"Little Dragon, this operation is crucial for our future. You must succeed. As long as we get this money, we can leave and start anew."
"Heh heh, don't worry, Xiao Fang. With our inside and outside cooperation, we'll get the money. Once we have it, I'll take you away from Songzhou City. We won't have to answer to anyone anymore. I'll find someone to engrave the pattern you stole for me, and I'll figure out the lens situation too."
Voices of a man and a woman came from the wireless receiver. The man was the young fellow in front of him, and the woman was likely an employee of the shop.
After listening to their conversation, Lin Xiaotian removed his earphones and smiled at the young man, saying, "I didn't expect you to be so sentimental. I have all the evidence. Be honest, who are you working with?"
"If you confess yourself, perhaps I can give you both a good outcome. If I have to find out myself, neither of you will have an easy time."
"Hmph, there are so many people in your shop, how can you find her? If you have the guts, kill me. I won't reveal her name."
The young man arrogantly turned his head, looking as if he were ready to face martyrdom.
Lin Xiaotian shook his head calmly and sighed, "This is your choice. I'll find her myself later. Don't regret it."
With that, Lin Xiaotian took out a compass from his pocket and pointed it towards the north of the shop. He injected several streams of true qi into the compass, simultaneously channeling the woman's voice from the wireless receiver. The compass needle began to spin wildly.
The shop employees gathered around looked puzzled, except for a woman in the back row, whose heart was filled with fear, terrified of being discovered.
A few seconds later, the compass needle in Lin Xiaotian's palm suddenly stopped, pointing directly at the woman's location!
Lin Xiaotian looked up. In the direction the needle was pointing, there were four men and two women. The woman must be one of those two.
The first was a plump girl, looking lively and very likable, but her expression was normal, her large eyes filled only with curiosity.
The other looked much slimmer and clearly prettier than the plump girl. Her gaze was vacant, and she couldn't meet Lin Xiaotian's eyes.
Lin Xiaotian immediately confirmed that the woman's voice from the wireless receiver belonged to this slender woman!
"Old Zhou, it's her. Get someone to apprehend her immediately."
Lin Xiaotian casually said, and Old Zhou immediately acted, signaling the security guards to rush over and bring the slender woman before Lin Xiaotian.
The woman trembled all over, her head bowed, afraid to look up, as if fearing she might reveal a flaw.
The young man was now also in a panic, not expecting Lin Xiaotian to actually find the person. His confident demeanor vanished instantly.
"Brother, I beg you, don't make things difficult for Xiao Ying. This is all my fault. If you want to punish someone, punish me directly."
The young man became instantly flustered and knelt before Lin Xiaotian with a thud, kowtowing.
Lin Xiaotian observed him for a moment, then looked back at the woman. The woman was also very panicked. Before Lin Xiaotian could speak, she also knelt down and kowtowed several times, saying, "No, it has nothing to do with Brother Rui. It's all my fault."
"Mr. Lin, if you want to punish someone, punish me. This idea was all mine. I instructed him to do it."
"Heh, you two are not afraid of punishment?"
Lin Xiaotian was very curious. These two, one seemingly clever but extremely loyal, the other timid and weak, how could they have conspired to defraud the shop?
"Mr. Lin, Manager Zhou, it's all my fault. I didn't keep a good eye on my subordinates. I will severely punish this little girl. It's all her fault that this happened in the shop."
The shop manager, Hao Jianhong, stepped forward at this moment to admit his mistake and placed all the blame on the female employee.
He turned his head and immediately ordered his subordinates to search her to see if she had any other evidence detrimental to the shop.
He also announced publicly that the female employee was fired, and before she left, everything would be handled according to shop rules and the customs of the antique trade.
For her actions, at least two hands would have to be severed.
After a thorough search by the security guards, no other evidence was found, so leaving it at just the two hands would be sufficient.
The young man looked terrified. Seeing the security guards approach the female employee with knives, he immediately broke free and rushed in front of her, protecting her and saying, "Stop! Punish me instead. Don't hurt Xiao Ying."
"Drag him away and continue."
Old Zhou sternly ordered. The security guards stepped forward and pulled the young man away again. However, this time, Lin Xiaotian suddenly stopped them before they could act: "Old Zhou, wait a moment."
"What is it, Mr. Lin?" Old Zhou turned back and asked curiously.
"Although the fault lies with these two, I suspect there might be more to the story. Why don't we give them a chance to tell the truth?"
Lin Xiaotian smiled calmly and turned to the young man, asking, "This is your only chance to tell the truth. You're a smart person, you should know what to do."
"You two conspired to defraud the antique shop. What's the reason behind it? It can't just be for a better life, right?"
"We..."
The young man and Xiao Ying exchanged glances. A flash of anger suddenly appeared in their eyes. He clenched his fists and said fiercely, "Yes, we were forced to cheat for money. If I hadn't taken Xiao Ying and run, we would have been hunted down by the Duan family."
"The Duan family is powerful. We two could never stand against them. But we have no money, so we decided to take a sum from your shop and escape with it."
"The Duan family? Why are they hunting you?" Lin Xiaotian asked curiously.
"Because we accidentally learned a secret of their family. I was originally a servant of the Duan family, but one day, I accidentally saw people from the Duan family in contact with people from Ciyun Pavilion, and they were discussing something important."
"As I listened intently, I was suddenly discovered by people from the Duan family, and they intended to kill me. After I narrowly escaped the Duan family, I had nowhere to go, so I had to find Xiao Ying. She is my girlfriend and couldn't bear to see me hunted down. So, we planned this scheme together. Once we got the money, we would leave Songzhou City forever and never return."
After the young man finished speaking, everyone in the shop fell silent.
Lin Xiaotian stroked his chin in thought. It seemed his guess was correct; these two had faced hardships that led them to do this.
But what was the connection between the Duan family and Ciyun Pavilion that he mentioned?
Could this matter be related to Duan Feiyun?
"I see. You two are indeed a pair of ill-fated lovers. I, Lin Xiaotian, have always been soft-hearted. Since you've confessed truthfully, I'll let you off the hook."
After a moment of thought, Lin Xiaotian suddenly smiled and said, "However, there is one condition if you wish to leave."