Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The sun was rising. Zhao Yu and Cui Lizhu were still carefully analyzing the traitor’s notes and Tao Xiang’s remarks. Cui Lizhu clenched her fists as she became more excited. “Eighteen boxes of gold would be worth tens of billions of dollars. That isn’t including the treasures. No wonder my father had been working on it for so many years. He didn’t mention a word of it to me. He kept his secret until he died,” she said.
Although Zhao Yu was excited, he didn’t make it as obvious. “Lizhu,” he said, “We still don’t know if the gold really exists. First of all, Liu Dianchen could have been lying in order to save his life. The whole thing was only his defense. If he was making up what he had heard, searching for the gold is just a waste of time.”
“Secondly, it has been more than 70 years since Japan’s surrender,” he continued. “If there were such caches of treasure, the government should have found them by now. Technology has become so advanced. It’s not hard to find these kinds of treasures and gold. Thirdly, I don’t really believe the story of the gold. Let’s say that Japan did get the gold. The war lasted so long that they could have easily used up the entire 600 tons of it.”
“What’s more, this is all based on a conversation that was overheard. Liu Dianchen might be wrong, or the Japanese were deliberately setting up a trap. How could the senior officers let someone overhear their top-secret plan so easily?” Zhao Yu asked. “And the contents of those 18 boxes of gold is nothing but a guess of his. It could have just been weapons in those boxes.”
Cui Lizhu pouted and said, “The notes say that the guards of the Guandong Command couldn’t finish loading everything. The 18 boxes must be very important. Besides, the military command are no fools. They must have had other information on the gold. Otherwise, they would not have believed Liu Dianchen if he was their only source.”
Zhao Yu smacked his lips. “I still feel that it’s a bit unrealistic. It’s totally different from the Buddha treasure I found before,” he said.
Cui Lizhu nodded. “Yes, I feel the same way. But I am very confident about my father, he never fought without absolute confidence. Since he had been working on it for so many years, he must have had good reasons. If he didn’t, he would have given up.”
Zhao Yu shook his head, saying, “That’s what I also wanted to point out. But we don’t know if your dad had given up or not. What if what your dad wanted to tell you before he died was not about the gold? We have no way to prove it either way.”
“You’ve said his last words should be about something more important than his crimes and the box he left for me. Obviously, he wanted to tell me about the gold,” Cui Lizhu retorted. “Boss, I know my dad the best. The reason why he became the king of thieves was that he was better than everyone. I have a feeling that this is what he wanted to tell me before he died.”
Although Zhao Yu aired his doubts, thoughts of the Kun Dui hexagram lingered in his mind. Such a hexagram clearly showed that the gold was a real thing. So, were Tao Xiang’s notes about the gold real as well?
Cui Lizhu’s eyes shined with anticipation. She took Zhao Yu’s arm and said, “You are the most famous detective. Hunting for treasure and solving a case have many things in common. I think we must complete my dad’s last unfulfilled wish.”
Zhao Yu hesitated before saying, “Well, there are also great differences between treasure hunting and solving cases. We are not history buffs.”
Cui Lizhu put her hand on Zhao Yu’s shoulder. “You’ve found the Buddha treasure. Don’t be so modest,” she replied.
“I was just lucky in that case,” he told her. “Didn’t I tell you? I found the treasure because three experts were helping me. And…”
Cui Lizhu began to rub Zhao Yu’s shoulder softly. “We don’t have any cases now. Let’s give it a try. We have nothing to lose, after all. What if we could find it? Oh dear. I can’t imagine,” she said in a sweet tone.
“Ouch, be gentle.” Zhao Yu felt a pain in his shoulder.
“Boss, you can rest assured, I have no bad intentions with the gold,” Cui Lizhu said excitedly. “Think about it. What a great contribution we would be making if we found the treasure and gave it to the government. Last time when you found the Gold Buddha, you are awarded more than ten million yuan. If I find the gold this time, will I be awarded even more? Would I also be allowed to keep the villa? Boss…” Cui Lizhu leaned on Zhao Yu as she said, “I beg you. The rest of my life depends on you. Boss, please.”
Zhao Yu pushed her away quickly, saying seriously, “I am a decent man. You’re getting too close to me. This is not good.”
Cui Lizhu frowned, and immediately came up with an idea. She struck a super charming pose, then reached for the zipper of her top. She said to Zhao Yu, “Boss, you forced me to do this. If you don’t help me find the treasure, I am going to unzip my jacket. For your information, I am not wearing anything beneath it.”
Zhao Yu looked at her and suddenly flushed. He looked up and sighed. “You really are a good student. Now you are more shameless than me.”
Cui Lizhu raised her eyebrows and said, “Wait, I am going to give Miss Miao a video call.”
She threatened Zhao Yu in a way that made it impossible for him to say no. After a while he finally compromised, saying, “Well, anyway, I don’t have any cases at the moment. I can give it a shot.” Cui Lizhu suddenly unzipped her jacket as Zhao Yu finished speaking. “Ah.” Zhao Yu was shocked and quickly covered his face with hands, but he opened his fingers, which he was able to peek between.
He saw through the space between his fingers that Cui was wearing a sweater beneath her jacket. Zhao Yu swore with embarrassment, but Cui Lizhu laughed out loud.
Zhao Yu glared at her angrily. “What are you laughing about? I have seen all of it in Jingping,” he spat sarcastically at her. After that, Zhao Yu didn’t say a word and went back to studying the notes.
Cui Lizhu saw Zhao Yu had gotten started and brought over a pen and paper for him.
In fact, Zhao Yu did not know where to start.
The army had made enormous efforts to find the gold, and Tao Xiang failed to find it as well. Now, after 70 years, how would they be able to find the gold?
