I consulted a feng shui master in Hong Kong.

Once the car drove off, Chen Qinghe didn't say anything more.

Huo Yuncheng sat in the front, hands on the steering wheel, his foot firmly on the accelerator, but he couldn't help but ask, "You just said they were going to fix mouth wounds, not to harm anyone. What exactly are they fixing?"

"Two places." Chen Qinghe looked out the window at the rapidly receding street scenes, his voice calm. "Either the East Warehouse, or the well in the backyard and the drain line in the kitchen."

Huo Qingtang, sitting next to him, immediately understood.

"The He family has already opened the well during the day and removed the windows of the warehouse to let in some fresh air. If the other party really notices something is wrong, they'll have to lock the dissipated air back in tonight."

"That's right," Chen Qinghe said. "The first method is to borrow luck, and the second is to lock in energy. If the old master of the He family makes another mistake tonight, He Wenchang himself will start to wonder if he made a mistake during the day. At that point, he won't dare to dismantle things recklessly anymore."

Huo Yuncheng cursed, "That's underhanded."

"The fact that they're acting suspiciously shows they're in a hurry." Chen Qinghe finally looked up. "The more urgent a line is, the more it reveals."

The car quickly stopped in the back alley of the He family's house.

Before I even entered, the inside was already in chaos.

Lights were on in the backyard of the He residence, and people were running back and forth. The maids and servants spoke in hushed tones, but they couldn't suppress the panic in their voices.

He Wenchang was standing under the corridor when he saw Chen Qinghe. He rushed over as if he had grabbed a lifeline.

"Master Chen! The old man just woke up again, saying there's the sound of water in the backyard, and he feels a tightness in his chest and can't breathe!"

Huo Yuncheng and Huo Qingtang exchanged a glance, their expressions tightening.

Chen Qinghe was absolutely right.

"Where is he?" Chen Qinghe asked this first, without asking the old man.

He Wenchang was taken aback: "Who is it?"

"Did any strangers come into the backyard just now?"

He Wenchang's expression changed: "I...I don't know. The servants just said it sounded like someone was climbing over the wall in the back alley, but I thought I misheard."

"I didn't mishear." Chen Qinghe walked directly to the backyard. "Huo Yuncheng, go to the back alley and block them. Huo Qingtang, guard the entrance to the side courtyard, don't let anyone move. Huang Shouzhou, come with me to the storeroom."

After a few words, the people in the courtyard immediately felt reassured.

Without uttering a single word, Huo Yuncheng turned and rushed into the back alley. Huo Qingtang was even faster, lifting the hem of her skirt as she passed through the corridor and blocked the moon gate of the side courtyard.

When Chen Qinghe entered the backyard, he only glanced at the well and his eyes turned cold.

A very thin layer of damp ash had appeared around the edge of the half of the well that had just been opened during the day.

If it weren't for the light, you could hardly see it.

The ash wasn't just scattered randomly; it was pressed into a semi-circle along the edge of the well, pushing the water in the newly revived well downwards.

Huang Shouzhou immediately panicked upon seeing this: "Damn it, they really did fight!"

"Not here." Chen Qinghe didn't stop walking. "This is a diversion; the real force is in the East Treasury."

As soon as the warehouse door was pushed open, a damp and stuffy odor rushed out.

Compared to the daytime, it's noticeably heavier here.

The high window that had been removed during the day had been covered with a layer of tarpaulin again; the ventilation shaft that had been painstakingly moved in the middle had now been pushed off its proper position by half a foot by the two tent trunks. Next to the floorboard that had been pried open during the day, there was still some fresh mud scattered around.

Chen Qinghe's expression darkened, and he walked over and kicked open the crooked tent trunk.

With a loud thud, the box crashed against the wall.

In the crack of the floor, there was a piece of red rope that had just been stuffed in, with a copper coin tied to the end of the rope.

Huang Shouzhou felt a chill run down his spine.

"They're fucking making up for lost time!"

Just then, a dark shadow flashed past the back window of the warehouse.

The person hasn't gone far!

Huang Shouzhou instinctively tried to rush out, but Chen Qinghe was faster. He grabbed a short piece of wood that had been dismantled nearby and threw it out the window.

"Bang!"

A muffled groan came from outside, followed by the sound of staggering footsteps.

Almost simultaneously, Huo Yuncheng's angry shout came from the back alley: "Stop!"

The courtyard immediately descended into chaos.

Chen Qinghe did not pursue them.

He yanked out the red rope and copper coin, then placed his other hand on the edge of the floor and, with a flick of his fingertips, found a thin wooden plaque stuffed inside.

He pulled out the wooden plaque, glanced at it, and his eyes darkened slightly.

It's another plaque with a scale pattern.

It was smaller than the one the He family had dug up during the day, and only two characters were engraved on the back.

"Backwater".

Huang Shouzhou came over and took a look, his face turning pale: "These people really want to crush the He family to death."

"They don't want to crush the He family." Chen Qinghe put the wooden plaque into his sleeve, his tone becoming even. "They're afraid that the He family connection will be severed in my hands."

After saying that, he squatted down, reached out and pulled out the newly applied mud along with the half of the old cloth underneath, threw it on the ground, and said to Huang Shouzhou, "Tear off all the tarpaulins on the windows, don't close the door, and clear this path in the middle for me."

This time, Huang Shouzhou didn't dare to hesitate at all and pounced on the attack.

Chen Qinghe then turned and went out, heading straight for the well in the backyard.

He Wenchang was still standing under the eaves, sweating profusely with anxiety: "Master Chen, what about the old master—"

"Nothing will happen," Chen Qinghe interrupted him. "They just started, they haven't settled in yet. Go and get two quick-handed men to wash all the wet ash around the well, and bring a bucket of clean water."

He Wenchang quickly agreed.

A moment later, movement began simultaneously at the well, the warehouse, and the backyard. The damp ash around the well was washed away, and the tarpaulin that had been re-hung in the warehouse was torn down. As the night wind blew through, the oppressive dampness that had been weighing on people's chests dissipated considerably.

Chen Qinghe then went to the east wing to see Old Master He.

The old man had indeed just had a relapse; his face was deathly pale, and his chest was heaving rapidly. But Chen Qinghe only stood at the door for a moment before he knew that the most dangerous moment had passed.

Because the moisture clinging to the wall is slowly receding.

He walked to the bedside, gently pressed his hand on the old man's pillow, and then turned to look at He Wenchang.

"I won't do it again tonight."

He Wenchang's heart, which had been in his throat, finally settled down. His legs went weak, and he almost collapsed to the ground.

Huo Qingtang also came over from the side courtyard at this time, his expression still calm.

"There was no one at the back gate, only a few mud marks left from climbing over the wall. Huo Yuncheng chased the person for half a block in the back alley but couldn't catch them, though he did find something."

As she spoke, she handed over a small brass button.

The copper buckle is about half the size of a thumb, with its edges polished to a high shine, but a fine scale pattern is pressed into the center.

It has the same pattern as the wooden plaque.

Chen Qinghe took it, glanced at it, and then put it in his palm.

This time, even Huang Shouzhou was speechless.

One wooden plaque could be considered a coincidence; two wooden plaques, a copper buckle, plus the fact that the He family was replaced twice, no longer constitutes a coincidence.

This is the same group of people.

Huo Yuncheng returned at this time, his forehead covered in sweat, but his breathing was still steady, though his expression was clearly not very pleasant.

"He ran fast, and the alley was narrow. He disappeared as soon as I reached the street corner. But his right leg must have been hit by you; he'll definitely be walking with the injury for the next couple of days."

Chen Qinghe nodded, finally revealing a very faint smile.

That's enough.

Huo Yuncheng frowned: "Is this enough? We haven't even caught them yet."

"Tonight wasn't the time to make arrests anyway." Chen Qinghe looked up at him. "It's enough that we forced them to show their skills a second time tonight."

Huo Qingtang reacted faster than her younger brother.

"You mean, things are actually better now?"

"That's right," Chen Qinghe said. "They could pretend before that they had just repaired the wrong house or misjudged the situation. But tonight, they climbed over the wall to fix the situation, and they were fixing the very thing that the He family had already dismantled. That's not a mistake; it was intentional."

Upon hearing this, He Wenchang's expression gradually darkened.

He had originally thought that even if Manager Zhou had something to hide, he might not dare to go to extremes.

But tonight's events shattered his last shred of hope.

This is not a misunderstanding.

Someone really wants to use the He family's house and warehouse to gradually empty the He family's coffers.

Chen Qinghe looked at everyone, his voice not loud, but very firm.

"The He family's scheme has been completely broken at this point."

"But this connection is only truly established now."

The courtyard suddenly fell silent.

A night breeze swept across the well, causing the lamplight to flicker slightly.

Huo Yuncheng stared at Chen Qinghe, then suddenly grinned.

"I understand. They came tonight to silence me, but instead of silencing me, they showed you their second hand."

Chen Qinghe did not deny it.