Flip the table and divide the family property! Take his wife and daughter into the mountains and eat

Zhao Shanhe immediately shook his head: "How long would it take to find him? There are so many people in the surrounding villages who live off the land. If we really had to investigate them one by one, by the time we found him, Old Scar would have already disappeared into the woods."

"What do you mean by 'that mountain and river'?" Liang Tiejun stubbed out the cigarette that was almost burning his fingers and looked up at him intently.

"It's very simple."

Zhao Shanhe's gaze swept over the crowd, his voice low, as if he were dissecting the entrails of his prey: "Old Scar killed Chen Jianguo's son, and now his wanted poster is plastered all over the streets, with plainclothes officers tailing him at every intersection. Ordinary mountain herders and veteran hunters wouldn't dare get involved in this mess even if they had ten lives."

Zhao Shanhe sneered: "Old Scar has a life on his hands, he knows it better than anyone. He doesn't dare to approach those clean-cut hunters, afraid that the moment he shows his face, they'll set off a firecracker and call the police."

Old Hei frowned, continuing the thought process: "So, he can only go to those shady, undercover agents who also have cases on their hands?"

Da Zhuang clenched the deflated lunchbox in his hand and said in a muffled voice, "Then we'll head into the mountains and raid those black hunters' dens!"

"It's too late, and he won't be able to find it."

"Most real black market hunters hide deep in the mountains and forests year-round to avoid trouble, their whereabouts more elusive than ghosts. Old Scar is now driven to the brink of death by the police and the underworld; he simply doesn't have the time or connections to go deep into the mountains to search for people."

"The only person who could quickly make contact in the city or near the train station and easily lead him from Juehu Road to the provincial border is probably a smuggler."

Monkeys are the quickest thinkers. Upon hearing this, they slapped their thighs and their eyes lit up with an alarming intensity.

"yes!"

The monkey was so excited his voice trembled, and spittle flew everywhere: "Those smugglers deal in shady stuff all year round. They have to evade all official checks, and they definitely have a few deadly routes that no one else knows about! And if they're paid enough, these guys will take on any dangerous job!"

"Yes."

Zhao Shanhe nodded, reached into his pocket and pulled out a half-pack of crushed Daqianmen cigarettes, took one out and bit it into his mouth.

With a "snap" sound.

He struck a match, and the pale blue flame flickered, igniting the cigarette butt. Zhao Shanhe took a deep drag, exhaling thick white smoke, his expression obscured by the wisps of smoke.

"Old Scar is a seasoned veteran. He's not only ruthless but also incredibly shrewd. He's got a murder on his hands now, and his bag is stuffed with cash he stole from Chen Jianguo."

"If he went to those powerful local thugs, they could slit his throat and swallow his money as soon as he entered the mountains. So, Old Scar would never dare to go to a big gang. To save his life, he only dared to seek out small smugglers who were weak and worked alone."

Upon hearing this, the monkey's excitement suddenly vanished, and his brows furrowed tightly.

He reached up and grabbed a handful of his messy hair, looking troubled. "But Brother Shanhe, if we only look for lone wolves... there are at least eighty or a hundred of these down-on-their-luck small fry in the train station and the black market. They do shady business and hide like rats. Even if we throw money at them, they'll stay in the shadows and never show themselves. It's like looking for a needle in a haystack. We have nowhere to dig."

"There's no need to check those who have all four limbs intact."

"Narrow down the search, specifically look for those who are physically disabled or so weak that they don't even have the strength to resist."

Old Hei was stunned, his rough, large hand hovering in mid-air.

"Brother, looking for a cripple? Why?"

Dazhuang scratched the back of his head and muttered in a low voice, "Walking the path of no descendants is such a deadly job, wouldn't it be even harder to get out if you found a cripple?"

"It's very simple."

Zhao Shanhe, with a cigarette between his fingers, flicked the ash from his fingertip: "Old Scar carries a wad of cash to save his life. If he hires a strong smuggler, even if the smuggler is working alone, once they're deep in the mountains, they can pull out a homemade gun or hunting knife from their backside. Would Old Scar dare to sleep soundly at night?"

The corridor fell into a deathly silence, save for a few heavy breaths.

"So, the guide he's looking for not only has to know Juehu Road, but also has to be physically disabled or a sickly person who can't even kill a chicken. Only by having such an easy target by his side can Old Scar close his eyes and catch his breath in the old forest."

The monkey gasped, and the web in its mind instantly contracted to its limit.

A dead-end road, a crippled smuggler.

The area suddenly shrank to the tip of a needle.

"Bro, you're fucking amazing!"

The monkey stared blankly at Zhao Shanhe, its eyes filled with undisguised admiration, its voice rising two octaves: "You've stripped this old bastard bare, leaving him with nothing but his underwear!"

Da Zhuang suddenly stuffed the crumpled aluminum sheet in his hand into his pocket.

He clenched his fist, the size of a sandbag, and forcefully swung it in mid-air: "Then let's go to the train station and the black market right now! Bring out all those disabled smugglers and interrogate them one by one!"

Old Hei spat on the ground, his rough hands rolling up his sleeves as he turned to rush towards the dark stairwell: "Let's go! Even if we have to turn the city's sewers upside down, we'll dig this bastard out!"

Several men around them, who were seething with anger, were also stirred up by these words and were about to rush down with them.

"Stop right there!"

Liang Tiejun, who had been leaning against the wall, coughed heavily twice, his hoarse voice effectively silencing the group of men above.

He hunched over, his rough fingers pinching his brow hard, his ashen face clouded with worry: "Shanhe, your analysis is indeed reasonable. But even if we narrow it down, it still happened more than half a month ago."

"These guys are like rats in a gutter, they can't stand the light of day. Since Old Scar has been on the run for half a month, even if the guy who led the way came back alive, with such a large sum of hush money in his hand, he must have already fled far away or hidden away in some unknown corner. If we go out to rescue him now in complete darkness, we probably won't get anything."

The initial surge of enthusiasm in the corridor was instantly extinguished by Liang Tiejun's cold, hard truth.

Da Zhuang and Lao Hei looked at each other, wringing their hands anxiously.

Zhao Shanhe nodded calmly.

He slowly took the half-smoked cigarette out of his mouth, pinched the bright red end with his two rough fingers, and extinguished the spark with a slight force.

The dark yellow tobacco shreds mixed with ashes fell softly onto the terrazzo floor.

"You're right. If we just grope around in this area, we won't find anything even if we scrape off three feet of the ground."

"But I have a friend who specializes in walking along those black lines in the sewers."

Zhao Shanhe straightened his slightly wrinkled collar and turned around decisively.

"I'm going out for a bit. You all stay here and wait for my message."

…………

(To all readers:)

I reviewed the latest update today and felt that Chapter 361 was not quite to my liking; the plot development wasn't compelling enough.

To ensure a consistent reading experience for everyone, I just completely rewrote Chapter 361.

The newly revised version has made some adjustments to the plot, and the details and conflicts have been polished to be smoother.

For those who have already read it, please scroll back and refresh to read Chapter 361 again to avoid any gaps in the subsequent plot.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. The plot will soon reach a climax, and I will continue to work hard to write a good story.

Thank you all for your continued reading and support!