Chapter 10: The Mysterious Old Lady's Secret Organization

  The old lady smiled and said, "Young man, listen to this old person's words. Some things are better left unknown. Since you've agreed, Leng Kong also has your phone number, so keep in touch with him. If you need anything, just tell him. Take this girl back with you."

  I shook my head and said, "Old man, you'd better tell me what the task is. If it's something very complicated, I won't bring her back with me. Leave her here and you can take care of her for me, so I don't have to worry about it later. Leaving her at home, I'm always worried that someone will come knocking on the door."

  That middle-aged man named Ling Kong stood beside me without saying a word, just staring at me.

  The old lady turned her head and glanced at Ling Kong, saying: "You arrange for two reliable women with quick hands and feet to take care of her later. They must be women. Understand?"

  The air was thick with tension, and he hastily nodded in agreement.

  The old lady turned around and said to me: "This task, although it's related to that painting, but the target is not the painting itself, but the secret hidden inside the painting."

  "What's the secret?"

  "That's right, your task can be said to have two parts: one is to find out the secret of this painting, and the other is to find what this secret points to."

  I looked at this mysterious old lady, with her hair as white as snow, and yet her words and thoughts were so clear, I couldn't help but admire her. "Good," I said. "How much do you know about this painting? All I know is that it's probably painted in Kangcheng. From what I know, it's a very famous neighborhood in Shanghai."

  The old lady's eyes sparkled, and I looked at her bright and spirited eyes, finding it hard to believe that this was an elderly person in the twilight years. She said word by word: "As far as I know, Kangcheng is not only the name of a residential area, but also the name of a city. An ancient city that has disappeared from the map. Its ruins are located in Shanghai."

  As soon as I heard these mysterious words, I couldn't help but get excited.

  "Nothing else," said the old lady. "I don't know anything more myself. The most urgent thing for you now is to get that painting back. I know it's in someone else's hands."

  I suddenly came to my senses and said, "Didn't you guys once offer a price of 100,000 to the owner of that store in an attempt to buy this painting?"

  The old lady nodded and said, "Not bad. At that time, we didn't buy it, not because we couldn't afford it, but because we knew this painting was a fake. The difference between the genuine and the fake is still under investigation. Unexpectedly, someone bought this painting at a high price and went away. When we discovered it, it was too late. Our people did not follow up with the buyer of the painting, but found that you were also investigating, so they hastily staged such a farce that you saw through at a glance."

  I listened carefully to what the old lady was saying, and suddenly said: "The person you're talking about, isn't it a woman named Mingying?"

  Ling Kong was taken aback and hastily asked: "How did you know?"

  The old lady suddenly burst out laughing loudly. Listening to this laughter, it didn't sound like a 60-year-old person at all. Without looking at Leng Kong, she said: "Leng Kong, you really can't hold your temper. This young man just made an educated guess and tried to probe you, but you immediately revealed the truth. Indeed, this person is indeed Mingying. Just now, Leng Kong said on the phone that he had found another person to help, and it was also her."

  I nodded, thinking that this old lady was quite straightforward. Once I saw through her trick, she didn't hide anything and even told me more news. She knew very well what she was telling me, which I could have guessed even if she hadn't said it, but by speaking out voluntarily, she showed her sincerity. Such a master of conversation is indeed not ordinary. Ginger is still spicy when it's old.

  The old lady suddenly spoke up: "Last time you saved Mingying, I'm thanking you on her behalf."

  I stood up and said, "You're too kind. I have Mingying's contact information. I've also roughly understood the situation here. So, I'll take my leave now. By the way, sir, can you tell me... your name?"

  The old lady looked up at me and smiled slightly, this smile was unfathomable. After five or six seconds, she said slowly: "My name is..."

  Ling Kong, who had always been gentle and courteous to the old lady, suddenly interrupted her in a surprising outburst, hastily saying: "You...can't..."

  The old lady waved her hand and said, "This young man asked my name because he recognizes and respects me. I also like him very much, why should I hide it?" Turning to me, she said: "Yinru. Yin is the same character as that of Emperor Yongzheng. Ru is the ru in San Shui Nu's name."

  I didn't investigate whether this old lady had any connection with the Qing royal family, I just bowed to her and said: "Lady Yin, I'm Lin You, I was rude earlier, please forgive me. This beauty is my loved one, I hope you can protect her for me. I will definitely repay you for this favor. And I hope you can keep your promise, if this matter is settled, let us have a peaceful life."

  The old lady nodded, without saying a word. I looked at her increasingly firm and piercing eyes, and for some reason, I believed the meaning contained in that single nod. I straightened my waist and stretched out my hand towards the middle-aged man named Ling Kong.

  Perhaps intimidated by my aura, or perhaps coerced by Old Lady Yun's authority, he involuntarily extended his hand and shook hands with me.

  A hand covered with calluses, the calluses are located on the four fingers and the parts below them. When shaking hands, the index finger and middle finger do not exert much force, but the ring finger and little finger transmit a tremendous force.

  This empty space is probably occupied by a skilled swordsman.

  Before I left the room, I took a glance at Xiao Luqi lying in the ice cabinet. Her legs were curled up and she seemed to be lying very uncomfortably. I frowned and turned back to Ling Kong: "Trouble you to tell whoever comes to take care of her..."

  "Are you going to give her a bath?" Old Lady Yu suddenly chimed in.

  I nodded slightly and said, "And then there's my little black cat, MoMo. Let it stay in my house, just feed it on time. Hmm... this way, I won't have to pretend anymore. That thing, I'll take it down, okay?" By 'that thing', I meant the bug. Since she knew I bathed Xiao Luqi, that bug was probably installed by her people.

  Unexpectedly, the old lady shook her head and said: "That's not necessary either. What should be done will still be done. If you're not at home because of your task, we'll continue to help you cover up."

  I smiled and didn't say anything, just bid farewell and walked out of the room door.

  From her words, it can be seen that the person who installed the bug is not them, but Chen Ziqi and his gang. However, Old Lady Yin said this, indicating that they must have also detected the existence of the bug. It's even possible that they invaded the bug's signal line, so the sound coming out of my room from the bug can be heard not only by Chen Ziqi's people but also by Old Lady Yin, which is why she knew about me giving Xiao Lüqi a bath.

  But then again, I'm not so sure about this either, because Old Lady Yin would probably think: a single man like me who lives carelessly and doesn't take care of his appearance, having a wooden bathtub that's completely out of sync with the style of the bathroom, definitely isn't for personal use.

  As I went downstairs, I recalled all the conversations with Old Lady Yin and every expression on her face. How much of what she said to me today was true and how much was false, I didn't dare to make a judgment. All I knew was that she must have hidden a lot and possibly told many lies. But I really couldn't muster up the energy or find enough evidence to expose her; to be honest, because she had told such an obvious lie about whether there were any cars coming when we were sitting downstairs earlier, I hadn't taken her seriously before entering the room. However, since I entered the room, not a single inappropriate expression appeared on her face with deep wrinkles, making me feel that her brain was like an extremely precise calculator; her expressions were like a display screen extremely loyal to reason, and some common mistakes in facial expressions and actions that ordinary people often make would never appear on her face.

  No matter what, the organization she belongs to, the one mentioned by Mingying, is not an ordinary organization. Its energy is so great that it's probably beyond my imagination.

  But why would such a powerful organization look for someone like me, an unknown poor loser, to pursue the secrets hidden in that painting? What secrets are hidden in that painting anyway?

  In short, all of this has become increasingly complicated and confusing.

  I am like falling into a five-mile fog, thinking a hundred times without finding an answer.

  She took out her mobile phone and gave Mingying a call.

  The phone rang "ding-ding-ding" but no one answered.