Master of Chinese Martial Arts: I Can Steal the Skills of a Grandmaster from the Republic of China E

Chapter 98 Evidence?

Renault's vertical pupils narrowed slightly as he quickly scanned Zhou Xing's entire body, lingering briefly on the ashes and broken surfaces before glancing over Hans's wounds and the clearly terrified prisoner.

He didn't ask anything, but turned his gaze to DuPont, who was frozen on the sofa, a hint of mockery flashing in his eyes.

"Thump!"

Zhou Xing seemed oblivious to DuPont's lapse in composure, and dumped the prisoner on the thick carpet in the office.

Ma San groaned and shrank to the side.

"Captain Reno, Deputy Director DuPont."

Zhou walked to the desk, nodded to Renault first, then turned to DuPont and calmly said, "On the way back tonight, we were ambushed on a mountain road in the western suburbs. There were thirteen ambushers, all former warlord soldiers, well-armed and well-trained, and they used explosives."

Detective Hans was wounded, and two accompanying Chinese police officers were killed in the line of duty. Twelve people were killed on the spot, and one was captured alive.

DuPont's face was grim, and he remained silent.

Zhou Xing continued, "According to the prisoners' initial confessions, the employer pointed to a high-ranking figure within the concession. This person contacted him through an intermediary, Scarface Lao Liu, paid a large sum of money, and requested that the scene be disguised as a cult's revenge."

The reason the bandits were able to pinpoint our route was because someone had placed a specially made magnet under our vehicle before we set off, used for tracking homing pigeons.

His tone was casual, as if he were reporting on a routine patrol.

"The ability to tamper with a special investigation team vehicle from inside the police station, and the motive to carry out this assassination,"

At this point, Zhou Xing finally focused his gaze entirely on DuPont's pale face. "In my opinion, the scope is not large."

""

He didn't say the name immediately, but the meaning couldn't be clearer.

"You...you're spouting nonsense!"

DuPont sprang up from his chair as if he'd been pricked in the butt, his robe belt knocking over a coffee cup on the small table, the brown liquid spilling onto the carpet.

He pointed at Zhou Xing, his finger trembling, whether from anger or fear, it was hard to tell: "Zhou Xing! There's no evidence! This is slander! This is insubordination! Captain Renault, look at him! How dare he—"

Zhou Xing looked at his exasperated expression and suddenly smiled.

"I dropped a stone."

He said slowly, with a hint of mockery, "I didn't say I was going to beat the dog. What, did a dog bark first?"

"you!"

DuPont was trembling with anger; no Chinese constable had ever dared to speak to him in such a tone.

But his fingers trembled, and he couldn't utter a single complete sentence.

He looked around the office. Renault was expressionless, Hans's eyes were cold and hard, and the prisoner was trembling like a leaf.

They were outnumbered and outgunned.

The office suddenly sent a chill down his spine. The lingering killing intent emanating from Zhou Xing made it hard for him to breathe.

He took a few deep breaths, forcing himself to calm down, but his face was still extremely pale.

He glared at Zhou Xing, then looked at Renault and forced a few cold laughs: "Fine, very well. Detective Zhou, you've got guts. Captain Renault, you've really got a good dog, fierce and loyal enough."

He straightened his bathrobe, trying to maintain his last shred of dignity, but the resentment in his voice was unmistakable: "However, Detective Zhou, let me remind you. You're risking your life for him, taking a knife for him; you'd better think carefully."

Some people are incredibly kind to you when they need you, but once you're no longer useful or in their way, they're masters at discarding you like a used tool.

After applying the eye drops, he stopped looking at anyone, snorted coldly, turned around and strode out of the office, slamming the door shut behind him.

The office fell silent again, with only the sound of dripping coffee remaining.

Renault got up, walked to the window, and watched as the DuPont car sped away downstairs.

He turned around and looked at Zhou Xing: "How are your injuries?"

"It's just a superficial wound, nothing serious," Zhou Xing replied.

Renault paused for a moment, not mentioning DuPont who had left, but instead asked, "Was the trip to Yuntian Temple fruitful?"

Zhou Xing was well prepared.

He pulled out a folded piece of scrap paper from his pocket, which he had sketched from memory on the mountain with his charcoal pencil, with a few dots marked on it.

He spread it out on the table in front of Renault, pointing to each spot with his finger: "The Taoist priest pointed out several acupoints along the Haihe River. In such places, the water's evil energy is stagnant, and yin energy naturally arises. These are natural feng shui breaches, easily exploited by evil forces."

He skipped over all the information about the Zhenhe coin and the lock, and only extracted Xuan Chengzi's description of the characteristics of the earth's aperture.

"In these places, the water is murky, the vegetation near the shore is withered, and strange phenomena often occur at night. If the Taoist priest wants to use the river god to perform rituals, these places are the most suitable for setting up a yin altar and attracting the earth's evil spirits."

Renault's gaze fell on the sketch, and he tapped his fingers twice on the table, making a soft "tap-tap" sound.

"The exact location?"

"The Taoist priest mentioned several characteristic areas, but the earth's aperture may not be fixed; it may move with the flow of yin energy through the water veins, making it dynamic."

Zhou Xing emphasized the word "living," saying, "The public river god worship is the yang side, attracting attention. The real killing move is likely hidden in these flowing yin energy holes, moving with the water and difficult to catch. This is the most dangerous place, and the place where we are most likely to run into the core figures of the Yiguan Dao."

He looked up at Renault: "I suggest that we send underwater search teams and ground patrol teams to conduct routine searches and deployments in these areas, to alert the enemy, or at least to make a show of it and attract their attention."

Reno's grey-green eyes stared at him: "And what about you?"

"I'll act alone."

Zhou Xing said seriously, "Go find that flowing geomantic spot. This requires sensing the feng shui energy, and—a little bit of luck."

Too many people would only draw attention and scare away the target. If it's true that there's an inner altar operating within the temple, that's the key.

His request to act alone was based on his own considerations.

The four places Xuan Chengzi pointed out—Laolongtou Wanzi, Sanchakou Huishuituo, the British Concession Reed Marsh, and Xiaxihe Sluice Gate—are possible nodes where the water veins are locked, and are the "locks" in the obsession.

He was fixated on the matter of Zhenhe Qian, and that was his priority. Strength was the prerequisite for everything.

The earth's aperture may be a flowing eye of malevolent energy, while the lock is a fixed sealing point.

Yi Guan Dao used the earth's apertures to find the river god. No matter how they operated, their ultimate goal was always these locks.

Currently, not many people know about the lock. He must keep this information to himself and not let others know.

Let the foreign concession police and the Taoist priests get entangled, then seize the opportunity to find a turning point, resolve the obsession with the Zhenhe Money, increase your strength, and then go back to deal with those evil sects. Let's examine the scope of Huo Yuanjia's definition of evil sects.

Those with ulterior motives toiled for ages, finally finding their target only to discover that what awaited them was not the River God, but Death.

Renault remained silent for a moment.

In the room, the only sound was the scratching of the pen tip across the paper, as Hans took notes.

"Can."

Renault finally nodded, but then added, leaving no room for negotiation, "Hans will go with you. We'll also have two clever Chinese constables with us; Chen Qi is one, he's clear-headed. You can choose the other one from the district."

Zhou Xing's heart sank slightly. As expected, Renault wouldn't completely let go.

We need to find a way to get these three people away.

After confirming the news, Renault changed the subject and glanced at Ma San, saying, "We'll arrange the specifics tomorrow. Although you were attacked tonight, DuPont is just an old bureaucrat who doesn't understand your strength and is not a threat."

He's been operating within the police force for over a decade, has deep roots, and also has connections with several directors of the Municipal Council. Without solid evidence, we can't touch him.

Renault raised his eyes, his grey-green pupils staring directly at Zhou Xing: "However, he won't be able to keep this up for long. He won't be able to hold onto the position of deputy commissioner of police. Once I take over, his best outcome will be to slink back to France in disgrace, collect a pension, and live out his remaining years in shame."

"Don't worry, the day I go up there will also be the day you gain a foothold in the concession. What you will get from me is a status and glory that other Chinese police officers, or even French police officers, can never achieve in their entire lives."

These words sounded familiar; Zhou Xing remembered saying them to Ruan Wenzhong just a few days ago.

He listened, his face expressionless, and simply nodded.

"I understand, Captain."

But what he silently recited in his heart was another sentence:

Go back to France?

Hiring someone to commit murder, and then running away if it fails—there's no such thing as a free lunch.

Police stations need evidence to conduct their operations.

I do things around the clock —

He raised his eyes, his gaze passing through the window and falling into the deep night outside.

No, that's not necessary.

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