Chapter 72 Theft
Lu Xiaofeng never imagined that Sikong Zhaixing, whom he knew, would have such an irrational side.
As a thief, he naturally harbored some resentment towards these government officials, but he wasn't someone who was oblivious to the times. Even if he had a grudge against Jin Jiuling when he was falsely accused last time, he should have let his anger go after being exonerated. But what he's saying now...
"If you want to drink, there are plenty of restaurants in the city. Please forgive our small shop; we cannot entertain Officer Jin."
That's just being sarcastic and unhelpful.
Lu Xiaofeng secretly rubbed his forehead. Sikong Zhaixing used to be a meticulous person, but he never expected that she could be so troublesome when she acted impulsively.
Even if Jin Jiuling was of the highest moral character, it was impossible for him to be completely unperturbed after hearing such words.
However, he has ended up in this predicament because he greedily befriended an official and a thief.
Thinking about it, he sighed silently again and resignedly stepped forward to mediate: "I brought it, I brought the wine."
After speaking, he pointed to the horses tied at the door, and everyone's eyes followed. Sure enough, there were two bulging round cloth bags hanging down on either side of the saddle.
Jin Jiuling's attention was indeed diverted by him, and he asked with a teasing smile, "Wow, you're quite something. When did you prepare this? You managed to hold back all the way here."
Lu Xiaofeng shook his head helplessly: "You'll understand after a couple more visits. Eight out of ten times when I come here, there's no wine to drink. If I want to enjoy a good meal, I have to prepare it myself in advance."
The two chatted and laughed for a while. Jin Jiuling didn't hold Sikong Zhaixing's previous rude words against him, and the latter didn't say anything more. The matter was finally over.
Fortunately, at least Hua Manlou knows his limits.
As Lu Xiaofeng was thinking this, he saw his friend, whom he considered to be the most knowledgeable, calmest, and most rational, speak up: "I believe the wine in my storeroom is among the best in Jiangnan. If Officer Jin doesn't mind, you can take my jade pendant after dinner and use it as you please."
Lu Xiaofeng: ?
To be fair, what Jin Jiuling said to Lu Yusheng earlier wasn't excessive. No one thought that Sikong Zhaixing was making trouble over such a simple sentence. Even Lu Yusheng himself thought that Sikong Zhaixing was still holding a grudge about the time when Constable Jin had chased him all over the country.
...Even if he was simply driven by a protective instinct towards the person he liked, and couldn't bear to see the place he had stayed in for months being disliked.
Therefore, Hua Manlou's statement at this moment seemed particularly abrupt.
Lu Xiaofeng was familiar with his personality and always felt there was a hint of sarcasm in his words, yet his tone was consistently sincere and friendly, as if the implication of him trying to drive him away was just his imagination.
Lu Yusheng looked at Hua Manlou, then at Sikong Zhaixing, and touched the scarf around his neck that had been warmed by her body heat.
I decided to give up the idea of joining a tour group. Although things took an unexpected turn, it was better to keep things stable.
"Well, I'll go cook the dishes first."
After she finished speaking, she gestured with her eyes in the direction of Sikong Zhaixing, who obediently followed her to the kitchen.
Sensing the two leaving one after the other, Hua Manlou gently clenched his fist at his side, but was quickly called away by Lu Xiaofeng's voice asking him to fetch some wine.
Unlike Lu Yusheng, who faced Jin Jiuling's cold face directly, he couldn't see the other's expression, but in that instant, he felt the malice it released.
Although he had previously had a good impression of this capable constable, this incident was enough to make him more wary.
Hua Manlou followed Lu Xiaofeng outside, only to find that the other man did not stop when passing the horses.
As he sensed the horse's breathing fading into the distance, he didn't ask any further questions, simply following closely behind.
They had always had a relationship based on absolute mutual trust.
At this moment, no one noticed that as the four people left one after another, the chief constable, who had been maintaining a respectable smile, suddenly turned very ugly.
But as his gaze shifted to the furnishings of the room, he suppressed his displeasure and slowly walked around the various tables, chairs, and furniture to examine the other mechanical devices he had never seen before.
Lu Xiaofeng has always been very straightforward with Hua Manlou, and this time was no exception.
The helpless expression he had made countless times before didn't appear; he simply asked the other person, "What's wrong?"
This statement was illogical, but Hua Manlou understood it nonetheless.
He didn't explain much, but he still felt a little apologetic towards Lu Xiaofeng, so he said seriously, "I'm the one who made things difficult for you."
The apology came suddenly, but Lu Xiaofeng had no intention of stopping there. After repeated questioning, Hua Manlou had no choice but to reveal all his thoughts.
"...It's not because of Sikong Zhaixing, is it?"
The man with four eyebrows scratched his head and continued, "Could there be some misunderstanding?"
Even so, Lu Xiaofeng knew in his heart that he had inevitably become more wary of Jin Jiuling at this moment.
If anyone doubts Hua Manlou's judgment because he is blind, then they are making a big mistake.
Because he cannot see, his judgment of people is often not based on outward appearances.
The person who was blind to the truth but had a clear mind did not refute his point of view at this moment. Hearing this, he simply said calmly, "Perhaps I am overthinking it. Let's see how he behaves later."
——————
"Master, what happened to you just now?"
Upon entering the kitchen, Lu Yusheng's first action was to carefully remove his scarf and place it in a clean cabinet to avoid getting it greasy.
I wonder how Sikong Zhaixing wove it. Perhaps it's like what's often portrayed in movies... Art thieves always have a high level of artistic skill?
So even though it's just a simple scarf, after looking at it for a while, she felt it was very high-end.
Given the special significance of "purely handmade," Lu Yusheng subconsciously placed great importance on this gift.
"Didn't I tell you not to call me 'Master'?"
Although Sikong Zhaixing was very pleased with how much she cherished her gift, she couldn't help but feel resentful about the way she had been addressed earlier.
"Okay, Teacher Sikong."
Lu Yusheng obediently changed his tune and continued, "But you were a bit impulsive today. It was really despicable of him to arrest you without investigating the truth... But the people can't fight with the officials. What if he uses his position to settle personal scores? He'll know to behave himself when he finds a pretext to arrest you later."
"Stop, stop, stop—" Sikong Zhaixing retorted with a dark face, "Who said I was arguing with him because I held a grudge? I'm just annoyed that he said this place is no good, okay?!"
Lu Yusheng looked at Sikong Zhaixing's attempt to save face with an expression that said, "Are you kidding me?"
Finally, he bluntly said, "It's okay, Xiaoxing. I don't think you're childish. Don't worry. I'm also really annoyed by his behavior. When I'm stronger, I'll beat him up and get revenge for you."
After saying that, he thought about the uncertainty of his own upgrade and added, "I have some connections in the underworld now. If I can't beat him, I can find someone else to help me take care of him."
"...Who's afraid of him? Is there anywhere in this world that can keep me locked up?"
Despite saying that, Sikong Zhaixing was quite pleased to hear Lu Yusheng's statement.
This means that even if she doesn't have the same deep feelings for him, she is at least one of his most important friends.
In the end, he generously expressed his willingness to endure it for now and wait for Xiao Lu to stand up for him. The group returned to the table with their own thoughts, and surprisingly, they ate peacefully.
I thought Jin Jiuling would have some reservations, but to my surprise, he was surprisingly open and honest. He drank and ate as usual, and even offered a toast to Lu Yusheng.
This made Lu Yusheng, who doesn't usually like drinking, nervously return the favor with a drink.
After a few drinks, the atmosphere at the table improved considerably. Everyone chatted and laughed, and by the end, everyone had a pleasant time.
By the time Lu Yusheng finished cleaning up the leftovers, it was already late at night.
There were only three furnished guest rooms. She was wondering whether to exchange for another one, but she was worried that Sikong Zhaixing and Hua Manlou, who were staying in nearby rooms, would notice something.
The three of them have been living together here for about a month now. In this two-story place, no matter how big the space is, they have already explored it all by themselves. Even if the door is locked, Lu Yusheng will open it to let the others see if they are curious.
If a neatly decorated room suddenly appeared out of nowhere, it would be difficult to explain to the two of them.
Fortunately, when Lu Yusheng locked the kitchen door and returned to the living room, he bumped into Jin Jiuling resigning.
She already had some reservations, but after lingering for a while and seeing that the other party was determined to leave, she readily agreed.
However, Lu Yusheng paused for a moment when he saw a complete silver ingot on the bar table.
"So dignified."
She sighed softly, hesitating whether to carry out the revenge plan she had discussed with Sikong Zhaixing earlier.
...Never mind, let's handle this officially.
Anyway, it's money I earned through hard work cooking, so why can't I accept it?
Thinking it over, he casually tossed the silver into the drawer, turned off the light and closed the door, thus ending his busy day.
Not surprisingly, Lu Xiaofeng did not leave with Constable Jin.
Lu Yusheng could understand this; he and Hua Manlou had been separated for some time, and now was the perfect time to rekindle their romance.
...I just didn't expect that the other party's enthusiasm would last so long. Every day, in addition to maintaining a relationship with Hua Manlou, he also tried out all the games that Sikong Zhaixing liked to play.
With a more ruthless opponent at his disposal, Sikong Zhaixing naturally let Lu Yusheng off the hook.
However, his favorite VR parkour equipment was requisitioned by her on the third day. Although Lu Xiaofeng was a little disappointed after just experiencing it and was still feeling the novelty, he respected the owner's opinion and did not insist.
From then on, Lu Yusheng would spend some time in that room every day, usually for about two hours, and at least half an hour, but she would mysteriously refuse to tell anyone what she was doing.
Hua Manlou, who had once been unable to find anyone, asked her once, but received no answer.
Fortunately, he didn't make things difficult for her. After confirming that Lu Yusheng wouldn't do anything to harm herself, he let her go.
—Time jumps to day eleven, and Lu Yusheng's level is now close to the next skill draw.
So the first second she opened her eyes, she brought up the system to check the experience progress bar that had risen overnight. Only after confirming that it was almost the same did she pull her thoughts out of her mind.
Lu Yusheng, who woke up full of anticipation, did not notice anything different about his room compared to usual.
When they gathered around to enjoy breakfast, Sikong Zhaixing mentioned that the crystal chandelier in the hall seemed to be missing nearly 30% of its light strips, and she suddenly realized what was going on.
So when he dropped his chopsticks and ran back upstairs, he finally noticed the unusual thing inside the house.
"What's wrong?"
The remaining three were all martial artists, and even though Lu Yusheng now knew some lightness skills, keeping up with her wasn't difficult. Seeing that her expression was somewhat unpleasant at the door, Lu Xiaofeng spoke first.
"My snow globe and music box are missing."
Lu Yusheng was in a bad mood. The snow globe was fine; it was just a small decorative item she had brought herself. But the music box was a return gift she had prepared for Hua Manlou.
It was a new product category that she painstakingly developed by exploiting a bug and coaxing and deceiving the system.
"Don't worry, I'll help you find it. Did you lose it somewhere?" Hua Manlou had already walked in first, comforting her gently.
Upon seeing him now, Lu Yusheng felt even worse, unsure whether he should reveal his surprise in this way ahead of time.
"They must have been stolen. Those two items weren't small. The room is only so big; you could see them at a glance if they were thrown anywhere."
She said in a low voice, and then added at the end, "It's not something particularly valuable."
That's true. For her now, the only real luxuries in the mall are high-tech gaming pods and holographic helmets. Even if Lu Yusheng deliberately chooses the more expensive items, the total cost of the decorations is barely equivalent to a computer.
What's frustrating is that she's been busy tinkering with VR these past two days and has no recollection of when her things were stolen, which makes it even more difficult to recover them.
Thinking of this, Lu Yusheng couldn't help but glance at the culprit who had indirectly kept him busy for several days, but paused slightly when he met the other party's angry eyes.
At this moment, Sikong Zhaixing had clearly reached his limit and spoke with great anger: "I don't care if it's valuable or not, how dare they play this trick right under his grandfather Sikong's nose!"
He was so angry that the veins under his eyes were bulging. He forced himself to catch his breath before he could calm down and said, "Xiao Lu, don't worry about this. Lu Xiaoji and I will help you find it."
After saying that, he said angrily, "If I catch him, I'll make sure he's dead. He's really got guts to steal from the ancestral home of thieves."
Before Lu Xiaofeng could even utter a rebuttal, he was dragged away to search for clues.
In just a few minutes, the once somewhat crowded room was now empty except for her and Hua Manlou.
The latter looked at her and reassured her, "Don't worry, I'll go look for clues with you. Most of the things you have here don't exist in the Central Plains. Once they've been leaked out, we'll definitely be able to find them."
"That would be too much trouble for you. It's like looking for a needle in a haystack..." If it were up to him to find it himself, that would be fine, but Lu Yusheng really didn't want others to go through all that trouble for her.
However, the words of refusal were stopped by the other party's actions as soon as they were uttered.
Hua Manlou held up a finger to his lips in a "shh" gesture. Hearing that Lu Yusheng had indeed stopped saying those formal things, he jokingly asked in a low voice, "You don't believe in blind men?"
She choked on her breath, quickly shook her head in denial, but then, afraid of hurting him, she dared not argue further.
After everyone had left, Lu Yusheng, who was left alone in the room, looked up at the ceiling.
At first, she was just spacing out unconsciously, but when her gaze swept over the corner of the wall, her thoughts suddenly returned as if she had just remembered something.
Yes, ever since she was startled by Ye Guhong's sudden visit that night, she installed cameras in the second-floor corridor and outside the main door. Since nothing unexpected happened, she naturally didn't think to check them.
Right now...
Lu Yusheng rushed to the computer desk and turned on the computer. Fortunately, the loading process went smoothly without any lag or crashes. Otherwise, the blow to her heart would have been no joke.
I nervously moved the mouse to open the monitoring backend, and only breathed a sigh of relief when I saw that the screen was still lit up.
The data stored in the cloud was intact, and there was no damage due to power outages or other malfunctions as she had worried about.
The time was rewound at double speed for nearly thirty hours, and she finally saw a strange figure in the corridor footage from the night before last.
The intruder deliberately avoided the main entrance and went to great lengths to sneak in through the second-floor window. However, he clearly did not expect the unfortunate family that had been robbed to have such a trick up their sleeve, as they made no disguise other than wearing a night-clothes.
...Unfortunately, Lu Yusheng paused and stared at the half-face that was visible for a long time but still couldn't recognize who it was.
With the enhancements that come with so many upgrades, her memory should be able to remember anyone who isn't a complete stranger.
But the man in the video, even after she took a screenshot, enlarged it, and edited the image quality, and stared at it for a long time, didn't trigger any related memories whatsoever.
Should we ask them for help?
Is it okay for them to see this?
After much deliberation, Lu Yusheng finally chose the result from the first coin toss after flipping the coin three times.
Finding a thief who has never been seen before without surveillance is like looking for a needle in a haystack, and the hope of finding any remaining clues is very slim.
It's not that Lu Yusheng doesn't trust his friend's investigative abilities, but the reason suspense dramas take so many episodes is precisely because there's no such cheat code.
Now that we have direct leads, it's better to share them than to watch others do useless work.
After all, they were helping him find something.
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