I work as a security guard at a cemetery, and I overhear the dead chatting about getting rich quick.

Attorney Shen sealed the contents of the metal box one by one.

Old photos.

Jiang Cheng's old business card.

The paper with Liu Jiankun's name written on the back of the business card.

And then there's the line, "He knows A17."

The seal on the evidence bag made a very soft sound when pressed down.

Lin Ye stood to the side, watching the words being flattened by the transparent bag, still feeling uneasy.

A17.

It has appeared far too many times.

There was something in Old Master Gu's scolding.

It's on the paper inside the pocket watch.

It was also in the letter left by Liu Changhai.

Every time it pops out a little, the people in the room have to quiet down for a moment.

These three characters seem like something that shouldn't be under the light.

Attorney Shen put the evidence bag into the file box and looked at her phone.

Gu Wantang was still on the other end of the phone.

"Ms. Gu, I'll take the items back to the law firm first. The ledgers, letters, business cards, and the video of the unpacking will all be sealed and documented."

Gu Wantang asked, "Can we work on the catalog tonight?"

Attorney Shen glanced at the watch.

It was a little after 4 a.m.

He paused for a second.

"able."

Lin Ye couldn't help but glance at Attorney Shen.

Attorney Shen showed no dissatisfaction.

There's only a kind of calm that comes from being woken up in the middle of the night to work overtime, a calm that makes you no longer want to resist.

Tao Shuang looked out the window one last time before turning back.

"The car is at the door. I'll escort the goods."

Attorney Shen closed the file box.

Lin Ye looked at the box.

"Won't something happen on the road?"

Tao Shuang glanced at him.

Someone will follow the car.

Lin Ye asked instinctively, "One of our own?"

Tao Shuang paused for half a second.

"certainly."

Lin Ye nodded.

He's been stalked a lot lately.

Upon hearing the words "following the car," my brain's reaction was already somewhat abnormal.

Attorney Shen walked to the door and then looked back at the security booth.

"Mr. Lin, you'd better not touch anything tonight."

Lin Ye nodded immediately.

"Don't worry, I don't even want to touch my own notebook right now."

Attorney Shen seemed to want to say something, but ultimately didn't.

He probably felt that Lin Ye was in a state where it was not appropriate to listen to legal advice.

Tao Shuang saw Attorney Shen out.

The guard booth fell silent again.

After the metal box was taken away, a section of the table was empty.

The anti-floating bottle stood there.

There were two business cards lying on the side.

Gu Wantang's.

Ningzhi's.

Lin Ye stared at it for a while, then moved the anti-floating bottle to the center of the table.

"You had a good night."

He said.

"Even though you didn't do anything."

The bottle didn't react.

Lin Ye has no right to look down on it.

The thing he did most tonight was answer the phone.

It felt like a cemetery switchboard.

Around 5 a.m., the East District gradually fell silent.

Grandpa Gu did not mention Liu Jiankun again.

Boss Wei and the others also quieted down.

Lin Ye lay face down on the table, his eyelids heavy.

But he dared not sleep.

Someone just climbed over the wall in the West District.

Liu Nian has not been found yet.

Zhou Qin's whereabouts are unknown.

The name Liu Jiankun had just emerged.

Now, even when he closes his eyes, he might dream of someone knocking on his window and gently asking, "Mr. Lin, do you sell instant noodles?"

My phone vibrated.

Lin Ye immediately looked up.

It is Ningzhi.

She sent me a photo.

In the photo, she is sitting in the back seat of the car, her hair is obviously messy, her coat cuffs are covered in dust, and there is a small cut on the corner of her mouth.

But she still gave a peace sign to the camera.

The following sentence was added.

still alive.

Lin Ye stared at the photo for two seconds before replying to her.

Are you quite proud?

Ningzhi replied instantly.

A narrow escape from death, a moment worth remembering.

Linye returned.

That's like digging your own grave.

Ningzhi sent an eye-rolling emoji.

A few seconds later, she sent another message.

Liu Nian could not be found.

Lin Ye's finger stopped.

Ningzhi continued to post.

I didn't go out; Gu Wantang's men forced me into the car.

Another sentence was added after that.

But my colleague is still in the north of the city.

Lin Ye stared at the screen.

really.

Even if Ning Zhi is being held down herself, she can still let others go.

He replied.

Can you please shut up?

Ningzhi returns.

No.

Lin Ye looked at those two words and suddenly felt a twitch on his forehead.

He was too lazy to persuade him any further.

Advising Ningzhi is as pointless as advising Old Li not to scold his grandson.

Uncle Zhao arrived just as dawn was breaking.

He was carrying a thermos when he stopped as soon as he entered the security booth.

There are anti-floating bottles on the table.

There are two business cards.

There is a small notebook.

There was still a bit of dust blown in by the window.

Lin Ye sat in the chair, his eyes red, his face even worse than yesterday.

Uncle Zhao looked at him for three seconds.

"Xiao Lin."

"Um."

"Were you on duty last night, or were you undergoing a tribulation?"

Lin Ye wiped his face.

"almost."

Uncle Zhao put down his thermos and went to check the surveillance footage.

The road in the West District has returned to normal.

But the record that was interrupted last night is still there.

The more Uncle Zhao looked, the more his brows furrowed.

"Why is the surveillance footage in the west section cut off?"

Lin Ye remained silent.

Uncle Zhao turned around.

"Don't tell me it was the wind."

Lin Ye said, "Someone climbed over the wall."

Uncle Zhao's expression changed immediately.

"Who?"

"have no idea."

"Did you call the police?"

Lin Ye did not answer immediately.

Uncle Zhao understood from his expression.

He lowered his voice.

"About the Gu family?"

Lin Ye nodded.

Uncle Zhao picked up the thermos, then put it down again.

"I knew it."

He walked to the door and glanced in the direction of the west district.

"There was a problem with the west wall a long time ago. The drainage ditch connects to wasteland, and it was pried up before. I've talked to the management office about it several times, and they always say they'll fix it. But now, the grass on the grave is growing stronger than that brick."

Lin Ye couldn't help but say, "Uncle Zhao, isn't it a bit too apt to say 'grass on a grave' here?"

Uncle Zhao glared at him.

"Still have the energy to be sarcastic?"

Lin Ye shut up.

Uncle Zhao threw a bunch of keys onto the table.

"Go back to your dorm and sleep during the day. I'll keep an eye on the West Campus."

"I can't sleep."

"If you can't sleep, just close your eyes."

Uncle Zhao looked at him.

"If you keep going like this, the East District really needs to make room for you."

Lin Ye: "..."

That's a very unlucky thing to say.

But coming from Uncle Zhao, it was very practical.

Around nine o'clock in the morning, Lin Ye had just lain down on his bed in the dormitory when Gu Wantang called.

He looked at the screen, sighed, and answered the call.

"Miss Gu, I was just about to go to sleep."

"Then don't go to sleep yet."

"Don't you wealthy families ever consider the physiological needs of ordinary people?"

Gu Wantang ignored him.

"I've had a preliminary look at the account books."

Lin Ye sat up.

"What did you find?"

There was the sound of turning pages on the other end of the phone.

Gu Wantang said, "It's not a complete set of financial records. Liu Changhai copied the transaction records himself; the text is very dense, and many places use abbreviations."

"Can you understand it?"

"You can see part of it."

She paused for a moment.

"Several project funds came from Gu's Cultural Tourism, first through contracts handled by Jiang Cheng, and then through three shell companies."

Lin Ye pinched the bridge of his nose.

"and then?"

"One of the shell companies transferred money to Liu Jiankun."

Lin Ye was instantly wide awake.

"How many?"

"Four transactions in total. A total of 2.8 million."

Lin Ye remained silent.

Two million eight hundred thousand.

He was so happy when he earned 6,800 yuan for the first time that he added ham to his instant noodles.

The 2.8 million that this group of people are talking about is just a fleeting figure.

Gu Wantang continued, "Liu Jiankun used to own a black minivan. Three years ago, around the time of Liu Changhai's accident, that car was seen entering and leaving Genting Bay multiple times."

What kind of place is Genting Bay?

"Qingcheng is an early villa area. It's in a remote location with tight security, and it's not easy to find information about the owners."

Gu Wantang paused for a moment as she spoke, turning the pages of paper.

"There is a note in the ledger that says Genting Bay A17 maintenance fee."

Lin Ye slowly sat up straight.

The A17 has finally become a reality.

It wasn't just a curse.

It's not the number on the paper.

It is a house.

He asked, "Does the house belong to Gu Mingyuan?"

"Not in name only."

"What about in reality?"

"Still under investigation."

Gu Wantang lowered her voice.

"But Gu Mingyuan's reaction when he saw A17 last night shows that he knew."

Lin Ye recalled that moment in the Gu family's conference room.

Gu Mingyuan held up a water cup.

His gaze paused for a moment.

At that time, he just felt that something was wrong.

I only realized now that it wasn't a regular serial number.

That's Genting Bay A17.

A house registered under someone else's name.

Lin Ye asked, "Where is Liu Jiankun now?"

There was a moment of silence on Gu Wantang's end.

"Not available at the moment."

What does "cannot be found temporarily" mean?

"The phone number is no longer in use. There are no recent travel records on the ID card. The car registered under my name was sold two years ago. The last time I was photographed was in front of a used car dealership in the south of the city."

Lin Ye frowned.

"The person is gone?"

"That's not how it works."

Gu Wantang said, "But he deliberately avoided making normal records."

Lin Ye looked down at his slippers.

There was a bit of dust on the edge of the slippers; I brought them back from the security booth last night.

He suddenly realized he was even less likely to fall asleep.

There was a knock on the door from Gu Wantang's side.

Someone whispered a few words.

A few seconds later, her voice turned a little cold.

"Gu Mingyuan made a move."

Lin Ye asked, "What did he do?"

"Someone contacted Jiang Cheng."

"Jiang Cheng?"

"Gu Mingyuan wanted to shift the blame for the problems in Liu Changhai's camp onto Jiang Cheng's personal actions."

Lin Ye was taken aback.

"Saving the pawn to save the king?"

"almost."

Gu Wantang said, "If Jiang Cheng takes the blame for the forged contract and fake will, Gu Mingyuan can still back down."

Would Jiang Cheng agree?

"Let's see what conditions he gets."

Lin Ye listened, feeling a chill run down his spine.

He used to think that even bad people had some sense of loyalty.

Looking back now, I was overthinking it.

The relationships among this group are probably not as solid as those among those who share power banks.

Whoever gets into trouble will be pulled down first.

Gu Wantang said, "I'm going to see someone."

"Who?"

"Liu Jiankun's younger brother."

"What do you need me to do?"

"unnecessary."

Lin Yegang breathed a sigh of relief.

Gu Wantang then said, "Go to sleep."

Lin Ye: "..."

This sounds more like a command than "not needed".

I'll try my best.

"It's not about effort, it's a necessity."

She paused.

"Don't wander around before this afternoon. I've got someone keeping an eye on Ningzhi."

Lin Ye was about to say yes when his phone vibrated again.

It was sent by Ningzhi.

It's not text.

It's a photograph.

The photo was taken from a great distance.

A narrow alley.

A half-finished sign hangs at the entrance of the old hotel.

Shunmin Hotel.

A girl wearing a baseball cap was standing in front of the convenience store.

The brim of the hat was pulled very low.

He was holding a bottle of mineral water.

Lin Ye sat up straight immediately.

Liu Nian.

Ningzhi sent another message.

I didn't take this picture; my colleague did.

She was behind the old train station.

Lin Ye immediately forwarded the photo to Gu Wantang.

There was a two-second silence on the phone.

"Ningzhi's people?"

"It should be."

"address."

Lin Ye zoomed in on the photo.

Half of the door number was visible below the signboard.

Before he could even see clearly, another message from Ning Zhi arrived.

Shunmin Hotel, located in the back alley of the old railway station in the north of the city.

Don't scold me, I didn't go there.

Lin Ye forwarded the address to Gu Wantang.

Gu Wantang's voice grew even colder.

"I'll send someone over."

She added another sentence after she finished speaking.

"Don't move."

Lin Ye glanced at the slippers beside his bed.

"I'm not even wearing shoes right now."

"That would be best."

Gu Wantang hung up the phone.

Not long after, Ning Zhi called.

Lin Ye answered the phone, and his first question was: "Where are you?"

I can hear the sound of the car's air conditioning coming from Ningzhi's side.

"In the car."

"Are Gu Wantang's people watching you?"

"To be precise, it was to prevent me from jumping off the train."

Lin Ye closed his eyes.

That's definitely something she'd do.

"How did you find Liu Nian?"

"My colleague saw her running towards the old train station in the back alley of the old furniture market, but didn't dare to get too close. Later, he found her near the Shunmin Hotel."

"Is she alone now?"

"It looks like it."

Ning Zhi lowered her voice.

"She just asked the shopkeeper how to get to Qingshan Cemetery by public transportation."

Lin Ye paused, his hand holding the phone still.

"She asked about Qingshan Cemetery?"

"Um."

Ning Zhi continued, "I also asked if it was possible to enter the old cemetery in the west area during the day."

Lin Ye slowly sat up straight.

Daylight streamed into the dormitory through the window.

It's very light.

It's not warm at all.

He remembered the soil that had been scraped away last night.

New scratches behind the tombstone.

A fleeting black shadow in the surveillance footage.

The second set of accounts left behind by Liu Changhai has been found in the locker.

But Liu Nian is still looking for Qingshan Cemetery.

Still searching for the old cemetery in the western district.

In other words, there might be another item in the old tomb area in the west.

It's not an account book.

It's not a business card.

It was what Zhou Qin truly wanted Liu Nian to find before she disappeared.

Ning Zhi whispered on the other end of the phone, "Lin Ye."

"Um."

"She didn't come to see you."

Lin Ye looked out the window.

"I know."

Ningzhi said, "She's going to the old cemetery in the western district."

Lin Ye didn't say anything.

He suddenly remembered the few words that the nameless tomb had spoken intermittently.

Display case.

fake.

Don't take it away.

He originally thought it was another line that was very far away.

Now that line is standing at the entrance of Qingshan Cemetery, ready to walk in on its own.