Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Although Zhao Yu had a wicked idea, he knew that it would be even more difficult than reaching the sky. But he heard Liang Huan say that according to the lost property law and law of cultural relics, if one found treasure, although the treasure belonged to the country, part of the reward could be obtained. Plus, the reward was directly proportional to the value of the treasure. Back then, when he picked up Mr. Tao’s two-million-dollar old bank notes, according to the law, he could claim a thousand dollars. If he were to find the priceless Golden Buddha statues… Even if it was one in a hundred, or one in a thousand, it would be sufficient for him to gain a fortune!
“Hehehe… If I were to get rich by such foul means, would I be one step closer to marrying Miao Ying, the fair, rich beauty?” Zhao Yu thought. However, when Zhao Yu recollected his groundless thoughts, an extremely crucial question appeared right before his eyes.
“Since the grave robbers were looking for clues from the Buddhist scripture, they messed up the information room in Cultural Relics Bureau and the ancient lotus pond in Golden Buddha Temple. Did they actually find any clues? It’s already been seven days since they visited the Golden Buddha Temple! In these seven days, have they found the Golden Buddha? Golden Buddha…Golden Buddha… Buddhist scripture…Buddhist scripture…”
After a serious deliberation, Zhao Yu thought that if he wanted to catch up with the grave robbers and know where they were headed, he must first know what they found in the Buddhist scriptures. But these Buddhist scriptures were all different, and the range was extremely wide. The grave robbers did not leave any obvious traces behind either. How could he solve it? He couldn’t just copy all the Buddhist scriptures and analyze them carefully, right? The workload would be tremendous!
After mulling over it, Zhao Yu felt that if he wanted to find a way, it should be from the three old experts. He had to find any records of the Buddhist scripture in their notes. He also suspected that the three old experts might have had their own secret working chamber. They must have had many hidden secrets!
Zhao Yu entrusted Liang Huan with full responsibility for the follow up in the Golden Buddha Temple. He told them to organize the Buddhist scripture that had been touched by the grave robbers, and told the Forensics Identification Bureau to look for evidence and clues. He then drove off to look for Miao Ying!
At that very moment, Miao Ying was looking for details about the robbery case in the Cultural Relics Bureau. Zhao Yu wanted to meet up with her and head over to the three old experts’ house to look for clues. On the way to Cultural Relic Bureau, Zhao Yu was pondering about the case, thinking about the whereabouts of the Golden Buddha statues. Since the attraction chief said that although the lotus pond was a historical site, it had been largely renovated during the Qing Dynasty. So the Golden Buddha statues wouldn’t be hidden in the Golden Buddha Temple!
Just when Zhao Yu was still deep in thought, Master Li Xiusheng suddenly gave him a call. “Officer, cough cough cough…” Li Xiusheng was still obviously sick. After he finished coughing, he said, “Last night, I was thinking for a very long time. I looked through a lot of historical information! Guess what! I think I found something… Cough cough…”
“Oh?” Zhao Yu was excited. He urged, “What is it?”
“Qiu Cheng Qiu Zixu was the prefect during Ming wan-li ear. Although the year of his birth and death is unknown, according to other historical records, I presumed that during the end when he was in power, it was when the Ming Dynasty was becoming unstable! Around Qinshan, it was the most concentrated place for natural and man-made calamities. Later on, Zhang Xianzhong once dominated Luya area.
“Look, Prefect Qiu’s tomb was built unusually luxuriously. That meant that when he died, Luya was still considered stable. But after he died, it was during the time when the world was in chaos! So, I was thinking, if Qiu Cheng really did hide the Golden Buddha statues, then…what would he keep them for?”
“Why did he keep them?” Zhao Yu didn’t know what Li Xiusheng was trying to say.
“Of course, it was for his descendants!” Li Xiusheng announced his assumption excitedly, “Qiu Cheng might have already predicted the fall of the Ming Dynasty, so he hid some treasure to keep for his descendants! That way his descendants could continue to live during the chaos of war! If I’m right, he must have found a safe place to hide the treasure. It shouldn’t be in his tomb! From what I see, those grave robbers didn’t find any Golden Buddha statues in the tomb! The murder might be venting his anger!”
“Mm…” Zhao Yu nodded lightly. “What Li Xiusheng said makes sense, but if Qiu Cheng really kept it for his descendants, those Golden Buddha statues would have been taken by Qiu Cheng’s children and grandchildren. If so, where could they find Golden Buddha statues? And if the grave robber lost the clues to Golden Buddha statues, why would they spend so much time and effort to steal from the Cultural Relics Bureau and Golden Buddha Temple?” he wondered.
Zhao Yu didn’t hide what he knew but told him the two things that had happened. After Li Xiusheng heard the stories, he was shocked too.
“Then… Cough cough… If so,” Li Xiusheng said in surprise, “those crooks…mm…grave robbers, they must have gotten their hands on the clues leading to the Golden Buddha statues, that’s why they took action. They wouldn’t lose the falcon until they saw the hare. They must have found something…”
“Yeah!” Zhao Yu admitted, “I thought so too. I feel that the three old experts probably saw the Golden Buddha statues with their own eyes. They were so certain that the Golden Buddha statues existed, and that no one touched them!”
“Aiyo… If so, you guys need to hurry up! It’s been so long, I’m worried that…” Li Xiusheng seemed unusually panicky. “Why don’t I send you some contacts who research Buddhist scriptures and can advise you!”
“Okay, that’s nice. Thank you so much!” Although Zhao Yu replied politely, his heart was beating rapidly. From Li Xiusheng’s tone, he could smell something fishy.
“Hehe… No big deal. The police and the people are one big family! Being able to help is my pleasure!” The two of them exchanged a few words politely and hung up the phone.
Zhao Yu quickly stopped his car by the side of the road and opened the surveillance video in his mind. As the invisible camera lasted for twenty-four hours, it was still running. When he tapped open the video, Zhao Yu saw that Liu Xiusheng was still lying on his sickbed, still attached to the IV. But by the side of his sickbed, he was surrounded by a big group of people! These people had their hair slicked back and dressed very glamorously. He could tell that they were all players in the league. He reckoned that these were Li Xiusheng’s friends who did business together. Looking at Li Xiusheng put down the phone, these people started talking to one another vigorously. Obviously, they were discussing the Golden Buddha statues.
“Oh?” Zhao Yu raised his eyebrows and thought to himself, “Wow, Master Lee! You are so sick yet you still have the Golden Buddha statues in your mind! Do you want a share too?”
“Humph…” Zhao Yu snorted. “Sure. If you want to join the mess, I won’t stop you! I have you in the palm of my hand anyway, so I can’t wait for you to join in! The treasure hunting competition is getting more and more crowded…” he thought.
Zhao Yu was trying to memorize what Li Xiusheng’s friends looked like, but his phone rang again. This time it was Lan Bo. Lan Bo’s voice sounded different over the phone, “It’s bad, Bro Yu. Hurry up. Come to the Cultural Relics Bureau quickly. Team Leader Miao is getting into a fight!!”
“Ah?!” When he heard that Miao Ying was getting into a fight, Zhao Yu suddenly stretched out his neck and stepped on the gas to rush towards the Cultural Relics Bureau…