Chapter 88: A Major Event Unfolds

The bald man and more than a dozen of his underlings ran three streets in one breath before finally shaking off the pursuers behind them. Only then did he let out a breath of relief.

He stopped with his hands on his hips, his thick, fleshy face full of murderous fury.

The bald man could not understand it. Everything had been going smoothly—so why had they suddenly been exposed? There had not been the slightest hint.

If he had not remained on guard all this time, he would have been taken tonight.

Thinking of the things he had done, the bald man knew very well that if he were caught, nothing good awaited him.

After taking a deep breath, he turned back and asked, "Did any of you hear any rumor?"

The dozen-odd underlings all shook their heads. The horse-faced lackey stepped forward and said, "We didn’t hear anything. But Deputy Zhao from the district bureau went to the headquarters this afternoon for a meeting, and he still hasn’t come back. Boss, do you think it could be him?"

At the words, the bald man’s tiger eyes widened. He clenched his teeth and snapped, "He wouldn’t dare. Zhao knows exactly how many cases he has on his back. He wouldn’t dare expose us!"

The horse-faced lackey found that reasonable and stopped pressing the point, though he could not think of anyone else who seemed suspicious besides Zhao.

"Boss, could it be that we made too much noise this time, and someone got wind of the shipment?"

At mention of the goods, the bald man’s expression grew even darker. He did not think that was likely.

The shipment had indeed caused quite a stir, but everyone involved was one of their own, and they had worked together many times before.

How could a route that had never once gone wrong suddenly blow up?

One could say that everyone who had handled that shipment had dirt on them; if they were caught, not one of them would end well.

Besides, they made a huge profit every time goods went out. Only a madman would inform on that.

Still, though he thought that way, the bald man could not relax about the shipment. He decided to go take a look himself.

If something had gone wrong with the goods, someone would surely be watching the area. As long as they crept over quietly, they could determine whether it was real or false.

The bald man felt that too many people moving together would make too large a target, so the dozen-odd men split into three groups, with him in the middle.

If trouble came from the front or the rear, he could retreat in time.

Hidden in the shadows, Xu Lin listened to their discussion for a while and roughly understood that this group had something valuable on their hands.

Now they were going to inspect the valuable goods. That was truly good news for Xu Lin.

Xu Lin followed behind the bald man’s group and moved quickly through streets and alleys for more than half an hour.

At last, they reached a remote corner of the county town.

Xu Lin stopped and looked around. Using her sight of vital energy, she surveyed the area and soon found a place heavy with treasure energy.

All right, the target was confirmed. Xu Lin decisively gave up on continuing to tail them. She immediately quickened her pace and raced to the location.

It was an abandoned residence. Around it, the place was filthy and foul, littered with household trash and the carcasses of dead animals.

The stench mingled together in a way that was almost offensively rich, and with the waist-high weeds everywhere, calling it a haunted house was no exaggeration at all.

Ordinary people would never dare come to such a place in the dead of night, but Xu Lin was no ordinary person.

Not only was she unafraid, she quietly slipped inside and carefully investigated.

After a round of tapping and probing, along with a scan using her spiritual power, Xu Lin quickly found the mechanism that opened the hidden chamber beside a moss-covered millstone.

When the entrance to the chamber opened, Xu Lin felt treasure energy surging out toward her.

Good heavens. Xu Lin was certain that the treasures here were no less impressive than the Xu family’s hoard.

No more words were needed. Xu Lin immediately jumped into the hidden chamber. With her spiritual power clearing the way, she deftly avoided the concealed crossbows and traps.

After passing through a long corridor, Xu Lin saw a hidden chamber of more than three hundred square meters.

It was clearly old, and who knew what sort of person the original owner had been to dig out such a massive chamber.

Seeing the large and small boxes inside, Xu Lin had no time to guess. She hurried forward and collected them all, all, all.

She was racing against the bald man and his men now, so in order to save time, Xu Lin took the boxes at full speed and without regard for cost.

Even so, it took five minutes, leaving Xu Lin’s face deathly pale and her clothes soaked through with sweat.

Xu Lin quickly took out some spirit spring water and drank a large bowlful. Only then did the pallor fade from her face. She hurried out of the chamber and sealed the entrance.

Just as she was about to leave, she discovered that the bald man had already arrived outside the residence. Without hesitation, Xu Lin slipped into her spatial realm.

"That damn bastard! If I find out which son of a bitch betrayed me, I’ll skin him alive and dig up his ancestors’ graves!"

Before the man even arrived, his curses were already ringing out, followed by the sound of hasty footsteps.

The underlings behind him all kept their mouths shut. They did not dare echo him at a time like this.

That was not flattery; that was kicking a hornet’s nest. Someone had once nearly been beaten to death just for agreeing with the boss.

"Boss, we’re here. Looks like no one’s watching this place. Should we go in and check?" the horse-faced lackey asked.

"Of course we’re going in. You lot spread out and keep watch. Don’t look this way."

The bald man immediately ordered the men who had followed him in to spread out, fearing they might see the method used to open the mechanism.

Before long, the mechanism was activated and the entrance to the hidden chamber appeared before the bald man. Only then did he call the horse-faced lackey to accompany him down.

Soon, the angry voice of the bald man echoed from within the chamber, along with the horse-faced lackey’s cries of alarm.

The other lookouts heard it and went numb with dread, sensing that something major had happened.

Very quickly, the bald man and the horse-faced lackey rushed back out. Both of their faces were extremely ugly, as though their parents had died.

The bald man’s face was full of killing intent, his hands trembling with fury.

"Who was it? Who was it?" he roared through clenched teeth.

The underlings looked at one another in confusion. None of them even knew what the bald boss was asking, so no one answered.

The bald man spun in place several times, furious enough to explode. Even he, foolish as he was, understood now that it was not merely the goods that had gone wrong—the whole line had suffered a massive breach.

There was a traitor among his men, a traitor who had swallowed the goods he had labored so hard to gather.

A traitor who could transfer a huge shipment without making a sound!

Fine. Good. Excellent.

Truly splendid.

In his own patch of territory, someone dared play black eats black with him. Then they had better not blame him for being merciless.

Rage surged to the bald man’s crown as he snarled to his men, "Come on. With me. We’re going to find Old Five Ma."

"Yes, Boss." The horse-faced lackey and the others answered in unison, afraid that any delay in their reply might anger him.

The enraged bald boss was notoriously fickle in temper; one wrong move and your life might not be safe.

After they hurried away, Xu Lin’s figure appeared beside the millstone. Looking at the group’s backs, she thought for a moment and then followed quickly.

This time, the bald man and his men were not so lucky. Before they even reached Old Five Ma’s home, they ran into a capture team.

It was the middle of the night, yet they were out running around in a panic. Anyone could tell with their heels that these people were no good.

At a shouted command to stop, the bald man and his group turned and fled in another direction, throwing themselves into a desperate run.

What followed was a fierce chase. Only after the bald boss sacrificed five of his brothers to cover the rear did he finally manage to get away.