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In the end, a fist-sized Glass-Type Green Jade was extracted from the Stone. Although it couldn't compare to Imperial Green at all, it was still considered a high-quality jade. The bidding had already raised the price to three million.
"Are you selling it?" Jiang Zhengze asked Bai Tang.
Bai Tang shook her head, "I want to keep it to make a few pendants and bracelets for my parents. Do you have a sculptor Master here?"
"Of course. Master Qin is an old craftsman with exceptional skills. I'll take you to meet him later. If you have any requests, just tell Master Qin directly; he will definitely create accessories that satisfy you."
"That's great!" Bai Tang said happily.
"Are you going to extract the remaining two pieces?"
"Yes!"
The second Stone was as big as a basketball but contained nothing inside, disappointing everyone for a moment before their attention shifted to the third Stone. Everyone hoped another piece of jade could be opened, but they also knew that it was unlikely for one person to be so lucky as to extract two pieces of jade from three Stones unless they were an expert in the industry. However, the young girl in front of them didn't seem like a professional at all.
Jiang Zhengze placed the soccer ball-sized Stone on the cutting machine. Like everyone else, he didn't believe this Stone would yield jade; he couldn't have been wrong twice. But Zhang Feng secretly signaled him to keep an eye on this Stone. Jiang Zhengze didn't understand why Zhang Feng had so much confidence in Bai Tang, who clearly seemed like an outsider in the gambling stone world.
"Bai Tang, I still believe in you," Zhang Feng said as he walked over to her.
Bai Tang played dumb, "What?"
Zhang Feng didn't answer, wearing an expression that said, "I understand."
Bai Tang rubbed her nose, "I'm really just lucky!"
Zhang Feng looked at her sideways, clearly thinking, "I believe you're a fool."
Bai Tang shrugged her hands; if you don't believe me, there's nothing I can do about it.
"Green has come out again, and it's rising, it's rising!" The crowd began to cheer.
"It's not green, it's purple. It’s actually Violet! This girl has really hit the jackpot!"
"This shop has quite a few good items; they've opened three pieces of jade in just one hour."
"The God of Wealth is having tea at this shop today; I might as well pick a piece of Stone."
"Let's go together."
"Okay. Let's wait for the boss to finish cutting that piece of Stone first."
Jiang Zhengze finished cutting the raw stone, revealing a fist-sized piece of pink-purple jade in front of everyone.
Zhang Feng exclaimed, "It's 'Red Spring', the highest grade of Violet jade. Bai Tang, your 'luck' is truly amazing."
The word "luck" was emphasized heavily.
"Spring? How can something purple be called spring? Shouldn't it be green?" Bai Tang asked, puzzled.
"In jade, 'spring' refers to Violet, while green is called 'color'," Zhang Feng explained to Bai Tang. "'Spring with Color' refers to jade that has both colors. Violet is classified into three types based on the depth of the purple hue: pink-purple, eggplant purple, and blue-purple, corresponding to Red Spring, Purple Spring, and Blue Spring. Red Spring has a finer texture and better transparency, followed by Purple Spring, while Blue Spring generally has a coarser texture and can also be called purple bean."
"Is this one for sale?" Jiang Zhengze asked as he held up the purple jade and walked over to the two.
"Do you want it?" Bai Tang inquired.
Jiang Zhengze nodded.
Bai Tang smiled, "Not for sale; it's a gift for you!"
Jiang Zhengze took a breath: "You really are a wealthy person!"
Bai Tang: "The wealthy one is this guy next to me; I'm just a nobody."
Jiang Zhengze laughed: "Whether you're wealthy or a nobody, since you've given me something, I won't refuse it. I won't even charge you for the processing fee."
"Then thank you," Bai Tang said with squinted eyes, "I've made a big profit today."
"The one who profits is me. Not only did I get a nice piece of jade for free, but the business at the store has also picked up significantly."
The three of them looked towards the empty space where the raw stones were placed. All the spectators who had been at the entrance rushed over to select Stone, and some even started arguing over the same piece of Stone.
"You've brought me so much popularity and fortune; I have to thank you properly. Tonight, I'm treating everyone to a big meal."
"I want to eat hot pot!" Zhang Feng interjected.
"I'm inviting Bai Tang, not you. You're just a guest; you don't have the right to order," Jiang Zhengze rolled his eyes.
"Let's just eat hot pot! I really want to eat hot pot."
"Alright. Then I'll take you to eat authentic Beijing hot pot."
To eat authentic hot pot, they naturally had to go to "Dong Lai Shun" in Beijing. The founder of Dong Lai Shun was a Hui man named Ding Deshan. In 1900, he set up a stall in Dong'an Market selling lamb noodles and buckwheat cake, later adding pancakes and porridge. As business flourished, he named it "coming from the east of Beijing, everything goes smoothly," and officially hung up the sign for Dong Lai Shun porridge stall. After more than a hundred years of development, Dong Lai Shun's halal dishes have become an important branch of Beijing cuisine, renowned across the country.
After enjoying a delicious hot pot meal, Bai Tang returned to her hotel for a good sleep. Upon waking up, she opened her computer to book a flight back to City D—the glass jade had been handed over to Jiang Zhengze, and once it was ready, he would mail it to her in City D. Just as she was about to place the order and hadn’t yet paid, a phone call prompted her to cancel it.
Tian Yuan: "Bai Tang, do you know someone named Ye Xiang? Didn't you visit his home recently?"
Bai Tang: "That's right. What's up? He's just an ordinary person; how could he have offended you?"
Tian Yuan: "His girlfriend is dead, just like the previous three victims. The clue he provided to me is that you killed his girlfriend!"
Bai Tang laughed in anger: "Me? Is he out of his mind or just talking nonsense? How could he come up with such an easily exposed lie?"
Tian Yuan: "Did you offend him?"
Bai Tang: "No. His mother and my mother are good friends. He asked me to bring something back to City D for his parents, but I only had a meal at his house. How could I have offended him?"
Tian Yuan: "But he insists it was you."
Bai Tang: "Where is he? I want to see him."
"At the police station. I'll go pick you up!"
"Thanks a lot."
After knocking on the door, Main Gate slowly opened from the inside. Upon seeing who opened the door, Bai Tang was taken aback; Ye Xiang seemed to have aged ten years, looking completely dejected and downcast.
"What are you doing here?" Seeing Bai Tang, Ye Xiang showed a flash of hatred mixed with surprise.
"I heard your girlfriend passed away, so I came to understand the situation." Bai Tang pushed past Ye Xiang and walked straight into the room with Tian Yuan.
As Bai Tang and Tian Yuan approached the sofa, they noticed a mess of photos scattered across the coffee table in front of them, all of Mo Xinyu, including pictures of Mo Xinyu and Ye Xiang together.
"You killed her; are you satisfied now?" Ye Xiang's angry voice rang out above them.
Bai Tang looked up, coldly glaring at Ye Xiang: "Your girlfriend's death has nothing to do with me."
"How can it not be your business? If it weren't for you asking me to go home to see my parents, I wouldn't have been with Mo Xinyu, and she wouldn't have gone out at night to be murdered! It's all your fault!"
"So you think I'm the murderer in front of the police? You're just venting your anger!"
"And so what? If it wasn't you, how could Mo Xinyu be dead? You are the murderer, the murderer!" Ye Xiang shouted uncontrollably.
"Tch—" Tian Yuan scoffed, "I understand now. Your girlfriend ran out after arguing with you and fell victim to a crime. You can't accept this reality and don't want to admit that it was your anger that drove her away and caused her death, so you want to shift the blame onto someone else. Hmph, your actions are despicable, and you are utterly cowardly."
"Not just cowardly, but also unfilial. To place the importance of your girlfriend above your parents is truly disappointing. I feel sorry for Auntie and Uncle." Bai Tang was genuinely angry, speaking without holding back, "It is the responsibility of a child to visit their parents. To argue over something like this is not just you; your girlfriend's character is even worse. I now feel fortunate for Uncle and Auntie; thank goodness she died. Otherwise, having such a daughter-in-law would make their later years concerning."
"Shut up, shut up!" Ye Xiang cried as he squatted down, holding his head and weeping, "It's my fault; everything is my fault!"
Bai Tang and Tian Yuan exchanged glances and did not provoke Ye Xiang further. After half a moment, Ye Xiang finally calmed down. He stood up and deeply bowed to Bai Tang: "I'm sorry!"
"Forget it. I understand how you feel!" Bai Tang waved his hand, deciding to let the matter go since it hadn't negatively affected her.
"Did anything special happen before your girlfriend died?" Tian Yuan began to ask.
"No, nothing at all. It was just the same as usual with work. The only time she left early was to entertain Bai Tang; I've already gone through this at the police station." Ye Xiang returned to normal and walked to the fridge, taking out two cans of cola and handing them to Bai Tang and Tian Yuan. "Sorry, I don't have any boiled water; only cola is available."
Tian Yuan took a can of cola, opened it, took a sip, and noticed that Bai Tang wasn't moving but was staring at a corner of the coffee table. Curiously, he asked, "What's wrong?"
Bai Tang picked up a photo and asked Tian Yuan: "Do you remember this person?"
"What person?" Tian Yuan took the photo. It was a solo shot of Mo Xinyu, but there were several passersby in the background, one middle-aged man looking somewhat familiar.
"This person was also at the scene when we discovered the first victim; I even had him call the police," Bai Tang said. "Both victims are connected to him; could he be the murderer?"
Tian Yuan immediately took out his mobile phone: "I'll have Old Chen check right away."
"Um, can you notify me when you catch the murderer?" Ye Xiang asked. "I want to curse him out in front of him."
"Meaning." Tian Yuan agreed; he understood Ye Xiang's feelings. If he were in Ye Xiang's situation, it wouldn't be as simple as just cursing the murderer. At the very least, he would want to beat him half to death to vent his anger.
The two drove back to the city, and halfway through the journey, Chen Jianguo replied. The middle-aged man's suspicion was indeed the greatest; Chen Jianguo had already taken people to arrest him. By the time the two returned to the Criminal Police Team, they would just be in time for Chen Jianguo to question the murderer about his confession.
The murderer was very calm and honestly confessed his crimes after being caught.
"I killed all four of them," the murderer stated calmly.
"You killed all four? What about the third victim?"
"Yes, I did!"
After hearing the murderer's confession, Bai Tang and Tian Yuan wanted to light a row of candles for Ma Congyun and offer him a bunch of glazed leaves. The details of the third victim's death scene were different from the first two because the murderer was unwell and had to hastily arrange the scene after committing the crime before leaving. This led the police to suspect that this case was not committed by the same person as the previous two, resulting in the innocent Ma Congyun being arrested as a suspect.
"What was your motive for killing four people?" Chen Jianguo continued to ask.
The murderer was silent for a moment before speaking heavily, "A year ago, a girl drowned in the lake in the park near the university town. That girl was my daughter."
"My wife died during childbirth, and I relied on my daughter. She was my focus and everything in life."
"March 6th last year was my daughter's birthday; she turned fifteen and was about to enter high school. Her academic performance was excellent; her teachers believed she could definitely get into a key high school, then a key university, graduate, find a good job, start a family, and have my grandson... But what happened? Just when she was about to turn fifteen, she died, leaving me forever..."
"We sympathize with your daughter's fate, but it cannot justify your killing of others," Chen Jianguo said.
"They deserved to die!" The murderer became agitated upon hearing this statement, gritting his teeth as he said, "If they hadn't stood by and done nothing, how could my daughter have died?"
"If even one of them had reached out for help at that time, my daughter wouldn't have died! And what happened? They all turned their backs coldly and left without caring about a young girl's life. Since they didn't care about others' lives, why should I not decide their fate?"
The murderer's eyes were bloodshot, filled with hatred, and his mental state began to deteriorate.
"They are not blind, are they? So I dug out their eyes; they have hands and feet but only use them to stay away from the lake instead of going into the water to save people. What use are hands and feet? Better to cut them off! Hehe, my daughter is down there all alone, so I sent them down to keep her company, to be her slaves..."
"Have you considered that the place where your daughter fell into the water was too remote for them to see her?" Chen Jianguo asked. He sighed inwardly; a father who had lost his daughter was indeed worthy of sympathy, but that could not justify harming others. At the same time, he lamented the indifference of society today. If the four deceased had been able to lend a hand, how could a young girl have lost her life, taking theirs with her?
"I want to go back to the hotel," Bai Tang said, feeling low. Such tragedies could have been avoided.
"I'll take you!" Tian Yuan also felt down.
"Bai Tang!" Hearing her name called, Bai Tang turned around and saw Ling Xin, covered in dust from travel.
"It's really you! You came to the capital too?" Ling Xin walked over to Bai Tang, pulling a suitcase.
"Are you here to find Ma Congyun?" It seemed that even if she didn't know, Ling Xin was aware of her boyfriend's situation and had hurriedly come to the capital.
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