Gu Momo felt a chill run down her back; the chilling sensation was colder than the wind in the deep mountains.
So Grandpa Qiao has never lived here all these years. He only recently found out that she and Li Zhanting would be coming here, so he deliberately came here to create the illusion that he has lived here for many years.
But why did Grandpa Joe do that?
A dim light flashed in Gu Momo's eyes as she brewed two more cups of tea and took them out.
"Grandpa Qiao, Zhan Ting, how did your talk go? Did you get along well?" Gu Momo asked with an elegant smile on her pretty face. Her expression was natural and normal, as if nothing had happened in the kitchen.
When Grandpa Qiao saw her arrive, his dark eyes immediately filled with deep affection: "Mo'er is here."
"You're a good girl, you've found a great husband! Judging by his knowledge and experience, there are probably very few people who can compare to him!"
Li Zhanting chuckled, his attitude very modest: "Grandpa Qiao, you're joking. How can I compare to you?"
These words made Grandpa Qiao burst into laughter: "Hahaha, you're just too modest!"
Gu Momo placed the teacup neatly next to Li Zhanting and Grandpa Qiao, then found a seat and sat down. As if chatting casually, she made tea and said with a smile, "By the way, Grandpa Qiao, have you been living here all these years?"
Grandpa Qiao stroked his white beard and smiled calmly, "Momo, you know me well. This old man doesn't like to join in the fun. It's just that I'm lacking some things in life, so I occasionally go out for a stroll."
Gu Momo's lips curled slightly, but she couldn't help but sneer inwardly.
What a coincidence! A lot of things in the kitchen hadn't been touched at all!
If he really has lived here all these years, who would leave those old things there?
Moreover, in her memory, Grandpa Qiao was very clean; he could keep even the deepest parts of the house spotless!
"Grandpa really knows how to endure loneliness. If it were me, I might not be able to stay here." Gu Momo's slender fingers gently toyed with the teacup, her voice devoid of emotion.
"By the way, Grandpa Qiao, do you still make your own household items? Like stools, porcelain, etc..."
Grandpa Qiao pointed to the production tools not far away and said with a smile, "Of course!"
Upon hearing this, Gu Momo's eyes suddenly sharpened, and she quickly got up to show the props she was making to Grandpa Qiao.
The questioning tone in his voice was ambiguous: "Grandpa Qiao, can you answer me? Since you've made so many things, why are there no signs of use on any of your props? I remember the props you used before had very obvious signs of age!"
Grandpa Qiao finally sensed the gunpowder in Gu Momo's voice, and his deep eyes narrowed dangerously.
Li Zhanting narrowed his deep eyes; he had naturally noticed the change in Gu Momo's words.
His fingers tightened slightly around the teacup, and he looked at Grandpa Qiao with a deep, enigmatic smile: "Yes, Grandpa Qiao, tell us about these things too. We're used to living in the city, and we love hearing about these things. Also, Grandpa Qiao, we heard that when you saved Momo, you were in the capital. Before saving Momo, were you always in the capital? Or... did you only go to the capital occasionally?"
Gu Momo keenly grasped the key point in Li Zhanting's words: Yes!
If Grandpa Qiao only comes out of retirement occasionally, why did he happen to appear in the capital five years ago?
What was he doing in the capital back then?
If he hadn't saved Gu Momo by chance, then Grandpa Qiao would have stayed in the capital for a long time!
Seemingly finally realizing the barb in Gu Momo and Li Zhanting's words, Grandpa Qiao's gray brows furrowed slightly. He was smiling, but his gaze towards Gu Momo and Li Zhanting held a sharp edge.
"I only go out of the mountains once in a long while, and my trip to the capital was purely by chance."
"Heh, Momo, it's been so many years since we last met. Why does it feel like we're interrogating a criminal when we meet again?"
"Ha!" Seeing that Grandpa Qiao was getting impatient, Gu Momo didn't intend to be polite anymore. She went straight to the point and said, "I'm just curious, Grandpa Qiao clearly said that he has rarely left in the past five years, but why are there so many places here that look like no one has lived here in the past five years? Even the traces of life on the outside are new!"
"And also, Grandpa Qiao, you said you saved me a few years ago, that you met me by chance in the capital. Then please tell me, Grandpa Qiao, why is the pattern on the bowl you're using exactly the same as the pocket watch in the surveillance footage!"
As she spoke, Gu Momo took the broken bowl with the pattern on it and the pattern recorded on her phone and showed it to Grandpa Qiao.
The footage on Gu Momo's phone was exactly what she had found in the hotel surveillance footage from that night five years ago.
The person who took the note she left for Li Zhanting was this one wearing a pocket watch on his wrist!
But, by sheer coincidence, the pattern on the bowl that Grandpa Qiao used was exactly the same as the pattern on his pocket watch!
"You!" Grandpa Qiao's face immediately turned ugly. A glint of light flashed in his eyes as he threw out a handful of poison powder.
Gu Momo and Li Zhanting instinctively used their sleeves to cover the poison powder. Taking advantage of the opening, Grandpa Qiao instantly overturned the chessboard and ran away!
"Stop!" Li Zhanting was the first to react, and he quickly chased after them.
"Li Zhanting, wait!" Gu Momo hurriedly went to chase after him.
Meanwhile, Li Zhanting was clearly faster than Old Master Qiao. He kicked Old Master Qiao in the back of the knee, and Old Master Qiao fell to the ground instantly.
But his reaction speed was unusually fast. Almost the instant Li Zhanting was about to grab his wrist, he rolled up from the ground, pulled out a knife from his pocket, and stabbed it into Li Zhanting's chest!
"Li Zhanting!" Gu Momo reacted quickly, kicking Old Master Qiao's wrist.
Old Master Qiao's knife flew out of his hand, and Gu Momo delivered a series of cool kicks, knocking him to the ground by the roadside.
"Li Zhanting, are you alright?" Gu Momo hurriedly looked at Li Zhanting, but Li Zhanting's gaze was fixed on Old Master Qiao. "Momo! He's running away!"
Sure enough, when Gu Momo turned her head to look, Grandpa Qiao had already slid down a steep slope.
Gu Momo and Li Zhanting rushed over to check, but there was no one there except for the swaying vines at the bottom of the steep slope.
"We don't know if he has any ambushes on his side, so let's not chase him!" Li Zhanting made a decisive decision.
He then showed Gu Momo a token in his hand: "We didn't come away empty-handed today. This token was something I casually took from his pocket when we were fighting just now. Momo, can you guess what kind of token this is?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
