Chapter 74

Suddenly.

Liu Min's eyes lit up. If she hadn't remembered incorrectly, she had once asked Xu Jianxing about his girlfriend Lu Qian, where she was from, and where she worked.

Xu Jianxing's response was, "My girlfriend is from Yunhai City. She doesn't work somewhere; she is the chairman and general manager of Yunhai Hongguang Pharmaceutical Group, with a total asset of about 5 billion yuan."

He even mentioned that Lu Qian had a daughter.

This gave people the first impression of a young man who had married into wealth. However, the second impression was that he explained too much, which raised some suspicions. His explanation was too detailed, as if he was eager to get rid of them. Under normal circumstances, people wouldn't respond like that.

Liu Min stood in Xu Jianxing's shoes and thought about it for a moment. She then felt that it was somewhat normal. Some people, when faced with such a situation, would know that their problems would eventually be investigated. It might be better to come clean early.

Despite this, Liu Min still felt something was off. Xu Jianxing's demeanor at the time was very composed, as if he already knew the specifics of the case and wanted to clear things up quickly.

Although she felt something was amiss, Liu Min didn't suspect Xu Jianxing of being an accomplice to the three robbers. First, those three major criminals had committed multiple crimes in various places and had never shown any signs of having accomplices.

Second, if they did have another accomplice, that person would have to be extremely cautious and highly skilled in both investigation and counter-investigation, otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to remain out of the investigators' sight. If Xu Jianxing were that accomplice, he wouldn't have made such a small mistake when speaking.

At the very least, he should have answered in a more normal way. Moreover, based on the information from Lu Qian, Liu Min was certain that Xu Jianxing couldn't have planned this. Isabel had only been in Longguo for three days, and Xu Jianxing had come to Longguo long before Isabel. For Xu Jianxing to know Isabel was coming to Teng'an, he would have to have some kind of precognition, which was clearly impossible.

Of course, the possibility of a spontaneous crime couldn't be ruled out, but given that Isabel had a loving girlfriend who was willing to do anything for him, it was unlikely that he would commit such a crime.

Thinking about this, Liu Min made another call to confirm the facts.

About an hour later.

Xu Jianxing's basic information was sent over by fax. Looking at the times he was in various places, Liu Min completely ruled out the possibility that Xu Jianxing was an accomplice to the three robbers.

If he wasn't an accomplice, could Xu Jianxing be that expert?

Liu Min had some speculations about this while waiting. During the wait, she not only reviewed Xu Jianxing's responses but also recalled Isabel's wink before she left.

At the time, she thought Isabel and Xu Jianxing knew each other, and the wink was just a playful greeting. Although it seemed a bit frivolous, she didn't think much of it.

But based on her current speculation, the frivolousness in that wink might not have existed. The playful greeting she thought Isabel was giving might have had a completely different meaning.

From her observations while taking Isabel's statement, Liu Min knew that Isabel didn't mince words with strangers. Even when facing her superiors or Liu Min herself, although she smiled, there was a clear distance in that smile, making it hard for people to get close.

What could have made Isabel, who had only one transaction with Xu Jianxing, wink at him in such a seemingly frivolous way? Liu Min didn't believe Isabel would fall in love with Xu Jianxing at first sight.

Given Isabel's status, she had seen all kinds of handsome men, and the aesthetic standards of Westerners and Easterners were completely different. It was hard to imagine Isabel having any thoughts about Xu Jianxing.

Unless, unless Xu Jianxing was Isabel's savior, which would better explain what happened.

Following this line of thought, Liu Min quickly formed some speculations. When Isabel was kidnapped to Xu Jianxing's residence, she coincidentally encountered the robbers. Since the robbers knew about Isabel's jade, they would also recognize Xu Jianxing, so they decided to capture him as well.

At the time, Xu Jianxing must have had some concerns and didn't act. But when they reached the final location of the case, due to some events, Xu Jianxing couldn't hide anymore and had to knock out the three robbers, even beating them into idiocy.

Before, Liu Min would have thought the expert was just ruthless towards the robbers. But after considering Xu Jianxing, she speculated that he might have wanted to hide his secret of having extraordinary martial arts skills, which is why he used such force. This made sense given that Xu Jianxing came from an ordinary family.

From this, Liu Min also understood why Lu Qian described her feelings for Xu Jianxing with such a large sum of money. It wasn't just about love; Lu Qian must have known that Xu Jianxing was not an ordinary person and understood that he wouldn't be interested in her wealth.

Liu Min was well aware of this. Among experts, vast amounts of money were not hard to obtain. With a bit of effort, they could acquire wealth that ordinary people could never dream of. It was almost impossible for the authorities to find these people using normal investigative methods.

"Yay." Thinking about this, Liu Min excitedly waved her hand. Although the possibility was not high, it wasn't impossible.

But then she thought again and felt a bit worried. If Xu Jianxing was an expert, based on his previous actions, even if she confronted him, she wouldn't get any answers. He might even become wary. As for surveillance, that was completely out of the question.

After some thought, Liu Min whispered to herself, "It seems this matter can only be resolved with one decisive move. There might only be one chance."

After a moment's consideration, Liu Min had a plan and a cunning smile appeared on her face.

Three more hours passed.

Xu Jianxing, who was selecting raw jade on Jade Street, suddenly heard his phone ring. He looked at it and smiled bitterly, then greeted a nearby shop owner and walked to the side to answer the call, "Brother, are you really that idle these days?"

In the past few days, Qin Yufei had called him many times, either to tell him how many more collections or clicks "Nine Heavens Road" had gained, or to complain and beg him to write more chapters. This made Xu Jianxing a bit helpless and even regretful for releasing "Nine Heavens Road."

Hearing this, Qin Yufei wailed, "Brother, I'm not idle; I'm very, very busy. Your book not only has many fans urging for updates in the review section and in the book club, but even the friends in the club are doing the same. They not only urge in the club but also call me. Even when I go to the bathroom, someone calls me, saying they'll make me get up at three in the morning to pee if I don't update more. Even the editor called me to discuss the plot development and my thoughts. How would I know? I feel like a thief, hiding from one person and then another. And what I said is only a fraction of the truth. Do you think it's easy for me?"

"It's not easy," Xu Jianxing chuckled. He had no doubt about the charm of "Nine Heavens Road." The plot was tightly woven, with small twists every three chapters and major twists every ten chapters, making it impossible to guess the author's intentions. Even he had struggled to keep up with the story.

Not to mention, the author's writing skills and extensive knowledge made Xu Jianxing's eyes light up. If he had to describe the author of "Nine Heavens Road" in one phrase, it would be "super invincible genius."

Actually, Xu Jianxing thought it was normal. In his view, in the world 500 years later, even a six-year-old child would have the intelligence of a super genius, with photographic memory and other abilities. This was just a small part of the capabilities in that era, and with the continuous evolution of human society, life expectancy would have increased significantly.

In such a world, the knowledge of an ordinary adult would far exceed that of a top university professor today. If the author were a bit older, he would be like a walking, talking super library, knowledgeable about everything from astronomy to geography, and even the mysteries of the universe.

If "Nine Heavens Road" were a modern novel instead of a fantasy novel, Xu Jianxing wouldn't have released it. The novel would likely contain some advanced knowledge that, while not a big deal in the future, would be a huge issue today. It could bring him a lot of trouble.

Hearing Xu Jianxing say it wasn't easy, Qin Yufei was delighted and said, "Brother, since it's so hard for me, can you release more chapters? I need to deal with those relentless fans. Otherwise, my life is too miserable."

"From what I see, you just want to read it yourself. Otherwise, you would understand that if you release more chapters today and more tomorrow, it will eventually lead to the fans' dissatisfaction if you don't keep it up," Xu Jianxing said with disdain.

"Brother, you can't say that. I want to read it, but I'm also doing it for you. I'll tell you, even though I was tricked into signing the contract, I'll definitely pay you every month, whether you care or not."

Qin Yufei said without hesitation. Based on the current trend, this book would become a godlike work, the highest level. Earning millions would be a piece of cake, including website subscriptions, mobile website subscriptions, book publications, and even game adaptations. As for movie or TV series adaptations, that would be a different story, as the current technology couldn't capture the scenes described in the book.