Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
“The antique market on Heyan Street, the one along the North River! Lao Gao’s Jade Shop! It was Lao Gao who sold me these!” The rich man told Captain Sun. “I only like to collect them, I swear! I really don’t know much about these cultural relics. You have to look for Lao Gao and ask him about all of this!”
While the rich man was giving his side of the story, Zhao Yu made a call to Zeng Ke, telling him to immediately start investigating Lao Gao. At the same time, Captain Sun beckoned for one of his underlings to go investigate the jade shop. If the rich man was telling the truth, the jade shop might be a front, used by an underground merchant who specialized in stolen relics!
Cui Lizhu suddenly shouted at the rich man, “So, you’re trying to excuse yourself from the matter entirely, as if you had nothing to do with it? You think I can’t tell how many smuggled items and unearthed relics are in here?”
“Mm. This…” The rich man never thought the young lady would know so much about cultural relics. Feeling himself exposed, his face grew grave.
Zhao Yu was extremely smart too, and he saw that Cui Lizhu had found the rich man’s soft spot. So, he immediately pulled his gangster act, bending down and grabbing the rich man’s shoulders, while smiling maliciously.
He then said, “Boss! Let me tell you something. You have three identities to choose from. First, you are an innocent buyer who was conned by the relics seller. Hence, you accidentally bought some stolen items. Second, you knew the origins of the relics, but you still took the goods to gain a petty profit. Third, you joined the relics seller in his crime and dealt in stolen goods alongside him. In that case, you will be charged with selling cultural relics!”
“Bro, please don’t do this to me,” the rich man was clearly flustered now. He immediately bit his lip and said in embarrassment, “I am close to the bureau chiefs at the police station. Can’t you show me some leniency?”
“Alright! You must be opting for the third identity!” Zhao Yu immediately took out his document and said cooly, “I am a special investigator from the Central Division, and I am investigating a national murder case! I suspect that the stolen items that you collected are related to the murder case! The case is also involved with corruption…”
“Hold on! I’m picking the first one! Police officer, I am a legal businessman. I don’t know anything about the stolen relics, I was conned by a liar! I am innocent!” the rich man protested.
Zhao Yu nodded in satisfaction. “Great. It’s easier for me if you are willing to cooperate anyway. So, this wicked relics seller, tell me about him…”
The rich man quickly told him, “Lao Gao’s actual name is Gao Wanlin. He is a local from Bai Ling. His zodiac sign is the dog. The jade shop was merely a front! The guy was really selling stolen relics in secret. In fact, he knows more than half of the relics sellers in Bai Ling! Oh, yeah, I also know where his house is, as well as where his warehouse is!”
As they were watching the rich man out the relics seller, the police detectives were astonished.
No wonder the industry of selling stolen relics was not doing so well! There were too many people that were not loyal within it!
After handing over the addresses, the rich man even added, “Oh, yeah, I know another shocking secret! Lao Gao was a petty thief before he started selling stolen relics! He must have committed a lot of crimes then! And, once when he was drunk, he told me a huge secret! He said that he was really Tao Xiang’s junior disciple!”
That instance, Zhao Yu nearly fell on the ground! The police detectives were shocked as well.
Wu Xiumin recited in disdain, “Blurting out the truth to one another after drinking. The two of you are quite close it seems.”
Cui Lizhu was the one who was most shocked, and she pointed at the rich man and asked, “Is it true? What you just said? Tao Xiang had a junior disciple?”
The rich man hesitated, then nodded and replied, “Well, that’s what he said! It’s been a while since he said that, about four years, maybe five…”
His voice trailed off, then he started on a new train of thought. “Let me be frank with you. Including the dragon-shaped bracelet, these things were all sold to me in one purchase about five years back. He told me that the seller needed cash fast. Hence, he offered to sell it all to me for a bargain price of two million.”
The rich man pretended to be helpless and said, “So, I bought it. But, I really didn’t know it was stolen! I was only concerned about the quality of the goods at that time.”
“Forget about yourself, tell us about Tao Xiang!” Zhao Yu roared.
“Oh, Tao Xiang, right! Well, after the deal, I got close to Lao Gao. Then, when we were drinking once, he had too much to drink, so he asked me if I knew who had sold me the goods. Then….” At that moment, the rich man realized that he had blurted out something that he shouldn’t have…
If he knew who sold him the goods, it meant that he knew about the entire situation all along! Hence, he shut his mouth and stopped his telling his story mid-sentence.
Zhao Yu knew exactly what was going on, so he quickly patted the rich man’s shoulders and said, “From what I see, you are really a poor, innocent victim. You gave him the money, and only then did he tell you the origin of the relics. You can’t be blamed, right?”
Then, Zhao Yu whispered into his ears, “Don’t worry. I have special privileges. Tell us honestly, then we will make sure you’re safe!”
“Yes! Okay!” The rich man looked at Zhao Yu with grateful eyes and continued, “You’re right. Lao Gao conned me! He told me that those things belonged to the king of the thieves, Tao Xiang! Even though I immediately requested a refund, he wasn’t willing to grant it. So tell me, am I not a victim?”
“We will talk about that later!” As Zhao Yu spat out the words, the rich man didn’t dare to delay any further, but continued in hopes of extricating himself from any blame.
He sputtered, “I heard many rumors before, saying that Lao Gao’s nickname was Flying Squirrel Gao! He was also in a burglar league before he started selling stolen relics! However, this guy was entirely different from Tao Xiang. Everyone knows that Tao Xiang was the king of the thieves, not some silly squirrel moniker! Then, when he was drunk, he actually declared himself as being Tao Xiang’s junior disciple!”
Flying Squirrel Gao… Tao Xiang’s junior disciple… Ally at the exhibition…
Zhao Yu pondered all of this seriously…
Was it Flying Squirrel Gao who stole the Tamil Star with Tao Xiang? In the video, was Tao Xiang sending him the hand signal?
The gemstone was stolen six years ago, and Flying Squirrel Gao sold Tao Xiang’s treasure to this rich man five years ago… Could Tao Xiang’s treasure have been plundered by this person?
Then, what about the victims’ heads?
