Sundering Nature

Original and most updated translations are from volare. Please don't read elsewhere and stop supporting theft.

TL: Zhao

Editing: Krisaia

After an entire day of rest, Li Yiming finally came back down to the first floor.

"You're here?" Li Yiming saw Xiao Feng lying down on the sofa.

"Ah! Captain?" Xiao Feng jumped up, rearranging his messy hair.

"He never left," Chen Jiawang said.

"You've been working the entire night?"

"I've just finished my investigation. The rock was lost on the night of the eleventh of September. There were quite a lot of strange points to the case, as nothing was caught by the surveillance cameras in the neighborhood. The only clue we have is a video from two weeks before, when the rock was first delivered to the place," Xiao Feng explained.

"Nice work," Li Yiming complimented. As he scrutinized the picture of the rock, he recalled seeing it in the Merry Couple's jade store.

"Do you have any information on the people who reported this case to the police?" Li Yiming remembered the date to be when Aunt Wu visited him, meaning that the seal had vanished during that same day.

"Yes, these are from the police station." Xiao Feng grew excited upon noticing Li Yiming's satisfied look.

"Sai Gao?" Li Yiming's countenance shifted when he saw the tall man wearing pyjamas on the picture, who seemed to be talking to a police officer.

"According to the files found in the local real estate bureau, the owner of the house is someone called Shao Xian. She was a famous online streamer and even became a singer, but she retired from public view after a music festival a year ago. Her relationship to the man in the picture is unclear," Xiao Feng said as he handed over a sheet of paper containing Shao Xian's background information.

'So they're together? How did they get their hands on that rock? Or even remove the seal?' Li Yiming frowned as he considered the implications of the findings.

"That's all. I couldn't find anything on the whereabouts of the rock. The police officer in question had been bribed to investigate the case, but the whole affair was busted and he underwent disciplinary actions." Despite Li Yiming saying that the police officer was not of utmost importance, Xiao Feng still nonetheless made the extra effort to obtain information about the latter, since it could have led to a breakthrough in his investigation.

"Thank you for your work. I appreciate it. You should take some rest now."

"I'm only doing my duty. Please, if you have anything else you'd like to ask of me…" Xiao Feng said with a reverent expression as he stood up.

"I'm fine for now." Li Yiming stared at Xiao Feng's back as the latter left, thinking that Fang Shui'er had done a great job of discovering such talent.

"Bai Ze, come have a look at this!" Li Yiming called out as soon as Xiao Feng left.

"Sai Gao? Then this rock really is that one?" Bai Ze could not believe that Li Yiming had produced some results.

"Not only that, look at this…" Li Yiming put down the photos on the table.

"What about this one?"

"Look at how the officers are standing in these pictures," Li Yiming said as he pointed.

"There's something strange… I'm not sure what this is…" Bai Ze frowned. She could tell that something was off, but did not know what it was exactly.

"There should have been another person in this photo…"

"What?"

"Look at this picture. Sai Gao is standing unusually far away from the police officer. The only explanation is that there's someone else standing here. Also, look at this one, and this one…"

Bai Ze's countenance grew severe as she listened to Li Yiming's hypothesis.

"You're saying that there's someone here who can't be seen by the camera?"

"Maybe he was in the picture, but then he was gone."

"In another life… Fu Bo!" Li Yiming and Bai Ze yelled out at the same time.

* * *

"Is that rock really that important?" Shao Xian said with pursed lips as she looked out of the train window.

"Think about it. It's such a big piece of jade. It's worth so much money," Sai Gao said as he continued reading his fashion magazine.

"Money?" Shao Xian did not buy the excuse, knowing that Sai Gao possessed an unbelievable amount of money, considering his luxurious mansion that had been put under her name.

"It's an invaluable treasure."

"Did you really need to bribe the police?"

"How else am I going to make the police work for me if not with money? In times like this…"

"Well, now we're wanted criminals, are you happy?" Shao Xian said as she slammed the table. It was all so sudden to her to be living the life of a fugitive. She then looked at the "friend" Sai Gao had brought who remained solely focused on his computer. 'Is he a complice in this?'

"Excuse me, is this spot free?" A voice was suddenly heard.

"Oh?" Shao Xian turned around and saw a beautiful young woman. She wore a long linen robe, but she seemed troubled by anxious thoughts.

"I…" Shao Xian said as she glanced at Sai Gao. They were sitting in a compartment made for four people, and the spot right next to Fu Bo was free, but given their circumstances, she wanted to consult Sai Gao's before accepting.

"I'm sorry, my seat is at the front, but the person sitting next to me had a child, so…"

"It's okay. You can sit here," Fu Bo said without even looking up.

"Thank you." The woman nodded and sat down, keeping her distance away from Fu Bo to avoid disrupting his work.

"We're traveling together." Shao Xian said with a smile when she noticed the woman's rather stiff movement. In fact, she had been dying for someone to talk to, as both Sai Gao and Fu Bo seemed to be too focused on their own screens to mind her. Even though they were on the run, Sai Gao's calm expression put her mind at ease, and she considered it to be more than traveling rather than fleeing the police.

"Oh?" The woman smiled back in a friendly manner. It seemed like Shao Xian's appearance alone was enough to convince her.

"What about you? Are you alone?" Shao Xian asked as she put down her legs that she had put up on the seat.

"Yes."

"Nice to meet you. My name is Shao Xian. This is Sai Gao, and this…" Shao Xian seemed to have lightened up as she introduced her friends.

"He's Fu Bo." Sai Gao looked up and added with a smile.

"Nice to meet you. My name is Wu Jia," Wu Jia was stunned by Sai Gao's smile, as it possessed an otherworldly beauty. She was already impressed by Shao Xian's looks, but Sai Gao surpassing her in terms of beauty was beyond her expectations. She then looked at Fu Bo and was struck by his unique air of calmness and serenity. 'Wow… these people… They could all be working as models…'

"Is your friend is writing a novel?" Wu Jia asked as she glanced at Fu Bo's laptop.

"I don't know. He's been like this for the entire day…"

As the four bonded over chit-chatting, on another wagon, Ying Mei and Tian Yan sat face to face.

"It seems like she stopped. Probably changed seats," Ying Mei said as she stared at the blinking red dot on her screen.

"She's not alone. There's someone powerful over there. I think that she's met up with the people from her organization," Tian Yan said. She wore sunglasses which concealed her eyes.

"What did I tell you? There's undoubtedly something suspicious with this Wu Jia. She's a lead we can't give up," Ying Mei said with a confident smile.