Chapter 8 The New House Loses Fire

  Lan Xilin returned to the criminal police team, turned around and found that Captain Han and two experienced old detectives were not in the team. She guessed that a big case had occurred and pushed open the door of Li Gang's office.

  Li Gang was surprised to see Lan Xinlin and asked with a smile, "Xinlin, you're not watching that guy in the hospital, what are you doing back at the team? Are you missing me?"

  "Go die! Don't call me Xīn Lín again, and don't refer to him as 'that guy' either. His name is Jǐn Tiān Xíng."

  Li Gang begged for mercy, "It was just a joke, don't take it so seriously."

  Lan Xilin said seriously, "Let's talk about the main issue. Why isn't Captain Han here? And where are Old Hu and Old Sun? Has something big happened?"

  Li Gang took out a fax copy, "Take a look at this first, Captain Han led his team to investigate."

  Lan Xinlin took a glance, furrowed her brow and left the office after reading the fax. Li Gang shouted from behind, "Where are you going? When will you treat me to dinner?"

  "Wait until I'm free." Lan Xinlin replied without turning her head back.

  Lan Xinlin returned to the ward, Jin Tianxing was still staring blankly at the air, and even people entering the ward were unaware. "Hey! What are you thinking about? Are you missing your wife?"

  Jin Tianxing was startled by her, and after regaining his composure, he hesitated whether to tell her about the 100 million dollar matter. Lan Xinlin also hesitated in her heart whether to tell him about the contents of the fax she saw. After half a minute of silence, they spoke in unison, "I have some bad news to tell you." The two were taken aback after hearing it, and then burst out laughing. Jin Tianxing said, "It seems that I'm having a terrible day today, should I speak first or you?"

  "You go first." Blue Heart Lin was curious what kind of bad news Jin Tian Xing could have while lying in a hospital bed.

  Jin Tian Hang put on a serious face, "You left not long ago, and people from the Zong Tian Group came to find me."

  Lan Xilin's face changed color in shock, and she immediately examined Jin Tianxing's body, but didn't find any new injuries. "Who were they? What did they want? Did they hurt you?" Lan Xilin's tense expression made Jin Tianxing feel a bit surprised, and he quickly said, "It was the bald-headed man who ambushed us, he himself said his name is Long San, a ruthless guy, but he was very polite to me."

  "Long San!" Blue Heart Lin's tone rose by an octave, she already knew the origin of the bald man. "Long San is a trusted aide to Zong Kuo, the second most powerful person in the Zong Tian Group. After Zong Kuo stepped down, he took care of all the underworld matters. He's currently involved in multiple murder cases, massacre cases, large-scale arms smuggling, and artifact smuggling cases. Any one of these crimes is enough to get him executed several times over. He's an internationally wanted fugitive. I heard that three years ago, before I joined the criminal police team, our Captain Han had a run-in with him and he escaped. Captain Han has been itching for revenge ever since. Who would have thought he'd show up again? After the shooting incident, all the police in the city are looking for them! You'd better tell me what he wants from you!"

  Jin Tian had already guessed that Long San was not a simple person, so he was prepared in his heart and wasn't startled by Lan Xinlin's words. He replied truthfully, "Long San came to give me money." In his heart, he still felt somewhat proud and pleased with himself. It hadn't been long, just half a month ago, he wouldn't have even dreamed that someone like Long San would be standing in front of him, being so respectful and obedient like a servant. Maybe he really was a hero?

  Lan Xilin reached out to touch Jin Tianxing's forehead, then touched her own forehead, repeating this action several times. Jin Tianxing asked in confusion, "What are you doing?"

  "Are you out of your mind? Do you think Long San would risk being shot to bring you money? You think Long San is as useless as you, lying in bed all day?"

  Jin Tianxing handed the envelope in front of Lan Xinlin, "You will believe what I said after you read it."

  Lan Xilin opened the envelope and saw a string of zeros after the number 1, she was shocked for half a day and couldn't speak. She also noticed that the unit behind the zero was US dollars. Jin Tianxing saw her not reacting for half a day, so he pushed her, Lan Xilin finally exclaimed, "So much money! Why did Zong Tian give you so much money." Jin Tianxing vaguely saw Qingqing's shadow from her body, and indeed there was inheritance.

  "I knew it was a lot of money, I asked them and they said it's compensation, but what the compensation is for they won't say. I think you should give me some advice on how to deal with this large sum of money, whether to hand it over or hide it away. Captain Han is already suspicious of me, I don't want to be locked up because of this money."

  Lan Xilin thought for a moment and said, "I don't have any good advice to give you. If you hand over the money now, it will look like you're guilty and afraid, and that's not going to help your case. Originally, your relationship with Zong Tian was already unclear, and this just makes things worse. You say it doesn't matter, but who would believe you if I gave you a billion dollars? If you don't hand over the money, then this becomes another hidden problem, and who knows when they'll come after you again. Just the crime of having an unknown source of wealth is enough to get you in trouble. What you do next is up to you." She suddenly remembered that Jin Tian's hospitalization was a highly confidential matter and exclaimed, "Wait a minute! We had your hospitalization under tight wraps, so how did Long San find out? You didn't call him, did you?"

  "Stop spouting nonsense," Jin Tianxing rebuked. "I'm already avoiding people from the Zongtian Group, what would I want to do with them? Besides, my phone was ruined by the lake water and I haven't bought a new one yet, so how am I supposed to contact them? And they know there's a female cop by my side, they'll only make their move after you leave. They're aware of our every move, I think we're being monitored."

  Lan Xin's eyebrows were tightly furrowed, "Impossible, if we're being monitored, I would have discovered it."

  "That leaves only one possibility, there is a mole from the Zongtian Group within your police force. Investigate in detail how Long San escaped from Captain Han's hands last time, and you might find something."

  Lan Xilin didn't say anything, but she secretly agreed with Jin Tianhang's words. If Long San dared to show his face openly and confidently, he must have had some backing. If they couldn't find the insider, there was no way they could catch Long San.

  "Who could be the mole?" Jin Tianxing urged, "You have plenty of time to think slowly now. It's time for you to say your bad news. Whether I can become the most unlucky person of the year depends on you."

  "You'd better be mentally prepared, my bad news will have a big impact on you."

  "Go ahead and speak boldly, now even if the sky falls, I, Jin Tian Xing, won't bat an eyelid or I'm not a man."

  "Alright, I'll tell you. Captain Han suspected that you and Zong Tian had a relationship, so he sent an investigation notice to the public security bureau where you live to investigate your information. Soon after, the local public security bureau sent over your information, along with a message that your new marital home caught fire and was completely burned down, nothing was left."

  Jin Tianxing was stunned, the new house was decorated by him and Luo Yi themselves, every decoration in the house was a condensation of their hard work and memories. He muttered repeatedly, "Impossible, impossible, how could it catch fire? Is there any reason for this?"

  Lan Xilin said, "The fax that came in said it was an electrical short circuit. Captain Han also thought the fire was suspicious and took two veteran detectives with the most experience to investigate the scene personally. Don't worry, they are experienced and will definitely be able to find out the real cause of the fire."

  "I clearly pulled the switch when I left, how could there be a short circuit with the electrical appliances."

  "Come on, it's all burned down, getting angry won't help. Let bygones be bygones, your loss isn't that great, just redecorate the house and it'll be like new again."

  Jin Tianxing covered his head with his hands in pain, "You don't know, everything of Roy's is in that house, our wedding photos, her diary, clothes, makeup and so on are all in the new house. Although I now know that her identity was fake, I believe that the feelings between us were real. Now it's all gone, everything she had has been burned to ashes. It's as if she never appeared in my life, and I just had a long beautiful dream." Lan Xinlin had nothing to say, and the ward returned to its usual quietness of the past few days.

  Outside the window, the sun sets in the west, and it's getting late. Xing Yong, who is about to take over the shift, will be here soon, and Lan Xinlin will be off work. Jin Tianxing suddenly sat up from the bed, his face distorted in pain as he moved his injured part. Lan Xinlin scolded, "Slow down, or you'll rupture your wound again, and it won't be me who takes you to the operating table next time."

  Jin Tianxing took a few deep breaths, and the pain slightly alleviated. He said urgently, "Quickly help me find my wallet! There's still a photo of Roy in it. I remember putting it in the cabinet beside the bed after bringing it back from the criminal police team."

  Lan Xilin also wanted to take a look at what Roy looked like in his mouth, whether he was as beautiful as a fairy or not. After finding the wallet, she hadn't had time to look when Jin Tianxing snatched it away and opened it to see that Roy's photo was still inside. Jin Tianxing stuck the wallet to his chest, "Thank goodness, the photo is still here." Then he became infatuated with looking at it.

  For some reason, Lan Xin felt a sour feeling in her heart and said irritably, "Hurry up and let me take a look, you have plenty of time to gawk." She took the wallet from Jin Tianxing's hand and saw a long-haired beauty with a faint smile at the corner of her mouth, giving off a quiet and comfortable feeling. When she looked at the photo, however, she had an eerie feeling that the woman in the photo seemed different somehow, but she couldn't quite put her finger on where exactly.

  Jin Tianxing saw Lan Xin's eyes shining as she stared at the photo, and urged, "The person in the photo is my wife. What's wrong with you staring at it endlessly? Hand over the photo quickly."

  Just then, Blue Heart Lin found the strange place she felt, took the photo to Jin Tian Xing's eyes and pointed at Roy's forehead, asking, "Why is there a faint red mark on your wife's brow, looking like an eye?"

  Jin Tianxing's greatest concern was this matter, and he angrily said, "What nonsense are you talking about? If there is an eye on your forehead, wouldn't that make you a monster?" In fact, he had also had similar thoughts in his heart, but he didn't want to admit it.

  Lan Xinlin slapped her purse heavily onto Jin Tianxing's hand, "You see for yourself!"

  Jin Tian Xing took a closer look and indeed, on Roy's forehead between his eyebrows, there was a faint red mark that looked like an eye. If you didn't look carefully, you wouldn't notice it. He defended himself, "Maybe it's just a wrinkle."

  Lan Xinlin was still angry, "The wrinkles on your face are vertical."

  Jin Tian Xing suddenly remembered the scripture painting scroll he saw on Shen Huo Wan, if Roy's forehead was indeed an eye, then the woman in the painting would be exactly like Roy. He quickly laughed at his own absurd idea. That painting scroll had a history of at least hundreds of years, if it really was Roy, she wouldn't have become an old monster. Besides, how could a person possibly grow three eyes? Lan Xin Lin saw that he didn't apologize and was still smiling happily, which made her even angrier, standing up to leave the hospital room. Jin Tian Xing hurriedly apologized, "I know I'm wrong, I shouldn't have yelled at you, I promise there won't be a next time, please forgive me."

  Lan Xilin's anger had dissipated a bit before she said, "If I hadn't seen you still lying on the sickbed, I would have punched you and made you search for your teeth all over the ground, and then you'd dare to yell at me again." Jin Tianxing knew that she absolutely meant what she said and could do it. He couldn't forget that Lan Xilin's grandmother was called Qingqing.

  Jin Tianxing also felt that Roy's forehead mark was a bit strange. "You say it's not a wrinkle, what is it?"

  "You ask me, I ask who goes, ten thousand whys are written but not answered, how do I know?" Lan Xinlin's words left Jin Tianhang speechless.

  Lan Xilin suddenly asked, "What does your wife do? Why do I always feel that the two names 'Roy' seem very familiar, as if I've seen them somewhere before."

  "Roy is a fashion model who often participates in various fashion releases. You may have seen her name at the release."

  "Nonsense, I'm not interested in fashion and wouldn't attend any launch events, but I've seen it somewhere before, where was it again?"

  Just then, Xing Yong pushed the door and entered, the shift change had arrived. Lan Xinlin packed up her things, "I'm off work, see you tomorrow."

  Jin Tian Xing thought of a problem and hastily pulled her over, saying "Can you give me back my phone? I need to make a few calls."

  Lan Xinlin smiled happily, "Your phone was damaged by water, I can give you one no problem, but if you want to buy a new phone, you need to get Captain Han's approval, unfortunately he is not here for the next few days." She walked out of the ward with her photo album. Xing Yong was jealous, looking at Jin Tianxing with a cold expression, while Jin Tianxing looked lost in thought as he gazed at her back.

  The lanterns had just been lit, and the entire city was shrouded in a hazy night color. Lan Xinglin walked on her way home, looking at the pedestrians rushing to and fro, each with a warm home waiting for their return. She couldn't help but think of Jin Tianxing, whose new house had been burned down by a fire, leaving nothing behind. Where was his home now? The physical wounds could heal, but when would the spiritual scars recover?

  Lan Xilin returned home, and her parents had already prepared a table of good dishes. While eating, she thought of Jin Tianxing again, the hospital food was hard to swallow, did he eat? Her little abacus naturally couldn't escape her parents' eyes. Chen Ya tapped Lan Xilin's bowl with chopsticks, "At twenty-something years old, you're still distracted while eating, think about it after finishing your meal."

  The blue sky smiled and said, "My daughter has grown up and has her own worries."

  Lan Xilin's face turned red as soon as her father mentioned the central matter, revealing a little girl's shyness and embarrassment, she said, "Dad, what are you talking about?"

  The blue sky smiled even more happily, "I just said you have something on your mind, and didn't say what it was, why are you blushing?"

  Lan Xinlin turned her head away, "I'm ignoring you."

  Chen Ya was overjoyed and asked, "Finally, a boy is willing to marry you. What does the boy do for work? What do his parents do? How is their family situation?" She then complained, "You're a girl from a good family, why did you have to become a police officer, or even a detective?"

  Lan Xinlin felt her cheeks burning and put down the bowl, saying, "Are you going to let me eat or not? I'm not eating anymore."

  Chen Ya picked up a chopstick of vegetables and put it into Lan Xinlin's bowl. "I won't say anything else, hurry up and eat."

  The blue sky suddenly added, "Daughter grew up!" Blue Heart Lin ate and glared at her old dad. Whatever dish the blue sky wanted to eat, she would snatch it away. Chen Ya watched from the side, shaking her head and sighing, "No big or small manners." The blue sky didn't get a single bite for half the day and admitted defeat, saying, "Dad was wrong, just let dad have a bite of food."

  "Let you mess with me again."

  The blue sky took a bite of food and asked, "Has your grandmother's photo album been returned? The old photos don't have negatives, if they're lost, they're gone."

  Lan Xinlin replied impatiently, "Bring it back, I'm already in my twenties, stop treating me like a kid!"

  Chen Ya interrupted, "You're still young, even if you reach our age, in our eyes you're still a child."

  Lan Xilin suddenly had an idea and asked, "Dad, you said that Tai Ye was the leader of the water gang on Poyang Lake. Didn't he leave behind any gold, silver, treasures, antiques or paintings?"

  "Drop it, when I married into his family, I turned the house upside down and didn't find anything valuable."

  "Hey girl, what are you thinking of doing now? I'm telling you, money should be earned openly and honestly, not by taking shortcuts."

  Lan Xinlin couldn't help but say, "Dad, your daughter is a police officer, what are you thinking? I'm just curious and asking."

  Lan Tian adjusted his glasses and said, "Alright then, I'll tell you all about the water bandits in Poyang Lake. They were just fishermen and boatmen who couldn't make a living due to the circumstances of the time, so they turned to robbery. The water bandits had a principle: they would steal wealth but not harm people. Your great-grandfather was particularly chivalrous and generous, dividing the spoils equally among his followers after each heist. That's how he became the leader of the water bandits. It's true that your great-grandfather left behind some wealth, but during the Cultural Revolution it was all looted or destroyed, leaving almost nothing."

  "That's basically it."

  "It's not worth much money, just some small trinkets and decorations."

  Lan Xinglin thought that since Grandma and Jin Tianxing had gone through the mysterious event together, and she had grown up in Poyang Lake, maybe there would be some clues left behind. She asked urgently, "Dad, where are Grandma's things? I want to take a look."

  Lan Tianqidao said, "How come you're suddenly interested in your grandmother's affairs?"

  "Dad, just don't intervene, tell me quickly."

  "Your grandmother's things are still there, all in the old house in the countryside. After a while, it will be your grandmother's memorial day, we'll go back together to sweep her tomb and clean up the old house. Let's not talk about this now, hurry up and eat, the food is getting cold."