I was just telling a story, why is the whole internet urging me to turn myself in?

Chapter 168: Treasure identification and mystery!

"Four Seas Pawnshop, Zhao Sihai".

Inside the study, Xu Zhengyang's steady and powerful voice came from the phone.

Shen Feng stood by the window, looking at the endless stream of cars below, and calmly made arrangements: "The pieces of Eden have moved. Tonight's live broadcast will discuss just how deep the waters run in the antique trade."

After hanging up the phone, Shen Feng's gaze pierced through the night, looking at the city's neon lights outside the window.

Meanwhile, on the antique street in Jiangzhou City, there is the Li Family Courtyard.

A heavy atmosphere of sorrow, mixed with a faint scent of bitter almonds, enveloped the entire courtyard.

Su Qing, her face ashen, stood at the study door, wearing gloves. Inside, a cordon isolated the room from the outside world. Under the lamplight, Li Guodong, a renowned expert in antique appraisal, lay motionless on his most beloved huanghuali wood desk. His eyes were wide open, his face a strange bluish-purple, and a few specks of white foam lingered at the corners of his lips.

The forensic doctor walked over, took off his mask, and looked more solemn than ever before.

"The deceased had no external injuries or signs of struggle, and the preliminary diagnosis is death by poisoning. The time of death was likely between 11 PM and midnight last night." The forensic doctor pointed to the bronze cauldron on the table, carefully covered by an evidence bag. "We detected residues of the same highly toxic substance on the deceased's fingertips and on the surface of this bronze cauldron. The toxin penetrated through skin contact and damaged the deceased's central nervous system in a very short time, causing cardiac and respiratory arrest."

Su Qing's gaze was fixed on the bronze cauldron.

The cauldron was only thirty centimeters tall, and its entire body was a deep, dark black. The patterns on its surface were neither the majestic Taotie pattern of the Shang and Zhou dynasties, nor the Panchi pattern popular in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods; but rather a spiral pattern that had never been seen before: those spirals circled one after another, and after looking at them for a few more moments, one would feel a strange dizziness and palpitations.

"Can you find out what kind of poison it is?" Su Qing's voice was a little hoarse.

The forensic doctor shook his head, his face full of frustration: "It's a complex neurotoxin with a hidden structure, and there's no record of it in our toxicology database. Based on the activity of the residue at the scene, it's highly toxic; just a few milligrams can kill a person within half a minute. The source is most likely some overseas biological laboratory that doesn't have official disclosure."

A foreign-synthesized deadly poison, antiques of unknown origin, and the mysterious death of a highly respected expert—every clue pierced Su Qing's nerves. This was definitely not a simple murder case.

"Investigate!" Su Qing ordered. "Investigate all of Elder Li's recent communication and visitor records! Investigate the origin of this cauldron! I don't believe it could have appeared here out of thin air!"

Half an hour later, a police officer rushed up to Su Qing with a strange expression, holding a call log.

"Team Leader Su, we've made a discovery. In the week before his death, Old Li made seventeen phone calls to the same number, the shortest lasting thirty seconds and the longest exceeding an hour. We checked the real-name information for that number, and the owner's name is Zhao Sihai."

"Zhao Sihai?" Su Qing frowned; the name sounded somewhat familiar.

An older detective beside him added, "Captain Su, I know this Zhao Sihai. He's the owner of Sihai Pawnshop on Antique Street. This guy has connections and a powerful background. He's a well-known social butterfly in Jiangzhou's antique world, but nobody knows..."

Where did he get his first pot of gold? He and Mr. Li were close friends in the industry, despite their age difference, and they often appreciated things together.

Su Qing's eyes sharpened. A friendship across generations? Frequent phone calls? There's probably more to this than meets the eye.

Just as the special task force was investigating the origins of Zhao Sihai and the bronze cauldron but was stuck due to a lack of clues, at exactly 8 p.m., "Mr. Shen's" live stream room lit up on time.

Unlike the tense and oppressive atmosphere outside, the atmosphere in the live broadcast room remained relaxed.

Shen Feng leaned back in his gaming chair, a steaming cup of Biluochun tea in front of him. He didn't turn on his webcam; only his deep, magnetic voice traveled through the microphone to the ears of tens of millions of viewers.

"Good evening, everyone. Tonight, we won't talk about those violent cases. Let's talk about something more refined." Shen Feng took a sip of tea and slowly began, "Let me tell you a story about the antique trade, called 'The Mystery of Treasure Appraisal'."

"In our China, there has been a long-standing tradition of collecting antiques. But where there are people, there is a world of intrigue, and the world of antiques is far more complex than you can imagine. Today's protagonist is not some notorious thief, but a cauldron, a priceless Panlong Cauldron."

Su Qing, who was overwhelmed by a pile of documents in her office, instinctively opened the live stream when her subordinate reported that Shen Feng had started broadcasting.

When she heard the word "鼎" (ding), her heart skipped a beat.

Shen Feng's unhurried voice continued to echo in the office.

This "Panlong Cauldron" is said to be a ritual vessel used by the imperial family in a previous dynasty. It later fell into private hands and was acquired by a pawnshop owner surnamed Zhao for an exorbitant price. However, Mr. Zhao knew perfectly well that the cauldron's origins were illegitimate; it had been brought back from abroad through dishonest means by underworld figures. To turn it into real value, he needed to find a highly respected appraiser to issue it a "birth certificate."

"So he found the most renowned appraisal master in the field, Mr. Wang. Mr. Wang has spent his whole life dealing with treasures and has an extremely sharp eye. He touched it and then looked at it with a magnifying glass. He immediately determined that although the tripod was an old item, the patina on it was unusual and had been tampered with with chemicals. The most frightening thing was that he found a very thin coating, like varnish, on the inside of the tripod's legs."

"Mr. Wang was cautious; he scraped off a tiny sample of the coating and had it sent to a professional institution for testing. When the results came out, everyone was stunned."

Shen Feng lowered his voice slightly: "That's not varnish at all, but a potent neurotoxin. This poison is colorless and odorless, but if even 0.01 grams comes into contact with the skin, it will be fatal within three minutes, beyond the reach of even a miracle."

"So, this coiled dragon cauldron was a setup, a trap, from beginning to end! It was both a tool for money laundering and a weapon that could kill without leaving a trace. It was specifically designed to deal with those who were disobedient and knew too many secrets. Once the target had a moment to 'admire' the cauldron, everything would be over, cleanly and without a trace."

It was as if a thunderclap had exploded in Su Qing's mind. She stood up from her chair and stared intently at the photo of the bronze tripod on the table.

Chemical aging! Neurotoxin coating! A weapon that kills without a trace!

Every word in Shen Feng's story perfectly overlapped with Old Li's case. She had always believed the poison was in the cauldron, but she never...

I've thought about it; this cauldron itself existed specifically for poisoning!

"Forensic doctor!" Su Qing grabbed the walkie-talkie, her voice trembling with excitement. "Never mind what material that cauldron is made of!"

"Use a spectrometer! Find out what the hell is coated on its surface!"

A dozen minutes later, the forensic doctor called, his voice filled with horror.

"Captain Su—how...how did you know? The surface of the cauldron really does have an extremely thin layer of organic coating! The composition is exactly the same as the toxin samples I detected before!"

Su Qing hung up the phone, gripping it tightly. It was him again! That man who always walked ahead of everyone else had once again dispelled the fog of mystery.

She took a deep breath, her eyes hardening with determination, and gave orders to all the officers waiting in the office.

"Target: Sihai Pawnshop, Zhao Sihai! Keep an eye on him! I need to know his every move, 24/7! Also, immediately request assistance from the tax authorities to investigate all transaction records and cash flow of Sihai Pawnshop for the past three years! Don't let a single detail slip by!"

Looking out at the deep night, Su Qing's voice was icy: "I want to see just how many dirty secrets are hidden behind this 'poison cauldron'!"