Chapter 3394 — Shen Yushu's Judgment

"Exactly. Who would have thought they would come back to rob the same gold shop again? We had only just restocked and reopened, and we were robbed once more..." Elder Tang's face was a picture of gloom.

"They strike entirely at random, and a place they have already hit may well be hit a second time—which only makes it harder for us to lie in wait." Qiu Lingshan slapped her forehead, plainly somewhat vexed.

"I think their next target might be this place!" Shen Yushu had appeared at some point, carrying a slice of tiramisu. She licked the cream from her fingers and pointed at an antique shop on the map.

"On what grounds?" Qiu Lingshan blinked, unable to see why Shen Yushu would say such a thing.

"I just think they will!" Shen Yushu offered no explanation, only saying, "Well? Prophet Shu is better than you, isn't she?"

"Prophet Shu? What nonsense is that?" Qiu Lingshan frowned. "Xiaoshu, don't talk rubbish. You may have a grudge against me, but don't drag your feelings into the work. A judgment like that could affect a great many things."

Wei Zhao had meant to tell Shen Yushu to stop fooling around, but when he heard her call herself Prophet Shu, something stirred in his mind and his heart gave a small leap.

In the past, Shen Yushu's words had indeed come true a great many times—Zhao Qibing's tower and his leg, for instance. Wei Zhao had once taken it for coincidence, but after hearing Yu Tianxing speak, he understood that Xiaoshu and Xiaoning, as prophets, likely possessed a sixth sense for such things. If she said the antique shop would be robbed, it might well be true!

At that thought, Wei Zhao said, "Let's go. We'll drive through the night and set up there."

"So Arrow-Brand Brother is the one who believes in Xiaoshu!" Shen Yushu was immensely pleased that Wei Zhao had listened to her.

Qiu Lingshan was taken aback. "You trust her that much?"

"We have to pick some place at random to lie in wait anyway," Wei Zhao said with an indifferent smile. "Since Xiaoshu has suggested it, we may as well go there."

"But the robbers have never once struck an antique shop before," Qiu Lingshan argued. "From the standpoint of habit, they shouldn't choose one. There isn't much cash in such a place, and antiques are hardly easy to convert into money."

"If An Liwen really is behind this, then never mind antiques—he could rob drugs and munitions and still find buyers," Wei Zhao said.

"All right, then. We'll go there." Though Qiu Lingshan did not much trust Shen Yushu, she trusted Wei Zhao completely, and she nodded in agreement with the proposal.

So the group packed up and drove through the night to an antique shop in Kekai Town! Kekai was an old town with a large antique market street, and the Tang family's antique shop stood there.

Wei Zhao drove the Grand Cherokee, while Tang the leader, Tang Taizhong, and the others rode in a Land Cruiser. Both vehicles had excellent off-road capability and handled the old town's narrow lanes without trouble.

……………………

Wei Zhao's guess had been right on the mark—this affair was indeed An Liwen's doing.

After his setback in Donghai City, An Liwen's plan to rob the hidden families had been forced aground. He had lain low for a time, and when the moment seemed right, he rose again and chose the hidden Tang family as his target.

For one thing, the hidden Tang family was rather far from Donghai City, so Wei Zhao might not bother to meddle; for another, the Tang family's businesses were vast, with investments in many profitable trades that would yield easy plunder.

"Young Master Wen, I hear the hidden Tang family has asked the Mysterious Investigation Bureau for help, and that bitch Qiu Lingshan has actually been transferred in as deputy director. She's our nemesis!" Little Pureheart said to An Liwen with great displeasure. "Why don't we just do away with her..."

"No. That Song girl is Wei Zhao's woman. I loathe Wei Zhao, but the man grows more vicious by the day—even people of the ancient tier are no match for him—so I had best provoke him as little as possible. And he has backers everywhere now. Who would have thought Gu Mengyao would become the palace master of the Ancient Night Palace? I really cannot afford a clash with Wei Zhao." An Liwen spoke with hatred. "Avoid that Song girl. If you do run into her, don't injure her—just retreat at once! Tell the hypnotist later and pass down that order."

"Understood!" Little Pureheart nodded. "Then where do we rob tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow..." An Liwen spread out a map before him—it was the distribution map of the Tang family's holdings, stolen from them. With this in hand, it was a first-rate tool for robbery! He casually pointed at a spot on the map. "This antique shop here. We've robbed so many gold shops; time to change our fare. We'll take some antiques this time and smuggle them out!"

"Right, I'll go make the arrangements," Little Pureheart answered.

Qiu Lingshan could not bring herself to believe that robbers would target this antique shop. After all, the transport here was inconvenient; from the standpoint of escape, it was a poor place to flee from—nothing but narrow field paths, where even an off-road vehicle could not drive fast.

Of course, she was reasoning from the perspective of ordinary crime, and An Liwen did not consider such things at all! The place was three hours' drive from the Tang family stronghold headquarters. Even if the side roads made escape difficult, by the time help arrived from the stronghold, his men would long since be gone.

Besides, even if help did come, it might not be able to stop his people—which was precisely why An Liwen felt so secure in targeting the Tang family alone!

The antique shop's manager was a former Tang family disciple of only mid Mystic rank, no match at all for robbers. He had been under tremendous pressure these past days, and when he saw Tang Taizhong arrive with reinforcements, he breathed a great sigh of relief.

"Disciple Tang Xiaogui pays his respects to the Tang Patriarch, the Tang Young Patriarch, the Second Master Tang, the Eldest Young Master Tang, and all you fine experts..." the manager, Tang Xiaogui, said respectfully.

"No need for such courtesy toward us. But toward these gentlemen and ladies, show the utmost respect. This is the young hero Wei Zhao Lin, this is Director Song of the Mysterious Investigation Bureau, and these are Miss Chen, Miss Wang, and Miss Yu—all formidable heroines in their own right!" Tang Taizhong made the introductions.

"Yes!" Tang Xiaogui answered at once.

The food here was plainly not as fine as at the Tang stronghold. Though Tang Taizhong had done his best to order a banquet from the town's most famous restaurant and have it delivered, the standard was not that of the stronghold's chefs, nor was the variety as great.

Wei Zhao, however, cared nothing for such things, which set Tang Taizhong's mind at ease. Of all these people, the one he feared and revered most was Wei Zhao—and the one he trusted most was Wei Zhao as well. With Wei Zhao here, those robbers would surely be no problem. RS