I consulted a feng shui master in Hong Kong.

Construction of the Sanxuan Temple is in full swing.

The front beam of the old dyehouse's front yard has been firmly placed on the pillar head, and carpenter Deng and his men are adjusting the angle little by little.

Half of the two old bungalows in the backyard had been demolished, and the walls looked as if they had been peeled away layer by layer, revealing the freshly turned wet soil inside.

The old signboard at the entrance, "Dechang Dyehouse," had long been taken down by Chen Qinghe's men, and a new wooden board had been temporarily replaced with just three characters written in ink.

Sanxuan Temple

The calligraphy was commissioned by Huang Shouzhou. The brushstrokes weren't particularly good, but when hung at the entrance, anyone passing by would glance at it and their expression would become solemn.

Seeing this spectacle, the neighbors began to discuss it more and more.

"I heard that the strange incident at the He family last night was caused by Master Chen from the Sanxuan Temple."

"It's not just the He family; I heard he even helped solve cases at the police station."

"I think if this temple is really built, this area will have a strong backing."

The wind was blowing louder and louder each day.

Meanwhile, in the smoke-filled office at the police station, Gu Chengyue had already thoroughly untangled this thread.

Mr. Feng, Manager Zhou, Liang Shikun of Yongchang Construction, and those who were arrested last night—after three days of continuous interrogation, they finally managed to get some information out of them.

This group is a mobile criminal gang; they have committed three crimes since their last visit.

The He family was one of them. The one in the old building to the west where someone died was also their doing. Further back, there was a silver shop owned by a man surnamed Pei, which they plundered for more than half a year.

Gu Chengyue sat at the table, flipping through the files with his fingers, sneering as he did so.

But even though he laughed, he knew the truth in his heart.

These people are not the core members of the Xuanlin Society.

At most, they are merely a shell attached to the Xuanlin Society, using the scales, the marks, and the few ready-made schemes to get a share of the profits.

The people who actually hold the power to issue the seals and accounts are not at their level.

Mr. Feng was stubborn and pretended to be deaf and dumb when asked about the higher-ups.

Manager Zhou did speak up, but all he could name were places like Pingma Warehouse, Jinfulou, and Xihuan Secondhand Goods Store. He couldn't explain anything beyond that.

Gu Chengyue knew what was going on.

That's about all the fish we can drag out.

Even this one layer was enough to satisfy the higher-ups.

These cases had been sitting in the police station for two whole months, with the case of the death in the old building causing quite a stir.

These days, arrests happen overnight, cases are closed in a few days, and several leads are put together at once. Even he himself didn't expect the higher-ups to take it so seriously.

In just a few days, Gu Chengyue was called in for a talk three times.

The first time was to praise his keen eye for talent.

The second time was to praise him for being ruthless.

The third time, they simply told him to continue pursuing this lead, and to provide him with as many resources, manpower, and details as possible.

When Gu Chengyue returned to his office, his face remained expressionless, but he was far from relaxed.

He knew better than anyone that this achievement wasn't earned by him alone.

Chen Qinghe saw through the scheme orchestrated by the He family.

The operation to close the warehouse was a bait set by Chen Qinghe.

Even the reason why Mr. Feng took the bait was because Chen Qinghe had accurately calculated just how greedy the other party would become.

He simply led his men to detain people and get them to sign documents.

But that's what they're looking at.

He arrested the man and solved the case, so the credit should go to him.

The achievement was so significant that even the glass doors outside the office started rattling.

-

"Go and find out who Gu Chengyue has been clinging to these past few days."

At the other end of the office, separated by two rooms, Sergeant Lu Qibang stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray and spoke with a stern face.

He was in his early forties, tall and thin, with slightly prominent cheekbones. He didn't talk much, but his eyes were sharp.

He and Gu Chengyue joined the police station in the same year, had similar qualifications, and had handled many cases. However, in the past year or two, he had clearly been overshadowed by Gu Chengyue.

With promotion looming again this year, he was still dealing with a few trivial theft cases while Gu Chengyue busted a gang overnight, even solving the old building murder case in the process.

He sat in his office, listening to his colleagues whispering "Gu Sir" in the hallway, their expressions growing increasingly grim.

His subordinate, an agent named Fatty, was ordered to inquire, and returned shortly afterward with a strange expression.

"Officer Lu...the investigation is complete."

"Which one?"

"San Xuan Temple in Yau Ma Tei, a feng shui master surnamed Chen."

Lu Qibang frowned.

"A feng shui master?"

"Yes," Ah Fei said cautiously. "I heard that the He family in front, the old building in the west, and these other strange cases are all related to a gang. It was this Master Chen who saw it first and led people to the warehouse, which is how Inspector Gu took them all down."

Lu Qibang's brows furrowed even deeper.

"A feng shui master can help the police solve cases?"

Ah Fei carefully rubbed his hands together.

"I've heard... this isn't the first time. He was the one who took care of the Huo family before. These days, if anyone in the Yau Ma Tei area gets into some trouble, the first place they think of isn't the police station, but the Sanxuan Temple."

Lu Qibang stared at the table and remained silent for a moment.

He initially thought Gu Chengyue had stumbled upon some incredible luck, or perhaps he had climbed onto some powerful connection. But following the trail, he discovered that Gu was actually a young man who ran a Taoist temple.

This, however, piqued his interest.

He knew a lot about the connections, relationships, and backers within the police station. But he didn't recognize a single one of these "experts" who had suddenly appeared from outside.

The matter of promotion had been weighing on his mind for more than half a year.

Now that Gu Chengyue has made a meritorious contribution overnight, if he doesn't make any further moves, he will most likely be suppressed in this round of ranking.

"Does he really have that ability?" he asked in a low voice.

Ah Fei cautiously suggested, "Officer Lu, why don't we go and pay him a visit too?"

Lu Qibang stared at him for a couple of moments, but didn't immediately agree.

But his hand had already reached to the corner of the table and pulled out the bottle of foreign liquor that he usually couldn't bear to touch from the drawer.

"go."

Ah Fei was taken aback.

You mean—

"Go take a look." Lu Qibang put the bottle of wine on the table and took out two gift boxes from his office cabinet. "If Gu Chengyue can get help from him, I might be able to. He's just a feng shui master; no matter how capable he is, would he really turn against our police station?"

Ah Fei quickly agreed.

"How should the visiting card be written?"

Lu Qibang thought for a moment and said calmly, "No need for a formal invitation. Just bring a few decent gifts and pay a visit to the Sanxuan Temple. Tell them I've long admired your reputation and would like to come over for a chat."

"Aren't you going to say hello?"

"What's the point of greeting him?" Lu Qibang sneered. "If he's truly a master, I'll go to his door and he'll have to see me. If he's being coy and refusing to see me, then there's nothing to talk about."

Ah Fei didn't dare to say anything more and immediately went outside to arrange for people.

……

……

That afternoon, another car arrived at the entrance of the old dyehouse.

Chen Qinghe was standing in the front yard watching the workers build a wall, while Huang Shouzhou was tapping on an abacus beside him. Even the two old fir logs sent by the He family had already been divided up and put to use.

One of the front beams was used as a support, and the other was left to serve as the main pillar of the main hall.

The whole courtyard was bustling with activity.

As soon as the car stopped, two men in plain clothes got out of the door, but they stood ramrod straight. They glanced around the street and then stood quietly at the door.

Then, Lu Qibang slowly got out of the car.

He was wearing a dark long gown with a light-colored suit jacket over it. He wasn't carrying anything in his hands, but Fatty, who was following behind him, was carrying two gift boxes in one hand and carefully holding a bottle of foreign liquor in the other.

Huang Shou-zhuo saw it first, and his eyelid twitched.

He is not a member of the He family, nor the Huo family, and certainly not Gu Chengyue.

But his demeanor clearly indicates he works for a police station.

Huang Shouzhou was about to call out to Chen Qinghe, but he saw that the other party had already stopped at the door.

Lu Qibang looked up and examined the temporary sign "Sanxuan Temple" written on the door, then glanced at the bustling activity in the courtyard, and a smile slowly appeared on his face.

"Excuse me, is Master Chen available?"

Huang Shouzhou quickly went to greet him: "And you are?"

Lu Qibang didn't put on airs; he took out a police station business card from the inside pocket of his suit and handed it over.

"My surname is Lu. I work for the police station, but today I am not here on official business. I have come to pay my respects to Master Chen."

Huang Shouzhou glanced at the business card, and his eyes widened immediately.

Sheriff.

Moreover, he is on the same level as Gu Chengyue.

He dared not delay and quickly turned to shout in a low voice into the courtyard, "Qinghe, people from the police station are here!"

Chen Qinghe looked up and gazed over.

As soon as his gaze fell on Lu Qibang at the door, he thought for a moment and realized that he did not recognize such a person.