Chapter 38: Do Criminal Gangs Also Believe in Feng Shui?

Cen Lian and Wang Yuanteng exchanged a glance, realizing that Ge Jiawen likely knew far less than he, a distant uncle in the family.

“Go ahead,” Cen Lian said as he sat down in front of him. “How much do you know about that gang?”

When they mentioned the name Tu Lou, Zheng Xinmin’s psychological defenses completely collapsed.

He lowered his head, looking somewhat disheartened as he began to confess.

“The first time we saw them was at the Hao Yan nightclub in Kang’an City. At the time, I didn’t really know what they were up to; that nightclub was just our usual place to distribute goods, so I had seen them once,” Zheng Xinmin recounted slowly. “It wasn’t until then that I saw them leave the Hao Yan with two girls, getting into separate cars. I didn’t think much of it then, but after that, I never saw those two girls again.”

“But at that time, I didn’t suspect they had been killed. It wasn’t until we went to open an old Song dynasty tomb on a mountain near Kang’an City—maybe just bad luck—that we stumbled upon their people burying a corpse. I remember the man’s name was Shi Quan, but I don’t know what exactly he does,” Zheng Xinmin continued. “Shi Quan had seen us before at the nightclub and knew our phones weren’t clean, so we wouldn’t report to the police. He didn’t harm us but came over once to threaten us. He had a gun, so we were scared and even helped dig the grave.”

Cen Lian frowned, puzzled as to why this group had chosen Kang’an City.

“Then he just let you go?” Wang Yuanteng pressed.

“Yes. Of course, we didn’t dare to spread the word about this, so for the next few years, things were quiet. Until about three, almost four years ago, we ran into them again at Lingguan Mountain,” Zheng Xinmin said with visible pain. “They thought we were tailing them and killed four of my brothers. Afterward, they even warned people in the underworld that my life was forfeit sooner or later. I had no choice but to turn myself in. They feared I’d expose them from inside, so they didn’t dare touch my family.”

“Do you know what they actually do?” Cen Lian asked, frowning.

This gang was vicious—far from ordinary criminals.

“They’re into this,” Zheng Xinmin twirled his fingers as if kneading dough. “But I don’t know much more. I only know Tu Lou and Shi Quan, plus a few others who frequented the nightclub. The rest, I’m not sure.”

“Who else regularly went to the nightclub?” Cen Lian opened his notebook and began taking careful notes.

After Zheng Xinmin finished his statement and was taken back, Wang Yuanteng stared at his retreating figure for a moment.

“This group is ruthless, definitely involved in drugs,” Cen Lian closed his notebook. “But I still don’t understand why they picked Kang’an City.”

“Could it be feng shui?” Wang Yuanteng said unusually seriously, not joking this time. “Look, this is the terrain of Lingguan Mountain—facing south with hills on both sides like armrests and the Ling River in front. In feng shui, this is an excellent formation.”

Cen Lian was silent, the quietness deafening.

“Do drug traffickers really care about feng shui these days?” He felt his worldview was being upended.

Wang Yuanteng pressed on with his reasoning. “The mountain where they dumped bodies near Kang’an City is similar—facing south, with a river in front and hills like armrests on both sides. If they’re still in Yunzhong City but relocated, maybe we can look based on this.”

Cen Lian hesitated, sensing this sounded even less reliable than his own instincts.

“Logically, it makes sense, but isn’t it a bit rash? Let’s talk to the next person first.” He didn’t dismiss Wang’s theory; in fact, it had somewhat convinced him.

At present, there was still one of Zheng Xinmin’s brothers left to interrogate. If nothing new came from him, they might have to try Wang Yuanteng’s method.

Cen Lian continued with the next interrogation, while Wu Qiushan and local police were already searching the mountain.

They focused on a villa area halfway up the mountain.

Tang Hua looked at the buildings from afar, asking anxiously, “Do you think searching so openly will alert them?”

The gang was likely still active. If they realized they were being watched, future operations would be difficult.

“The more noise we make, the easier it is to give ourselves away,” Wu Qiushan replied. “If they remain silent, it’ll be hard for us to catch them.”

Tang Hua was about to agree when he saw Wu Qiushan pull out his phone.

“What’s going on?” he asked directly.

Knowing Wu Qiushan well, Tang Hua recognized the call was from Cen Lian.

“We’ve interrogated Zheng Xinmin and his brother. We’ve confirmed the gang is involved in drugs and has operated in several mountains, never staying at one base too long. Wang and I think they abandoned the Lingguan Mountain base years ago,” Cen Lian spoke rapidly on the other end. “As for where their new base might be, let Wang explain.”

Wu Qiushan looked at the phone dubiously before putting it back to his ear.

Wang Yuanteng repeated his feng shui theory for Wu Qiushan.

Wu Qiushan asked Qi Yan to bring a map.

“Are you sure this terrain really has good feng shui?” he found it hard to believe.

Qi Yan studied the map carefully and quickly nodded.

“In feng shui terms, it’s quite favorable.”

Wu Qiushan silently thought this case was growing stranger by the day.

Qi Yan began searching the maps to see if Yunzhong City had any mountains with similar formations. Yuan Chenxi thoughtfully pulled up numerous satellite images to assist.

Tang Hua and Wu Qiushan led their team to the villa area halfway up the slope.

About one-third of the residences were still occupied, but few lived there permanently. Most homes were maintained by housekeeping staff who came regularly to keep the villas from getting too dirty.

Only during summer did the area become lively for a few months.

The management contacted homeowners one by one to open their doors.

“There’s bloodstains in this room,” Wu Qiushan said, stopping for the first time at a villa near a low peak.

An auxiliary officer handed him his toolbox.

Looking up, Wu Qiushan saw the blood seemed to have dripped from the second floor down to the first, judging by the stain patterns.

He followed marble steps to the second floor, finally finding what he sought.

The bed was messy, and the bloodstains hadn’t been fully cleaned.

“Who owns this villa?” he asked Yuan Chenxi.

“A couple in their seventies from Yunzhong City. According to access records, no vehicles registered to them have entered this estate for five years,” Yuan Chenxi replied. She had started gathering information on the villa upon arrival.

“Contact them for a DNA comparison,” Wu Qiushan said, though he didn’t believe this elderly couple were the true culprits.

He continued collecting various traces from the scene, hoping to find at least one or two perpetrators.

Not long after, Qi Yan came inside holding a map.

“Team leader Wu, I found a place that perfectly matches their criteria for a hideout,” he said.

Wu Qiushan removed his gloves and took the map.

Although he couldn’t understand feng shui, he could grasp the basic mountain formations.

“What place is this?” he asked, scrutinizing the map.

Yuan Chenxi leaned over to look, quickly locating the mountain on satellite images.

“It’s an unnamed mountain in Lianggu County, part of the same mountain range as Lingguan Mountain. Since it hasn’t been developed for tourism, it has no official name,” she said, surprised such a place existed.

Wu Qiushan thought to himself this case was only growing more bizarre.