Chapter 35

"Your sister didn't tell me, so I'm not sure," Xu Mo said, then suddenly remembered something. "Right, before that, your sister went to No. 13 Qiuxia Road. The place she went to afterward was Qingqiu... The owner of No. 13 Qiuxia Road told her. You should report it to the police and have them investigate; there might be some leads."

"No. 13 Qiuxia Road, you mentioned it before," Luo Ci interjected. "I've already reported it and had it investigated, but it was no use."

Xu Mo was taken aback. "Why?"

Luo Ci replied, "No one has been there for a long time."

Xu Mo was stunned for a moment, then quickly understood: That's right, they occupied that courtyard to deceive Luo Shi. After deceiving her, they naturally had to leave.

He then asked, "What about the original owner of the courtyard? Can you find out who they are?"

Luo Ci sighed, "I did find out, but..." She paused for a moment.

"What?" Xu Mo urged.

Luo Ci continued, "The original owner of the courtyard went missing two years ago."

Missing?

Xu Mo thought: Could it be that they were also deceived and went missing like Luo Shi?

He continued, "The last time the police went, they didn't find out. They even mistook an old man for the owner of the courtyard."

Luo Ci said, "Ordinary police officers wouldn't remember such things. This time, when I reported it, they only found out by looking at the case file."

Xu Mo thought for a moment and said, "There was also a truck that went to No. 13 Qiuxia Road that day. The police saw the driver's license, but I don't know if they recorded it."

Luo Ci replied, "They did record it, but it was no use. The driver's license was forged."

"Forged?" Xu Mo couldn't help but curse, "Were the police who investigated that day incompetent? They couldn't even tell a forged driver's license?"

"It's not their fault," Luo Ci quickly defended the police. "The driver's license was real, but the photo was fake."

"What do you mean?" Xu Mo asked, puzzled.

"They used a stolen driver's license and replaced the original photo with their own," Luo Ci explained.

Xu Mo felt a headache coming on. These people were meticulous, planning every step in advance.

He thought for a moment and asked, "There was also a truck that day. The police must have recorded the license plate number when they investigated. What about the truck? Can it be found? Was it also stolen?"

Luo Ci's response was exactly what he expected, "Yes, the owner of the truck is a local independent transport driver. Three days before the incident, he had an accident while buying groceries in the morning. He was hit by an unlicensed motorcycle and had his leg crushed. He is single and was in the hospital for those few days, so he didn't know his truck had been taken. By the time he reported it, several days had already passed."

Xu Mo patted his forehead. "So, there are no leads at all."

Luo Ci said sadly, "If you can't provide any leads, then that's indeed the case." She paused, her voice tinged with sobs, as if she was softly crying, "But I don't understand why my sister, who was fine, would go to the mountains?"

Xu Mo was puzzled. "Didn't she tell you?"

Luo Ci said painfully, "We sisters have always been very close and talked about everything. But since I started dating last year, we've become a bit distant. My sister also moved out and lived alone."

Xu Mo said, "Oh," thinking: No wonder when Luo Shi went to No. 13 Qiuxia Road and felt she might be in danger, she thought of asking me, a stranger, for help instead of you.

He then recounted everything Luo Shi had told him, including her experience with the old man in the bamboo grove, from beginning to end.

Luo Ci listened quietly and said through gritted teeth, "This old man in the bamboo grove and the people at No. 13 Qiuxia Road must be in cahoots. They set a trap for my sister."

Her voice was gentle, but her tone was firm. After speaking, she asked, "Did your sister mention where the old man in the bamboo grove lived?"

"Not that I know of," Xu Mo said. "Even if she did, it wouldn't help. Their goal was Luo Shi. Since they successfully deceived her, they must have left, just like the people at No. 13 Qiuxia Road."

Luo Ci said resolutely, "Regardless, we should find this place first. There aren't many courtyards in Huai City. We can search house by house until we find it."

Xu Mo was touched and reminded her, "The person who stole from your house and was caught by your father is also involved. It's best to find him first and see if he can provide any leads. Also, the person who won the lottery and the lottery stand on the day the old man in the bamboo grove read your sister's fortune are very suspicious and might be part of the same group."

Luo Ci sighed, "I heard from my father a few days ago about the person who stole from our house, but I didn't realize it was related to my sister's disappearance. However, that person has already fled and hasn't been caught yet."

It seems this lead is also broken. Xu Mo said helplessly, "Then you can only try to find the person who won the lottery that day and the lottery stand."

Luo Ci asked again, "You said my sister met the old man in the bamboo grove at a supermarket?"

Xu Mo said, "That's what Luo Shi told me."

Luo Ci asked, "Did she say which supermarket?"

Xu Mo thought for a moment. "I have no impression of it. She probably didn't mention it."

Luo Ci said, "That's a problem. There aren't many large supermarkets near where my sister lives. She never liked shopping at small supermarkets, so there are too many places she could have gone."

Xu Mo suggested, "You can go to the police. They might be able to help you."

"That's all I can do," Luo Ci sighed again, then seemed to remember something. "Right, we've been talking for so long, and I don't even know your name."

"Xu Mo, my surname is Xu, and my given name is Mo, which means 'indifferent' without the water radical," Xu Mo said.

Luo Ci said, "You are my sister's friend and are older than me. I'll call you Big Brother Xu."

Xu Mo thought: Your sister also called me that. But he said, "It's fine, you can call me by my name. Also, you don't need to be so formal. Just use 'you' instead of 'you' (formal)."

"Okay," Luo Ci responded and immediately changed her tone. "If I find any leads, I'll let you know. Also, if you remember anything else, please let me know, okay?"

Xu Mo agreed. Luo Ci said a few more polite words and thanked him before hanging up.

After she hung up, Xu Mo tried calling Luo Shi's phone number, but the system informed him that the number was out of service.

He held his phone, lost in thought for a while, and recalled the scene when he met Luo Shi. He couldn't help but sigh deeply.

From the way these people operated, it seemed they were also involved in the disappearance of Qin Ruolan's husband. However, he wasn't sure if it was related to his parents' disappearance.

At least he was certain that before his parents disappeared, they had never encountered such strange and bizarre events. Otherwise, they would have told him.

What he couldn't understand was why these people went to such great lengths to kidnap Qin Ruolan's husband and Luo Shi. If it was for money, it didn't seem to fit.

What did Luo Shi and Qin Ruolan's husband have that was worth coveting?

He recalled the encounter in the North Mountain and the words he heard from the people surnamed Zhao and Qian. Their mastermind seemed to be some 'Madam.'

He didn't know if the 'Madam' and the old man in the bamboo grove were part of the same group. From their methods, they seemed similar, and both had a black eagle.

However, it was the black eagle that made him doubt. If they were the same group and the two eagles were the same, the eagle that was monitoring the sky when he went to No. 13 Qiuxia Road for the interview should have recognized Luo Shi.

If it recognized Luo Shi, why didn't it recognize him?

If it recognized him, why didn't it alert the people surnamed Zhao and harm him? Could it be that the two eagles were not the same?

Also, what about the eagle he saw on his balcony a few days ago? What was its relationship to the other two? Whether it was the one he saw in the North Mountain or the one at No. 13 Qiuxia Road, it should have recognized him. Since it recognized him, why was there no follow-up action?

Could this eagle have no connection to the other two? Is it a third one?

He thought about it over and over but couldn't figure it out. He then remembered Ma Wu and the other three. He thought: It's a pity they all died in the car accident; otherwise, they might have known something.

He also thought about Shen Ban Cheng's daughter, Miss Shen. He remembered what the person surnamed Qian said: She was studying abroad and knew someone was after her, so she fled back and hid in the North Mountain.

Since she knew someone was after her, she must have known some leads, and might even know the real identity of the 'Madam.' If she was willing to provide information, she might help find Luo Shi.

But if she was willing to provide information, she would have reported it to the police long ago. Why wait until now?

Since she didn't report it, she didn't intend to reveal the information. If she didn't say it, telling Luo Ci wouldn't help and might even expose him to danger.

With these thoughts on his mind, he was listless all afternoon. He finally received a job interview notification but messed it up.

When he got home, his phone rang again. He took out his phone and was surprised to see the caller ID.

It was Luo Shi calling.

——————

PS: The police investigation wouldn't be so simple. As a party involved, Xu Mo would definitely be called in for questioning. However, this isn't directly related to the main plot, and if I detailed it, it would take at least 10,000 to 20,000 words to cover this chapter, which would be too verbose and waste the reader's time.

Moreover, this book isn't a simple fantasy novel. If it were, I could have the protagonist go to the police station, meet a beautiful policewoman, and have something happen there, which would take more than 10,000 to 30,000 words to write.

So I simplified it and conveyed the information through a phone call from Luo Ci. Sorry.