After Tang Yinge finished giving all his instructions, Lü Qingqing slowly started to drink her tea.
"Don't you believe what I'm telling you?" Tang Yinge sounded a little anxious.
"No, I believe you. I'm just wondering what these matters have to do with that iron box?" Lü Qingqing murmured, then put on an expression as if she had let slip something she shouldn't have.
The iron box?
Tang Yinge's heart skipped a beat. "Is this the secret behind the four sentences you mentioned?"
Lü Qingqing glanced at Tang Yinge. "Some secrets can only be kept by the dead. If you want to live, you'd best inquire less."
Tang Yinge sullenly chose to keep quiet, but his mind was in an uproar.
The iron box.
Could it be that Lü Qingqing and the others had really found it?
Seeing Tang Yinge's silence, Lü Qingqing thought for a moment. "I'll give you another chance, do you want it?"
Upon hearing this, Tang Yinge immediately put on a fawning expression. "You are a Bodhisattva of Great Compassion, specially saving people like us who have strayed from the right path."
Lü Qingqing chuckled. "Whether I'm a Bodhisattva depends on whether you still want to be a devil."
"Of course, of course, I've repented," Tang Yinge said hastily. He could vaguely guess what Lü Qingqing meant by "another chance."
It must be about that iron box.
And he also wanted to know what that iron box was.
"It's like this, we found an iron box. But it has a lock on it. We lost a key once, and we believe this lock matches that key. That key is in your hands, right?"
"I haven't seen that key, but if it was indeed taken by one of our people, it should be with Master Liu," Tang Yinge gave an ambiguous answer.
Lü Qingqing hummed. "That lock has a mechanism, it can't be forced open. We'd best find that key. Also, you mentioned a treasure, but the place we found has no treasure at all."
"No?" Tang Yinge appeared surprised, but his expression didn't show much shock.
Indeed, if Lü Qingqing had truly found the treasure, why would he be here questioning Tang Yinge?
"We were thinking, could the iron box contain a treasure map? But since you don't know the whereabouts of the key, forget it." Lü Qingqing, looking disappointed, prepared to leave.
Seeing him about to leave, Tang Yinge became anxious. "Officer Lü, have I received this chance or not?"
"For now, you've earned a merit."
As Lü Qingqing's footsteps faded away, Tang Yinge truly lost any desire to sleep.
Had they really found that thing? No, this news had to be passed on.
...
Luo Wenwu had vanished just like that, without any warning, without a trace.
Hu Jia and Li Yang had searched every corner of Yongchuan and visited all the checkpoints from Yongchuan to Chongqing, but they hadn't found the slightest piece of information.
Hu Jia was furious. He had lost his patience. Upon returning to the city, he stormed into Qiao Huali's office and demanded the person be produced.
"Wenwu is missing. What person are you looking for from me? Did I kidnap him?"
"Tell Master Liu that I, Hu Jia, give him two days to hand over the person, or I will wipe out the entire Daoren organization."
Hu Jia was certain that Qiao Huali could contact Master Liu.
"I know you still suspect I have a connection with Daoren, but..."
"No buts. Just deliver the message."
Hu Jia didn't want to play charades with Qiao Huali anymore; it was too tiring. When they both knew the other was an ancient fox, why play games of skill?
Seeing Hu Jia leave in a huff, Qiao Huali showed a hint of disdain.
This person must not be let go.
With that thought, Qiao Huali put on his clothes and walked out of the office.
"Open the door."
The guard officer saluted and opened the lock without a word.
Tang Yinge glanced at the figure entering and remained silent.
Qiao Huali took out a roll of tape from his pocket, walked silently to the table, tore off a strip, and stuck it under the table.
Then, he went to a potted plant nearby and repeated the same inspection.
"Done." Qiao Huali walked to Tang Yinge's side.
Tang Yinge knew that Qiao Huali had sealed all the listening devices with tape. httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
"You know?" Tang Yinge finally began to speak.
"Mmm." Qiao Huali nodded.
Since Tang Yinge had been arrested, Qiao Huali had held back from visiting him.
Because Hu Jia had known about Qiao Huali's connection with Daoren earlier, he had pretended to abandon darkness for light.
But now, Hu Jia had directly played a game of confession with him, meaning he no longer needed to hide his acquaintance with Tang Yinge.
"Is there any other way?"
"I will do my best."
Hearing this, Tang Yinge's eyes dimmed. "Take good care of my family."
Qiao Huali nodded.
Given the current situation, he truly had no better way to rescue Tang Yinge, unless he openly betrayed them.
But now, he couldn't.
Tang Yinge's request to take care of his family was the greatest reassurance for Qiao Huali.
It meant that Tang Yinge would not betray him, even in death.
"You need to pay attention to them. They must have deciphered those four sentences, and they might have already gotten the item." Tang Yinge did not hesitate to reveal the little secret Lü Qingqing had told him.
Oh?
Qiao Huali raised an eyebrow. "How did you learn this news?"
"That woman Lü Qingqing told me." Tang Yinge recounted his conversation with Lü Qingqing.
"How much of those words do you think is true and how much is false?"
"I think it's mostly true, but they've held back some details."
Tang Yinge said that Lü Qingqing, being a shrewd person and a well-trained police officer, wouldn't have accidentally let slip a secret.
It was clearly intentional.
So why would she do that? There was only one explanation: they had indeed found an iron box, but they couldn't open it.
So they hoped to pass the message through his mouth to lure Daoren with the key to investigate the iron box, essentially using Daoren's hand to open the box.
"So, you think Hu Jia coming to argue with me today was also part of their plan? The purpose was for you to pass the message to me?" Qiao Huali finally realized why Hu Jia had always pretended with him, but acted so unusually today.
"Yes, the moment you walked through that door, their objective was achieved." Tang Yinge said.
Qiao Huali's heart churned. In the past, he had always orchestrated various events to push Hu Jia to investigate the shooting.
But now, as the secret was about to be revealed, the entire situation had completely reversed.
Now, Hu Jia and the others were planning every move and guiding him to act according to their design.
Now, Hu Jia wanted Qiao Huali to find the box and open it with the key.
Qiao Huali gave a wry smile and shook his head. The key was that he had to do it.
...
Upon learning that Qiao Huali had entered the prison, Hu Jia showed a slight smile, but a stone still weighed heavily on his heart, making it hard for him to breathe.
The plan was perfect.
Qiao Huali had indeed gone to see Tang Yinge.
As long as Daoren sent someone to steal the box, they could draw out Master Liu.
However, no matter how perfect the plan was, the missing Luo Wenwu remained the one thing he couldn't let go of.