“Da Liu, what exactly did you come back for this time?”

Zheng Yongbing’s home was on the sixteenth floor, a single-floor luxury apartment with lavish decor.

On the dining room’s marble table sat seven or eight dishes, mostly cooked foods, plus two bowls of rice noodles. Sitting on the left side was a bald man close to fifty years old, dressed like a nouveau riche—this was Zheng Yongbing. On the right side was a man called “Da Liu,” in his thirties, simply dressed with a small, thin frame.

However, Zheng Yongbing showed great respect toward Da Liu, with a faint hint of fear. Da Liu, on the contrary, sat boldly like a host, completely unceremoniously helping himself to food and drinking wine.

“These past two days I’ve been under Brother Zheng’s care, so I’ll tell you the truth. This time, someone specifically asked me to come back to do a big business deal.”

“Big business?” Zheng Yongbing curiously leaned in.

Da Liu smiled slightly, revealing a mouthful of gums:

“Business with Sanjiangkou’s richest man. You tell me if that’s big or not?”

“Buying antiques again?”

Hearing this word “again,” Da Liu frowned: “He’s bought from you before too?”

Zheng Yongbing lit a cigarette and said irritably: “Don’t even mention it. A while ago, someone named Hu from his company bought a piece of Yu Youren’s calligraphy from me—”

“You have Yu Youren’s calligraphy?”

“A five-hundred-yuan item.”

Da Liu muttered: “How fucking fake must that be!”

“Right? He himself should know in his heart whether it’s real or fake. This guy named Hu even asked me to tell others I sold it for five hundred thousand, saying he bought it for his boss.”

“He’s taking that damn kickback to the heavens.”

“That would have been fine, but the bastard actually brought the calligraphy back the day before yesterday, saying it was fake and wanted a refund. He doesn’t want the five hundred yuan back, but wants me to tell others I refunded him five hundred thousand.”

“Who does business like this? If people in the circle knew about it, they’d think the goods Brother Zheng sold for five hundred thousand were fake. How damaging to your reputation!” Da Liu also felt indignant on his behalf.

“Exactly. I run a legitimate business year-round. In our circle, the rule is that for items within ten thousand or so yuan, it’s based on your eye for quality. But if something worth several hundred thousand is fake, who would dare do business with you in the future! By the way, what are they asking you to buy this time?”

Da Liu squinted his eyes slightly and said vigilantly in a low voice: “Excavated items.”

“Bronze bells?”

Da Liu was even more surprised: “How did you know?”

“This guy Hu approached me, told me he wanted to buy a set of bronze bells. I told him bronze bells are too expensive, I don’t have the capital to get bronze bells. Besides, bronze bells are excavated cultural relics, they’re strictly controlled. Even with money, they’re hard to buy. So I told him, go try finding someone else. I recommended you might have connections, but I didn’t know your phone number. Later on, they probably found you.”

Da Liu vaguely said: “It was also introduced by a friend of a friend. They contacted me after several turns.”

Zheng Yongbing chuckled lightly: “I was just casually brushing off that guy Hu at the time. I thought you, Da Liu, had stopped doing this line of work years ago.”

Da Liu sighed: “I haven’t done it in a long time.”

Zheng Yongbing’s eyes brightened: “But you can still get a set of bronze bells?”

Da Liu spread both hands: “I certainly don’t have them, but I know someone who happens to have a set. So this time I’m the middleman. I’m connecting them as a favor. If it works out, I can get a few hundred thousand yuan in commission.”

Zheng Yongbing laughed: “Da Liu, if you ask me, for a few hundred thousand yuan, coming back to Sanjiangkou—the risk you’re taking isn’t worth it.”

Da Liu took a sip of wine and sighed deeply: “These years I’ve really been short on money, otherwise I wouldn’t risk my life for a few hundred thousand. It’s all because when I fled back then, I killed a police officer. I’ve been on the public security wanted list all along. I’ve changed my identity, had plastic surgery, and been hiding all over the mainland for all these years. My savings were spent long ago. Life is hard. Coming back to Sanjiangkou this time, I’m afraid of being recognized. I don’t dare stay in hotels. After thinking it over, I could only find you. Right now, my life is completely in your hands, Brother Zheng.”

Da Liu looked meaningfully at Zheng Yongbing. Zheng Yongbing quickly smiled apologetically: “Da Liu, you can rest ten thousand assured. These past few days before and after going out, I’ve looked carefully. Absolutely no one is following! As long as I don’t say anything, no one knows you’ve returned to Sanjiangkou, no one will come looking for you—”

“Ding dong.” Before he finished speaking, the doorbell rang.

Da Liu stared at Zheng Yongbing.

“Don’t be nervous. Let me see.” Zheng Yongbing said softly, preparing to go look.

“Hey, don’t move.” Da Liu stood up, using his eyes to signal him to sit down. Zheng Yongbing and he locked eyes for a second, then sat back in his seat.

Da Liu came to the door, his eye against the peephole. Outside the door stood the property manager and a female staff member. The property manager pressed the doorbell for a while, then turned and spoke quietly with the female comrade behind him. Da Liu pressed his ear against the door and heard the female comrade say: “Keep pressing, the person is at home.”

The property manager obeyed her words, reaching out to press the doorbell again. At the same time, that female comrade actually came up to the peephole to look. Da Liu quickly instinctively dodged to the side, glared fiercely at Zheng Yongbing, and questioned coldly: “Who are the people outside?”

Stared at by his gaze, Zheng Yongbing became flustered. He quietly came to the peephole, looked outside, then turned back and told him softly: “It’s property management.”

“What about the woman in back?”

Zheng Yongbing went to look for a few more seconds and said uneasily: “This woman… I haven’t seen this woman before.”

“You’re sure?”

“I… I’m sure.”

The doorbell continued ringing. It seemed that as long as the door wasn’t opened, the people outside would keep pressing.

Da Liu gritted his teeth and pulled a switchblade from his pocket. He pressed the knife handle against Zheng Yongbing’s back at his kidney, saying in a low voice: “Brother Zheng, I’m sorry. If they’re really police, I can only drag you along. If I’m wrong, this brother will kowtow to you in apology. Go open the door. Act natural.”

With his lower back pressed by the knife, Zheng Yongbing’s face turned deathly pale. After hesitating for a second, he took a deep breath, walked to the door, coughed to clear his throat, and while opening the door shouted: “What are you pressing for? Press once and that’s enough. Keep pressing like that, you’ll annoy us to death!”

The property manager repeatedly apologized to him, explaining that residents downstairs reported water leaking from their exterior wall. They suspected it was a bathroom problem here, so they came to take a look.

Hearing this explanation, Zheng Yongbing’s face couldn’t help but change. He understood renovation. When his home was being renovated, he’d seen that the bathroom pipes were nowhere near the exterior facade. How could an exterior wall leak be suspected to be from his home’s bathroom?

Zheng Yongbing immediately said: “That’s impossible. My home’s bathroom is fine. Where downstairs is leaking? I’ll go with you to see!” As he spoke, he made as if to go out.

Da Liu pressed the switchblade against his waist and said: “Brother Zheng, let’s continue drinking our wine. Why go down?”

“Yes, yes, you’re right.” Zheng Yongbing didn’t dare move, frightened to the point that his speech became stuttered.

The property manager didn’t know how to respond for a moment.

Li Qian sensed something abnormal between Zheng Yongbing and this strange man behind him and spoke: “Is this a friend of Brother Zheng’s? I haven’t seen him before?”

Da Liu smiled: “You know Brother Zheng?”

“Of course. We know all the residents.” Li Qian put on the enthusiastic manner of a staff member.

As soon as these words came out, Da Liu’s expression immediately changed. Brother Zheng said he hadn’t seen this woman before, but the woman said she knew Brother Zheng. If not police, then who!

“Brother Zheng, oh Brother Zheng.” Da Liu sneered coldly. “Fuck your mother!” Da Liu’s switchblade directly pulled out and stabbed into Zheng Yongbing’s kidney with one thrust. The next second, he kicked the property manager down with one foot, the switchblade stabbing multiple times at his abdomen and legs.

Li Qian heard Brother Zheng’s scream. For an instant, she hadn’t reacted yet. The next second, seeing the property manager stabbed and fallen to the ground, she quickly grabbed a vase from the decorative wall at the entrance and smashed it toward Da Liu’s head.

Da Liu was hit until his head was covered in blood. He immediately turned and lunged at Li Qian. Li Qian, standing upright, kicked down from her elevated position. Da Liu wildly slashed with his knife, just happening to cut Li Qian’s knee. Li Qian never expected such changes would occur in simple investigation work. Having never confronted criminals face-to-face, she lost her composure. Seeing Da Liu with red eyes lunging at her like a mad wolf, she instinctively turned and fled, pushing open the stairwell door. Just as she was about to run downstairs, Da Liu viciously kicked her from behind, and she tumbled down the stairs.

Da Liu was about to follow down and stab her to death when he heard urgent running footsteps from the stairwell below. At the same time, a rough male voice called out: “Police, police!”

That voice was of course Song Xing’s. Because Li Qian was executing investigation work for the first time, although it was the simplest task, he was afraid Li Qian would mess up, so he had Li Qian maintain real-time communication. Because walkie-talkies would sometimes emit sharp noise due to signal problems, which could easily blow their cover, he had Li Qian dial his phone, put the phone in her pocket, and keep the call connected.

After instructing the property manager, Song Xing stayed downstairs waiting for them to come down. The second he heard Brother Zheng’s sharp scream of pain on the phone, this veteran detective knew something had happened. He hurried to go upstairs, but saw the elevator was still stopped on the sixteenth floor from earlier. The luxury apartment had one elevator per household, and another elevator was on the other side of the building. He didn’t have time to think much and ran up from the stairwell on the side. After running up three floors, he heard Li Qian shouting for help from upstairs! He could only first shout “Police” to delay the enemy’s time.

Hearing there were indeed police in the stairwell below, Da Liu didn’t have time to stab Li Qian to death. He turned and ran out, rushed to the elevator entrance. The elevator was still stopped on the sixteenth floor. He couldn’t worry about whether there were more police downstairs. He could only press open the elevator and go down.

When Song Xing, panting heavily, ran up to the fifteenth floor, he encountered Li Qian, who had been kicked down and couldn’t get up. He hurriedly asked about her condition. Learning she only had superficial injuries, and there were two people with serious injuries above.

Song Xing opened his walkie-talkie to call Xiao Gao in the car to quickly run into the residential area to intercept the person fleeing down, while urgently running upstairs. He pulled open the half-closed door, and his whole person was stunned. The property manager had been stabbed many times. His consciousness was still clear as he moaned weakly. Zheng Yongbing had already passed out from the pain. Song Xing gave first aid to the best of his ability and called back to the office. Something major had happened!