Chapter 377: A Professional Con Artist
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
According to Li Xiusheng’s phone’s GPS, Zhao Yu caught up to him quickly. Although Mr. Li was filthy rich, he kept a low profile and only came to the police station on an electronic tricycle. Zhao Yu trailed behind him and found that he stayed back for very long at a small store near Flower Market Street. And, when he left the small store, he was carrying a box in his hands. He put the box on the tricycle and looked around cautiously. Then, he got onto his tricycle and rode toward a housing area behind Flower Market Street. That row of housing was the earliest batch of bungalows in Qinshan. As it was near to the city center, the price had become sky high.
Zhao Yu followed Li Xiusheng, and very quickly he saw him drive into of one of the bungalow’s yard. The bungalow’s gate was really top-notch. After Li Xiusheng went in, the gate closed tightly automatically, and it was like a window curtain that does with no gap. So, Zhao Yu couldn’t see anything from the outside.
Zhao Yu raised his head, but he could only see Li Xiusheng was fidgeting with something in the yard, and he looked like he was in a hurry. In order to get a better look, Zhao Yu wanted to get out of the car. But before he opened the door, he saw two surveillance cameras on the pillar od the gate, and they covered the entire area from the gate to the wall, without any blind spots. If Zhao Yu were to walk over, he would most likely be noticed by the man.
“Alright!” Zhao Yu thought to himself, “If it’s like this, I might as well waste it one more time!” He quickly tapped on the Invisible Fluoroscopic Device in his mind. He could then see through the gate and see what was happening inside. Although the image was unclear, by his silhouette, Zhao Yu could tell that Li Xiusheng was moving something with a fat woman. In front of them, besides the tricycle, was another car. On the fluoroscopic device, there were many pixelated patches, and Zhao Yu couldn’t see the brand of the car. But according to his understanding of cars, he was certain that it was a luxurious BMW.
The woman put a lot of things into the trunk of the BMW. When Li Xiusheng went to put another box into the trunk, there was almost no space left! Helplessly, Li Xiusheng had no choice but to put the box in the back seat. Then, the two of them seemed to be fighting about something vigorously, as though they were in a hurry. In the end, the woman flapped her arms around and returned to the house. Li Xiusheng pulled the car door open and got onto the BMW.
“Yo?” Zhao Yu was thinking quickly. According to their few actions, he could tell something. Zhao Yu got an idea and quickly pulled open his car door and ran over.
Just when Zhao Yu ran to the entrance of the bungalow, Li Xiusheng happened to open the gate. It seemed that he just wanted to leave the house in his BMW. He had already started the car engine. When Zhao Yu saw, he quickly dashed through the front gate. At the same time, he waved at Li Xiusheng as though they knew each other!
Li Xiusheng wanted to step on the gas pedal and drive out, but he got a shock when he saw someone suddenly walk in. He immediately stepped on the brakes. Zhao Yu seized the chance to pull open the car door and sit in the back seat of the BMW.
“Wow! Mr. Lee is such an amazing man. This is a BMW 730! Hehehe! So rich!” Zhao Yu exclaimed when he got into the car.
Li Xiusheng was dumbstruck, and he immediately roared, “Hey? Who are you? What are you doing? You…”
“Aiyo, I forgot to introduce myself, Mr. Lee. Nice to meet you!” Zhao Yu said politely as he showed him his badge.
“Ah!” Liu Xiusheng was shocked. His face grew pale as he asked, “P-p-police?”
“You are so nervous. What happened? Did you do something illegal, and now you feel bad?” Zhao Yu smiled and pressed the handgun in his pocket with his right hand as he was afraid that Liu Xiusheng would make a strange move.
“No, no, nothing, Officer. Mm… Police Officer, how can I help you?” Li Xiusheng stuttered to the point that Zhao Yu suspected that he had a speech impediment.
“Hahahaha!” Zhao Yu laughed. “Mr. Lee! Look at your terrified expression. Let’s get to business! I heard that you are a famous master appraiser, and I need some help from you!”
“Who…who said that? How would I know?” Li Xiusheng creased his eyebrows while looking at Zhao Yu from head to toe, wanting to find out where Zhao Yu’s came from.
“Just a few questions. After you help me, I will leave immediately!” Zhao Yu comforted him. “Do you know that they found a prefect’s tomb from the Ming Dynasty in Yunyang a few days ago? There was a dead body in the tomb! I am the detective in charge of the case. As there were some things about the relics that we couldn’t understand, I am here to ask for your help!”
“A prefect’s tomb?” Li Xiusheng was confused, but when Zhao Yu expressed the purpose of his visit, Li Xiusheng slowly calmed down and asked, “I am not an archeologist, what can I help you with?”
“The grave robbers took the relics in the tomb. I would like to ask you, if the grave robbers were to sell their spoils in Qinshan, who would they look for? Your connections are strong, can you tell me?”
“Huh?” Li Xiusheng then understood what Zhao Yu meant, and immediately pretended he didn’t know anything. “Officer, what do you mean? How would I know where the grave robbers would sell their spoils? I am just a flower seller. You…you are asking the wrong person.”
“Oh. In that case…” Zhao Yu pouted and a wicked idea came to him. He quickly took the box in the back seat and asked, “Huh? Mister Lee, what is this?”
Then, before Mr. Lee could object, Zhao Yu opened the box straight away. There was a porcelain vase wrapped in bubble wrap.
“Hey? You?! Don’t move!” Liu Xiusheng panicked and stopped him. But why would Zhao Yu listen to him? He took out the vase. It was a vase that had red pattern stripes, but there was a chip near the mouth of the vase, and it looked like it was quite old.
“What is this? Is this very expensive?” Zhao Yu pretended to ask. He knew that Li Xiusheng dealt with relics, and that this was something that was taken from the hidden small store. So, it should cost a ton!
“Mm, mm…” Li Xiusheng was contradicting himself. He said with difficulty, “It costs quite a bit of money! It is a high-grade item that is supposed to be sent along with my flowers. The vase was specially ordered by a rich customer of mine!”
“Oh…” Zhao Yu nodded. He had already tapped on the Invisible Analyzer that he had never used before. The device could help accurately identify an item’s information. The most suitable use was to evaluate treasured items.
After activating, the analyzer quickly gave an answer, “Jun kiln purple enamel vase from the Ming Dynasty. There is a trace of adhesives; a precious relic treasure…” Although the analyzer did not show a price, Zhao Yu was well aware of the phrase “Jun kiln”. There was a saying, “Jun porcelain is better than wealth.” The porcelain before his eyes was broken but it was definitely genuine, and it was from the Ming Dynasty. Zhao Yu knew that the price was not low. If it was a treasure, Zhao Yu could easily gauge that Li Xiusheng was lying! And him not daring to reveal the price of the treasure signified that he was guilty!
Zhao Yu laughed. “Mr. Lee, your pot is too beautiful, and I like it too much. Why don’t you give me a price and sell it to me then?”
“Huh? What?!” There were beads of sweat rolling down Li Xiusheng’s face…