Chapter 66 Who Are You Talking To

Shi Qi.
The Thirteen Ghost Gates.
Missing persons.
What on earth is the connection among all these things?

A sudden flash of inspiration struck my mind. I found a nearby telephone, called Old Thief, and told him everything that had happened here.

Old Thief chuckled and said, "I've been waiting for you! I wanted to see just how long it would take an idiot dog like you to remember to call me. Isn't it infuriating?"

I rolled my eyes in sheer exasperation at Old Thief's words, completely helpless against him. That old rascal's sole amusement in life was playing tricks on people, and he had truly fallen in love with this line of work.

Old Thief continued, "Everything you just mentioned—actually, I figured it all out long ago."

"The key to this case lies in the Shi family's box. Even though there are book spirits inside that box, they only acknowledge the constables. If anyone else gets their hands on the box, it is completely useless."

"Of course, the Thirteen Ghost Gates could destroy the book spirits just like you did and take away the secret manuals."

"However, are they also wary of Shi Qi's identity?"

Hearing this, I retorted, "What identity does Shi Qi have?"

Old Thief explained, "All constables under heaven originate from the Six Gates. To this day, the heritage of the Six Gates has never been broken, and they still wield considerable influence."

"An eighth-generation constable is of extraordinary significance to the Six Gates. From the moment they are born, they receive the attention of the Six Gates. Once they enter the trade, they become prime candidates for key cultivation by the Six Gates. Those people wouldn't dare to make a move against Shi Qi lightly."

"Furthermore, those six boxes should properly be called the Divine Constable's Treasure Caskets. They can be considered holy relics of the Six Gates. As long as they remain in Shi Qi's hands, the Six Gates will not reclaim them. But if they fall into the hands of the Thirteen Ghost Gates, it means a direct confrontation with the Six Gates."

"The Thirteen Ghost Gates are not willing to pay such a price."

"Therefore, they came up with the idea of dragging Shi Qi into this cold case."

With a stern face, I said, "Cut to the chase and tell me what's useful!"

Old Thief laughed heartily and said, "Young man, you need to learn to keep your composure."

"Listen more to the opinions of your predecessors. This will help you to—"

***

Before Old Thief could finish his sentence, I heard a furious shout coming from the other end of the line: "Who is Xu Sheng? Come with us, and bring the stolen goods along."

My heart instantly skipped a beat. "Old Thief, what's going on over there?"

"Someone's getting impatient!" Old Thief said cheerfully. "I'll handle things here and get back to you later."

Before I even had a chance to speak, I heard another voice barking angrily over the phone: "Who are you talking to? Put the phone down!"

On the other end, Old Thief hung up the phone and looked coldly at the people who had barged into the tattoo parlor. "Does who I call have anything to do with you? Who do you think you are?"

The leader was a woman with a wide, flat face, broad shoulders, a stout build, and a dark complexion. She curled her large mouth and said, "My name is Chen Xiyuan, a constable of the Six Gates. Pack up your things and come with us."

Old Thief looked the woman up and down and said, "A Six Gates constable? I thought the Guanyin Bodhisattva's guardian deity had arrived! Where on earth did you get such a grandiose entrance?"

Old Thief came within a hair's breadth of pointing at her nose and scolding her as a black bear spirit, leaving the woman's face turning livid with anger.

Chen Xiyuan roared, "How dare you insult the Six Gates!"

Old Thief sneered, "Don't elevate yourself so high. Why don't you say I'm insulting the imperial power and all the deities of the heavens? Spit out whatever you have to say quickly; I'm busy right now!"

Pointing at Old Thief, Chen Xiyuan yelled, "Are you deaf, or do you not understand human speech? I told you to pack your things and come with me!"

"Get lost!" Old Thief pointed toward the door. "Go call your Chief Constable, and then we can talk. Otherwise, don't blame me for beating the living daylights out of you."

"You dare—" Chen Xiyuan had barely uttered two words when Old Old Man's fan-like palm landed squarely across her face.

Old Old Man unleashed a flurry of slaps from left to right, striking Chen Xiyuan so hard that she crashed to the ground and couldn't get back up. The few constables who had accompanied her wanted to make a move, but a single sentence from Old Thief scared them back into place.

Holding his tobacco pouch, Old Thief waved it through the air and asked, "Do you recognize this? If not, ask your Chief Constable, Yuan Boyang, before you speak to me again."

For a moment, the constables were unsure of Old Thief's true background and stood frozen in place, not knowing what to do.

After finishing his beatings, Old Old Man brushed his hands together and muttered, "Whose species does this woman belong to? Her face is so wide my palm can't even cover it. If I want to slap her evenly, I'll need a few more blows, otherwise some spots won't get hit!"

Though Chen Xiyuan's face had been swollen to twice its size by Old Old Man's slaps, she somehow managed to speak: "You're all done for. You dared to assault members of the Six Gates, and the Chief Constable won't let you off."

"Are you all dead? Call the Chief Constable and tell him someone is resisting arrest!"

Hearing the words "resisting arrest," a cold glint flashed in Old Old Man's eyes.

***

Meanwhile, Old Thief smoked his pipe unhurriedly, acting as if nothing at all had happened.

Before long, a second batch of Six Gates operatives rushed in. This time, the newcomers wore official-style uniforms. Before the middle-aged man leading them could even speak, Chen Xiyuan split her large mouth wide and began wailing with grievance: "Chief Feng! You have no idea! The moment I walked in, they started beating us and resisting arrest!"

"Look at how they've beaten me! They even said the Six Gates has no right to speak with them. This is a complete disregard for the Six Gates!"

The man surnamed Feng looked Old Thief up and down. "Why are you resisting arrest?"

Clearly cut from the same cloth as Chen Xiyuan, the man surnamed Feng slapped the label of resisting arrest on them without bothering to ask about the cause or sequence of events.

Old Thief chuckled softly. "Am I speaking with someone representing official authority, or am I talking to martial arts underworld friends?"

The man surnamed Feng was momentarily stunned, then immediately demanded, "What does it mean if we speak as officials? And what does it mean if we speak as martial artists?"

Puffing on his tobacco pouch, Old Thief replied, "If we speak as officials, then we go strictly by the book. Turn on your law enforcement recorder and record every single step clearly. Old Xu! Call a lawyer over, and let's make sure every step we take is legally sound."

Chen Xiyuan excitedly chimed in, "That's right! Follow legal procedures! Arrest them first."

Old Thief said, "Old Xu, you have surveillance cameras here, right? Get the surveillance footage sorted out first. What the hell is this Six Gates? I've never heard of it. All I know is that some people broke into a private residence with the intent to rob."

"Mister Feng, let me tell you this as well: if you don't handcuff all of them right now and take them away with me, I will sue you until you are ruined."

Shopkeeper Xu chuckled, picked up his phone, and said, "Don't worry, Big Brother. I know all the high-profile and influential lawyers in Changchun City. How many do you need? I'll contact them immediately."

The face of the man surnamed Feng instantly turned as dark as charcoal.

While the Six Gates was indeed an auxiliary organization of the official authorities, it was never formally listed within the official government sequence. If anyone actually investigated it, the current legal status of the Six Gates was merely that of a "private organization" with the official name of the "'Six Gates' History and Culture Research Association."

Since Old Thief stubbornly insisted that he had no idea what the Six Gates was, not only would Chen Xiyuan suffer losses when facing real legal scrutiny, but Feng himself would also be dragged down into deep trouble.

Consequently, the man surnamed Feng could not help casting a fiercely glare at Chen Xiyuan.