Ning Zhiheng was unwilling to deal with this scoundrel anymore, so he gestured for Liu Datong to step forward and interrogate him, while he turned around and sat down in his chair to watch quietly!
Old Liao had been hoping to show off his skills in front of Commander Ning, but before he could even begin the torture, Cui Er chickened out and begged for mercy, leaving Old Liao in an awkward position. This was truly embarrassing! Wasn't this ruining someone's future?! Damn it! I'll make you pay later!
This time, Liu Datong was no longer in a good mood. Without saying a word, he stepped forward and whipped Cui Er until he was covered in blood and gore. Then he asked viciously, "Hand over everything else obediently, or I'll skin you alive today!"
The barely breathing Cui Er finally managed to catch his breath and said, "Stop hitting me, please, stop hitting me! I'll tell you everything!"
It turned out that when Cui Er entered No. 2 Liushu Hutong, he turned the room upside down. To his surprise, the homeowner not only had a large amount of cash hidden there, but also a lot of gold bars, goldware and jade, which were obviously worth a lot of money. He packed them all up and brought them back!
He became more cautious and secretly hid all the items, only spending some cash.
After being captured by Liu Datong, he gritted his teeth and dared not utter a word, thinking that he could still rely on this remaining money to live a good life after he got out! This was his only hope for the future. In the end, his leg was broken, so he could no longer speak. With his leg broken, even if he got out alive, his livelihood would be gone, and he couldn't live without this money, so he simply endured it!
Unexpectedly, Ning Zhiheng arrived and saw through his lie at a glance. In the end, he was about to suffocate him. Between life and death, he couldn't hold on any longer and finally spat out his breath, accepting his fate!
"The thing is buried in my yard, under that willow tree on the east side," Cui Er said weakly.
Liu Datong glared fiercely at Cui Er and cursed, "Cui Er, if you dare to lie to me again, I'll kill you when I get back!"
Cui Er's face was pale, his head drooping to the ground. He no longer had the strength to speak. His lips moved, but no sound came out.
Ning Zhiheng then stepped forward and stared at him carefully for a while before nodding and saying to Lao Liao, "Take him back, but don't kill him yet!"
Then he said to Liu Datong, "Datou, let's go to his house, retrieve the things according to the location he told us to, and see what he's hiding."
Ning Zhiheng and Liu Datong drove to Cui Er's house. It was a very ordinary commoner's house, with two tiled houses and a small courtyard in front of the houses. In the courtyard grew a lush willow tree that looked quite old.
Following the directions given by Cui Er, Ning Zhiheng arrived at the east side of the willow tree and said to Liu Datong, "It should be here."
Liu Datong looked around and found a worn-out shovel in the yard. He picked it up and started digging at the spot Ning Zhiheng had indicated.
They quickly dug a pit, and after a short while, the shovel struck something hard with a loud thud. Liu Datong immediately sped up the digging. Soon, a flat iron box was revealed!
Liu Datong used a shovel to pry it out, then brushed off the dirt and handed it to Ning Zhiheng.
The iron box wasn't locked and could be opened directly. Ning Zhiheng opened the box and saw twenty gold bars and two jade boxes neatly arranged inside.
Liu Datong glanced at the stack of gold bars and couldn't help but exclaim, "Wow!" He thought to himself, "This is indeed a huge windfall! No wonder Cui Er was willing to risk his life to refuse to tell!"
Ning Zhiheng ignored the gold bars and gently picked up the two jade boxes. He had a premonition that the contents of these two jade boxes were the reason why the tenant named Dong Chengjie had hastily fled the rented house.
Upon opening one of the jade boxes, Ning Zhiheng's eyes lit up immediately. Inside was an extremely beautiful jadeite magatama, its texture delicate and translucent, its color a pure emerald green, shaped like a crescent moon, radiating a dazzling, crystalline light—it was exquisitely beautiful!
In the last few years of his previous life, Ning Zhiheng spent almost all his time dealing with antiques and jade. He wouldn't dare call himself a master of antiques, but he did have some knowledge of jadeite ornaments, and ordinary objects couldn't hide from his eyes.
The so-called magatama is a very ancient type of ornament, mostly found in Japan, and also in China and Korea, but very rarely!
According to legend, the magatama can generate spirits. As a tool for communication between gods, it has always been believed to have the ability to improve fortune and exorcise demons.
These magatama are extremely popular in Japan. They are sold in almost every antique shop that sells jade. This is similar to the ancient Chinese custom of carving jade into pendants.
Ning Zhiheng had seen this kind of magatama in his previous life, but the material used was far inferior to the one in his hand!
Ning Zhiheng opened another jade box, inside which was an exquisite gold-inlaid jade seal. The upper part was a bird made of pure gold, with a lifelike shape and exquisite craftsmanship. The lower part was a piece of warm and lustrous white jade, with delicate patterns carved on the bottom of the white jade.
Ning Zhiheng looked closely and saw that the pattern was carved very neatly. There were four rhombus-shaped plum blossoms, neatly stacked together with the petals facing outwards, forming an extremely regular rhombus pattern!
The seal is flat and exquisitely crafted, exuding an ancient and weathered aura. It is an extremely precious antique.
Ning Zhiheng was now almost certain that the root of everything was this exquisite gold-inlaid jade seal.
Liu Datong turned his gaze away from the gold bars and watched Ning Zhiheng examine the two jade artifacts closely. He then asked Ning Zhiheng, "Commander Ning, is there anything special about these two treasures?"
Ning Zhihong hesitated for a moment before explaining, "They're not exactly treasures! Jade doesn't fetch a good price these days, but these two are indeed valuable items! This is a magatama, an ancient ornament, especially common in Japan, and rarely seen in our country."
This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
