That day, when Boss Wan and Innkeeper Tong delivered the replica of Wen Liang Jade Gui, Lin Han was satisfied and promptly transferred 200,000 to their accounts. Boss Wan was pleased and arranged a dinner for us that evening. During the meal, he brought out a bottle of foreign liquor he claimed to have brought back from across the Pacific to celebrate. I drank it; it had a coffee flavor, which I didn't find very palatable. After dinner, Lin Han and I had nothing else to do, so we walked back to the hotel. The weather had warmed up, and the atmosphere was pleasant. We held hands, our affections deepening.
Because Innkeeper Tong had slipped a condom into my pocket before leaving, I unconsciously began to anticipate something. We stood very close, talking about things I don't remember, our bodies growing warmer. As we neared the hotel, Lin Han said the liquor wasn't enough and suggested we have some more. So, we talked about the coffee-flavored foreign liquor, and Lin Han mentioned that putting coffee into their national liquor created a unique taste.
Thus, we bought some of their national liquor at the hotel entrance and, in a moment of inspiration, mixed two sachets of instant coffee, meant to refresh us, into the liquor. The result was rather unconventional. However, since we bought the liquor together and the coffee was readily available in the hotel, I didn't suspect anything. I had one glass of the baijiu, not much, but for some reason, my head started to feel heavy. Lin Han also felt the effect and wanted to go back to rest.
I escorted Lin Han back. She said she needed to take a bath, so I returned to my room.
Afterwards, I lay down and fell asleep. I don't know how long I slept, but I awoke to find Lin Han had returned!
…
In the morning, I woke up to Lin Han's kiss. She was putting on makeup and said a few things. I remembered the condom in my pocket and secretly checked it; it was still there. It was all the fault of the coffee mixed with the liquor, but I had no regrets. By then, I already had a plan to deal with Zhang Si. I thought of Zhang Si as the big boss in the 'Logical Paradox,' and if I could defeat him, everything would be over. Lin Han and I had already been mutually admiring each other, so our being together was only natural.
That day, I took the Wen Liang Jade Gui to meet with the literati and connoisseurs. I didn't meet them that day. In the afternoon, I encountered the Old Lecher, which was not the time his personality was supposed to appear.
The Old Lecher told me that their thoughts were beginning to merge. The replica of the Wen Liang Jade Gui could no longer prevent the mutual penetration of their minds. The main personality, upon learning that the Literati planned to deal with him, used his inherent advantages to destroy the Literati's personality on Mount Tai using a replica of the Wen Liang Jade Gui. After the Literati's personality was destroyed, there were changes in the timing of their personality usage.
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The Cook still woke up at six and worked until two in the afternoon. The Old Lecher's personality, which should have appeared at eight in the evening, surfaced earlier, followed by the main personality. The main personality then occupied the time slot usually used by the Old Lecher.
…
At that time, I felt quite disappointed. School had already started. I had been delayed in Tai'an for nearly two months, working on this realistic replica of the Wen Liang Jade Gui. Just when I had finally finished it, the Literati's personality was destroyed.
I had never experienced a battle between personalities. The metaphysics they relied on was probably a form of spiritual suppression. In short, the Literati was gone, along with his individual memories. I say this because I wanted to know the location of the real Wen Liang Jade Gui from the Old Lecher. However, the Old Lecher told me it was the Literati's secret. Although their minds were connected, each personality had ways of protecting its core secrets, and he didn't know where the real Wen Liang Jade Gui was either.
Zhang Si's four personalities maintained a delicate balance. This balance had now been disrupted. I asked the Old Lecher how he survived. The Old Lecher said he didn't need to survive at all. Although the Old Lecher didn't elaborate, I understood his plan: he lured a foreign girl. Using international pressure, he forced the Tai'an police to dedicate all their efforts to investigating the case.
After much deliberation, I told the Old Lecher that I actually knew how to use the Wen Liang Jade Gui and asked him to be patient. I assured him that once I found the real Wen Liang Jade Gui, I could deal with Zhang Si. The Old Lecher didn't listen to me.
…
Upon returning to the hotel, Lin Han and I discussed the matter, and I decided to venture into the tiger's den and find the Old Ghost first. Lin Han rejected my decision, saying, "Tang Nan, if you get caught, do you think you can escape with the Old Ghost?"
"No, but I have to try. If they catch me, I'll leave you clues, and you call the police."
"What if something goes wrong?" Lin Han asked me seriously, her face stern.
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"Then you pack your bags and leave Tai'an quickly. From now on, don't get involved in these kinds of things..."
Before I could finish, Lin Han hit my arm hard, causing a sharp pain. I looked at her pitifully, and she said, "I won't allow you to die. I still want to be your wife."
"Our plan has been interrupted. If we have to start over, I fear the Old Ghost can't hold on for much longer. The photo Zhang Si showed me last time was taken a long time ago. The Old Ghost has lost a lot of weight. With another two months gone by, he's likely in dire straits. If we delay for a few more months, all that will be rescued is his corpse."
Lin Han listened to my analysis, pursed her lips, and after I finished, she looked at me very seriously: "I'll be the stone cast to test the waters."
"You, no!"
"For you, I will go, and I believe in you. You will definitely be able to save me."
I pondered that if this was the final battle, it might be worth a try. However, I felt uneasy about letting Lin Han take such a risk. So, I told Lin Han, "They won't lay a hand on you, and I won't let you take risks. Let's make a long-term plan. Don't worry, the Old Lecher has another plan. As long as we help him complete it, we can still send Zhang Si to eternal damnation."
I had guessed that the Old Lecher intended to commit a murder and confess. I had also mentioned this to Lin Han. Hearing me say it, Lin Han nodded.
…
The next day, I went to follow the Old Lecher. He spent the entire afternoon in an internet cafe. When I returned, I saw Lin Han's excited expression. She was holding a bottle of mosquito repellent.
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"It's winter, why do you need mosquito repellent?"
"I found the national treasury."
Yes, finding the museum's national warehouse using mosquito repellent was not my idea. Frankly, it was Lin Han's professional knowledge. She forbade me from being an accomplice and helping the Old Lecher kill foreigners, taking charge herself so the enemy would realize her dangerousness. It was a done deal. After dinner, I first scouted the national treasury area. Exchanging the fake Wen Liang Jade Gui for the real one was not an easy task.
When I returned, Lin Han had been captured. At the scene, there was a torn fragment of a sheepskin diary and a sticky note left by Lin Han with her imprint. The sticky note had been torn off, but Lin Han had written with considerable force, leaving an imprint on the blank page below. She had been captured by Innkeeper Tong, and it didn't seem urgent. Why had it been torn off? This was my room!
I speculated that there was still another person in this room.
Who was this person?
Based on the clues at the time, I deduced that someone had entered my room and was looking at the sheepskin notebook I had kept with me for the past two months. At this point, Lin Han, who had my room card, also came to my room. Lin Han's purpose in coming to my room was to tell me that Innkeeper Tong was the one who captured her. She didn't have time to linger and left in a hurry, failing to notice that someone was in my room.
After Lin Han left, this person also left in haste, tearing off the clue Lin Han had left for me.
As for why the fragment of the notebook fell into the corner? I still don't know. If my deduction is correct, perhaps they left some trace. I searched carefully and found a magnetic clasp under the bed. I tested it with the magnetic clasp and, sure enough, it could open my room's lock. I took the magnetic clasp to a professional. The professional said that a magnetic clasp might not open every lock and that, to avoid the trouble of carrying keys, the owner likely wrote the magnetic clasp into different mainframes. Hearing this, I kept the magnetic clasp, thinking that if I accidentally opened a lock with it someday, I would know who the person hiding in my room was.
…
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After that, I didn't follow up on this lead. Lin Han had been captured, and I was anxious, wanting to rescue Lin Han and the Old Ghost together as soon as possible. For several days, I tracked Innkeeper Tong. During this time, I found nothing. Innkeeper Tong's life revolved around his home and the "Jianghu Style" bar. At that time, I still didn't know that there was a dungeon inside the bar. After days of not finding Lin Han, I became anxious. I started to regret telling Lin Han the entire plan, which led to her disappearance as well.
…
At that time, there were no clues from Innkeeper Tong's side, and I began to doubt myself. I felt I was being monitored at the hotel, so I checked out and lied, saying Lin Han had returned to Xi'an. I went into hiding, but the Cook found me. He told me that the Old Lecher's personality had also been destroyed by the main personality. With both personalities destroyed, the Cook's personality also panicked and begged me for help. He claimed that he had lived with the Literati for many years and, like the Literati, possessed the ability to defeat the main personality using the Wen Liang Jade Gui.
At that time, I was suspicious of the Cook. But what choice did I have? Unable to find Lin Han and the Old Ghost, I was too anxious. Finding the real Wen Liang Jade Gui might be another way to defeat Zhang Si.
Desperate, I spent a week buying listening devices, bribing staff to lure people away, and using tape to block the door lock, I substituted the real Wen Liang Jade Gui for the fake one. I didn't give the Wen Liang Jade Gui to the Cook. Instead, I asked him to tell me some secrets in exchange for my trust. The Cook betrayed the main personality's two henchmen. He provided their contact information, the location of the dungeon, and the method of entry.
At that time, I was overjoyed and promised the Cook that once I successfully gathered evidence, I would give him the Wen Liang Jade Gui. In reality, I didn't do that. I spent a week making a meticulous plan. During this time, I used the magnetic clasp left in my room to open Boss Wan's cabinet. I stole Jessica's fake bag, which contained a Swiss Army knife proving Zhang Si's murder, a Peppa Pig pen proving the victim's identity, and Boss Wan's mission battery. During that period, my two keys had not yet been duplicated, but fearing Lin Han might be in danger, I secretly visited a few times.
From outside the dungeon, no sounds could be heard from within, and the lock couldn't be opened. The only discovery I made was finding two long strands of women's hair at the entrance. That hair didn't match Lin Han's hair color, which made me uneasy. I used the magnetic clasp to open Boss Wan's cabinet, guessing that Boss Wan was the person who infiltrated the room, but I quickly dismissed the idea. I didn't think Boss Wan had the capability.
"Could it be that a woman entered my room?"