"Sister, didn't you say you wouldn't tell him, why did you sneak a confession?" Xiao Da pondered, suspecting that Xiao Yun had tipped him off beforehand.
Xiao Yun, however, was also baffled.
Her cousin, after graduating from the police academy, had been assigned to a grassroots police station in a township, away from Yong'an.
It wasn't until he passed the civil service exam and she regained control of the Xiao family that he was officially transferred back to the Municipal Public Security Bureau.
How did Li Chonglou know?
"With that arrogance you have, do you need someone to inform me?" Li Chonglou scoffed unceremoniously.
In truth, he had seen the identification in Xiao Da's inner pocket with his Heavenly Eye, just like he had seen through He Yin before.
Of course, he couldn't say that.
Xiao Da's face was filled with shock, his initial disdain fading significantly, and his carefree demeanor vanishing.
His posture straightened considerably. "This is no longer a matter of whether you are willing, nor is it something my sister entrusted. Since you know I'm a police officer, you have to listen to me."
"On what grounds?" Li Chonglou smiled.
Seeing Li Chonglou acting even more presumptuous than himself, Xiao Da's expression faltered, and he sneered, "You ungrateful brat. If it weren't for my sister's sake, I wouldn't even bother with someone like you."
"Xiao Da, watch your words. If it weren't for Chonglou, it would be ten times harder for me to retake control of the Xiao family!" Xiao Yun couldn't stand it and reprimanded him.
Among the entire Xiao family, it was her cousin from her uncle's side, Xiao Da, with whom she had the closest relationship.
During the first struggle for family power, it was Xiao Da's help that allowed her to smoothly take the reins.
He was the complete opposite of Xiao Qiang.
Xiao Qiang was an uneducated playboy, lecherous and indulgent, incapable of achieving anything great.
But Xiao Da had been a genius within the family since childhood. The Xiao family was originally supposed to be led by him, but he intensely disliked the atmosphere of internal family strife.
Thus, he resolutely applied to the police academy and left Yong'an.
Now that he had returned, he didn't want any involvement with the Xiao family.
However, worried about Li Chonglou's safety, Xiao Yun had no choice but to find him and ask him to keep a close eye on Li Chonglou.
"Sister, okay, I understand."
Scolded by Xiao Yun, Xiao Da drooped his head dejectedly and said helplessly, "In any case, I'm telling you, from now on you'll stay at the Han Palace and are not allowed to go anywhere else."
"Take this!"
Saying that, he pulled out a small black square box, the size of a matchbox, and handed it to Li Chonglou.
"What is it?" Li Chonglou asked with a puzzled expression.
"A GPS tracker, so I can track your whereabouts at any time, lest you be harmed," Xiao Da said, clearly with a hint of resentment.
He, a dignified police officer, was being called to protect someone his own age.
One could imagine how unwilling he was.
If it weren't for Xiao Yun's request, he wouldn't have done it even if it killed him.
"I'm not interested in being monitored," Li Chonglou said, clasping his hands behind his back, with no intention of taking it.
He didn't want to drag the Xiao family into this.
Although they were one of the eight great families, their strength was far from what it used to be. In this rapidly changing era, Xiao Yun was already struggling to maintain the Xiao family.
She had no time to spare to look after him; staying at the Han Palace was already a great favor.
Moreover, who was Tian Shan? He was as cunning as a ghost. If Li Chonglou had a police officer by his side, or was under police surveillance, wouldn't he notice?
Once he left Yong'an and Qin Province, finding him again would be like searching for a needle in a haystack, extremely difficult.
"Heh, this is interesting." Seeing this, Xiao Da laughed in exasperation. "Sister, he's the one who refused. Don't blame me."
As soon as he finished speaking, his phone rang.
After a few brief exchanges, he hung up, his expression turning serious. "I have to go back to the bureau, I have a mission!"
"Wait," Li Chonglou said at this moment. "Take me with you."
"What?" Xiao Da's former contempt reappeared. "I thought you were some hero. Weren't you quite tough just now?"
"What's wrong? Was it all an act? Pretending?"
"Seeing me leave, you're instantly terrified, aren't you?"
He had actually begun to feel a glimmer of admiration for Li Chonglou, but unexpectedly, Li Chonglou's demeanor suddenly changed, which he found utterly disgusting.
"Think whatever you want, but take me with you." Li Chonglou couldn't be bothered to explain.
He had clearly heard Xiao Da's phone call.
The words "Xing Zhi Group" instantly captured his attention.
Previously, he had acted as an undercover agent for the police, working with the Eagle to bust the Xing Zhi Group, an international smuggling ring for cultural relics.
Tian Shan had harbored a grudge against him since then, and everything that happened afterward was solely for revenge.
Logically, the case should have been closed after the downfall of the Xing Zhi Group.
Why was it being brought up again?
That's why he changed his mind and wanted to go along.
"What if I don't take you?" Xiao Da looked down on Li Chonglou even more.
Xiao Yun's beautiful eyes flashed with anger. She stepped forward and grabbed Xiao Da's ear. "Are you taking him or not?"
"Sister... Sister, let go! I'll take him, I'll take him, alright?" Xiao Da cried out in pain and quickly relented.
After Xiao Yun let go, Xiao Da rubbed his reddened ear, his face full of complaint. "Why are you still like when you were a child? Can a man's ear be grabbed so casually?"
"If you're going to grab it, at least grab it for your wife~~~"
Upon hearing this, Li Chonglou almost burst out laughing. He thought that although this guy was a bit flippant, he still had a bit of childish innocence.
He didn't dislike Xiao Da. After all, he had met all sorts of people.
As long as they didn't intend to harm him, no matter how great their personality flaws, it had nothing to do with him.
He had long since passed the age of being a young radical, finding fault with everything.
"What are you waiting for? Let's go!" Xiao Da dared not get angry at Xiao Yun, so he vented his anger on Li Chonglou.
Just as Li Chonglou was about to follow him back to the municipal bureau, Xiao Yun grabbed his hand.
With a worried expression, she said, "Chonglou, Xiao Da has a sharp tongue but a kind heart. Don't take his words to heart."
"You must be alright. If there's any danger, just run!"
"Okay, Sister Yun, don't worry, I'm not foolish." Li Chonglou could see that Xiao Yun genuinely cared about him.
To have a sister who thought of everything for him, his icy heart finally felt a trace of warmth at this moment.
After leaving the hotel and getting into the car, neither of them spoke.
They remained silent until they were nearing the municipal bureau, when Xiao Da finally asked, "Your name is Li Chonglou, right?"
"I have a meeting when we get to the bureau. You find a place to stay and don't bother me."
"No villain would dare to be so brazen as to break into the municipal bureau to commit murder. You can rest assured."
Although he had agreed to Xiao Yun, he had no intention of following Li Chonglou around all day. He wasn't a victim in a case, and the authorities wouldn't deploy resources to protect him.
The best solution was to have him stay at the municipal bureau, which would also save him the trouble.
"Okay," Li Chonglou said, not saying much more.
As soon as the two entered the municipal bureau, Xiao Da was called away by his superior and led into a conference room.
Inside, two men and one woman were seated.
"Xiao Da, allow me to introduce you. This is Guan Jian, the captain of the Municipal Anti-Smuggling Team for Cultural Relics," the leader introduced one by one. "The remaining two are Li Ke and He Yin, who has just transferred."
"There's a mission from higher up. You've been ordered to form a task force to apprehend a suspect named Tian Shan!"
"He is related to the cross-border smuggling ring of cultural relics that was cracked down on not long ago."
"Captain Guan will explain the specifics."