Indeed, only one. Half an hour passed easily, and after disembarking at Luoyang Airport, they were greeted by two people outside the airport terminal.
Seeing the high-ranking official Lan's profound and authoritative expression, Zhou Xuan immediately knew that he must have called ahead to inform them. The arrival of a high-ranking official in a local area was like the arrival of an imperial envoy from the inner palace, as described in ancient times.
If Zhou Xuan hadn't known the mission wouldn't be easy, he would have felt rather content. Looking at the two men who came to greet them, their humble expressions told him that being an imperial envoy was the most desirable job.
The car that came to pick them up was a twelve-seater minibus. On the way, the two people who came to greet them... Er Gong spoke to them, probably because he didn't dare to say anything carelessly, lest things go wrong and Hu Hu would not let them off the hook.
The location was the Luocheng Public Security Bureau, just as Zhou Xuan had predicted.
But after getting off at the police station, they didn't recognize anyone there except for the two plainclothes officers who had accompanied them. No one greeted them, and there were many people coming and going at the station.
Once they entered the director's office, the two people who had come to greet them stopped following them inside.
In the office was a slightly overweight man in his fifties. Upon meeting him, he stood up and warmly shook hands with the senior executive.
The senior executive introduced Zhou Xuan to him: "Xiao Zhou, this is Director Wu."
Director Wu, with a smile on his face, shook hands with Zhou Xuan, Li Yong, and Fang Jianjun one by one, then said to the Lan Gaoling: "According to the instructions you relayed, of the two tomb-raiding gangs, all seven members of one gang are dead. In the other gang, all four members have been secretly apprehended. Of the seven dead, three were brought back from the hospital, and four have already been buried. Their families, knowing what they were doing, dared not report it, so they lied and claimed they died of sudden illness and were quickly buried. None of the families of these seven deceased reported it to the police."
"
The Blue-collar leader nodded. Then he said, "Let's examine the deceased first!"
In another building behind the Public Security Bureau building, there is the Criminal Investigation Technology Department and the Forensic Identification Department. On the second floor, there is a small mortuary.
Zhou Xuan and his three companions followed Director Wu to the door of the morgue and asked the officer on duty to open it. A forensic pathologist also arrived with them.
The moment the door opened, a blast of cold air rushed out. At the same time, Zhou Xuan felt that extremely uncomfortable aura of death!
The forensic doctor pulled back the white sheets covering each corpse, revealing their naked bodies. Zhou Xuan glanced at the pale, fleshy corpses and nearly vomited!
Director Wu gave him a strange look, noticing that the Blue-ranking official seemed to value him quite a bit. But if it was a secret task force from the highest levels of the National Security Bureau, surely they wouldn't be so easily fazed by a corpse?
Zhou Xuan composed himself before saying, "The scent on the corpse is that thing, there's no mistake. I'll wait outside first!"
"I really can't stand this smell." Lan Gao smiled slightly, nodded, and didn't say anything. Director Wu is really strange!
He had the privilege of witnessing Lan Gao's background and ruthlessness firsthand, and surely his subordinates wouldn't be such cowards? They wouldn't even dare look at a corpse. Yet, Lan Gao himself didn't seem to show any displeasure.
After examining the body and confirming that it matched the bodies of the deceased in Beijing, Lan Gaozhong signaled for it to be brought out. He then said to Director Wu, "Director Wu, cremate the body immediately. Make sure to reassure the families of the deceased. As for the public, you know this: cooperate with us as much as possible in handling this discreetly, and absolutely do not cause public panic!"
Subsequently, the higher-ups in Lan had Director Wu arrange a secret interrogation room to interrogate the four tomb raiding gangs.
The first person they interrogated was a man nicknamed "Groundhog." His real name was Li Quan, and he was thirty-six years old. Their gang consisted of four people; they were from the same family.
Leading the group was his third uncle, Li Jinlong, who was forty-nine years old. The other two were Li Quan's younger brother, Li Feihu, and his brother-in-law, Wang Degui.
Their tomb-raiding gang was quite famous throughout Henan. Firstly, their ancestors—Li Jinlong's grandfather's generation—were a notorious family of tomb raiders during the Republic of China era. Secondly, Li Jinlong was highly skilled, and their supply of genuine and abundant tomb goods made them very popular with buyers and middlemen.
Interrogating Li Quan first is a common practice among the Blue Party's higher-ups. This is because Li Quan's file indicates that he is timid, cowardly, and afraid of death. Interrogating the weaker party first and then the stronger party makes it easier to get the desired result.
Li Quan looked sleazy, with shifty eyes and eyes so small they resembled a rat's. He was only about 1.6 meters tall, truly deserving of his nickname "Groundhog."
Li Quan was led in and sat down in a chair, bathed in bright sunlight from all sides, making it difficult for him to open his eyes. He was wearing handcuffs.
Zhou Xuan and Lan Gaozhang sat opposite him, while Li Yong and Fang Jianjun stood to the side.
The senior executive from the Blue Bureau held a stack of documents in his hand. He first stared intently at Li Quan, who initially pretended to be indifferent. However, after being stared at for a few minutes, Li Quan softened and his gaze became somewhat evasive.
But the Blue executives remained silent. After a few more minutes of silence, Li Quan could no longer contain himself, and sweat began to bead on his forehead.
At this moment, the Blue executive withdrew his gaze and read aloud a dozen or so items from the documents in his hand. Zhou Xuan listened and found it to be nothing more than a matter of which place they stole from in which year and month, and what they sold.
After reading a few items, the high-ranking official waved the paper in his hand at him and said, "I won't read any more. I'll just give you a brief overview. Ignoring the smaller items, there are forty-seven national treasures alone. Do you know that? That alone could be enough to sentence you to death!"
The high-ranking official from the Blue Army stood up and said coldly, "Execution, death penalty, or being forced to eat peanuts. Understand?"
Li Quan completely collapsed under the relentless pressure from the Blue high-ups! To find out what happens next, please log in to Ganba. More chapters available. Support the author. Support genuine reading!
Volume One: The First Budding Talents, Chapter Ninety-One: The Legend of the Ancient City of Shixianggou in Yanshi
Second, I'm begging for monthly votes, brothers, please support me! Lao Luo is really worried! "I'll answer anything you ask, I'll answer everything." Li Quan's body was practically slumped in his chair!
The Blue executive remained silent for a while. This time, he didn't want to intimidate Li Quan again, but was just thinking about where to start asking questions.
However, the silence of the Blue executives only made Li Quan more afraid and panicked, and sweat rolled down his face like water droplets.
In this world, the more money people make, the more afraid they are of death. Rich people will try every means to find elixirs and magic formulas for immortality, but immortality will always remain just an illusion and a legend.
Since immortality is just a mythical legend, the wealthy naturally seek to prolong their lives by eating, drinking, and taking good care of themselves. People like Li Quan, who robbed countless tombs and sold countless antiques and treasures, made a fortune off the dead. They were engaged in this kind of work. Of course, they were mentally prepared for this, and they always thought about living life to the fullest. No matter how much money you earn, if you don't live to enjoy it, it's all for naught!
The senior executive said calmly, "Then tell us. We can reduce your punishment based on the value of what you confess." Li Quan's spirits immediately lifted when he heard that his punishment could be reduced!
This was exactly what he wanted to hear. Wiping his sweat, he quickly said, "I...where should I begin?"
"What do you think?" The senior executive smiled faintly and asked in return.
The basketball executives' mysterious and profound words naturally made Li Quan feel uneasy and he immediately spilled the beans, mentioning specific dates and locations. He described how they had dug up such and such places, obtained such and such things, and then sold them to someone in such and such places.
The high-ranking official frowned. He hadn't uttered a word about what he wanted. What he had said might be extremely valuable to the police, but he wasn't interested in it. He didn't care how many antique dealers the police could arrest.
Li Quan recounted what he considered to be some of the most valuable tomb-raiding experiences, but the unfamiliar, mysterious figure before him didn't seem friendly. He appeared dissatisfied with his words. Li Quan grew even more frightened, frantically trying to think of anything else he could say.
But he was also puzzled. The police were interrogating them. Shouldn't they all give statements? These are crucial pieces of evidence in court. Yet, none of these people had given a statement. His words weren't recorded, nor were they audiotaped. It was strange, but even so, he dared not speak or ask.
Seeing that Li Quan couldn't come up with anything, the senior official from the Blue Army said coldly, "Li Quan, do you know this Li Xinyuan?"
“Li Xinyuan?” Li Quan paused for a moment, then nodded. “I know him. By some accounts, Li Xinyuan’s ancestors and mine were from the same branch. However, a hundred years ago, we had a disagreement and split into two branches. Until now, neither of us has any contact with the other. They do their thing, and we do ours.”