Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The dim light in the cellar made it hard to read, so they took the box upstairs and started to study the contents carefully under the lamp. Zhao Yu insisted on this mainly because of the Kun Dui hexagram, in which Dui represented treasure and was bound to mean something important when it appeared with Kun.
Influenced by Zhao Yu’s suspicion, Cui Lizhu felt that there should be something important with this box. As she looked through the items in it, she spoke to Zhao Yu. “At that time, when my father told me that he had left me this villa, he was very weak. After all, his head was badly injured. He didn’t just speak slowly; it also took a long time for him to think. He first told me that I could open the villa with my fingerprint, then he told me about the location. When he told me about the box in the cellar, he already looked terrible.”
“He explained to me bit by bit what was in the box,” she continued. “About how it contained all of these old things. He had something to say, but at that time, he was in a really bad state. He pointed around as if he had something important to tell me, but he could not say anything at all. I was worried about him, so I convinced him to rest. He took my hand and muttered something, but I couldn’t understand him.”
“Before long, the alarm on the monitor rang and the doctor came in. After that dad soon passed out…” Cui Lizhu said sadly. “When my father left, my mind was empty. I was in no mood to think about anything. But now I think he didn’t finish telling me what he wanted to!”
Zhao Yu nodded. “What he wanted to say must have had something to do with this box!”
“You’re right.” Cui Lizhu nodded. “If it’s all just worthless old things, my dad didn’t have to hide it in such a hard to find area.” Cui Lizhu took a close look at the outside of the box to confirm there were no hidden compartments.
“Think carefully, have you ever seen this box before?” Zhao Yu prodded.
“Well…” Cui Lizhu stroked her forehead, then shook her head and said, “I don’t think I have. But… I’m not sure. Maybe I saw it when I was very young, but I can’t remember it!”
“Well…Let’s calm down first…” Zhao Yu pointed to the items in the box, saying, “Some of these things are yours. Your toys, your pencil box, your photos, and so on.”
Cui Lizhu nodded. “And the others are my father’s! His items are mainly the books and the notes!”
“Well, let’s forget about your stuff for the time being! What can you think of regarding your father’s things? Have you seen these before?” Zhao Yu asked.
Cui Lizhu looked at them. “Some books look familiar to me!” she said. “When I was a child, I often saw him hunched over his desk reading, writing, and painting something at night, sometimes until very late. Sometimes even the whole night!”
Zhao Yu shook his head. “No wonder he was able to become the king of thieves!”
“My dad didn’t like to use force, but he’s not any worse than you when it comes to brains!” Cui Lizhu pointed to one of the notebooks and said, “Take this as an example. I had a brief look at it. It’s about the Toshiba E3 safe! Can you believe it? My dad has worked out 27 ways to open this safe! You may not know anything about it, but more than a decade ago, this kind of safe was widely regarded as the safest one in the world, and many famous thieves failed to open it! My dad has 27 ways to open it. Do you see the difference?”
“Wow!” Zhao Yu nodded. “The king of thieves is indeed the king of thieves! I even believe he could rob a neighborhood with half a bag of instant noodles!”
Cui Lizhu frowned and said, “Boss, what am I doing? I feel so bad. I feel like something big is going to happen.”
Zhao Yu took a look at the word ‘Kun Dui’ on the system interface and wondered how this girl’s intuition could be so accurate. “You know what, I feel the same way!” Zhao Yu said frankly, then pointed to the box again as he continued. “In fact, if we carefully analyze it, we may have a chance to solve this riddle, right?”
“How?” Cui Lizhu pointed to the things in the box and said, “You at least have to read through these things, right?”
“No,” Zhao Yu said confidently. “A great man taught me that we must see the problem clearly! Lizhu, the answer may be in you!”
“What? In me?” Cui Lizhu immediately felt motivated. “You are really extraordinary!”
Zhao Yu opened his hands, saying, “If we want to see the real problem clearly, the first question we have to ask is if there is actually something important in this box. What do you think?”
Cui Lizhu thought carefully.
“As you said yourself, Tao Xiang talked about his murder with you, and he also told you the location of his legacy. What other secrets can he have?” Zhao Yu asked her.
“Well…” Cui Lizhu thought carefully, following Zhao Yu’s instructions, and answered, “It seems that the answer is no?”
“But… Have you ever heard about this before?” Zhao Yu reminded her again. “The most important thing is always left in the end! Don’t you think that maybe the third thing is more important than the first two?”
“Murder… Is there anything more important than confessing his crimes?” Cui Lizhu shook her head. “Is it that my dad has unfulfilled wishes? He wants me to help him finish it?” she guessed.
Zhao Yu nodded as he thought it over. “Maybe that’s a good idea! But what would he need as the king of thieves? Are there any safes that he couldn’t open? Or is there a rare treasure that he couldn’t get?”
Cui Lizhu suddenly jumped up, excited. “Do you think my father would have left a huge sum of money in the Swiss Bank and the withdrawal password is in these books?” she asked.
Zhao Yu hated her at that moment. “That’s your wish. Your father was not stupid. If he really had done that, he could have told you directly. Why leave a puzzle for his daughter?”
Cui Lizhu frowned. “You are right. Besides, even if there is really a big sum of money, it wouldn’t possibly be clean.”
“What else can you think of?” he asked. “What matters more than the confession and the treasure?”
Cui Lizhu suddenly remembered something. She clapped her hands and said, “I just said that my father might have some unfinished wishes, didn’t I? Yes, I remembered.”
“Come on, what did you think of?” Zhao Yu asked hastily.
“When I was young, not too young in fact, at that time… Golden City! Yes, in Golden City…” Cui Lizhu tried to remember. “At that time, my dad really seemed to be studying something. He also repeatedly mentioned something about nationality, regrets, and so on! I remember that in such a cold winter, he still insisted on going to the mountains. And he left for a long time. Later, when we left Golden City, I also heard him often speak about it! I had a strong feeling long ago that besides stealing, he had been planning something big, but he never succeeded!”
“Whenever I ask, he never told me what he was planning! He just said that when I grew up, he would tell me,” she said. “Boss, you think this is what my father wanted to talk about before he died?”
