The gruesome case of six gang members overnight left the police without a single clue.
Three days of investigation yielded no progress, so the case was officially classified as a cold case.
Sure enough, over the next few days, no gang members dared to go to the Nianqiu Boutique to cause trouble.
The deterrent effect of this incident forced them to restrain their arrogance significantly.
Reports of Chinese people being beaten in broad daylight and women being molested also plummeted.
The flamboyant woman who had claimed she would sue him in court soon found a new love, hooking up with another black guy.
When passing by the shop, even if they didn't see Tao Bai there, they didn't dare go in and provoke anyone.
Starting from the third day, Tao Bai and Gui Nianqiu began living directly inside the shop.
After all, for Tao Bai, it didn't matter if he ate or where he slept, as long as he had a place to meditate.
Seven days passed quickly.
The Shen family still hadn't come to trouble the shop.
Did the Shen family not live in the Huaqiao New Village?
Or had they simply not seen the banner?
On the morning of the eighth day, Tao Bai performed the Soul-Merging Technique to share his vision with the Wind-Devouring Bug and scouted the Huaqiao New Village villa complex.
Since this technique consumed a significant amount of spiritual power, Tao Bai persisted for a quarter of an hour without finding anything before recalling the Wind-Devouring Bug.
The Wind-Devouring Bug settled on Gui Nianqiu's shoulder, its form gradually fading from view.
Tao Bai opened the Yin-Yang Umbrella and teleported directly to a pavilion within the villa complex.
He walked a few steps along the cobblestone path and saw a young married woman in silk pajamas walking a dog.
It was a poodle, currently prancing about joyfully—running a few steps, sniffing around, and occasionally lifting a leg to pee.
"Fugui, Fugui... wait for me..."
Note: Fugui (富贵): The dog's name means "Wealth" or "Riches."
The woman makes a pun on "Unleashed/No Whip" (无鞭) sounding like "Boundless/No Limit" (无边).
And Wang Fugui（王富贵） means the King of Fugui.
The woman ran after it, her chest heaving with every step.
"Fugui is right here."
At that moment, her "Fugui" was lying obediently at Tao Bai's feet.
"Why isn't he on a leash?"
Tao Bai asked softly, his tone gentle and without any hint of blame.
"It's called 'Wealth Unleashed'—a play on 'Boundless Wealth.'
But I suppose you wouldn't understand that, would you?"
The young woman had intended to get angry, but the moment she saw Tao Bai's handsome face, her anger dissipated.
"Hehe, I haven't heard that saying before,"
Tao Bai praised with a smile.
" The meaning is quite nice, though."
"Hah, isn't it?"
The woman smiled back, then immediately asked,
"Handsome, did you just move here?"
"Miss, could I ask you about something?"
"Are you trying to ask if I'm single?"
"You're too beautiful to be single, Miss!"
Tao Bai smiled.
"I have a friend, and his surname is Shen. I was wondering if the Shen family still lives here?"
"The Shen family?"
The young married woman stroked her chin, falling into deep thought.
After searching her memory for a moment, her voice rose unconsciously.
"You mean the Shen family that Shen Yuan belongs to?"
"Yes!"
Tao Bai was a bit excited hearing this.
"Do they still live here?"
"They moved ages ago!"
"Where did they move to?"
"Are you really a friend of the Shen family?"
"Of course. I used to be very good classmates with Shen Yuan's daughter, Shen Bing, but I've lost contact with her now."
"Since you were such good classmates, how did you lose contact?"
"It's a long story. Sigh."
"Then make it a short story!"
"It can't be shortened..."
"Then let's find a place to sit down and talk about it slowly."
"So, do you actually know where they moved or not?"
"I do."
"And how do you know?"
"Don't worry about that... I just know. But you, on the other hand—I still don't know if you're really Shen Bing's good classmate."
"What will it take for you to believe me?"
"Back to what I said before: you have to tell me first, how did you lose contact with Shen Bing?"
"Sigh... fine!"
Seeing Tao Bai relent, the woman said, "Then I'll go back and change my clothes first. You and Fugui wait for me here."
Twenty minutes later, the woman had applied light makeup—eyebrows drawn, blush, and lipstick on—and changed into a new outfit.
A white shirt, black blazer, pencil skirt, black stockings, and high heels.
With her perfect curves and a pair of scholarly glasses, the whole look was the quintessential "OL" (Office Lady) attire.
Her high heels made a clack, clack, clack sound against the asphalt road.
"Little handsome, come on out!"
A sweet voice called out.
Before she even arrived, her voice reached him. "I'm ready."
Tao Bai stood up, and the poodle followed him as he walked out of the villa's main gate.
The security guards turned a blind eye to this; they usually only cared about who went in, not who went out.
The woman dropped her dog off at a nearby pet shop, then very naturally took Tao Bai's hand.
Tao Bai's brow furrowed imperceptibly, but upon thinking that he would soon get news of the Shen family, he suppressed the urge to pull his hand away.
"By the way, my name is Jiang Qian. Little handsome, what's your name?"
Holding Tao Bai's arm, the woman was in a delightful mood.
She was actually surnamed Zhang, but every time she had an affair, she gave a different surname.
Tao Bai glanced cautiously at Zhang Qian and carefully gave the name Wang Fugui.
"Pfft!"
That cautious expression, combined with such a comical name, made Zhang Qian clutch her stomach in laughter.
She laughed until tears nearly came out. "For real? You're really called Wang Fugui?"
Tao Bai sighed. "Sigh!"
"Stop sighing. Listen to me, change your name. Your current name seriously clashes with your aura. I really couldn't hold it back just now, I didn't mean to mock you, truly."
Before long, the two arrived at a milk tea shop.
Tao Bai looked at the locked main door with a confused expression.
"Back door," Zhang Qian said calmly.
It turned out this was a milk tea shop she co-owned with her best friend.
She had already called her friend, who said she wouldn't come to open up until 1:00 PM.
Taking out a key, she opened the back door and walked in.
Zhang Qian looked back at Tao Bai's surprised expression and smiled. "Come on in."
"You opened this shop?"
Tao Bai was slightly amazed.
Zhang Qian responded with a smile and a confirming look.
Tao Bai thought nothing more of it and walked straight in.
Zhang Qian locked the back door from the inside, led him up to the second floor, pushed open a room door, and, without a word, dragged and pulled him inside.
She pushed Tao Bai down onto the soft, large bed. Tao Bai asked, "Do you actually know where the Shen family moved to?"
"Of course I know."
Zhang Qian gave a definitive answer. "I slept with their driver. Satisfied?"
"Tell me the location directly!"
Tao Bai was getting agitated.
"Tell you directly?"
Zhang Qian gave a light hmph, speaking disdainfully. "How is that possible?"
"What will it take for you to tell me?"
"That depends on your performance!"
As she spoke, Zhang Qian pounced on Tao Bai.
...
A while later, Tao Bai lit a Zhenlong Shengshi cigarette.
After slowly exhaling a cloud of smoke, he spoke:
"Now, can you tell me where they moved?"
"Nancheng, Chuan Province."
Zhang Qian threw a flirtatious wink at Tao Bai.
"You performed well just now, but if you want to know the more specific address, you'll have to keep up the good work."
"Knowing they are in Nancheng is enough."
As he spoke, Tao Bai summoned an oil-paper umbrella, formed a hand seal, and gave a soft shout: "Shun!"