Chapter Eleven: A Righteous Hand Extended

Catching someone can be both easy and difficult. Luo Ming tried to search for Hei Qi on his own, but he was barely familiar with his own city, let alone another one he could hardly imagine. With the local officer’s verbal promise from Luoshui Village, he felt awkward about repeatedly going to the police station, so he could only wait anxiously.

After two or three days, Luo Ming grew disheartened, his funds nearly depleted. He decided to return to Luoshui Village and wait for news. As for what explanation to give Li Miaozhu, he’d just have to make it up as he went along.

He originally intended to stop by the police station once more before leaving, but for some reason, as time passed, even that little courage faded away. Wandering absentmindedly toward the bus station, Luo Ming ignored two calls on his phone—now, apart from Li Miaozhu, there was probably no one else who would call him.

He boarded the minibus back to the village, not yet having bought his ticket, when he reluctantly pulled out his phone and was pleasantly surprised by what he saw.

He was speechless for a long time.

The person on the other end of the line called out several times.

Only then did Luo Ming respond, “Officer Qiu… Qiu, is there something wrong?” He didn’t believe this Officer Qiu could really help him; after all, so many days had passed with no news.

The voice on the other end sounded impatient—Qiu Xi was, after all, a young man, and spoke rather bluntly: “I’ve called you several times and you never answer. Don’t you want your money back?”

Luo Ming replied weakly, “It’s not that I don’t want it, but whom am I supposed to ask?” He felt a surge of anger but had nowhere to vent it, so his tone was equally irritable.

But Qiu Xi laughed, “Look at you, so downcast. Tell you what, I happen to have a day off left. I’ll take you to try your luck. Maybe we’ll find that scam suspect…”

Luo Ming could hardly believe his ears. “Are you serious?” he asked hesitantly.

Qiu Xi retorted, “You think I have nothing better to do than joke with you?”

“N-no, of course not…” Luo Ming finally realized and hurriedly said, “If you really help me find Hei Qi, I’ll be sure to thank you properly. Brother, I’ll buy you a drink…”

Qiu Xi replied sternly, “This is my job. No need for drinks… And besides, I can’t guarantee we’ll find him. You need to be prepared for that.”

“Alright, alright!” Luo Ming didn’t care whether it was duty or favor; as long as someone was willing to help, that was enough. He dared not address him as “brother” anymore. “Officer Qiu, where should I meet you?”

Talking as he went, Luo Ming dashed off the minibus, nearly knocking over an old man who had just boarded. The old man cursed after him, but Luo Ming didn’t hear a word.

There was a pause on the other end before Qiu Xi said, “I’m still on vacation, so I won’t return to the station… How about you wait for me at Riverside Park? I’ll get there as soon as I can.”

Luo Ming agreed without a second thought. Only after hanging up did he realize he had no idea where Riverside Park actually was. Now he was at a loss.

He thought of calling back, but in the end, he didn’t want to bother Qiu Xi again. He decided to ask his way there—after all, the city wasn’t that big, and finding a park shouldn’t be too hard.

So, Luo Ming asked around as he jogged toward the riverbank. The passersby were kind enough not to send him in the wrong direction.

Over an hour later, out of breath, Luo Ming finally reached Riverside Park. Officer Qiu, dressed in plain clothes, was already there, having clearly waited a while.

Thankfully, Officer Qiu merely frowned and didn’t scold him.

Luo Ming rubbed his flushed face, embarrassed. “Sorry, Officer Qiu… I don’t know the city well.”

Qiu Xi graciously shook his hand and said calmly, “No problem. Let’s get going and look for him.”

Luo Ming nodded gratefully, not daring to say more.

---

Luo Ming once again described Hei Qi’s situation and the train he remembered. Qiu Xi deduced that Hei Qi had likely gone straight to the provincial capital.

But that was still too broad a target, so Qiu Xi suggested they try the Antique Street for leads. Although just twenty-six or twenty-seven, Qiu Xi was a native, born and raised in the city. Navigating the streets was second nature to him, and the antique dealers clearly recognized him. While they didn’t know he was a police officer, a few words were enough for them to sense trouble and decide not to hide anything—when a thief meets an official, they dare not lie.

According to the shop owners, Hei Qi often traveled between the city and the provincial capital. As rivals in the same trade, Hei Qi naturally wouldn’t reveal much about his next destination, but the dealers weren’t easily fooled. After interacting with him for so long, they had a general idea of his business.

It turned out Hei Qi had previously run a waste processing site in the provincial capital, but he’d quickly fallen out with his partner. Waste processing was dirty and exhausting work—there was a chance of striking it rich, but luck played a big part, and both partners wanted easier tasks, so they couldn’t cooperate and parted on bad terms.

Though they split, the business remained, so naturally, one partner took over while the other left in disgrace. The dealers all believed Hei Qi had been squeezed out; otherwise, why would he abandon a good business to return to this small mountain city and become a scrap king?

Qiu Xi didn’t dig deeper—he had no doubt about the nature of Luo Ming’s case; fraud was obvious, just looking at Luo Ming’s unlucky state. The main problem now was finding Hei Qi.

The dealers provided the approximate location and name of the waste site in the provincial capital. Qiu Xi reasoned that although Hei Qi was unlikely to be at the site, he probably still maintained contact with the people there. With that, he took Luo Ming and boarded the train to the capital.

Luo Ming couldn’t help but recall how, just a few days before, he’d seen Hei Qi off with high hopes—at that time, all he could think of was making a fortune, with no sense at all. Thinking of this, his face grew hot once more.

Sitting opposite, Qiu Xi didn’t notice his embarrassment, assuming his nervousness was because he’d rarely been to the city.

So Qiu Xi said, “Relax, this train ride will take at least half a day. Try to get some rest if you can.”

Luo Ming nodded gratefully. He’d been holding back a question.

“Officer Qiu, I feel bad making you use your day off for such a small matter…”

Qiu Xi replied briskly, “To be honest, if we handled your case by the book, it would take months at best, and if Hei Qi really went into hiding, you might not find him for years.”

Luo Ming nodded vigorously, “That’s true, that’s true…”

Qiu Xi continued, “We’re just taking a chance this time. You need to be prepared. I figured this might be your first time in the city, so I wanted to help you out. I haven’t been back to Luoshui Village in years—it’s such a remote place, how could anyone there know the city’s reality…”

Luo Ming was surprised, “Officer Qiu, you’re from Luoshui Village too? But I don’t think I’ve ever seen you…”

“My mother told me I have an uncle in Luoshui Village, but we haven’t been in touch for many years.”

Suddenly, Luo Ming realized this was a distant “official relative,” and felt strangely reassured.

---

At the waste processing site in the capital, they found no trace of Hei Qi. The current owner was clearly unwilling to bring him up, suggesting a bitter falling out.

Qiu Xi pretended not to know and repeatedly claimed to be a poor relative seeking out Hei Qi. As expected, the owner nearly chased him out with a broom.

As they left, the owner muttered, “If you people come here again, I’ll break your legs! With the way he acted, Fortune Prosperity will be ruined by him sooner or later… What a piece of work!”

The owner clearly didn’t care about being overheard, so every word was clear.

Qiu Xi only laughed, unfazed, while Luo Ming was left confused and followed Qiu Xi away from the waste site, disappointed.

“That owner’s odd. What’s ‘Fortune Prosperity’?” Luo Ming muttered.

Qiu Xi chuckled, “Fortune Prosperity is the biggest antique market here…”

Luo Ming seemed to understand a little.

“So you mean… we might find Hei Qi at Fortune Prosperity?”

Qiu Xi thought for a moment. “He probably goes there often. When we get there, don’t say too much, or those sly dealers will see right through us.”

Luo Ming, embarrassed, replied, “Uh…”

Qiu Xi ignored him and hailed a cab. He was quite familiar with Fortune Prosperity, being a frequent visitor to the capital.

However, this trip yielded nothing. They asked several shops, but none had seen Hei Qi recently—no one knew where he’d gone to make a living.

Still, they picked up some useful information: Hei Qi did maintain regular business with them, usually through the same channels.

Qiu Xi was puzzled. Even though Luo Ming had lost more than a hundred thousand yuan, that sum wasn’t enough to make Hei Qi abandon his usual business—this was no fortune.

Could something have happened?

The thought flashed through Qiu Xi’s mind.

He analyzed the situation again, and several inconsistencies stood out:

First, if Hei Qi’s goal was only to cheat Luo Ming, he could have just taken a few worthless items and disappeared. But Luo Ming said he personally handed over the cash to the dealers, and the quantity purchased was large, with several sizeable items.

Second, although the antique shop owners claimed their wares weren’t valuable, they were priced at the local market rate. If Hei Qi didn’t resell them, how could he cash out?

Third, since Hei Qi’s usual buyers were at Fortune Prosperity, he should have shown up at least once—not necessarily with everything, but bringing even a broken bowl for appraisal would be safer.

Laying it all out, the situation became clearer: either Hei Qi was hiding out, looking for new buyers, or something had happened to him.

In any case, their trip was in vain. Not wanting Luo Ming to feel it was a waste, Qiu Xi patiently checked several other, lesser-known antique centers. Multiple sources confirmed Hei Qi had not appeared in the capital.

Luo Ming was disappointed but had no choice. He was deeply grateful for Qiu Xi’s private assistance. Seeing Qiu Xi’s vacation nearly over, Luo Ming feigned nonchalance and tried to invite him to a nice meal in the capital to show his thanks.

Qiu Xi declined—he had work the next day, and besides, he hadn’t really been able to help.

At Luo Ming’s insistence, they found a small restaurant, ordered a few home-style dishes, and drank a little.

In Luo Ming’s mind, this meant they were now acquainted; he’d made a friend in the city without even meaning to.

After dinner, they took the bus back to the city. Qiu Xi was rather downcast and barely spoke on the way back, and Luo Ming couldn’t find words either. He put his phone on silent—he’d had enough excitement for one day and just wanted to rest on the train.

They sat across from each other, dozing for over three hours, and parted ways at the city station.

By the time Luo Ming finally made it back to his hostel, it was past midnight. He didn’t even shower before collapsing into a deep sleep.

He fell asleep so quickly and deeply that he didn’t notice the several missed calls on his phone.