After Li Changyou showed me his payment code and took 30,000 yuan from me, he rubbed his neck, stood up, and poured himself a glass of water.
Seeing Li Changyou's dawdling manner, I couldn't help but urge him, "Can you tell me now? What information are you going to sell me?"
"Don't worry, although I, Li Changyou, am greedy, I have my bottom line. If this information is worth the price, I definitely won't let you suffer a loss!"
Li Changyou took a sip of water to moisten his throat and said, "I remember the last time we met, there was a very thin young man from your side, but he had a very loud voice. I think his surname was Hou, right?"
When I heard Li Changyou mention this person, my eyes widened: "Is this matter related to him?"
"What do you mean by 'related to him'? I'm talking about this person!"
Li Changyou sniffed: "Your friend's life is about to end; someone wants to kill him!"
After hearing Li Changyou's words, my eyes instantly reddened: "What happened to him? Explain yourself!"
Li Changyou was startled by my appearance: "I'm just trying to give you information, why are you acting like you want to eat me up? Don't scare me, or I won't say anything more!"
"You fucking bastard!"
Seeing that Li Changyou was going in circles, I grabbed his collar and pressed a throwing knife against his chin: "Do you believe I can hang you on that rope right now?"
"Don't be impulsive, I'm just saying this!"
Li Changyou raised his head to dodge my knife tip and said, "I think that with so many teams coming into the mountains to look for mineral veins recently, they must all be sent by those big bosses who are not short of money. Although those people can bring advanced equipment, they are not familiar with the terrain in the mountains. Back when I was collecting mountain goods, I went into the mountains year after year. If I were a guide, I could make a lot of money!"
I couldn't sleep last night, constantly thinking about what I'd come up with. The more I thought about it, the more plausible it seemed, so I went into the mountains early this morning to try my luck and see if I could run into a mining team. And guess what? I actually did! I was originally going to go to their camp and offer myself, but when I got closer, guess what?
I brandished a knife and threatened, "Screw you! Do you think I'm listening to a storyteller? Just say what you want to say!"
Li Changyou curled his lip and said, "Those people set up tents in a valley, using tree trunks as walls and barbed wire in the middle, probably to prevent wild animals from attacking. But just as I approached the camp, I found your friend surnamed Hou hanging from a wooden frame in the camp!"
I frowned and asked, "How many people are in that camp? Why is my friend there?"
"You're putting me in a difficult position! Although I'm greedy, I'm not very brave. I wouldn't dare to get involved in something like this, so I just watched from a distance! At that time, the people in the camp were whipping that guy surnamed Hou and yelling that if he didn't cooperate, they would dig a hole and bury him. As for what they wanted your friend to cooperate with, I didn't hear clearly!"
Li Changyou scratched his head: "When I saw the way these people did things, I felt that most of the people who went into the mountains to look for minerals were gangsters. If I acted as their guide and a conflict arose, I could be killed in the mountains and no one would know. So I ran back."
According to Li Changyou, if the monkey had been caught by someone else, it is very likely that it did not fall into the cave at all during the explosion, but remained on top and was captured by He Hai's men.
The thought flashed through my mind, and I pressed Li Changyou for an answer: "In that camp, besides the monkeys, did you see another tall, strong person?"
"No!"
Li Changyou shook his head, then added, "At the time, there was a forest between us, and the visibility was not very good. If he had been trapped in a blind spot or inside a tent, I would not have been able to find him."
I thought for a moment and cautiously asked, "The two sides are so far apart, can you be sure that the person who was captured was my friend?"
Li Chang replied confidently, "If it were someone else, I might mistake them, but your friend is as skinny as a skeleton soldier from the Legend of Mir. It's really not easy for an average person to grow up to be like him!"
I continued, "How far is that camp you mentioned from the town? If I asked you to go there again, could you still find it?"
"Finding it isn't difficult, but that comes at a different price."
Li Changyou blinked: "The 30,000 yuan just now was for the information. Now that I've given you the information, if you want me to lead the way, I won't extort you. Give me another 20,000 yuan. That's not too much to ask, is it?"
He Hai hates me to the core and is willing to offer a reward of millions for my life. Given his personality, he wouldn't feel any guilt even if he killed someone. When I thought about how Monkey was being tortured by those people, I rubbed my cheeks, composed myself, and nodded to Li Chang: "No problem, let's set off now! If the intelligence is correct, I'll give you double the price!"
I negotiated the terms with Li Changyou, asking him to take me into the mountains to find monkeys. Then, I had Xue Dong send two people out to restrain Li Changyou. To prevent him from escaping, we tied his hands.
Li Changyou was held down by the burly man, struggling repeatedly: "Hey, what are you doing? I was just trying to help you, you can't repay kindness with enmity!"
Although I was worried about the monkey's safety, I didn't put all my bets on Li Changyou: "I said, if you help me find the person, I'll give you double the reward, but in return, if you collude with outsiders to set me up, you'll be the first one to die!"
Xue Dong then walked over and said, "I've already sent the equipment you requested to the town forty kilometers away, as instructed. But I'm a little curious, since you're in such a hurry, why do you want the equipment delivered first thing tomorrow morning?"
"Something will happen in Qingyun Town tonight. The details are too complicated to explain in a few words. Have your men assemble. Let's go up the mountain first!"
I glanced at my watch; it was almost midnight. After leaving Li Changyou's courtyard, I dialed the number for Butterfly Man.
The butterfly man's voice came through the receiver quickly: "Hello?"
I heard the Butterfly Man's voice and asked directly, "How's it going on your end? Have you found anything?"
"No, I tried to enter the cave, but I didn't find anything."
The butterfly man paused for a moment: "I think there are two possibilities. First, your friends have already escaped. If they couldn't escape, they probably fell into the abyss below. That cave is too deep for me to go down."
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