Open warehouse

Inside the glass dome, the gilded enamel clock slowly swung its pendulum, and a wisp of fragrant sandalwood smoke drifted through Rongtan's living room.

Rongtan was as lively as ever. Twenty armchairs were arranged in a wing-like pattern inside the hall, and about a dozen incense masters were already seated. Upon seeing the guests enter, all the incense masters stood up in unison and greeted them with clasped hands.

Gao Junxiao, who was leading the team, was the first to present a gift to Sister Gui. He then introduced Huang Xiaoxian and Luo Yudong behind him. They explained that the 19th Route Army was about to be transferred to Shanghai and might need to temporarily requisition some docks to transport soldiers and supplies. They hoped that Sister Gui would do them a favor.

They presented their calling cards in advance and brought gifts, showing impeccable manners. Sister Gui gently waved her fan, appearing quite satisfied. She personally accepted the gifts and handed them to Xiao Mi, who was standing nearby. She said that the Green Gang had good relations with the military and that if they needed to requisition the docks or railways, they only needed to give advance notice, and the Rongtan gang would definitely cooperate.

The shadows of the trees moved across the carpet. Everyone had finished chatting, so Sister Gui pushed Master Wu and Jiang Yun forward, instructing them to properly entertain the guests from the 19th Route Army that evening. With the help of her maid, she left, and the incense masters took their leave one after another.

"Good day, everyone. I am Jiang Yun, the advisor of Rongtan." Jiang Yun shook hands with Gao Junxiao as if it were their first meeting. "I have reserved a private room at Xinya Hotel. Please, esteemed guests, move there so we can continue our conversation."

Luo Yudong suddenly asked, "I heard that there is another person in charge at Rongtan. I wonder if Mr. Xia can come tonight?"

Of course not! But if she doesn't come, it will inevitably seem arrogant, and it wouldn't be good if Director Luo had a grudge. Gao Junxiao quickly gave Jiang Yun a wink.

Jiang Yun nodded slightly, seemingly prepared. It was rumored that the Japanese had offered a reward of 20,000 silver dollars for Mr. Xia's head, and for his safety, it was inconvenient for him to show his face.

However… Jiang Yun coughed lightly and changed the subject, saying that Mr. Xia had prepared gifts in advance after learning that the 19th Route Army would be rotating its troops to Shanghai.

He pulled out a small folding booklet, which unfolded to reveal a gun transfer agreement containing two hundred Maxim guns, and was stamped with a large red seal bearing the name "Xia Shiqin".

In an instant, Luo Yudong's expression changed from shock to relief: "It is truly an honor for me to have met Mr. Xia."

"I hope Director Luo will not spread this around. Only a very few people know his real name." Master Wu handed the memorial to Director Luo with a righteous air. "Mr. Xia once said that you are a patriotic army. I hope you will protect the people of Shanghai from being bullied by foreign powers."

"Yes! I will definitely tell our commander what Mr. Xia said." Luo Yudong solemnly put the folded document into his pocket.

This behavior baffled Huang Xiaoxian, who whispered a question about why Mr. Xia had left his real name, and why their Director Luo was so agitated. "Aren't names just for people to call you?" she thought.

Tsk~ Unlucky kid doesn't even know this, isn't this common sense! Gao Junxiao rolled his eyes, but still explained out of consideration for their years of friendship. Taking the initiative to reveal his real name is a great gesture of goodwill to people in the martial arts world, equivalent to giving you a free Joker on the gambling table.

When they formally become apprentices, their elders will bestow a title or change their name, signifying that they are cutting ties with their original life and that they will be a person of the martial arts world from birth to death.

Moreover, people in the underworld often operate on the fringes of the law. Nicknames can obscure their true identities, preventing their families from being implicated after committing crimes, their ancestral graves from being desecrated, or the government and enemies from investigating and digging up other old grievances.

After saying this, Huang Xiaoxian looked enlightened, while Jiang Yun politely invited everyone to get in the car for dinner. Gao Junxiao glanced at the enamel clock; it was too early, but Cantonese people were used to afternoon tea, so it wasn't a bad idea.

When they were about a hundred meters away from the screen wall, a series of noisy footsteps approached. It sounded like there were many people. Jiang Yun frowned slightly and shouted loudly, "We have guests at Rongtan. Please come early tomorrow!"

As soon as he finished speaking, seven or eight guards dressed in short jackets appeared on both sides of the hall, forming a fan shape and completely blocking the door.

"Get the hell out of my way! I beg Mr. Xia to do justice! Some villains have burned down my warehouse! Their accomplices are covering it up and refuse to confess!" The mountain ghost's voice was extremely loud, and his echo reverberated throughout the front yard.

"Pah! You stinking ghost, who are you calling a villain? We at Shunfeng Wharf are doing legitimate business. Yu Xie from the Axe Gang is requesting an audience with Mr. Xia. You're helping Zhongshan Ghost cause trouble on our territory. Are you going to do anything about it or not?" Yu Xie retorted, and both sides joined in the commotion.

Even through the screen wall, one could sense the hostility. The guards tried to drive them away, but Master Wu immediately raised his hand to stop them, a hint of worry flashing in his eyes: "Please excuse the commotion. You all go to the restaurant first. I need to take care of some things at home and will come back later. Master Jiang, you lead the team first."

Jiang Yun turned around and invited Gao Junxiao and his group to walk towards the side door. They should take Rongtan's car and leave first, and then the military's car would be taken to the headquarters later.

"Wait!"

With a hurried shout, Pang Minyou jumped out from behind the screen wall and ran straight to Gao Junxiao in three steps. He grabbed Gao Junxiao and pulled him outside: "I saw your car and guessed you were inside. Help your brother out, and I'll treat you to dinner later."

Me? Gao Junxiao's mind went blank for a moment. What's the use of looking for me? I'm not a policeman.

"Hey, wait a minute." Master Wu grabbed Pang Minyou. "Old Pang, why are you pulling my brother? He has important business to attend to today and doesn't have time to help you with the investigation."

The vulgar shouting outside started again. Pang Minyou smiled awkwardly at Director Luo and quickly recounted the whole story. The key now was whether Miss He's warehouse could be opened. If it could be opened, everyone would be happy.

What warehouse? Gao Junxiao was completely confused. Even if they got married in the future, let alone living together, He Qingcheng might not tell him everything.

Besides, He Qingcheng hates it when others touch her things. All he can think about is the scene of his wife giving him a hard time and twisting his ear off after he opens the warehouse. Just thinking about it makes his ear hurt. No way...

The strong smell of gunpowder outside permeated the inner courtyard. Pang Minyou shook Gao Junxiao despite the loud noise: "What are you afraid of? I helped Miss He a lot when she was writing her book. If she were here, she would definitely agree."

"She is her, and I am me," Gao Junxiao mechanically shook his head. "Her place is a deep well of water. If outsiders see things they shouldn't see, He Qingcheng's head will be off the hook. What if I marry a ghost then?"

Pang Minyou glanced at him and cursed, "Coward! I can see you can't make decisions. Here's what you do, call her right now and get verbal authorization to open it, or ask her where the warehouse key is, a cross key."

The keys! Gao Junxiao's memory was like a floodgate suddenly opened. He Qingcheng had indeed given him a set of keys before she left, including a house key, a car key, an office key, and an office drawer key.

There was also a special yellow cross key. When asked what it was for, He Qingcheng smiled and simply replied that it was useful. Adhering to the principle of doing more and asking less, Gao Junxiao didn't pay much attention at the time, but it turned out there was a real reason behind it.

“A phone call probably won’t work; she went to the countryside to collect some things,” Gao Junxiao said, feigning difficulty. “But… I think I have a key… uh… maybe it’s not the one you want… anyway, let’s give it a try. I happen to have it with me; what if it is?”

He nearly choked to death after catching his breath. Gao Junxiao watched Pang Minyou with a wicked sense of amusement. His expression changed from disappointment to surprise, then to anger, and finally he forced a smile while suppressing his rage. Hehehe, no wonder he is the prototype of the Chinese detective. His expressions are very nuanced. Xu Xi should learn from him.

"Director Luo, I'm sorry, I need to go help out in an emergency. I can't afford to have a falling out with the guys at the dock; we still need to transport supplies," Gao Junxiao said, making up an excuse.

“It’s alright, dinner is just a way to get people together. Since you’ve all gone to the docks, why don’t we go too? That way the atmosphere won’t dissipate. I also happen to want to see the docks of Shanghai.” Luo Yudong said with a smile.

“I have no problem with that. Brother Pang, what about you?” Gao Junxiao asked Pang Minyou, who was standing in front of him.

“I’m fine with that too. As long as you don’t mind the burnt smell on site.” Pang Minyou nodded affirmatively.

Three black sedans and a police car sped to the dock. The white clouds on the horizon pressed down on the dark ruins of the warehouse. Gao Junxiao felt a strange sense of unease. Who would set fire to the warehouse in broad daylight? Shouldn't it be done in the dark of night?

Separated by only a wall, Qingcheng's rented warehouse was completely shaded, appearing somewhat cramped among the rows of warehouses and bungalows. The feng shui looked bad; no wonder he got into legal trouble. Gao Junxiao first arranged for Jiang Yun to take Director Luo and the others for a stroll along the riverbank, while he himself headed towards the warehouse.

But when he got closer, Gao Junxiao realized that the warehouse was actually half a head taller than the surrounding rooms, almost built against the wall, and the wind blowing through the gaps carried a faint fishy smell of river water, indicating that it was also close to the waterway.

This place isn't suitable for storing wooden or iron items; they're prone to getting damp. Gao Junxiao concluded that there were no weapons in the warehouse unless she didn't want to sell the goods anymore.

Thinking of this, Gao Junxiao became much bolder. The warehouse door creaked open a crack, and it was pitch black inside. Gao Junxiao only allowed Pang Minyou to follow him inside.

"Hey, why won't you let me in? Are you trying to pull something?" Mountain Ghost pointed at Gao Junxiao and shouted in dissatisfaction.

"Go in my ass, this is a private warehouse." Yu Xie spoke very rudely, deliberately emphasizing the words "private warehouse".

Seeing the two start arguing again, Pang Minyou whispered, "Stop arguing! Mountain Ghost, it's for your own good that we're not letting you in. Look at your men, some with sticks, some with knives. If there are too many of them and things get messed up, you'll be the one who suffers the consequences."

Upon hearing this, Shan Gui hesitated, pouting, "Then, then I'll be one more. I won't bring any men. Captain Pang, you can just keep an eye on me. I just want to catch the arsonist and I absolutely won't touch their things."

"You and that kid come in." Gao Junxiao glanced coldly at Yu Xie and walked inside.

With a click, the incandescent light illuminated the entire warehouse in an instant, but a quick glance revealed that the huge warehouse was completely empty. Pang Minyou scratched his head in confusion.

The mountain spirit, however, had a clear goal. He kept his head down and followed the drip marks. Following his footsteps, Gao Junxiao could see a brown stain on the northwest side of the warehouse.

"Captain Pang, look, this is the arsonist's hideout. They stored their gasoline here." Mountain Ghost excitedly circled the stain.

After shouting, a gust of wind swept past Gao Junxiao's side, and when he looked up again, Yu Xie and Pang Minyou were already squatting next to the stain.

Just as everyone was examining the stain, he caught a faint fragrance at the tip of his nose, and his heart skipped a beat. The scent was exactly the same as the one on He Qingcheng, but with a hint of something else.

The fragrance stretched the air into a thin ribbon, guiding Gao Junxiao closer and closer. Climbing the bamboo ladder, he unexpectedly discovered a small attic on the east side of the warehouse, where twenty-four large boxes were stacked neatly in rows and columns.

He sniffed it, oh, it's a camphor wood chest! Ouch~ Gao Junxiao accidentally bumped the back of his head. This crappy place was impossible to stand up straight. He hunched over and prepared to leave.

But the source of the fragrance was right in front of him, so he turned back and, as if possessed, opened a box in front of him. A strong perfume scent rushed out, and he immediately covered his mouth and nose and waved it away.

"It smells so good!"

What smells so good?

People downstairs seemed to have smelled the aroma and gathered around the stairs. Pang Minyou asked, "Zexiu, what's up there?"

"My wife spilled her perfume bottle." Gao Junxiao regretfully righted the empty bottle; it must be incredibly expensive.

The contents of the box were immediately apparent; it seemed to be filled with perfumes and cologne. Glass bottles were scattered haphazardly, and the compartments of foam were also misplaced, clearly indicating that someone had rummaged through the box.

Just then, he stepped on a hard object, a delicate little lock gleaming with silver light. Gao Junxiao picked it up and, sure enough, found scratches around the keyhole caused by a wire prying.

“Brother Pang, the arsonist you found is also a thief. He pried open my chests,” Gao Junxiao said to Pang Minyou, holding a small lock between two fingers.

"Huh? What's missing?" Pang Minyou quickly climbed up, then, clutching his head, he exclaimed, "Ugh, this garbage place is so low, only kids can stay here."

"Captain Pang, be careful not to bump your head. This attic is used to store valuables, and it's specially designed to be low, like a security system." Yu Xie couldn't help but shout to them, "Normally we use pulleys to hoist the goods up, and then have someone sit there and push them."

Pang Minyou's expression turned serious: "Yu Xie, please call our team's technicians over, and then the rest of you should seal off the scene."

"Wait a minute, don't seal it yet." Gao Junxiao called out to Yu Xie, "Young man, when were these boxes hoisted up? Judging from the dust, they don't seem to be from the same batch."

“That’s right, they all came in two boxes at a time. I remember the shipping address was Hankou. There were a total of twenty-six boxes, and two more haven’t arrived yet,” Yu Xie answered seriously.

"So many, Miss He, are you planning to resell perfumes?" Pang Minyou couldn't help but tease.

Gao Junxiao explained, "What do you mean by reselling? This is all her dowry. My father-in-law started preparing it when she was born, one box a year. However, my wife is very educated, and her age just happened to be twenty-four. When we got married, the number 'four' sounded so bad, so she didn't like it and insisted on preparing two more boxes to make it auspicious."

"I see, no wonder you're from a wealthy family." Pang Minyou gave a thumbs up.

"Captain Pang, you must investigate this thoroughly! How could you steal someone's dowry? That's shameless! Ugh!" The mountain ghost spat out a mouthful of phlegm, which would have landed on Yu Xie's shoe if he hadn't shrunk back quickly.

"Fuck your mother. Wipe it clean for me!" Yu Xie suddenly exploded, grabbing Shan Gui by the collar.

"You son of a bitch, how dare you curse my mother!" Mountain Ghost smashed through the shackles with a headbutt. "You're just upset that I stole your wine order, aren't you! What are you pretending to be so arrogant about? You burned everything so I could delay payment, huh?"

Ignoring his injuries, Yu Xie and the mountain ghost began to wrestle, baring their teeth: "Nonsense! The lowest bidder wins the wine order. I can't get your price, so there's nothing to say. People will do anything for a paycheck, but nobody does anything to lose money. There are plenty of orders out there. If I don't have wine, I still have butter."

"Stop hitting him! Stop hitting him! If you keep hitting him, Mr. Xia won't be able to get here. Ouch!" In his panic, Pang Minyou bumped his head again.

Mr. Xia, red wine, warehouse, attic, dowry chest, fragrance—suddenly, a thunderclap rang in his mind, and a "buzz" pulled Gao Junxiao out of the real world.

Looking down, he was shocked to find that everyone had become puppets, including himself. His limbs were bound with transparent threads, and his seemingly random movements were all pre-programmed actions, including those of the arsonist.

The puppeteer who manipulated everyone was vague, yet his outline was extremely familiar. Hehe, little fox, what a show!

Bang! Bang!

The deafening noise echoed through the warehouse. Yu Xie and Shan Gui stood frozen in place like figures in a photograph, their wide eyes filled with terror. Each of them had a bullet hole in their sleeve.

"What's wrong? What's wrong?" Master Wu, holding a gun, rushed in with a group of detectives.

It's perfectly reasonable to set off two bangs to celebrate, right? Gao Junxiao smiled broadly and handed the smoking revolver back to Pang Minyou: "Sorry, I was in Rongtan on business today and was wearing casual clothes. I'll return it to you when I get back."

"Aww." Pang Minyou responded blankly, his mouth half-open.

Master Wu at the door realized it was just a warning shot and quickly pulled the two wrestling men apart.

Seeing that the situation was under control, Gao Junxiao said as he climbed down the ladder, "Stop arguing, you two. You've both been tricked by the villains. Their real goal is to lure out Mr. Xia."

"How so?" the two asked in unison.

"Brother Yu, do you know where the Mountain Ghost keeps his red wine?" Gao Junxiao asked Yu Xie with a smile.

"I know, we put them in this area against the wall. Alcoholic beverages need shade to avoid direct sunlight, everyone does it this way," Yu Xie replied, puzzled.

"So you know that his wine shop is only a wall away from yours?" Gao Junxiao pressed.

"Of course. It's just red wine, nothing shady," Yu Xie said sarcastically.

The mountain spirit roared angrily, "Don't you dare spout such nonsense!"

"Alright, then let me ask you, besides avoiding light, what else should alcohol be kept away from?" Gao Junxiao pointed to the window.

"Fire!" Yu Xie and Shan Gui replied in unison, then glared at each other with disdain.

Pang Minyou looked enlightened: "Oh, I see. If I were Yu Xie and wanted to get revenge on the neighbors, I wouldn't need to pour gasoline at all. I could just flick a cigarette butt or smash a bottle of wine as a ignition source, and it wouldn't leave any trace. That arsonist must be an amateur, so he used conventional arson methods."

As soon as he finished speaking, Yu Xie realized, "It's best to cause trouble at night. Committing a crime in broad daylight is obviously framing someone."

"Yeah, how come I didn't think of that? But how did gasoline end up in his warehouse? Is there a traitor in his family?" Mountain Ghost stomped his foot angrily.

“It’s not necessarily an inside job, but it’s definitely dereliction of duty… Brother Yu, you need to investigate yourself.” Gao Junxiao continued, “I suspect that when this thief was scouting the place, he discovered that this warehouse was taller than the others, making it particularly suitable for scaling walls. So he pried open the warehouse door to store his tools. Unfortunately, the camphor wood chest had a strange fragrance, and he discovered my fiancée’s dowry chest. He then took a few items and also knocked over a bottle of expensive perfume.”

"Where did the arsonist go?" Mountain Ghost spread his hands.

“They must have taken a boat and escaped. This place is very close to the waterway. If I were him, I would prepare a small boat in advance, take advantage of the low tide in the afternoon, blend in with the fishing boats that have baited the water, and quietly row away,” Gao Junxiao replied.

His words were reasonable and well-founded, and the room fell silent for a moment. Everyone looked at each other, feeling somewhat awkward.

Having reached this point in the analysis, it's time to connect the emotional aspects as well. Gao Junxiao couldn't help but sniff the perfume lingering on his fingertips. The fragrance intertwined with his breath, gradually becoming one with it. You really know how to cause me trouble.

Gao Junxiao stared at Yu Xie and said, "Brother Yu, it's true that you failed in your management duties. They lost real money. As the manager, shouldn't you apologize to the victim to show that your Axe Gang is willing to admit your mistakes and correct them?"

With someone backing him up, the mountain spirit raised his chin arrogantly and said, "Hmph, apologize now."

"What did our Axe Gang do wrong?" Yu Xie moved his lips, his face full of reluctance, the air seemed to be torn into countless thin threads, ready to break at the slightest touch.