The entire family of Fourth Master was dead, him, his wife, his brother-in-law. This might not be a big deal in Beijing? But in the antique circle, it was absolutely a major event. Moreover, this case of annihilation was related to a sum of money sealed by the Criminal Investigation Bureau. Yu Xiaoluo was determined to solve the case. She didn't know that I had already conceived of retreating and that I, in my unorthodox way, wanted to use her one last time. I asked Yu Xiaoluo to take half a bottle of red wine, intending to return the red wine and the green jade thumb ring to Qin Sisi together.
...
"If we can see Qin Sisi now, it's best we hurry. Liu Chenxi's assistant might not have left Beijing yet."
Yu Xiaoluo was anxious when she heard me say this: "Let's go now."
As Yu Xiaoluo and I were walking out, Haozi happened to be coming in with a lunchbox. Seeing Yu Xiaoluo about to leave, he quickly stopped her: "Solving cases isn't playing with your life, don't skip meals."
Yu Xiaoluo and Haozi were not polite, and they snatched the lunchbox: "Eat on the way."
I looked at the two of them, and our eyes met. I smiled ingratiatingly. Haozi's expression was displeased: "Tang Nan, is it you again?"
"It has nothing to do with him. We're leaving," Yu Xiaoluo interrupted Haozi.
Haozi was helpless: "Am I booking the plane tickets to the Maldives for the Mid-Autumn Festival or not?"
"We'll go after the case is solved."
Yu Xiaoluo left in a hurry, throwing this sentence from afar. I was very curious and asked gossipingly: "Mid-Autumn Festival, are you going to the Maldives with Brother Haozi?"
"Yes!"
"You guys..."
I used my thumbs to gesture a couple pose. Yu Xiaoluo was a very generous girl: "Haozi and I have known each other for a long time. Our relationship was confirmed after we returned from Ruili."
I chuckled when I heard this: "I'll give you a gift when I leave."
"You're leaving?"
I panicked in front of Yu Xiaoluo and quickly explained: "After the case is over, I'm going back to university. I might even get into a police academy, and we'll be colleagues."
I thought Yu Xiaoluo would support me like Wang Zeyi, but I didn't expect Yu Xiaoluo to give me a look of disdain: "With your physical fitness, you want to be a SWAT officer? Forget it."
Seeing Yu Xiaoluo, with whom I was becoming increasingly familiar, I actually felt a little regretful, that I shouldn't have lied to her. It wasn't rush hour, so the traffic was still smooth. When we arrived at the hospital, the doctor told us to keep our chat with Qin Sisi brief. Because Qin Sisi had injuries in her esophagus and stomach, she was not supposed to talk much.
Qin Sisi, who was receiving treatment outside the facility, had not escaped by swallowing metal. There was a date pit in her rice, which she accidentally swallowed. She was a little uncomfortable when she met us, and her stomach hurt badly at night. The prison guards sent her to the hospital, and that's when they discovered she had a stomach hemorrhage.
Although the date pit in her stomach had been broken up by medical means, her esophagus was still injured, and Qin Sisi would have to stay in the hospital for some time. After we entered the ward, Yu Xiaoluo held the lunchbox and started eating. Anyway, I was the one asking questions, and she was the driver earlier. She only had time to eat now. Although the food was cold, seeing Yu Xiaoluo gobbling it down, she was indeed hungry. I went to the bedside alone and looked down at Qin Sisi, getting straight to the point: "Liu Chenxi is dead."
Qin Sisi bit her lip, her eyes brimming with tears. She grabbed my hand. I felt a hard object in her hand. I didn't say anything and withdrew my hand, putting it in my pocket. I could feel that what I had put in my pocket were things like hairpins and paperclips. The guard on duty would leave when he went to the restroom. At such times, Qin Sisi would be handcuffed. It was likely that Qin Sisi wanted to use this opportunity to escape.
Now that Qin Sisi had given this to me, it meant that she had risked escaping from prison to see Liu Chenxi. I never expected to bring her the bad news of Liu Chenxi's death. A moment later, Qin Sisi regained her composure, her expression calm: "Did Liu Chenxi leave anything behind?"
"She told me that the bottle of red wine was all her property. Unfortunately, half a bottle was left when she died. I brought it."
When Qin Sisi heard this, her previously calm expression became uncontrollable again. After a slight melancholy, she said, "Cat Eye Man has fulfilled his dream. She once told me that dying without regrets was her only pursuit in this life."
I wanted to talk about the green jade thumb ring. I subconsciously looked back at Yu Xiaoluo. Yu Xiaoluo was eating, feeling anxious, and gave me a look. I asked Qin Sisi helplessly: "Liu Chenxi's partner took away the set of Qianlong Emperor's thumb rings. We know nothing about Liu Chenxi's companions. You told us earlier that a killer was cooperating with Liu Chenxi. Do you know who that killer is?"
"I know."
"Who is he? Is he a man or a woman?"
Yu Xiaoluo stopped her chopsticks when she heard me ask this, and focused her attention on us.
"His name is Leng Yan, a boy, very young, about your age. A few years ago, I heard he was following Cat Eye Man. Other than that, I know nothing."
I knew Qin Sisi was telling the truth. I looked back at Yu Xiaoluo. Yu Xiaoluo looked distressed. Beijing was so vast. Trying to find someone with just the name Leng Yan was harder than reaching the sky.
Seeing us, Qin Sisi asked solemnly and earnestly: "Do you think Leng Yan took that set of thumb rings?"
Yu Xiaoluo finally couldn't help but interject: "If not him, then who else could it be?"
"I know a bit about Leng Yan. I don't think it was him."
When Leng Yan first joined the 'Logical Paradox' organization, everyone knew he was an extremely intelligent, perverted murderer. In daily life, there was nothing unusual about him. Like those high school students who were into gangster movies, he always looked cool and distant. He had a sharp haircut, wore a black tailcoat, and often had a rose embroidered on his chest. Because he was five or six, even seven or eight years younger than the other trainees of the same cohort, everyone treated him like a younger brother.
However, after some time together, Qin Sisi noticed that Leng Yan's gaze towards her was a little strange. It wasn't the look between siblings, nor was it the look of someone yearning for love. Qin Sisi informed Changshegui about Leng Yan's situation. Fearing that Qin Sisi might be in danger, Changshegui temporarily removed Leng Yan. Qin Sisi only found out later that Leng Yan had a severe mother complex. When he was seven or eight years older than her, he showed that strange look. Over time, he would fall into a frenzy of killing to protect that person.
She hadn't seen him since. Later, Qin Sisi heard that Leng Yan had become Cat Eye Man's assistant and had stayed in Beijing. When Qin Sisi learned that Liu Chenxi was a woman, she immediately thought of Leng Yan. A pervert like Leng Yan would protect Liu Chenxi at all costs. I saw Liu Chenxi jump to her death and she was still unharmed, which meant Leng Yan was not in Beijing. Or, he simply didn't know about Liu Chenxi's death.
If Leng Yan had taken that set of Qianlong thumb rings, he wouldn't know nothing about it.
...
After listening to Qin Sisi's analysis, I couldn't help but fall into thought. If it wasn't someone from 'Logical Paradox', then who would have taken that set of Qianlong thumb rings?
"Then who took the thumb rings?" Yu Xiaoluo, being forthright, asked directly.
"Liu Chenxi's greatest skill was to expose the unseen darkness hidden within human nature. Therefore, I think someone from the bureau was induced by Liu Chenxi and took that set of Qianlong Emperor's thumb rings."
"Someone from this bureau?"
Yu Xiaoluo muttered, then looked at me. I burst out laughing: "Yu Xiaoluo, what do you mean? Are you suspecting me? Do I have the ability to split myself? I watched Liu Chenxi jump off the building at Jinjiang Building, then went to the ghost market to trade with Bi Shuwen and take away that set of thumb rings."
"I'm not suspecting you, but everyone from this bureau is dead, and only you are left. Qin Sisi, you're lying."
"No one else?"
"No!" Yu Xiaoluo replied with finality. Just as I was about to reply, a thought flashed in my mind, and I saw the chubby face of Lao Tie. I immediately suppressed this thought and blamed myself, thinking, "Tang Nan, what are you thinking? Have you gone mad from being a schemer?"
I thought my expression must have been fluctuating at this time. When I came to my senses, I found Qin Sisi looking at me with a half-smile: "Tang Nan, do you have anything else?"
"The gift."
When I said "gift," I had already reached into my pocket to take out the jewelry box containing the green jade thumb ring. Qin Sisi interrupted me, and she smiled and said: "It's this half bottle of red wine. Can you help me find a winery to reseal the bottle and cellar it? When I get out of prison, we'll use this bottle of wine to pay respects to Liu Chenxi together. Is there anything else?"
Hearing the last sentence, I hesitated, my hand tightly gripping the jewelry box. The image of Lao Tie flashed in my mind again, along with Liu Chenxi's words: "That wasn't my scheme." As I was lost in thought, Yu Xiaoluo impatiently asked again: "Tang Nan, is there anything else?"
"No."
Fortunately, I had kept repeating Liu Chenxi's words about the bottle of wine being her only property. Yu Xiaoluo easily believed it. Yu Xiaoluo said thank you to Qin Sisi and also said she would inform the prison authorities about it, considering it as Qin Sisi's good behavior.
As I left, Qin Sisi watched me without saying a word, her eyes filled with melancholy. My heart was already in turmoil. I found an excuse to separate from Yu Xiaoluo and called Lao Tie. His phone was turned off.