Then let them offer their loyalty!

Qiu Tu glanced at her and deliberately said, "No."

After saying that, he turned and left with a flourish, instructing the servants to come in and tidy up.

As Shen Lingshuang watched Qiu Tu's dashing retreating figure, she blinked her large eyes. Recalling the scene of Qiu Tu pinning her down on the chair and giving her a good beating, a ripple of emotion stirred within her...

As Qiu Tu stepped outside, he looked at the gray sky and sighed softly, recalling his past life.

In his past life, Qiu Tu was ruthless and merciless in order to climb the corporate ladder, showing no mercy to anyone.

So, in an effort to please him, many people would offer him their most precious possessions. One womanizer, in particular, compiled his experiences into a book called "The Emotional Handbook" and presented it to Qiu Tu.

It details 12 types of women, 36 coping strategies, and 108 ways to enhance relationships...

Qiu Tu only treated it as a pastime in his spare time and did not study it seriously, but he would flip through it from time to time.

It was the system that reminded him that Shen Lingshuang had feelings for him. So, he had a sudden inspiration and used a method from the "Emotional Handbook" to subtly enhance their relationship.

After spending the night together, Qiu Tu had a general idea of ​​Shen Lingshuang's identity: even if it wasn't as exaggerated as she described, it was pretty close. At the very least, she couldn't escape the fact that she was the daughter of a high-ranking official.

Although it's unclear why a girl of such a background would end up in a planned development zone, this is indeed an opportunity for Qiu Tu.

If we can truly grasp this line, perhaps many things will have room for maneuver.

Thinking of this, Qiu Tu then asked Fang Ming to arrange Shen Lingshuang's guard duties, mainly by borrowing two maids from the Qin family to take care of Shen Lingshuang.

After all, Shen Lingshuang is a girl, and the guards are all rough men, so some things are still inconvenient.

Fang Ming was indeed a rare good person in this cataclysmic world. Qiu Tu, who was previously under his command, suddenly became his superior in just two days. Yet, he showed no resentment and instead dutifully served as Qiu Tu's deputy.

With his assistance, Qiu Tu can devote more energy to solving his current predicament.

After arranging Shen Lingshuang's daily care, Qiu Tu walked towards the residence that the Qin family had prepared for him.

To accommodate the guards, the Qin family specially vacated a two-courtyard house. With Qin Shuman living directly in the main Qin family residence, Qiu Tu naturally moved into the main house of this courtyard.

Upon arriving at the main house, before even stepping inside, Qiu Tu noticed that the door to the front hall was open and the lights were on.

He paused for a moment, then stepped inside.

Upon entering the lobby, Qiu Tu saw a portly middle-aged man leisurely drinking tea while sitting on a guest chair.

A girl of about sixteen or seventeen was standing beside him with her head bowed.

Hearing footsteps, the middle-aged man turned around. When he saw Qiu Tu, his face immediately lit up with a smile. He stood up and greeted him with a smile, "Oh, Detective Qiu, I've been waiting for you."

Qiu Tu's eyes flickered slightly, and he walked over enthusiastically, "Fourth Master Qin, is there something you need to discuss so late at night?"

Master Qin, the fourth son of Old Master Qin, is also the head of the fourth branch of the family. Despite his affable demeanor, he manages underground brothels, casinos, and other illicit businesses within the Qin family...

Chapter 23 Late-Night Secret Talk

Upon hearing Qiu Tu's words, a simple and honest smile appeared on Qin Siye's chubby face. He then pulled Qiu Tu to sit down and said, "There's nothing else. It's just that I hit it off with Detective Qiu at the banquet just now and would like to get to know him better in private."

At this point, he tentatively inquired, "It's still early, Detective Qiu, would you be interested in going for a walk with me?"

Looking at Qin Siye's expression and considering his identity, Qiu Tu could easily guess that he was going somewhere for a "stroll"...

However, he was currently preoccupied with official duties, so he politely declined the invitation with a smile, saying, "Thank you for your kind offer, Fourth Master. But I am not feeling well tonight, so let's postpone it to another day."

Upon hearing this, Master Qin's smile remained unchanged. "I understand, I understand."

After saying that, he pointed at the girl next to him and said, "Xiao Ying, what are you still standing there for? Go and make some tea for Detective Qiu."

Upon hearing Master Qin's words, the young girl immediately bowed her head and accepted the order.

A moment later, a cup of fragrant tea was placed beside Qiu Tu.

Qiu Tu nodded his thanks, then sipped his tea while recalling the situation of the Qin family's fifth branch in his mind.

Except for the fifth son, who was born to a second wife, the other four sons of the Qin family were born of the same mother.

The eldest son, Qin Heng, is the current head of the Qin family and holds the official position of Secretary for Home Affairs of the New Territories City Council. His main responsibilities include household registration statistics, social assistance, and social welfare management.

He was a prominent figure in the entire New Territories, second only to three other big shots like Yan Chen.

Qin Zhengguang, the second wife, is the publicly acknowledged second-in-command of the Qin family. His official position is Deputy Director of the Public Security Management Division of the New Territories City Investigation Department, primarily responsible for the city's public security management. He is a powerful figure within the Investigation Department.

The reason why Old Master Qin had been secretly befriending Yan Chen while he was alive was to pave the way for him.

Qin Shu, the third son of the Qin family, was the youngest of five brothers. Unlike his two older brothers, he did not pursue a political career but instead chose to go into business. He was in charge of all the Qin family's public business affairs, mainly dealing in legitimate industries such as clothing, jewelry, and department stores.

The three Qin brothers mentioned above, along with Qin Youde, the fourth master of the Qin family who is now sitting next to Qiu Tu and in charge of the family's gray-market businesses, form the Qin family of the New Territories, which spans both the legal and illegal worlds.

As for the fifth branch of the Qin family, because their mother was a second wife and they were young, they were spoiled by Old Master Qin and became somewhat uneducated and incompetent. They are now a well-known playboy in the New Territories and have long been excluded from the core of the Qin family's power.

Therefore, long before entering the Qin family, Qiu Tu had already chosen two breakthroughs for this mission. One of them was Fourth Master Qin.

To his surprise, before he could even make contact with Master Qin, Master Qin found him first. And after finding him, Master Qin only exchanged a few casual words before falling silent.

What's going on in this gourd?

Thinking this, Qiu Tu calmly lowered his head to sip his tea, patiently waiting for Master Qin to speak.

Anyway... Master Qin isn't in a hurry, and neither is he.

Perhaps not expecting Qiu Tu to be so composed, Master Qin drank three cups of tea and remained silent for about ten minutes before finally speaking.

He asked with a smile, "What mission does Detective Qiu have this time?"

Hearing his words, Qiu Tu, who was counting the number of tea leaves in the bowl, slowly came back to his senses and then smiled and said, "What mission could I have? Naturally, it's to ensure Miss Schumann's safety."

Upon hearing this, Master Qin shook his head dismissively and raised an eyebrow, saying, "But that's not what I heard..."

Qiu Tu's heart skipped a beat. He said "Oh?" and then looked at Master Qin with feigned curiosity. "What did you hear, Master Qin?"

Master Qin glanced outside twice to make sure no one was eavesdropping, then lowered his voice and whispered, "I heard you have a grudge against the Qin family, and you've come here to investigate them."

This matter couldn't be brought up in public, so Qiu Tu waved his hands repeatedly, "Fourth Master, what are you joking about?"

"Who am I to be able to investigate the Qin family?"

"Let alone Director Qin Heng's status in the New Territories, or Director Qin Zhengguang's power, even you... could crush me with a single finger."

"I've offended you all. Aren't you afraid that one day on your way home you'll be drowned in a pond? Hahaha."

Hearing Qiu Tu say that, Master Qin also laughed, and then the next second he changed the subject and bluntly said, "So that's why you moved into the Qin family."

In that instant, Qiu Tu's expression changed, and he almost couldn't laugh anymore.

Is this guy really that much of a gangster? He actually dared to blatantly threaten a public official?

But then Qiu Tu thought again that his idea was wrong: after all, if Master Qin really wanted to harm him, then the [Crisis Sense] should have immediately given him a warning.

Could it be...?

Thinking this through, Qiu Tu had a sudden inspiration and guessed a possibility.

His smile vanished, and he looked abruptly at Master Qin, then said seriously, "Master Qin, are you threatening me?"

"What? If I'm with the Qin family, it'll be hard to explain to the police if they attack me. So if I leave, I'm doomed, right?"

"Are you threatening a detective? Are you provoking the entire New Territories City Detective Service?"

Master Qin probably didn't expect Qiu Tu to be so outspoken. He was taken aback for a moment, then his expression returned to its previous cheerful demeanor. He said, "Detective Qiu, you've misunderstood. I was just chatting with you casually. How could you take it so seriously?"

“I did not threaten you, nor did I provoke the Investigation Bureau.”

"But people are born, grow old, get sick, and die. Nobody knows whether tomorrow or an accident will come first, right?"

As he spoke, he squinted and patted Qiu Tu's shoulder with a half-smile, "So Detective Qiu, you must get some rest and take good care of your health. Don't get sick or have any accidents."

After saying that, he laughed heartily, stood up, and left Qiu Tu's room with a carefree air. However... as he stood up, a small white booklet seemed to have accidentally fallen from his person...

Qiu Tu watched him leave before slowly getting up and picking up the booklet from the ground.

Opening the booklet, one finds records of Qin Zhengguang's illegal and disorderly conduct during his tenure as deputy director of the Public Security Management Office.

The charges include accepting bribes from gang members, condoning gang members' crimes, releasing anti-government armed members without authorization, and adjusting patrol routes to create opportunities for anti-government armed members to carry out operations.

Qiu Tu smiled after reading the booklet.

As he had guessed, Master Qin had come to deliver a message and to make a goodwill gesture.

Although he was threatening me on the surface, he was actually telling me indirectly that the Qin family already knew my true purpose and that I should be careful.

As for this booklet, it was a test from Master Qin, who wanted to see if he dared to investigate the Qin family and to what extent he wanted to investigate.

The only downside is... he seems to think he's a fool...

Chapter 24 Kill!

Thinking this, Qiu Tu closed the booklet in his hand, gently patting it as he silently analyzed:

If the charges recorded in this booklet are true, then even if the Qin family is not implicated, Qin Zhengguang is definitely doomed.

When that time comes, if one of the two major forces supporting the Qin family in politics is cut off by me, will the Qin family let me off the hook?

As for the unrealistic idea of ​​using this evidence to drag the Qin family down, Qiu Tu never even considered it.

This information was gathered by the fourth branch of the Qin family; how could they possibly risk ruining their own family?

If Qiu Tu wasn't mistaken, the charges in this booklet were definitely a mix of truth and falsehood, and even the true parts, Master Qin must have already made preparations to cut them off, so as not to let this fire spread to the Qin family.

So, is he using himself as a weapon in their internal power struggle?

But if Qin Zhengguang is defeated, will Master Qin really gain anything?

Could this be a trap?

Qiu Tu patted the booklet in his hand, lost in thought.

As he was deep in thought, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a furtive figure outside the window.

He paused for a moment, then, without bothering to analyze the situation, he gathered his thoughts, shouted softly, "Who's outside!" and strode out.

Qiu Tu walked very fast, so he caught Cui Lan, who was trying to escape, as soon as he stepped out.

Seeing that she had been caught by Qiu Tu, Cui Lan dared not run away anymore. She turned around awkwardly and gave a slight bow, "Detective Qiu."

Upon seeing Qin Shuman's plump, dark-skinned maid again, Qiu Tu frowned deeply: Why is it her again?

Qiu Tu asked expressionlessly, "Why aren't you taking care of Miss Schumann? What are you doing at my door?"

Cuilan lowered her head and said guiltily, "Just passing by."

Qiu Tu's face grew even colder. "Just passing by? Miss Schumann lives in the main house, at least a minute's walk from here. Your excuse is far too weak."

Hearing Qiu Tu's words, Cui Lan retorted, "This is my first time visiting the Qin family. I don't know the way, and I ended up here after wandering around for a while."

Qiu Tu felt a surge of annoyance seeing her stubbornness.

He simply cut to the chase, "How long have you been here? What have you heard and seen?"

Perhaps this topic helped Cuilan regain her confidence. She slightly raised her head and looked directly at Qiu Tu, a smug smile on her lips. "It's been more than ten minutes. What I heard or saw... I dare not say."

"Anyway, I saw that Master Qin and you were having a very pleasant conversation, so I waited outside without daring to go up and disturb you."

Qiu Tusui's eyes deepened, filled with an intense, lingering darkness...

Ten minutes or so, was this just passing by?

He looked intently at Cuilan, about to say something.

Cuilan spoke up, saying, "Detective Qiu, please don't focus on me. Although I am also part of the entourage, I am not a member of the guard team."

"I'm the director's servant, and I report directly to him. Sometimes the director assigns me other tasks, which I always have to do..."

"As long as you're true to the director, what's there to be afraid of?"

At this point, she looked up and gave Qiu Tu a slightly provocative look.

Qiu Tu looked at her, just stared at her.

After a moment, he took a deep breath and laughed, "I understand. Cuilan, you are, after all, a close confidante of the director. I understand you have a special mission."

After saying that, he gestured for the guest to leave, saying, "Then I won't bother you any longer. Please make yourself at home."

Seeing Qiu Tu back down, Cui Lan proudly raised her head, then casually bowed to Qiu Tu before arrogantly turning and leaving.

Just as she took a step, she suddenly felt a large hand cover her mouth and then roughly push her into a cold embrace.

The next second, she felt a sharp pain in her back as a sharp, cold object pierced her lower back.

Feeling the excruciating pain, Cuilan had only one thought in her mind: Has Qiu Tu gone mad?! How dare he!