Ah, you mean in the tank?" The woman peered over, "That's for the guinea pigs to eat!"

"Mice eating fish, that's a first for me?"

As he spoke, Lin Sicheng walked over; the woman, confused, followed behind him.

Getting closer to the clothes, the smell grew stronger, even stronger than the "Fragrant Fruit Garden" one Qi Hao was wearing this morning.

It was just that the shop was too dirty and too smelly, which had affected his sense of smell, so he hadn't noticed it before.

But that wasn't the point: since this was Qi Hao's shop, it wasn't strange to encounter clothes stained with the scent of lacquerware.

What was strange was the fur stuck to the clothes.

The fur was very long, nearly ten centimeters, yellow with a brownish tint, shimmering with golden specks under the light. It was a bit coarse, about the thickness of a human hair.

This definitely wasn't mouse fur; of the ones in the shop, the fur of the largest guinea pig was only four or five centimeters long.

And it certainly wasn't this coarse, nor this shiny.

Besides the fur, there were also scales.

Very small, brownish-red, but they weren't fish scales; did they look like snake scales?

The key was the trace of bloodiness mixed into the scent of the lacquerware.

After looking closely for a moment and sniffing hard twice more, Lin Sicheng's expression grew increasingly strange.

There were bloodstains on the clothes, and even more so, a bloody smell; if he wasn't mistaken, Qi Hao must have worn these clothes to kill mice, and also to kill snakes.

But why kill these? To eat them himself?

Snakes and guinea pigs were one thing, but hamsters and chinchillas—to put it bluntly, these two types were just mice.

Of course, it was also possible they weren't for human consumption... huh?

Lin Sicheng suddenly froze, turned his head, and stared at the pet mice that were raised to be extremely fat, yet not very clean.

He finally knew what was wrong: if he wasn't mistaken, these pet mice were all feed.

He finally understood: with Qi Hao's such good craftsmanship, and Qi Song being a Grave-robbing ringleader, why was he selling pets?

"Customer, are you buying or not?"

"Oh, too expensive!"

The woman curled her lip, but Lin Sicheng didn't care and walked straight out of the shop.

Just as he stepped down from the threshold, he lowered his voice: "Have Captain Yu check where snakes are sold nearby, not pets, just those common grass snakes..."

"Huh?"

The Special Duty Team member was stunned for a moment: why check this, it didn't seem related, right?

"It definitely has a connection!" Lin Sicheng let out a sharp breath, "Find the snakes, and you can find the Treasury where the Cultural Relics are hidden!"

To be more precise: find the place where Qi Hao killed the snakes, and there is a ninety-nine percent chance of finding the Cultural Relics.

But it was too complicated to explain clearly in a sentence or two. It was also too fantastical; even if he said it, no one would believe him.

"You just have Captain Yu check, and make it fast!" Lin Sicheng narrowed his eyes, "If he asks for the reason, just say, intuition!"

The Special Duty Team member was stunned: what the heck?

Are there really people who solve cases based on intuition?

(End of this chapter)