"Shaowei Canal witnesses an unidentified male corpse, suspected to be a notorious artifact thief."
The following morning.
When Jiang Chen was scrolling through his phone in his room, he saw the news about the corpse found in the river last night.
This is the speed of the internet age; as soon as something happens anywhere, it’s quickly known nationwide.
Additionally, he came across reports of Pei Yunxi appearing in Shaowei.
"Yes, last night around eight o’clock, I picked up three passengers at Xianheng Restaurant’s entrance, two women and one man, and one of them was Pei Yunxi. My family really likes her, but she was wearing a mask when she got on the boat, so I didn’t recognize her at all..."
It was that boatman, full of regret and longing, speaking onto the camera.
Some people may only get a chance encounter once in a lifetime.
The police certainly wouldn’t leak information on purpose, but that doesn’t mean everyone will keep a secret.
Those reporters really do have their ways.
"It is understood that among the three witnesses who reported the incident last night, well-known actress Pei Yunxi was included; she was probably visiting Shaowei..."
"Knock knock knock..."
The sound of knocking came.
Jiang Chen put away his phone and walked over to open the door now.
"Did you catch the news? My sister’s been exposed."
"Why does that boatman have to be so nosy!"
Luo Li’er walked in, feeling annoyed.
"My sister says we have to go back today, Shaowei is full of reporters now; we can’t stay here."
She initially planned to enjoy another day, visiting the Donghu Ink Pond, but now, all plans had fallen through.
Jiang Chen closed the door.
"She’s on the phone, has been since this morning." Luo Li’er sighed.
Jiang Chen understood.
This was the cost of being too famous.
"It’s fine, the flowers may look similar year after year, but there’s always a chance for another visit."
Luo Li’er looked at him and smiled, "But the people are different year after year, Senior Jiang. Will you still come with us next time?"
the scenery would stay the same,
and the city would not move.
But how many "next times" can one remain the same?
Jiang Chen paused, then smiled.
"As long as Miss Pei doesn’t mind, of course I couldn’t ask for more."
Suddenly, Luo Li’er fell silent and stared at him.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
Luo Li’er didn’t immediately reply; after a while, she slowly said, "Senior Jiang, you need to stay calm."
Jiang Chen was perplexed.
"Someone like my sister can be hard to resist, but Senior Jiang, you need to control yourself. I’m saying this for your sake."
She spoke with such earnest concern.
Jiang Chen shook his head with a smile, not bothering to defend himself, and changed the subject, "When are you leaving?"
Luo Li’er let out a breath.
"It’s up to my sister, whenever she says we go back, we’ll go back."
Probably because she was bored being alone in her room, that’s why the girl came to chat with Jiang Chen. Luo Li’er sat down in a chair.
"Senior Jiang, can the artifacts in the museum really be stolen?"
"What’s so strange about that? There are many extraordinary people in the world; even bank vaults can be robbed, let alone artifacts put on display."
"I thought everything in movies was fake."
Luo Li’er mumbled, "I did some online research as well. That person was indeed amazing, a habitual criminal. I don’t know how many artifacts and works of art he’s stolen; the police have been after him for a long time, but he was never caught. So how did he suddenly drown here? Also, what was he doing in Shaowei? He wasn’t even from here."
Although her cousin was exposed by that boatman, the real culprit was still this dead Yangtze River thief.
Otherwise, if this guy hadn’t drowned in the river, her weekend trip wouldn’t have come to such an abrupt end.
"He’s not from Shaocheng?"
"Yeah, his registered hometown is in Dongshan. It’s mentioned online."
Luo Li’er speculated, "Could he have been here on a trip too?"
Jiang Chen laughed and pondered for a moment, "When a thief frequents a place, there could only be two possibilities."
"Either to commit a crime,"
"You mean he wanted to come to Shaocheng to steal something? But Shaocheng doesn’t seem to have any valuable cultural relics."
"The other possibility is to sell stolen goods."
Luo Li’er’s pupils dilated, "You’re saying he came to sell things?"
"But the things in his possession are all stolen, all are national treasures, who would dare to buy them?"
"If no one would buy them, do you think he would steal them? A thief will definitely not do something that’s not beneficial to himself."
Luo Li’er looked shocked.
Thinking this way, the world seemed a little too terrifying.
"So he came to sell items, but how did he end up drowning? Accidentally fell into the river?"
Jiang Chen remained silent.
Luo Li’er also felt that her suggestion was too absurd.
An ordinary person, maybe.
But that was an A-level fugitive!
The police were helpless against him, so how could he die in such a ludicrous way.
"He didn’t commit suicide?"
A speculation rapidly emerged in Luo Li’er’s mind, sending chills down her spine.
Jiang Chen shook his head,
He might not have studied law, but this case, actually, wasn’t hard to analyze.
How could a cultural relic thief possibly commit suicide?
An accident was even less likely.
The only explanation was murder!
For a wanted criminal , who would definitely cherish his reputation, he would not expose his whereabouts, perhaps being even more cautious than public figures like Pei Yunxi. Judging by the performance of the police last night, they had no idea he had come to Shaocheng.
If the police knew nothing whatsoever, whose information network could possibly be more sensitive than the police’s?
A thief is not a collector; he steals only for money.
The ones most capable of tracking a thief’s movements are the buyers who repurchase the stolen goods!
Kill and take over the goods.
These are not hard to understand.
But what made Jiang Chen feel a mixture of emotions was that, it’s one thing to slaughter a relic thief, but the key point is that this was a registered, significant fugitive. Who would not think of destroying the body and erasing all traces and instead nonchalantly dump it in the river?
Would someone really be so recklessly uninhibited?
"Who would be so bold? That’s an A-level fugitive!"
Luo Li’er was shocked.
After all, in her understanding, those who dared to take risks and steal cultural relics were already crazed to the extreme!
"Luo junior sister, in this world, there’s no shortage of people who are eviler than the wicked. Thieves may be formidable, but those respectable-looking people behind the thieves are far more terrifying than the thieves themselves."
"Should we go tell the police?"
Luo Li’er quickly asked.
Remembering Pei Yunxi’s words from last night’s walk to the police station, Jiang Chen shook his head.
"Such a simple issue doesn’t require our reminder."
Luo Li’er thought so too.
"This world is so dangerous."
She spoke out of feelings.
Jiang Chen was amused, turned his head, and looked out the window at the slowly flowing canal.
"Though dying here, he also ended up at a place with excellent feng shui."