What kind of divination am I doing?

Ding-a-ling~ Clang~!

The bells rang out, and even though the road and bridge had stopped, the sound still rang out.

The bridge's feet were completely bound by the red rope and bells; trying to untie it would only make an even louder noise.

At this moment, Luqiao began to make a choice, pondering whether to stop and slowly take his foot out of the hole.

It's best to act swiftly and decisively, untie the red rope and bells from your feet, and run away quickly.

Although the courtyard of the hall was noisy, there was not much traffic at night, so the sound of the bells inside the house was particularly noticeable.

With just a slight twitch of the heel, the bell rang out again.

Ding-a-ling~ Clang~!

Lu Qiao was stunned and somewhat regretful, feeling that his cleverness had backfired.

He had considered using a bell to ensure that if someone broke in while he was communicating with the bandits, they would be able to hear it. The bandits did indeed make noise when they broke in, which Lu Qiao heard.

But now, this bell has become the very thing that exposes its existence.

Upon hearing the bell, the two men simultaneously turned off their flashlights, exchanged a glance, and looked towards the hall.

The two men then communicated in a voice that only they could hear.

"The bell rang? Did you hear it?"

"Yes, there are people in the lobby!"

"Could it be one of the older brothers?"

"Impossible! If our brother were really in the lobby, we would have gone there to recognize him! Why would he let us come in to look for him?"

"oh."

"Oh my god, why don't we just go and see for ourselves!"

……

The road and bridge are clear; they have been discovered.

Do we have a choice now? It seems we don't.

Even if I run out now, my feet are bound with a red rope and bells, which make a constant jingling sound as I walk.

The key issue is that she was carrying a suitcase, and the red rope was very conspicuous at night. The two men who chased after her would definitely be able to catch up easily.

If he didn't run, Luqiao knew even more clearly that the other person would see him carrying luggage when they came over.

The problem will be discovered immediately, and the situation seems to be a dead end.

The two were still chatting softly, but Luqiao could hear them clearly with the help of the black cat.

"If it's not the eldest brother, then who else could it be? Someone from outside?"

"Keep your voice down. They might be the landlord's people. Our boss didn't rent this place. We're trespassing now."

"So what if I broke in?"

"It's not illegal to execute us!"

"oh."

……

Footsteps continued to be heard, indicating that the other party had likely moved from the large hole in the warehouse inside the courtyard to the back door of the hall.

If I peek out, I'm doomed.

Lu Qiao wondered if he had misheard. What were these two men doing, giving him an open-book exam?

One second they didn't know what a good road and bridge should be, the next second the two men were afraid of being too slow to give the answer.

Lu Qiao realized what was happening and slapped the light on the wall.

The lobby was brightly lit. Lu Qiao put down his suitcase and began to leisurely deal with the bell.

The two men, who were just about to peek out to see who was coming, were startled when they saw the lights in the lobby come on.

The two of them crouched down, not daring to move around any further.

"Did you see clearly who it was?"

"I...I didn't dare to look."

"What use are you! I reckon you're one of the landlord's people, but it's strange, what are you doing here today?"

The two men were talking in hushed tones, pressed against the wall, motionless.

Lu Qiao was still wondering what identity he should come in with, but now the other party has already made up an identity for him.

"That tripped me to death! I almost fell to my death! How could it be so hard to untie? What did Old Zhao put in the house?!" Lu Qiao cursed as he untied the red rope.

I have to say, my foot got stuck pretty deep. Even with the lights on, it would be difficult to untangle it now. If it were dark, it would probably be impossible to untangle it at all.

The sound of bells rang incessantly, and Lu Qiao recited one line of traditional Chinese poetry after another.

The more fiercely Lu Qiao cursed, the less the two men dared to peek over to see who Lu Qiao was.

Of course, we don't need to look at it now. Based on what Luqiao said, we can roughly tell that Luqiao's identity is definitely related to the landlord.

"Why are there so many bells and ropes here! Old Zhao, really, he called me here to work and almost made me fall." Lu Qiao deliberately raised his voice and slammed the ropes and bells forward onto the counter.

Even from that moment, you could tell Lu Qiao was furious. But Lu Qiao kept turning a blind eye, relying on the black cat to maintain absolute control of the situation.

The two men faced each other across the wall in the corner, their voices even lower:

"Is he the real landlord?"

"Would they know there was a hole?"

"No way, knowing that, they still dared to go alone. Those guys have several guns! It must be a group coming!"

"What will we do if they come?"

The two men exchanged a glance, and one of them made a throat-slitting gesture.

At this moment, Lu Qiao, who had just put down his things, saw from the black cat's perspective, through his closed eyes, that the two men were making throat-slitting gestures.

Lu Qiao felt guilty instantly, knowing he had to pretend the two people didn't exist.

In the current situation, even if you see it, you have to pretend you didn't.

Lu Qiao hummed a little tune and murmured, "Come on, let's find Old Zhao, give him a call, and see why he called me here."

Lu Qiao took out his phone and pretended to look at it, watching the two men's next move.

There were two men in the corner, one of whom had just made a throat-slitting gesture.

Another person grabbed the other's hand and moved it down, shaking their head and explaining softly, "Unless we can strangle him silently, any disturbance will expose this place. We also won't be able to dispose of his body properly; the hole hasn't been filled in yet. If we get caught, they'll know our boss committed insurance fraud!"

"That's it, the hole! Let's hide inside! Cover it with a barrier, and come out after everyone's gone!"

"Great idea! Maybe the big shots are down there. Let's go check them out and explain the situation!"

The two of them walked towards the cave entrance and crouched down as they slowly moved over.

Lu Qiao was stunned; it was like a sudden enlightenment.

If we call the police now, the detectives will not only be able to catch the two grown men, but they will also discover the cave and uncover the insurance fraud. Old Shen will then be in serious trouble.

Lu Qiao realized that these two probably couldn't stand to see their boss, Shen, doing well, and were actually helping to arrange things perfectly for him.

As Lu Qiao spoke, he took out his phone, which contained the new SIM card that Liu Bo had just given him.

"I found Lao Zhao's phone number, let's ask him what happened!" Lu Qiao muttered to himself.

Lu Qiao took out his phone, but didn't even dial a number. He probably yelled, "Hey, Lao Zhao, why do you have so many red strings and bells?! What? Your daughter brought people over to play house? You set them up? Seriously, they almost tripped me!"

The next second, fearing the other person might not hear him, Luqiao shouted again, "Who's so careless! The door's still open! What if a cat runs in and poops or pees?!"

Black Cat naturally understood that the words were directed at him, and he didn't bother arguing with Luqiao about this favorable situation.

Lu Qiao opened the back door and then pretended to push it open, standing in the yard: "Old Zhao, I almost fell. You have to treat me to a big meal."

Lu Qiao walked into the yard, looked at the black cat above his head, turned to the side, and made an OK sign to show the black cat that he had taken control of the situation and had already thought of a solution.

The two people at the cave entrance kept their heads down and continued to communicate quietly with each other.

"He didn't see us, did he?"

"She was on the phone, so she definitely didn't see it. If she had seen it, she wouldn't have called!"

The two men had just crawled into the cave and dared not peek out, hoping that Lu Qiao hadn't discovered them.

"What did you say? You want me to fix the water pipe? It's leaking a bit? You asked how long it will take? Let me check the time. I estimate it'll be fixed in about twenty minutes. After it's fixed, I'll come to your place for a meal. Okay! I'll come find you when it's fixed. I'll try to get it done in fifteen minutes. What? No way, no way! I definitely won't cut corners; it'll be fast and good."

After Lu Qiao finished speaking, he walked back to the hall and closed the backyard door.

With a loud bang, the two men in the yard clearly signaled that they had closed the gate.

The mutterings Lu Qiao made on the phone were meant to tell the two men that he was going to fix the water pipe for fifteen minutes and would leave afterward.

Only then did the two of them peek out and look towards the back gate of the yard.

"Plumber!"

"I'll be leaving in fifteen minutes."

"Let's say twenty minutes, and they'll definitely turn off the lights when they leave."

"Never mind him. That's weird, where's the boss's older brother?"

"I guess someone came by in the afternoon too. Didn't you see Old Zhao calling for people to fix the water pipes? When the guys came in the afternoon, they saw it and felt it wasn't safe, so they ran away."

"Then we've come all this way for nothing?"

"Five bags of gold, can't be transported out, they still need to talk to us. After the plumber leaves, we'll leave too, and let the boss contact them again to see if we can find an opportunity to meet again."

"Oh"

……

Lu Qiao had a feeling that these two men were his benefactors.

In this situation, they kept reminding Luqiao and telling him what to do.

What do you mean by "you'll definitely turn off the lights when you leave"? Lu Qiao walked out of the house without turning off the lights.

Fifteen minutes is enough time for me to run to the ends of the earth with my suitcase.

Believe it or not, foreigners really do go to bed early. The black plastic bag peeking out from the overpass covered the suitcase as the man walked forward, and there were hardly any passersby around.

Only the shops were open, bustling with activity, and the lights weren't very bright. Perhaps because they'd been open for so many years, the restaurants with their lights on behind the road bridge stood out remarkably.

Luqiao noted down the address: No. 180.

Luqiao dragged his luggage and started making a phone call, almost pressing 110 instead of the correct number.

Before pressing the button, it took me a long time to realize that it should be 911.

The call was connected, and the English voice on the other end was directly translated: "Hello, this is the US emergency number. How can I help you?"

Just as Lu Qiao was about to speak, the black cat leaped from the suitcase onto Lu Qiao's shoulder in two steps.

Lu Qiao glanced at the black cat, who snorted coldly, its voice translating, "What? You want me to call the police for you? I can't speak human language here, do it yourself!"

Lu Qiao had no choice but to speak up himself. With a pitifully small vocabulary, Lu Qiao quickly thought of something and then opened his mouth to speak fluent English.

"Hello, I was passing by when I saw two men enter a shop on Harrison Avenue. I saw that they were trespassing, and the key thing is that they were carrying red ropes and bells, as if they were going to perform some kind of Eastern summoning ritual inside. I don't know what they were summoning, but I'm really scared! Please send someone to check it out!" Lu Qiao explained.

"Calm down, sir, are the two men you mentioned still at the place you said they were?"

Lu Qiao glanced over: "It's a little ahead of number 167. I don't dare go over there. It's the restaurant with the lights on. They seem to have gone somewhere further inside. Let me see, it's number 180! Their car is in front!"

Lu Qiao's outburst of language perfectly resembled that of a frightened but enthusiastic bystander.

"Okay, our agents will be here soon. God bless you."

The officer who answered the call looked down at the description the complainant had written down, pondered for a moment, and then realized something.

Immediately, connections formed in my mind; I already knew that the Chinatown jewelry store had been robbed that afternoon.

There were even rumors circulating in the chat group that some kind of Eastern magic had caused the five thugs to disappear inside the jewelry store.

In the afternoon, the operator thought it was just superstition, but then she received a call saying that she saw two men wearing red ropes and bells entering a room nearby.

Something's not right; there's definitely something going on here.

The operator immediately began calling for reinforcements to go to the scene to investigate.

……

Two teams of detectives have been stationed at the east and west entrances of Chinatown.

While I was bored out of my mind, the walkie-talkie received a message.

"Around 180 Harrison Avenue, there is a report of an illegal Eastern ritual being performed in a brightly lit house, possibly involving burglary and theft, and suspected to be related to the robbers who disappeared from the jewelry store. Request reinforcements."

This news immediately energized the agents.

There were two detectives outside the jewelry store who had also heard the broadcast, but they didn't rush over, fearing it was a diversionary tactic. They were both on high alert.

The two teams of agents got into their vehicles without turning on their lights and drove to Harrison Avenue, where they easily spotted the house mentioned on the radio.

With the main door open, the agents exchanged glances and discussed tactics, with one agent leading the way and the other three providing cover as they entered the hall.

Under the bright lights, a red rope with bells hung there. This kind of thing is rarely seen, and its presence here gave it an eerie feel.

The agents frowned and continued forward.

Feeling around for the closed door in the backyard, they easily opened it from inside the hall.

The detectives entered the courtyard and turned on their powerful flashlights.

Under the bright light of the flashlight, a series of footprints stretched into the distance.

This is the dust that fell when the mushroom man lay on the ground covering his blood.

No one had ever walked this road before, except for two men.

It's as if the red rope bell on the road bridge inadvertently revealed its true nature.

Now, to cover the blood-stained dust, a series of footprints have appeared, leading inward to the cave entrance.

A barrier made it all too obvious that the footprints disappeared.

The agents stepped forward, guns drawn, shouting repeatedly, "Hands up! Surrender! Come out here, and don't make any strange movements!"

"We know you're inside!"

At this moment, the two men inside the tunnel were so terrified they wet themselves, shouting towards the outside, "We surrender! We surrender!"

Two men crawled out of the hole, and the detective immediately stepped forward, pressed his knee against their backs, and handcuffed them.

The two men were handcuffed almost without resistance, and the police officers were incredulous when they looked at the tunnel.

"Where do you think this leads?"

"Looking in this direction, is it possible that it's a jewelry store?"

……