mousepad-d2 Chapter 36: Mo Lei
Chapter 36: Mo Lei
It was already completely dark when Cheng Xiaojin left Zhou Banxian's house.
He rode his bicycle along the back street of Gulou, stopping and starting, his mind filled with the old man's words, each one weighing heavily on his chest.
My phone rang; it was a message from Tieguai Li.
"The Jinbei van is still parked; it hasn't moved."
Cheng Xiaojin replied with two words: "I know."
Instead of returning to his rented room, he rode his bicycle to Tieguai Li's workshop and spent the night on a cot next to the watch repair station.
The next day, he spent the whole day at his stall in Panjiayuan, selling a broken half-open purple clay teapot lid and three strings of bodhi seeds, earning 420 yuan.
Zhao Defa came over and chatted with him for a long time. He responded half-heartedly, his eyes constantly scanning the market entrance.
Zhou Banxian strolled over around 10 a.m., squatted in front of his stall for a while, and whispered something.
"Fatty Sun didn't come today. He left one of his henchmen to watch the store, and nobody knows where he went."
"Pay close attention."
"I'm keeping an eye on it."
Zhou Banxian got up and left, but after walking about ten steps, he turned back.
"Don't take yesterday's matter to heart, as for your father's situation..."
"I didn't take it to heart, Uncle Zhou, you can go back now."
Zhou Banxian's lips moved, but he didn't say anything more and walked away in his cloth shoes.
At three o'clock in the afternoon, Cheng Xiaojin made a phone call to Master Qi.
"Third Master, what's Fatty Sun up to today?"
"I went to the East Third Ring Road area this morning. I asked around and people said I went to see someone who specializes in iron appraisal. I came back in the afternoon and was sitting in my shop drinking tea. The door was closed and I didn't see anyone."
"Someone who specializes in iron artifact identification?"
"Yes, there's a private studio on the East Third Ring Road that specializes in providing appraisal services for big clients. Insiders call it the 'inspection room,' and ordinary people can't get in."
Cheng Xiaojin gripped his phone tightly.
"Third Master, is that inspection room related to King Glasses?"
Third Master Qi took a sip of tea on the other end of the phone.
"You're quick-witted, kid. That inspection room is owned by Glasses King's partner. Glasses King doesn't work there himself, but he often goes there to help look after things. So, who do you think Fatty Sun is going to find there?"
Cheng Xiaojin hung up the phone and mentally reviewed the situation.
Fatty Sun went to see King Glasses for two reasons.
First, ask Glasses King to help him authenticate the second piece of Zhenhai Iron.
Second, ask Glasses King to help him review the transaction process of the first Zhenhai Iron.
Regardless of which one it is, it shows that Fatty Sun has not given up on the idea of turning the tables.
On the third day, Cheng Xiaojin rode his bicycle to Liulichang early in the morning.
He stood at the entrance of Songxuetang for a while, then went to Mogenzhai to look through a few reams of paper. Finally, he chatted with the proprietress of Guquan Brush Shop for half an hour about the paper market in Anhui. He only reluctantly left when the proprietress started giving him disapproving looks.
He would stay at each place for more than twenty minutes, and when he left, he would deliberately stand at the door for a while, looking down at his phone and then up at the sky.
He knew someone was following them.
It wasn't the Jinbei van with the buzz cut that he was driving; he had switched to a silver Wuling Hongguang. But he remembered the license plate number—it belonged to another of Sun Pangzi's underlings.
After wandering around Liulichang until dark, Cheng Xiaojin slowly rode his bike back, circling twice to make sure the Wuling Hongguang was still hanging behind him, before turning into the apartment complex where he rented a place.
I entered the building, went upstairs, opened the door, turned on the lights, and drew the curtains.
He stood in front of the window for five seconds, making sure his shadow was visible from outside.
Then he turned off the living room light, went into the bedroom, lay on the bed, and read the news on his phone for forty minutes.
The lights were turned off at 9:30, but he didn't sleep. He lay there fully clothed, listening intently to any sounds coming from the hallway.
At 10:15, my phone vibrated; it was a message from Tong Kexin.
"That silver Wuling van downstairs drove away ten minutes ago, and it was replaced by that Jinbei van. The crew-cut guy and the round-faced guy from last time are both in the van."
Cheng Xiaojin replied with two words: "Received."
At 10:30, he got out of bed, opened the bedroom window, climbed down to the air conditioner platform on the third floor, then slid down the drainpipe on the third floor to the second-floor awning, and finally jumped from the awning into the green belt on the first floor.
The entire process was completely silent.
He slipped out of the back gate of the residential complex and quickly walked to the convenience store across the street.
The convenience store is open 24 hours a day, and its glass door faces the direction of the building entrance.
Cheng Xiaojin bought a bottle of mineral water, stood next to the shelf, and looked out through the glass door.
The Jinbei bread truck is still parked in the same spot.
after awhile.
The passenger door of the Jinbei van opened, and the round-faced man got out, looked around, and then walked towards the building entrance.
Thirty seconds later, the man with the buzz cut also got out of the car, carrying the dark-colored tool bag in his hand.
The two entered the building one after the other.
Cheng Xiaojin took another sip of water, her eyes fixed on the fourth-floor window.
Two minutes later, a flashlight beam was seen shining from the window of the fourth-floor living room.
Go in.
The tape on the door must have broken; it was either opened with a master key or pried open with a crowbar. Once inside, the person would first scan the area with a flashlight to make sure no one was there, and then head straight for the bedside table.
Cheng Xiaojin counted silently in his mind. When he reached the thirtieth, the flashlight beam in the fourth-floor window shook violently.
Immediately afterwards, a short, piercing scream squeezed out from the crack in the window, particularly jarring in the night.
Murray exploded.
The scream was followed by a series of thuds: a chair overturning, something hitting the floor with a dull thud, and a muffled swear word.
The light was on in the window next door on the fourth floor, and someone opened the window and peeked out.
Cheng Xiaojin stood in the convenience store and almost burst out laughing.
Soon, the unit door was pushed open from the inside, and the man with the buzz cut was the first to rush out.
In the dim light of the streetlights outside the convenience store, Cheng Xiaojin could see it clearly.
His buzz cut was covered in ink from his forehead to his chin, so black that only the whites of his eyes were visible. His white T-shirt was completely stained black, with black ink still dripping down.
Round Face followed closely behind, looking a little better but not much better. Half of his face and his entire right arm were covered in ink stains, and he was clutching a piece of wire that had been soaked in ink and was no longer recognizable.
The two of them tumbled and scrambled toward the Jinbei bread truck.
The window on the third floor was also opened, and a middle-aged woman in pajamas poked her head out and shrieked.
"Hey, who is this? Why are you covered in black stuff!"
The old lady next door on the fourth floor took out her phone and started taking pictures of the scene below.
When the man with the buzz cut opened the car door and climbed in, his head hit the door frame. He cursed again, and his hands and arms rubbed against the seat, leaving a black mark.
The round-faced man got into the passenger seat, and the sound of the car door slamming shut echoed loudly in the night.
With a roar, the Jinbei van, trailing a diesel fumes, sped out of the residential area gate, turned right onto the road, and its taillights grew smaller and smaller in the night.
Cheng Xiaojin stood in the convenience store, the mineral water bottle in her hand trembling slightly.
It wasn't fear, it was holding back laughter.
When he came out of the convenience store, the old lady next door on the fourth floor was still taking pictures with her phone at the window, muttering about whether to call the police or not.
Cheng Xiaojin went upstairs, opened his door, and glanced inside.
The walls, ceiling, and floor were covered with black specks and splattered ink lines from pine soot.
The second drawer of the bedside table was pulled out halfway, the lid of the pencil case was popped open, the inner compartment was empty, and the wire was broken in two and hanging down.
The counterfeit was still in the drawer; a corner of the black cloth had been lifted, but the metal lump itself hadn't been taken away.
They were blown up by Murray before they could even grab their things.
Cheng Xiaojin took out his phone and sent two words to Tieguai Li.
"It's done."
Tieguai Li replied instantly.
"I knew it would work."
Then he stood in the middle of the room covered in ink stains, calculating the cost in his mind.
My phone vibrated again; it was a message from Master Qi.
He clicked on it and glanced at it, his smile vanishing completely.
"Fatty Sun just smashed a cup here, cursing your ancestors for eight generations. He's got another guy with him today, Glasses King."
Cheng Xiaojin flipped her phone screen over and placed it face down on the ink-stained bedside table.