A shot wasn't fired by Ning Cai Shen. The bullet had flown in through the broken window. Ning Cai Shen lay on the ground, his life uncertain. I couldn't afford to worry about that, so I crawled over, intending to staunch the bleeding for Boss Xie.
However, Boss Xie had been shot with buckshot, and there was no way to stop the bleeding. All I could do was frantically shout, "Ambulance, call an ambulance!"
My voice was quite loud. Boss Xie's eyes fluttered open, and he weakly said, "My money is for my son.
"Don't worry about that."
At this moment, a faint glimmer appeared in Boss Xie's eyes. He smiled, "Tang Nan, do you know? The hardest thing in prison isn't just enduring time, but when you think of your wife and children, your conscience awakens. Those stone gambling dealers who died because of me, I never thought of them. I just thought they had poor mental fortitude. Was it just about cheating them out of some money? Why would they jump off buildings? But when I had nothing, I began to understand their thoughts. Perhaps because of this, those people I had forgotten kept appearing in my mind, tormenting... tormenting me. I've never saved anyone. This time, perhaps in the King of Hell's palace, the King of Hell will grant me a reduced sentence. I... I..."
The sentence remained unfinished. The faint glimmer in Boss Xie's eyes vanished. He slowly closed his eyes and never opened them again.
Just then, the person who had fired the shot rushed in. It was likely a police officer from this village's station, accompanied by a few flustered auxiliary police officers. No one had expected a shooting incident in such a remote village.
The officer checked Boss Xie's injuries. I, holding the unconscious Lin Han, saw him shake his head.
Lu Yao peeked through the door frame, and after confirming there was no danger, he walked in. Seeing my silence, he quietly explained, "This time, I didn't run away. I went to call the police. I drove them here. That policeman is a station chief who worked in a big city and has experience with firearms. That shot fired during your critical moment was by him. He's incredibly accurate; he hit him right in the head. Lin Han has a mild concussion; her injury isn't severe. What grieves her more is that Boss Xie is dead."
Ning Cai Shen was also dead!
The police in Ruili took this case very seriously and were actively investigating the source of Ning Cai Shen's firearm.
My left arm was only grazed, but I still had to be hospitalized. Due to Boss Xie's death, Lin Han and I were both in a somber mood, and we didn't bicker or play around as we usually would when hospitalized.
Lin Han quietly prepared food for me, while I remained silent. At this moment, someone knocked on the VIP ward door. Lin Han opened it and saw Qin Sisi. I looked at Qin Sisi with surprise, "Sister Sisi, why are you here?"
"I heard about Ning Cai Shen's matter, so I chartered a plane to come. Director Gao and I both believe it's necessary to explain things regarding Ning Cai Shen."
Ning Cai Shen was introduced to me by Qin Sisi. In the past few months, Ning Cai Shen had not only deceived me but also tried to kill me. This situation made even the usually straightforward Qin Sisi unable to sit still.
"Sister Sisi, since you say so, I actually have another question. Did Ning Cai Shen find you, or did you find him?"
"Ning Cai Shen found me. However, at that time, I wasn't assisting Director Gao yet; I was still an auctioneer at Nine Dragons Auction. Due to some past connections, I genuinely wanted to help Ning Cai Shen. But this man, though talented, had a very peculiar temper, so introductions never panned out."
Hearing this, I sighed, "Cao Qian is quite difficult to deal with; her vision is broad and her judgment is sharp. How are things on your end?"
"Cao Qian is assisting Gao Ziming in vying for the position of patriarch of the Gao family. It can't be easy, can it?"
"The situation is manageable. Judging by the equity structure, Gao Xiaozhi's shares have all been cleared, and Gao Ziming's group cannot obtain 51%. Director Gao can maintain his position as patriarch without issue. Oh, and this time, because you depleted Cao Qian's funds, Director Gao was spared a crisis. Director Gao is too busy to come to Ruili to express her gratitude, so I'm here on her behalf to thank you."
After speaking, Qin Sisi even bowed to me.
"Is it necessary to be so polite?"
"This is Director Gao's instruction. The bow is also on her behalf. I don't even know what help I provided; this makes me quite embarrassed."
When Gao Ziyan became the patriarch, her shareholding was 37%. Gao Ziming had 36%, and Gao Xiaozhi had 27% of the Hong Kong Gao Group's main business. At the time, this equity distribution seemed quite stable. However, Gao Ziming subsequently began attacking Gao Xiaozhi. I don't know what happened to Gao Xiaozhi, but he began selling off Gao family shares.
Since Gao Ji took over as patriarch, the Gao Corporation had kept all its shares under its control, with him acting like an emperor. After the succession war, power was divided into three. Although the patriarch was Gao Ziyan, any decision she made required the approval of the shareholders' meeting. Besides the patriarch Gao Ziyan, there were three other shareholders: Gao Xiaozhi, Gao Ziming, and Cao Qian. Although Cao Qian was Gao Ziming's wife, her 6% was pre-marital property, making Cao Qian a shareholder as well.
On the surface, controlling Gao Xiaozhi would mean controlling the Gao family. But Cao Qian didn't make things that simple. She had leverage over Gao Xiaozhi, forcing him to sell his Gao family shares. Gao Ziyan and Gao Ziming were out of money, but Cao Qian still had funds. Gao Ziyan didn't pay much attention at first, but when strange individuals became shareholders, she couldn't sit still.
To ensure that the Gao family didn't face an uncontrollable situation, Gao Ziyan's team investigated these new shareholders. These shareholders had no clean records; some came from "Logical Paradox," others from "Fairy Forest." Now they had formed a new organization called "Yanluo Hall," with Cao Qian as its leader. Within this organization, everyone referred to Cao Qian as "Queen Yanluo." I wasn't hearing this organization's name for the first time. In Guangzhou, Ye Qingcheng had mentioned this "Yanluo Hall" to me. However, at that time, the information Ye Qingcheng received was likely misleading. I corrected this information and, in collaboration with Tu Kela and Lu Yao, managed to foil Ning Cai Shen's plot. Hearing this name again, I was truly surprised that such an organization actually existed, and its leader was my senior sister.
"Queen Yanluo?"
"Are you saying Cao Qian has regrouped the former members of 'Logical Paradox'?"
"We are not sure if these people are former members. Very few people know about 'Yanluo Hall.' Director Gao's team expended a great deal of manpower and resources, and all they managed to ascertain was that there are five of them. Currently, the only known member is the deceased Judge Ning Cai Shen. The remaining four are Hei Bai Wu Chang (Black and White Impermanence) and Niu Tou Ma Mian (Ox Head and Horse Face)."
"No matter who they are, if they don't provoke me, I won't bother with them. I'm not a champion of justice, nor am I a police officer maintaining order. If I've never met them, why should I go out of my way to destroy them?"
Hearing me say this, Qin Sisi smiled calmly, "But danger has arisen. If all these people are as wicked as Ning Cai Shen, it's better to be prepared."
"This is so convoluted; where do I even start looking?"
"Ask Tu Kela. He might know something."
"Alright, thank you, Sister Sisi."
"Seeing that you seem fine, I won't stay any longer. There are many matters to attend to in Hong Kong, so I'll be leaving. When I came, Director Gao specifically asked me to pick up a small item from Nine Dragons Auction as a gift for Mrs. Tang. Please accept it."
Lin Han looked a bit puzzled. I smiled and said, "Accept it." Then, I looked at Qin Sisi politely, with the same smile, "Please thank Director Gao for me."
"Certainly. Goodbye, Tang Nan."
"Goodbye."
After Qin Sisi left, Lin Han asked me somewhat confusedly, "Sister Sisi seemed distant during this visit."
"She was being deliberate," I said with a smile.
"Why?"
"Qin Sisi didn't come to apologize. Her intention was not on the surface. This is the intention of Gao Ziyan's team, likely wanting me to deal with this 'Yanluo Hall.'"
"I see."
"Based on the current situation, the information Qin Sisi provided is unlikely to be false. Perhaps besides Ning Cai Shen, there really are Hei Bai Wu Chang and Niu Tou Ma Mian."
"What should we do then?"
"Ignore it. I believe if those people have any sense, they won't provoke me. What interests me most now is that Cao Qian just sent me a gift, and now Gao Ziyan is sending me another. Neither of these women is to be trifled with. What is this gift?"
"Open it and see!"
Lin Han said as she opened the gift box. Inside was a short dagger. I didn't know much, but judging by its appearance, it seemed to be an antique. Lin Han examined it closely and said, "A bronze short dagger of Qin make."
I was astonished, "Is it the one that Jing Ke used to assassinate the King of Qin?"
With that remark, Lin Han's gloom of the past few days seemed to lift slightly. She smiled, "There's 'Si Gong' inscribed on the blade, likely a burial item."
I didn't understand and looked at her curiously. She continued her appraisal, holding it in her hand, "The inscription in Qin Year 14 is not like this." After saying that, she picked it up and sniffed it. She frowned, "Recently aged. It's as fake as it can be."
"Nine Dragons Auction doesn't necessarily have all genuine items, but why give me such a fake one?"
Lin Han didn't answer. She picked it up and tapped it on the door frame, adding, "It's hollow?"
"Like in 'The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber'? The Dragon Saber hidden martial arts manual?"
Lin Han burst out laughing and handed the dagger to me, "Come, Great Hero Tang, use your internal energy to break it."
I took the bronze dagger, understanding Lin Han's meaning. There was a mechanism on the dagger. Since I had nothing else to do, I decided to try. After fiddling for a while, I found a hidden catch similar to a phone case. I pressed it hard, and with a click, it opened. It was indeed hollow. Of course, there was no manual inside, but a slip of paper with writing on it: "Right spin 20, left spin 10, right spin 30." What the heck? I didn't understand. But when I looked up, I saw Lin Han's expression change.