Chapter 294

These new thieves are in a different category from the "Buddhas" who steal money and tickets.

These "Wan Zhu" (hooligans) and "Buddhas" (pickpockets) were completely attracted by that one sentence from Li Xuewu, all just to test whether Li Xuewu's words carried any weight.

Once these people arrived here, they also engaged in theft and robbery, just like what Li Xuewu encountered earlier: the hooligans fought and brawled, while the pickpockets stole to pay their "tribute."

The difference is that the pickpockets are "skilled workers," while the methods of those who break into houses to steal are very crude; all they need is a crowbar.

Looking at the dense list of names, Li Xuewu chuckled twice.

He was stunned for a moment when he saw Zhou Changli's name, but it was only for a moment.

"I need to go out for a trip. You work hard and finish screening these people. Prioritize the gang crimes; they are all connected. Once one person spills the beans, they will all implicate each other."

Li Xuewu closed the list and then said, "Register these hooligans and pickpockets well. For those who can be confirmed, send them to the detention center first. Don't take up space at the station; lock them up for now. I don't have time to deal with them yet."

Duan Youting nodded and said, "That's what I was thinking too. The detention cells at the station don't have that much room. Fortunately, we caught a lot of them, and they all know each other, so it will be easier to interrogate them."

Li Xuewu nodded and said, "I'll leave the twenty people from Huaqing with you. In case there are any who slipped through the net, you'll have enough hands to handle it."

"Mm-hmm, alright."

Knowing that Li Xuewu was pressed for time, Duan Youting didn't say much more.

Seeing Wei Tong run over, Li Xuewu walked out of the office.

"Call the comrades from the security team and the police dog team. We'll set off with two command vehicles and one patrol vehicle."

"Yes."

Wei Tong was quite straightforward; he didn't even ask what the mission was, turned around, and went to assemble the team.

The emergency night training from a while ago had an effect. Li Xuewu had just found Yan Jiecheng sleeping in the duty room and told him the command vehicle had a mission.

By the time Li Xuewu brought Yan Jiecheng out, Wei Tong had already assembled the people.

Yan Jiecheng ran out, started the engine, and drove the vehicle to the entrance of the neighborhood courtyard.

Li Xuewu didn't give a pre-battle pep talk either; he waved his hand to let the team members board the vehicles.

First, the security team members and police dog team members boarded the patrol vehicle, followed by the remaining security team members who boarded the command vehicle.

Once everyone had boarded, Li Xuewu pulled open the car door and got into the passenger seat.

"Set off, first go to Wang Family Alley in the XC District."

"Yes."

Hearing Li Xuewu's order, Yan Jiecheng stepped on the gas and drove toward XC.

Li Xuewu picked up the radio and began to contact the two vehicles behind.

After reporting the personnel to be arrested, Li Xuewu emphasized again, "The living environment over there is very complex; it's all small alleys and small streets, and there are also a lot of houses."

"I will take the people in the vehicle to block the alley from the north, and Vehicle No. 2 will block the alley entrance from the south."

"The patrol vehicle will stop behind the alley. You walk into the side passage. When we charge in, be aware that someone might try to escape through the side passage."

"Received!"

"Received!"

Having received the response from the action personnel, Li Xuewu leaned back against the seat back to rest.

As the vehicle entered the alley entrance, Li Xuewu took the lead in jumping out of the car and led three people to sneak into the alley entrance from the north.

The narrowness and irregular layout of the alleys here were famous, and the reasons were all historical.

After all, it is Dashilan.

Arriving in front of the target courtyard gate, Li Xuewu waved his hand at the five people sneaking over from the south.

Qi Delong, who was executing the mission with Li Xuewu that night, climbed onto the courtyard wall with the help of his companion.

Seeing Qi Delong's gesture, Li Xuewu and the others sneaked toward the gate.

"Clack."

The old wooden door bar was opened, and Li Xuewu led his people charging inside.

It was exactly three or four in the morning, and people were sleeping soundly; who would have thought someone would sneak in?

Even the person keeping watch at the gatehouse didn't expect anyone to come in at this time.

By the time he saw people coming in, it was already too late. Qi Delong rushed into the gatehouse and gave this thin, gaunt man a punch.

This punch landed directly on the man's mouth, beating back the words he was about to shout out.

When Li Xuewu rushed into the front courtyard, he heard movement in the backyard. By the time he reached the backyard, he saw a bare white butt climbing over the wall.

"You really can run, damn it."

Li Xuewu didn't bother with the few who had run away; instead, he lifted the door curtain of the main room, kicked the door open, and entered the room.

"Who?"

Li Xuewu didn't answer; instead, he used the light from the overhead lamp to sweep across the room.

The person in the room was dazzled by the light and originally wanted to ask Li Xuewu who he was, but upon hearing the sounds in the courtyard, he already knew who Li Xuewu was.

"Click."

Li Xuewu found the light cord and turned on the light.

The sudden bright light made the person on the bed squint their eyes.

Enduring the pounding heartbeat, the person saw a man in black holding a pistol standing at the door through the slits of their eyes.

"Sleeping quite soundly."

Li Xuewu stood at the door and sized up the facilities in the room.

Antique furniture, bottles and jars placed on the room's curio shelf, and a phonograph placed in the corner of the living room.

The bed in the inner room was still an old-fashioned canopy bed, but it was surrounded by red gauze curtains.

At first glance, one would think they had entered the room of some young lady from a wealthy family, but then looking at those bright red curtains...

This woman sitting on the bed looking at him doesn't look like a good person!

Seeing Li Xuewu standing in front of the door sizing up the room, the woman on the bed lifted the quilt, put on silk pajamas, and got out of bed.

She slipped on the slippers from the bed stool, walked to the round table, picked up a kettle, poured a cup of water, and placed it on the round table.

Li Xuewu watched the woman gesture to him, smiled, and said, "You're too kind. Disturbing you in the middle of the night and still being treated to your tea, I'm truly grateful."

Seeing Li Xuewu speak politely, completely devoid of the noisy cursing sounds in the courtyard, the woman was surprised.

This kind of noise was something she only remembered from her memory; at that time, liberation hadn't happened yet...

Although she tried hard to appear calm and composed, when she held the kettle to pour water, the "clattering" shaking lid already exposed her inner panic.

"Li Kezhang."

A report came from behind Li Xuewu.

"The comrades in the side passage have come over. We caught three men, and in the courtyard, we caught two men and seven women. We discovered a room with gambling equipment."

"Detain the men and women separately. Oh, right."

Li Xuewu turned around and emphasized, "Give those who are naked some clothes to wear; don't let them freeze to death."

"Yes."

The person looked at the woman in the room and then turned and left.

"I don't seem to have seen you before."

"Mm-hmm, that's right."

Li Xuewu nodded, acknowledging the woman's words, and said, "I haven't seen you either. It was only tonight that I heard your name. Someone said you have talent and beauty comparable to Ye Zhen, so I couldn't help but want to come and see for myself overnight."

"You really know how to flatter people."

The woman chuckled, then sat down by the round table and asked, "Are you afraid of me? You don't dare to drink the water, and you don't dare to enter the door."

"If you have anything you want to confess, I advise you to confess it now, so as to save others from saying I don't know how to cherish the fair sex."

Li Xuewu stood at the door holding his pistol, changing from his earlier humorous and witty demeanor to become overbearing and unreasonable.

It's no wonder those familiar with Li Xuewu say he is like a dog; his face changes as soon as he says it will.

The woman clearly hadn't seen Li Xuewu's type before, so she was stunned by what Li Xuewu said, then smiled and said, "What do I have to confess? What could be confessed was already confessed clearly more than ten years ago. I am now a worker at the textile factory."

"Mm-hmm-hmm."

Li Xuewu nodded and said, "I believe you. From the bedding on the bed and the clothes you are wearing, I can tell you really are a worker at the textile factory."

"Hahaha."

The woman was also amused by Li Xuewu's serious nonsense.

"The cadres I've met rarely have your sense of humor."

"That's because the timing isn't quite right."

Li Xuewu swayed his body, turned around in the room, and fiddled with the phonograph disc.

"If I had come in the first half of the night, I would have been even more humorous."

At this time, the outside had become quiet again, completely devoid of the chaos when Li Xuewu first entered the courtyard.

Yes, it was chaos.

"If you want to come, I'm always welcome to have you here."

This woman really had an indescribable alluring quality.

Every movement of her raising and lowering her hands, every smile, attracted men's eyes to her.

Li Xuewu walked around and didn't see anything that could threaten his own safety, so he put the gun back into the holster.

"Heh, that would be too embarrassing. People are coming and going here; it would be very inconvenient for me to come."

The woman chuckled and asked, "Then what do you suggest?"

"What do I suggest? Hehe."

Li Xuewu smirked and said, "Wouldn't it be better to invite you back? It would be convenient for you and convenient for me."

"Hahahaha."

The woman crossed her right leg over her left, rested her elbow on the round table, and wiped away the tears of laughter from the corner of her left eye.

"Are you going to marry me home?"

Li Xuewu walked to the other side of the round table and stood still, saying, "Even if you really were Ye Zhen, I couldn't be President Yuan. So, I still want to invite you to a good place of ours."

"So you want me to be a mistress?"

"How could that be? A private residence, dedicated service, laundry and meals all included, you don't have to do anything. And that's not all, guess what?"

Li Xuewu pulled an object from behind his waist and held it in his hand, saying, "Heh! I'll even give you a pair of all-steel golden handcuffs."

"Hahaha."

The woman covered her mouth and laughed non-stop. The silk pajamas were originally form-fitting, and with this laugh, her figure was exquisite.

Li Xuewu saw it in his eyes, but he wasn't moved at all.

Because Li Xuewu is picky; he doesn't eat food chewed by others.

After laughing for a while, the woman took the cup of water Li Xuewu didn't drink and took a sip, saying, "You don't look very old, but your official position isn't small. I just heard your people call you Li Kezhang."

"Stop probing me. You can't guess it."

Li Xuewu threw the pair of all-steel golden handcuffs on the round table and said, "When you returned to your old profession, you should have known there would be such a day. Does it make a big difference who comes to arrest you?"

"Mm, you're right."

The woman nodded, put down the teacup in her hand, and said, "I did think there would be such a day."

Li Xuewu watched the woman gradually lower her head, frowned, and said, "Enough people have already been buried at the Jiangnan City God Temple and Tao Ranting. You've already crawled out, and you still want to jump back into the pit?"

"Hahaha."

Hearing Li Xuewu mention these two place names, the woman remembered that every Qingming Festival and around the 15th of the seventh lunar month, she would take a rickshaw to these two places to cry and mourn for the sisters who had already died.

"If there's a way to make a living, who would want to walk this path again?"

Li Xuewu used his foot to hook the stool by the round table, walked to the front, and sat down.

"I'll say it again: if you want to talk, I'll sit here and listen to you. If you don't want to talk, then I'll take you back and find a way to make you talk."

"But compared to talking here and talking when I take you back, I think talking here is more comfortable for you."

The woman raised her eyebrows, looked at Li Xuewu, and asked, "May I ask how old you are?"

Li Xuewu smiled and said, "Twenty after the New Year."

"Oh, you really are a hero at a young age."

"Tell your story."

Li Xuewu raised his hand to signal.

The woman nodded and said, "I was sold into a brothel by my father. That year I was 14. The madam changed my name to Linglong."

Li Xuewu waved his hand at the two security team members who walked in, signaling them to come in and close the door.

These two team members closed the door, walked to the side of the door, stood still, and watched from there.

The woman said her name was Linglong and told her not-so-tragic life story.

"380 silver dollars, that was my worth."

"That's not low."

Linglong didn't expect Li Xuewu to pick up the conversation and play along; he was nothing like the rigid cadres she had met before.

"I was the youngest daughter in the family. If my father hadn't smoked opium, I would also have been a young lady from a wealthy family."

"When the madam came to my house, she said I was gentle and moving, and quite talented in poetry and books."

"The madam said she would take me back to Sijiucheng, and as long as I worked hard, she would find me a good family to marry into in two or three years."

"Unfortunately, heaven plays tricks on people."

Linglong sighed and said, "In '52, I thought everything was over, and everything had started anew."

"I was able to be a textile worker and found a man who was also a worker. I thought it would be like this for a lifetime, but who knew he would push me into the fire pit again."

"Is that the one who jumped over the wall naked?"

Linglong chuckled and shook her head, saying, "Heaven's sins can be avoided, but one's own sins cannot be lived through."

"A few years ago, he disappeared without a trace while going out to scalp tickets at night."

"Then you should have escaped the sea of bitterness once again?"

"This pit isn't one you can jump into or out of just because you want to."

"Happiness in the human world is all the same, but misfortunes are each different."

"That's true."

Linglong raised her head, looked at Li Xuewu, and said, "My man disappeared, and his good brother appeared. More and more good brothers appeared, showing concern and warmth, hehe."

"Then they really are good brothers."

Linglong saw that Li Xuewu was truly special; the tragic experience she told seemed trivial and indifferent to him, and he even smiled at her.

"Do you think I'm lying?"

"No, no, no."

Li Xuewu shook his head and said, "In my opinion, there's no difference between you telling the truth or a lie. I've already obtained what I wanted to know."

"What do you know?"

Linglong asked in confusion, "I haven't even said anything yet. What do you know?"

Li Xuewu stood up and said, "I advise you to confess the case clearly after you go back with me. Let's not talk about the murder case for now. Are you going to tell me the location of the money yourself, or do you want me to find it with great effort?"

Without waiting for Linglong to deny it, Li Xuewu smiled and said, "But let me tell you, from just now, you have already been in a state of interrogation. Your attitude determines the punishment you will receive. I think you must have heard the slogan 'leniency for confession'."

"What money?"

Li Xuewu stopped looking at this woman named Zhao Linglong and instead turned around, searching in the room, saying, "It's what we call stolen money."

"I don't know what you're talking about. I am..."

Li Xuewu didn't want to hear her explanation because from the beginning, Li Xuewu didn't believe her explanation.

Li Xuewu doesn't believe anyone's words, including this woman he met for the first time.

And she is a beautiful woman. Zhang Wuji's mother said that the more beautiful a woman is, the more she will lie.

"You just asked my age, so you must know that people of my age love playing games the most."

"You must know a fat man called Third Brother, right? I played a very fun game with him last night."

"He thought I was quite good, so he recommended you to me. Now, are you going to play the hide-and-seek game with me?"

Li Xuewu turned his head, smiled, and looked at Zhao Linglong, saying, "If I lose, I can let my comrades join in, but if you lose, you'll have to pay with your life."

Zhao Linglong looked at Li Xuewu's eyes, which were staring at her like a wolf, and she didn't know if it was because she was cold in her pajamas or what, but she suddenly shivered.

"Since you won't say it, let's play."

Li Xuewu walked out the door with his hands behind his back and walked toward the room with gambling equipment he mentioned earlier.

This courtyard is considered large, not as big as the large courtyard where Li Xuewu lives, but it's not small either. It has a front and back courtyard layout, with three rooms on the left and right of the front courtyard, one gatehouse, and in the backyard, there is one main room and three wing rooms on the left and right.

Li Xuewu walked through every room and found that this courtyard had really been turned into a den for secret activities.

A one-stop shop for food, lodging, and entertainment.

Entering the "gambling room," Li Xuewu looked at the mahjong table, poker table, and pai gow table. These two rooms had been opened up to make this gambling room, and the windows had been bricked up, leaving only one door.

He picked up a mahjong tile and felt it. Two dots?

Heh, his touch was still there, but unfortunately, there was no time to play now.

He walked around the room and went to the room where the male suspects were temporarily detained.

This room was clearly for playing dice. It wasn't as exquisitely decorated as the main room, and the quilts on the bed were still scattered, clearly because Li Xuewu and the others had entered too suddenly.

"Li Kezhang."

Li Xuewu waved his hand and said, "Search slowly; we still have time."

"Yes."

Having received Li Xuewu's order, one person was left in the room, and the others began to search the courtyard again.

Li Xuewu walked to the room where the female suspects were temporarily detained and took a look. To say they were panicked would be an understatement; they were all crying and sobbing, one after another.

"Tsk tsk tsk."

Li Xuewu sized them up carefully; they all looked decent.

"If you want to cry, do it quietly. Save some tears; don't wait until later when you want to cry and don't have enough tears left."

Li Xuewu always spoke by poking at people's sore spots.

Hearing Li Xuewu's words, the few women squatting in the room cried even harder.

Digging his ears, Li Xuewu went out of the room again and walked back to the main room.

"This courtyard of yours is really not bad, especially the soundproofing, and the courtyard walls are high. If you don't come in to see, you really can't tell anything."

Turning back to close the door, Li Xuewu complimented Zhao Linglong.

Because the design of that gambling room was really not bad; not only were there no windows, but even the walls were nailed with thick quilts. Was this the most primitive soundproofing cotton?

Zhao Linglong looked at this "unreliable" police officer and asked, "Did you find what you wanted?"

"Mm-hmm, I'm looking."

Li Xuewu walked toward the inner room and looked at the antique canopy bed.

"Have you ever heard of the cat and dog effect?"

"What?"

Zhao Linglong frowned and looked at Li Xuewu, not knowing what Li Xuewu was talking about. What cats and dogs?

Li Xuewu turned around, looked at Zhao Linglong, and explained with a smile, "It's that after cats and dogs steal fish and meat, because they are afraid of being discovered by their owners, they will bury the food they can't eat for the time being."

"It's very ungentlemanly of you to humiliate a female comrade like this."

Zhao Linglong's pitiful expression made the two security team members standing by the wall feel moved.

This woman was truly too seductive.

This also had to do with them being trained from a young age; after all, how to attract men was their skill for survival.

If you don't believe me, look at the standing posture of those women at the entrance of the brothel; it's different from normal women.

People who like to go for massages or certain small alleys in later generations might know this, or those big girls sitting at the door with red plastic stools looking at you.

Zhao Linglong had this charm. Although she was over thirty, her figure and face were in their prime.

Time took away her youth, but left her with even more charming style.

Seeing the two soldiers staring straight at her, Zhao Linglong looked at Li Xuewu triumphantly.

Li Xuewu also saw the performance of the two, but he ignored Zhao Linglong's pitiful and triumphant expression; it's human nature for men.

So Li Xuewu still smirked and said:

"And often the place where they bury it is not far from where the cats and dogs sleep, because they need to keep an eye on that place while they sleep, all for the sake of..."

"Bang!"

"Clang!"

Just as the three in the room were listening to Li Xuewu tell this story, they suddenly looked in surprise as Li Xuewu turned around and fiercely kicked the support pillar of the canopy bed.

How heavy Li Xuewu's strength was, the young men in the security team knew.

If you weren't serious during training, Li Xuewu would really kick you.

Now seeing this kick Li Xuewu delivered with full force, the entire top cover of the canopy bed tilted down, making a clanging sound.

This canopy bed wasn't one of those flimsy things from later generations; it was all assembled with solid wood mortise and tenon joints.

Even though Zhao Linglong had found so many men to exercise with, she hadn't broken it, but it was kicked down by Li Xuewu with one kick, so she couldn't help but open her mouth wide.

Because the frame collapsed and the top of the bed fell, dust filled the room, and Zhao Linglong, who was surprised with her mouth open, was choked into coughing.

Li Xuewu didn't bother with Zhao Linglong behind him; instead, he pulled away the curtains on the top of the bed and pulled a thick cloth bag from the top of the collapsed frame.

"Clang."

Li Xuewu threw this cloth bag onto the round table and then used his leg to kick the other bed pillars until they broke.

Seeing Li Xuewu's actions, the two security team members also came up to help.

Seeing them come up, Li Xuewu clapped his hands and retreated to the round table.

"Flip the frame to the side, dismantle the bed first, and pay attention to under the bed boards."

After saying this to the two team members, Li Xuewu looked at Zhao Linglong again, who had recovered but was staring blankly.

"You must not be able to sleep every night without watching it, right?"

Zhao Linglong looked at Li Xuewu with a look of terror for the first time.

"Are you going to tell me what's inside, or should I open it and see for myself?"

Zhao Linglong looked at the thick cloth bag by her hand and said, "This is my savings, my savings from all these years. They didn't confiscate it more than ten years ago. Are you going to confiscate my savings today?"

"No, no, no."

Li Xuewu shook his head and said, "This isn't called confiscation; this is called seizure of unknown assets. If you were wronged, we will return it to you intact, but if you committed a mistake, then these items found may be confiscated as property."

"Isn't it the same?"

Zhao Linglong knew she couldn't keep this money, so although her eyes were fixed on the cloth bag, her hands didn't dare to grab it.

She couldn't grab it anyway.

"What I can tell you, I've already told you. If you don't believe me, I can't help it. What I'm telling you now is that I won this game!"

"What?"

Zhao Linglong was thinking about her own affairs. Seeing Li Xuewu say he won the game, she was stunned for a moment, then realized Li Xuewu was talking about the game the two had set earlier.

Li Xuewu smiled and said, "I said, if you want to play, I'll play with you, but you might pay with your life."

"I'm asking you now, do you want to continue playing? Leniency for confession isn't empty talk; you should know this."

Zhao Linglong lowered her head and looked at her fair fingers without speaking. Li Xuewu wasn't in a hurry either, watching the two security team members dismantling the bed there.

Watching them pull out two more boxes from under the bed boards, Zhao Linglong collapsed.

"It wasn't me, it really wasn't me, it wasn't me who wanted to do this."

Watching Zhao Linglong start to cry, Li Xuewu nodded and said, "My daughter is the same."

"Huh?"

Zhao Linglong looked up at Li Xuewu while crying, not knowing what her crying had to do with his daughter.

Li Xuewu explained with a smile, "I bought my daughter a very fun tin carp; it was colorful and looked very good. But this little ancestor just wanted to throw the fish on the ground to hear a sound. When I got home and held the dented carp and asked her who did it, she put on an expression that it wasn't her."

Originally, Zhao Linglong had forgotten to cry while listening to Li Xuewu's story, but as soon as Li Xuewu finished speaking, she knew Li Xuewu didn't believe her words.

"I really..."

"Mm-hmm-hmm."

Li Xuewu nodded impatiently and said, "You don't have much time left to confess. Look, they've finished dismantling, and they're about to dismantle the floor tiles. There wouldn't be any under the floor tiles too, would there?"

"I didn't guess right, did I?"

Zhao Linglong looked at Li Xuewu as if looking at a devil.

"Hahaha, never mind whether I guessed right or not. As long as you confess before they dig it out, I'll count it as your confession."

"Yes, it's the third brick from the left in the corner, wuwuwuwu."

Zhao Linglong cried while confessing.

This was all her hard-earned money.

"Don't cry, don't cry. These are all worldly possessions; you can't bring them when you're born and you can't take them when you die."

Listening to Li Xuewu's persuasion, Zhao Linglong's teeth were about to break. Why didn't you confiscate your own money?

The two security team members over there heard the words here and ran straight to the corner, moved the floor tiles with their hands, and scraped away the soil layer on top with a dagger.

Sure enough, there was another box inside.

A team member used his hand to lift it and almost strained his shoulder.

"Clang."

Li Xuewu looked at the small box placed on the table and then looked at the security team member standing by the table watching.

"What are you looking at? Continue. Lift up all the floor tiles in the room."

"Also, under the cabinet."

"..."

The two security team members looked at Zhao Linglong, who was covering her face and crying, went to move that large cabinet again, and after opening the soil layer and pulling out the box inside, they tried it; it wasn't as heavy as the previous one.

Li Xuewu looked at Zhao Linglong and then asked, "Is there any more? It's meaningless for us to squeeze it out like toothpaste."

"No more, no more, really no more."

Zhao Linglong covered her face and didn't dare to look at the boxes on the table, afraid that if she looked, her heart would ache until she fainted.

"Mm-hmm-hmm."

Li Xuewu nodded and said, "Then go boil some water."

"Huh? Li Kezhang, why boil water?"

Li Xuewu didn't look at the person who asked, but smiled at Zhao Linglong and said, "There are two trees in the courtyard. I think there are some under the trees too. If I don't pour hot water, I can't dig them out."

"..."

Zhao Linglong looked at Li Xuewu in disbelief, as if asking how he knew.

Li Xuewu looked at the round table in front of him and said to this charming woman, "I said, if you want to play, I'll definitely play with you. I didn't expect you to love playing so much."

He pointed to the bag and boxes on the table at Zhao Linglong and said, "If you keep being stubborn, you might not have much chance to use these things. Why don't you hurry up and confess, exchange it for lenient treatment, so you can come out sooner?"

Zhao Linglong looked into Li Xuewu's eyes and asked, "Can I know who you really are?"

Looking at the clothes Li Xuewu and the others were wearing, Zhao Linglong had never been able to recall such a law enforcement team.

"Does it matter who I am? Do you think I can't interrogate you?"

Looking at Zhao Linglong's hesitant expression, he asked again, "Or do you think I can't take down that person you know?"

Zhao Linglong widened her eyes and said, "You have the ability to read minds."

"You're too kind, I've just seen a lot."

Li Xuewu casually opened the small box on the table and looked; it was bright yellow and very dazzling.

He picked up the cloth bag and opened it to look; it was a bag of money and tickets.

Zhao Linglong looked at the bag in Li Xuewu's hand and the box on the table, saying, "The one who ran out of my room just now is called Ling Degui, my man's former brother. He helped me find this courtyard."

"What about those women?"

Zhao Linglong looked at Li Xuewu and said, "They all came voluntarily. If they aren't voluntary, we can't control it either."

Li Xuewu waved his hand at the two security team members, signaling them to be quiet, and then sat opposite Zhao Linglong.

"Tell me about this Ling Degui."

"There's nothing to say; he's just a lackey."

"Whose lackey?"

"Fu Zhanghua's."

"And who is Fu Zhanghua?"

Zhao Linglong hesitated for a while, then said, "He has a lot of energy. He used to hang around Xidan. Later, it was said that he had someone in his family who helped him get a job managing the market. Everyone who lives by the market relies on his breath."

"Is such a little energy worth you being afraid of?"

Li Xuewu chuckled disdainfully and then asked, "Do you know who his connection is?"

Zhao Linglong looked at Li Xuewu's expression, not knowing why this young man was so tough.

"I don't know."

She then explained, "The work at the vegetable market is complicated. Most of them are temporary workers. Whether to use someone or not is all up to him. Those hooligans from before all rely on him to live."

Li Xuewu smiled and said, "So he's a local rascal."

"Of course you aren't afraid of him with your status, but who are we?"

Zhao Linglong lowered her head and said, "Our status is a scar that can never be erased. We can never raise our heads for a lifetime, so we can only be bullied by him."

This can't be considered sophistry. Most of the people caught are also temporary workers, and it's not strange for crimes to occur.

There are data records. In Sijiucheng, there were fifty-six people like Zhao Linglong caught in '75.

That was when they were slightly more affluent. Going back further, those who pursued material enjoyment or other pursuits, it wasn't rare for this situation to appear.

"Tell me where he is."

"I don't know. He always comes to find me; I can't find his shadow."

Seeing that Zhao Linglong didn't look like she was lying, Li Xuewu nodded and said, "He doesn't count as a problem."

Then he asked again, "Do you know about him sending people who steal and rob to the Dongcheng?"

"I know."

Zhao Linglong nodded and said, "This place was set up by him and Zhu Laoba. It didn't have much success before, just enough for expenses, and we just earned money for a living."

"Since last month, more and more people have come here to play cards, and we've been earning more and more. These people are very generous. This gold was obtained from their hands."

Li Xuewu flicked the box with his finger and said, "Earning so much money?"

Zhao Linglong nodded and said, "This is nothing; it's just that there aren't many places that can safely provide them with a place to be carefree."

Li Xuewu understood this. Just as Li Xuewu said, wealth that comes in an evil way will also go out in an evil way.

Money that doesn't come from a good path is spent on paths that aren't good.

Robbery and theft are inherently dangerous and stimulating industries, and coming here to be carefree is also to relieve this emotion.

"Doesn't he take away so much money? Why does he trust you so much to leave it here?"

Zhao Linglong shook her head and said, "He probably takes it away once a week. This is what I intercepted, along with my own money."

"Oh, oh, oh."

Li Xuewu nodded and asked, "Are Zhu Laoba and these people his subordinates? Are they under his leadership?"

"Not really."

Zhao Linglong shook her head and said, "Ever since Fu Zhanghua became the manager of the market a few years ago, Zhu Laoba and the others started to curry favor with him. Currying favor is currying favor, but it doesn't count as listening to him, and Fu Zhanghua rarely gets involved with those hooligans like Zhu Laoba."

"Then what about this time?"

"This time..."

Zhao Linglong thought for a while and said, "He didn't say, and Zhu Laoba didn't say either. From a few words, I know that it seems Zhu Laoba got some news from him, so he gave half of the income from here to Fu Zhanghua."

Li Xuewu thought for a while and asked, "Do you know Zhu Laoba and the others' channels for selling stolen goods? Or their warehouse."

Zhao Linglong looked into Li Xuewu's eyes and said, "I want to make a deal with you."

Li Xuewu looked at Zhao Linglong and said, "I know what deal you want to make, but I have to state the bottom line first."

Li Xuewu waved his hand at the two security team members, and they cleverly opened the door and walked out.

After the two left, Li Xuewu said, "All the conditions you propose to me must be on the premise that you haven't touched the bottom line of the law. To be honest, this flesh trade of yours really isn't worth me crossing regions to arrest you."

Zhao Linglong got the bottom line that Li Xuewu revealed in disguise and also knew the scope Li Xuewu could negotiate.

"My husband did die while scalping tickets at night, but I know it must have been Zhu Laoba who did it. Because the next day, Zhu Laoba was the first to come to me, and what he said was also dirty. I'm a woman, and I really didn't dare to provoke him, so I was coerced by him to do this."

"I can't control that gambling room. You can know this from my sisters; it's all Ling Degui who is in charge. I only manage my sisters."

Quickly telling her situation, Zhao Linglong said, "I'll tell you the location of Zhu Laoba and the others' warehouse. Can you let me and my sisters go?"

Li Xuewu looked at the property on the table, thought for a while, took out his credentials to show Zhao Linglong, and then said, "You can see from me running from Dongcheng to West City that I'm not here for you."

Zhao Linglong knew this was her last chance, nodded, and said, "We repent. We won't do it again. We'll hand over all this money to the public."

"Hehe."

Li Xuewu shook his head and said, "Like this, I've shown you my credentials, so I'll say one thing."

"Please speak."

"You'll still go back with me tonight. You'll be detained separately. I guarantee that as long as you and the women outside don't have other circumstances that endanger the lives and property safety of others, then after this case ends, you can come back."

"As for this money, I think I don't need to tell you; you also know how it came about. It has nothing to do with what you said about you saving it for more than ten years, so it must be confiscated."

"I know, I know."

Zhao Linglong nodded gratefully and said, "I'll hand all this over, but what about our jobs at the textile factory? If we don't go to work, there will be problems."

"You don't need to worry about this. We will send a letter to assist in the investigation."

Hearing Li Xuewu say this, Zhao Linglong nodded and said with relief, "The location of the warehouse should be in Nanguanfang Alley."

"Are you talking about Nanguanfang on the side of Qianhai in Dongcheng?"

"It should be."

Zhao Linglong nodded and said, "I also heard them say it. They said the things were sent to the house over there, and there were special people inside to modify and process them. They don't have to wait; they just take the money and leave."

"Mm-hmm-hmm."

Li Xuewu nodded to show he knew, then stood up and asked, "Are the men in this courtyard all those people who steal and rob? Are there any leaders like Zhu Laoba or Hu Sihai?"

"No."

Zhao Linglong shook her head and said, "They won't come here to play. Even Fu Zhanghua only lets Ling Degui send the money out when he comes here to take it; he doesn't come in at all. He says it's not safe."

Li Xuewu nodded, thinking that this Fu Zhanghua is really cautious.

"Alright, I'll call people in. You put on your clothes and come with us."

Seeing Li Xuewu stand up, Zhao Linglong also stood up and asked nervously, "We can come out, right?"

"Trust me."

Li Xuewu waved his hand, walked to the door, and called two people in to watch Zhao Linglong put on her clothes and handcuffs.

After going out the door, he saw that a pit had already been dug under the big tree in the courtyard, and it wasn't buried very deep.

Qi Delong stood by the big tree, watched Li Xuewu look over, and couldn't help but ask, "Li Kezhang, do you know how to tell fortunes or something? How did you know it was buried here?"

"Tell fortunes my ass."

Li Xuewu smiled and said, "When I said search for money, that woman looked in those few directions. If you look at what's in those directions, wouldn't you know?"

Qi Delong asked dumbfoundedly, "It's that simple?"

"How difficult did you think it was?"

Li Xuewu patted the kid on the shoulder and walked toward the female detention room with a smile.

Good brothers, I am setting off for the Northeast on October 1st. The update time on October 2nd might be delayed until noon. I'm afraid I won't be able to get up after driving for a day, so I'm reporting to all the good brothers.