"This matter is clearly aimed at Sister Feng. Do you think they would bring the goods out for a transaction so quickly, or come to a place like this to trade?"
Adong immediately retorted.
Li Chonglou smiled. "What, you look down on this place?"
"It's not looking down, it's just that I don't think they would dare to be so blatant with such stolen goods."
Adong said with conviction, and Adong clearly shared the same thought.
Those who truly knew the inside story knew that the deaths were just a minor issue; the real importance lay in the lost ancient relic, the secret order! What Li Chonglou didn't know was that the relic's true purpose wasn't for selling.
It was an important item for Sister Feng to win people over!
Coupled with the fact that the informant was killed shortly after obtaining the item, not only Sister Feng but also the two of them believed this was a targeted incident!
Since it was targeted, it wasn't for money. This meant the other party would not come to such a place so quickly.
But the two clearly overlooked one point.
Li Chonglou said calmly, "I understand what you're saying, but don't forget the profession and identity of the person who died this time. Although the chance is slim, we cannot rule out the possibility that the perpetrator was just an extraordinary ordinary patron."
An extraordinary ordinary patron?
The two were somewhat confused. Adong asked, "You mean the murderer acted on impulse?"
Adong immediately refuted, "That's impossible. Sister Feng's informants are all trained. How could they leak information or make such a low-level mistake!"
Li Chonglou chuckled.
"Then what if the murderer was not an ordinary person to begin with? A hidden killer, who also happens to know about antiques and likes to visit prostitutes. What do you think if the murderer had this identity?"
Their expressions froze for a moment.
Then they changed drastically!
Adong shivered and immediately took out his phone, quickly walking aside. "Hello, Sister Feng! There's a situation!"
Adong immediately relayed Li Chonglou's speculation. There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone for several seconds.
"Who told you this?"
"This, it's Huadong, but he's only guessing, not certain."
"Alright, I know. Tell him not to act rashly for now. I'll arrange for people to investigate immediately."
After the call ended, Adong breathed a sigh of relief.
When he looked back at Li Chonglou, his eyes showed a subtle change.
"Sister Feng said to tell us not to alert the enemy for now. She will arrange for personnel to investigate."
Li Chonglou was not surprised by this outcome. He had anticipated this situation before choosing to voice his thoughts, but this was fine. After all, Pan Jiayuan was so large, and relying solely on his words made it difficult to avoid any oversight.
However, he still intended to go to Xing Street to take a look.
After all, there was an old acquaintance there, though he wasn't sure if they had been transferred back.
Taking Adong and the other person with him, Li Chonglou soon arrived at the entrance of Xing Street.
The security guard at the entrance was no longer the same one as before. It was a more approachable middle-aged man.
"Hello, excuse me, is the supervisor here still Xian Yan?"
The man paused for half a second, then shook his head. "I'm sorry, Supervisor Yan resigned last week."
Li Chonglou's brows furrowed instantly.
Resigned, not transferred! Back then, due to the incident with Lin Qianqian's senior brother, she was only suspended. The person who came was just a temporary supervisor. Was this her own intention, or did something unexpected happen?
Li Chonglou vaguely remembered that Xian Yan's family had some issues.
"Guest, are you a regular customer of Supervisor Yan? Would you like me to help you apply to contact her?"
"No, I was just asking."
Li Chonglou waved his hand and then led the two away.
He couldn't contact Xian Yan directly regarding her situation, and extreme caution was needed for matters related to his own identity. If the acquaintance wasn't in Xing Street, there would be no point in going in. It would be better to leave it to Sister Feng's side to investigate.
With the other party's status and methods, Li Chonglou was confident that he didn't need to say more.
He then directly led the two away from Pan Jiayuan.
In the car, Adong seemed confused. "Then what did we come here for?"
Li Chonglou didn't explain but asked another question. "Can you tell me about Sister Feng's rivals?"
This question hit the mark.
However, as it involved Sister Feng's information, the two exchanged glances, unsure how to answer for a moment.
Li Chonglou said calmly, "Ask them for me."
Adong thought for a moment and took out his phone to send a message to Sister Feng.
It wasn't until Li Chonglou returned to his rented accommodation that Adong received Sister Feng's reply.
It was just two short words.
The Jiang family.
Adong understood immediately and then told Li Chonglou about the current situation in Shangjing.
Although he had returned to ordinary life for some time, Li Chonglou had been recuperating for most of it and had no channels to understand what was happening in Shangjing.
Only now did Li Chonglou realize that while he was climbing his way up, so much had happened in the lower strata of Shangjing.
The biggest change was the upheaval among the Sixteen Great Families.
Speaking of which, this matter also had some relation to him, as the origin of it all began with the Hu family.
After Li Chonglou sent Chen Pao and the other three to assist Hu Han in taking back the Hu family, the undercurrents in Shangjing seemed to have found a direction and gradually surfaced.
Not long after, other forces, following Li Chonglou's example, dismantled another one of the Sixteen Great Families. Although the nominal successor remained unchanged, everyone knew that the true core controlling figure had changed their allegiance.
Things escalated further, and after the third family experienced trouble, the other party directly changed its name!
It was somewhat similar to the usurpation of power by feudal lords in ancient times. By now, the Sixteen Great Families, which originally represented wealth and power in Shangjing, were all in a state of panic, each using their own means to protect themselves.
According to Adong, five of the Sixteen Great Families had been replaced so far, and three others were in precarious situations.
The Jiang family, which Sister Feng mentioned, was one of the new families with the most momentum to seize power.
Li Chonglou frowned and asked, "With such major events happening, isn't the General Bureau doing anything?"
This was not right. He had only sent a few people to assist Hu Han, and people from the Civilian Association had come to cause trouble. At that time, Yuan Bei and the other two had used this as an excuse!
But now, according to Adong, it had become a common occurrence?
How long had it been?
Also, even if the Civilian Association people were only targeting him, the matter of usurping power was not a small one. Each change represented a bloody struggle. How could the General Bureau not intervene?
And allow them to collude with the underworld?
To be honest, Li Chonglou didn't believe it at first.
Unfortunately, Adong's knowledge was limited, and he could only answer surface-level questions.