Chapter 49: Old Zhang with the Divine Eye, Old Seven with the Ghostly Gaze

Every raw stone has fissures.

While it's not impossible to find one without any, such stones are exceedingly rare.

Ordinary people cannot see anything through these cracks.

But under Lin Xiaosu’s Heavenly Eye, even through the tiniest fissure, he could vaguely sense the surging life within.

One stone, then another—he was beginning to master the art of observing the stones’ interiors through their flaws.

And indeed, he spotted several promising pieces.

From the outside they looked utterly unremarkable—but inside, they held a world of wonders.

Were he truly here to purchase raw stones today, he might have called it a day. But that was not his purpose.

His steps shifted slowly, moving to a particular spot—a crucial spot.

He set down the stone in his hand, then raised his head, steadying himself against the shelf before him.

“Mr. Li, if you haven’t found a satisfactory piece, there are a few more over there. I’m sure you’ll be pleased with them,” said Boss Zhang, his face wreathed in smiles as he gestured to the left.

“As I thought, Boss Zhang must have hidden the good stuff elsewhere...” Lin Xiaosu replied with a gentle laugh and turned around.

As he turned, his finger seemed to brush casually against a certain spot on the inside of the shelf...

In that silent, unnoticeable instant, the shelf before him parted, revealing a section of the floor beneath.

Boss Zhang’s face changed abruptly. The three men flanking him also grew tense at once.

Zhou Mei whipped around. Miao Ruolan remained still, but her gaze sharpened.

Lin Xiaosu smiled, “Is this where Boss Zhang keeps the real treasures hidden?”

He walked to the revealed floor panel, which bore a handle.

“Mr. Li, there’s nothing valuable down there—just some scrap material!” Boss Zhang’s smile reappeared, though it looked forced. “Don’t dirty your hands, let’s go over there instead!”

“You jest, Boss Zhang!” Lin Xiaosu replied. “Anything hidden so carefully could hardly be mere refuse.”

He reached down, gripped the handle, and pulled up sharply.

The iron panel weighed at least seventy or eighty pounds, but with a swift motion, Lin Xiaosu lifted and set it aside, exposing a heap of raw stones beneath.

Boss Zhang’s smile lingered, but it was no longer genuine.

The three men beside him exchanged uneasy glances, unsure what to do.

In the workshop outside, dozens of eyes glanced up, filled with deep unease.

Yet no one made a move; everyone seemed to await what would unfold.

No one knew whether the secret room’s discovery was deliberate or accidental.

No one could guess what would happen now that the hidden stones lay exposed.

Lin Xiaosu bent down, picked up a stone, and his gaze locked onto a nearly invisible fissure—yet under his Heavenly Eye, the crack seemed magnified a thousandfold.

His heart finally began to race...

Boss Zhang reached out, still smiling, to take the stone: “Mr. Li...”

“Sorry, my surname isn’t Li! It’s Lin—Lin Xiaosu, of the Phoenix City Detective Agency,” Lin Xiaosu declared.

His tone shifted abruptly from standard Mandarin to the local dialect.

Boss Zhang jolted in shock.

“You likely have another identity as well—Ghost-Eyed Old Seven!”

Zhou Mei’s whole body tensed.

Boss Zhang kept on smiling. “I’m afraid I don’t understand what you mean...”

“People only cry when they see their own coffin,” Lin Xiaosu said. “It’s a universal flaw. Today, I’ll let you see yours.”

Crack!

The stone in his hand suddenly split open—not revealing rock, but a plastic bag. As it fell to the ground and burst, white powder billowed into the air.

Boss Zhang’s expression changed for real.

Swish!

A blade flashed past him—driving straight for Lin Xiaosu’s throat. The attacker was the lean, young man who had followed Boss Zhang throughout—polite, smiling, his demeanor freezing after the secret was uncovered. Now, his strike was swift and ruthless.

Simultaneously, another man appeared beside Zhou Mei—a blade flashing out toward her.

The machinery outside continued its deafening roar, masking the sudden violence erupting within.

The blade was less than a foot from Lin Xiaosu’s throat.

Boss Zhang’s smile had twisted into a snarl.

Suddenly, Miao Ruolan’s qipao split as she moved—boom!

The lean young man who had lunged at Lin Xiaosu was sent flying, crashing into the shelving behind.

On Zhou Mei’s side, the assailant’s blade was only three feet away when suddenly a jet-black pistol appeared, aimed at his head...

The man froze—bang!

The shot did not strike his head, but his arm. The blade clattered to the ground.

Whirr, whirr, whirr...

Four figures leapt at Lin Xiaosu—three armed with knives, one with a steel bar, scavenged from the workshop. Their attacks were all precise and vicious.

Miao Ruolan spun to shield Lin Xiaosu. In an instant, the first attacker fell, the next was flung aside, the third thrust the steel bar forward—Miao Ruolan’s slender hand snatched it, and with a twist, the attacker’s palm split open. He howled in pain as the bar swung heavily into his neck; his head lolled, and he collapsed. The fourth man’s dagger was nearly upon her, but Miao Ruolan drove the steel bar through his hand. The dagger dropped.

Before it even hit the ground, Miao Ruolan’s toe flicked it up—it traced a graceful arc and stabbed into the workshop floor, burying itself two inches deep.

The dozens of workers rushing forward froze at the sight of the gleaming dagger embedded in the floor.

But in the next instant, twenty or thirty of them surged forward together.

The entire workshop and storage area descended into chaos.

These workers, now revealed as killers, hurled themselves at Lin Xiaosu’s group. They knew their deepest crime had been exposed; their only chance was to kill the three of them immediately, preventing any leaks.

Murder carried risks, but, weighing the alternatives, slaying these three offered a glimmer of hope. Failing that, death was certain.

Unfortunately for them, they faced more than mere mortals.

Zhou Mei wielded her gun, firing shot after shot—four men went down.

No one else dared approach.

Miao Ruolan was unarmed, and the attackers assumed she’d be easy prey. But once her ancient martial arts skills were unleashed, she swept through the crowd—no one who came near could withstand even a single move.

And Lin Xiaosu?

He stood his ground, not attacking—but the stones in his hand flew out, each one finding its mark. Every hit brought another assailant down.

On the left, a figure suddenly appeared—it was Boss Zhang, lunging from behind a shelf, a gun in his hand!

He aimed at Lin Xiaosu and roared, “Die!”

Swish!

A stone flew out.

Boss Zhang’s right wrist was pierced through!

The gun fell to the ground—the weapon he had struggled to acquire, he never fired a single shot.

“Don’t move! Hands in the air!” came a commanding shout from outside.

A crisp gunshot rang out.

The entire workshop was suddenly as if a ladle of cold water had been poured into boiling oil...

Shouts, the chaos of battle, the crack of gunfire—

Over thirty police officers burst into the workshop—

Miao Ruolan spun, felling the last attacker, and saw Captain Zhang, his face grim and fierce.

Zhou Mei had just emptied her gun; surrounded and pressed on both sides by thugs, she was flustered—suddenly, her attackers toppled, and Miao Ruolan appeared in front of her while Captain Zhang stood behind.

The three regrouped at the left.

There, a man clutched his bleeding right wrist, face ashen—Boss Zhang. At his feet, beneath the shelf, lay a gun.

“Where’s Lin Xiaosu?” Captain Zhang scanned the room.

“Don’t worry, he’s in no danger,” said Miao Ruolan.

Captain Zhang nodded, then turned to Boss Zhang. “Ghost-Eyed Old Seven, we finally meet.”

Boss Zhang’s wild hair trembled, his eyes slowly closed.

“Talk! Where are your Phoenix City operation records?” Captain Zhang demanded.

“You’ll never get anything from me—never!” Boss Zhang screamed hoarsely.

“No need to,” a voice called out. “I’ve already got them.”

Captain Zhang looked up to see a man in a pristine white suit and pale yellow shirt, calm and unruffled, walking through the wreckage of the workshop. In his hand was a red ledger.

Boss Zhang stared at the ledger, his lips trembling, disbelief etched in his eyes.

“Don’t forget, I’m a detective,” Lin Xiaosu said with a gentle pat on his shoulder. “Uncovering your secrets wasn’t as difficult as you imagined.”

“Lin Xiaosu! You’ll pay for this! My people will slaughter your whole family!” Boss Zhang snarled, his expression savage.

Lin Xiaosu merely smiled. “That’s why I need your ledger—to wipe out your organization, root and branch.”

He handed the ledger to Captain Zhang, whose eyes lit up as he examined it...

Inside was the entire black market trade network, with the key figures—the Five Tiger Generals—clearly identified.

There were detailed records: dates, goods supplied, suppliers, contacts...

There were also lists of compromised protectors—names that Wang Donghe had spent three years investigating, all present here. And many new additions—some so shocking even Captain Zhang was taken aback.

That’s the nature of an underground organization.

Trying to break in from the outside is fraught with obstacles; even if you reach peripheral members, it’s hard to crack the true core.

But once you breach the inner sanctum, starting from the very top, the whole sinful organization dissolves like snow in boiling water—laid bare beneath the sun.

Lin Xiaosu and his companions left the jewelry shop.

Inside, everyone sat with their hands clasped behind their heads, crouched against the wall, while outside, police cars wailed one after another...

The entire southern city was shaken.

Traffic was jammed all the way to the main bridge.

Zhou Mei, behind the wheel of the luxurious Solence Dreamshadow, drove back to the wedding company.

They changed their clothes, shed their disguises, and returned the car—spending a total of 3,800 yuan.

Naturally, Zhou Mei settled the bill—it could be reimbursed.