BPIFC -Volume 1 – Chapter 182 Twenty Years Ago

Sun Desheng slammed on the accelerator, and the car sped down the highway.

About an hour later, they returned to that filthy little room.

When Sun Desheng opened the door, a white-haired man was standing by the window. He turned and nodded at the two of them.

“Big Saint, didn’t we agree to meet here? I arrived last night and waited for you two the whole night. I was worried you were off handling some big operation again, so I didn’t even dare call…”

The newcomer was the second of the trio, Shen La. He looked at them helplessly and continued, “Alright, as long as nothing’s wrong. So? Did you complete what Director Wu assigned?”

Sun Desheng glanced at him and smiled. “Why are you in such a hurry, La Zi? You didn’t come alone this time, did you? You brought Xiao Zhao, right? Not bad—you even brought your girlfriend on a trip. Where is she? Did you two stay here together last night? La Zi, I’m telling you, you’re getting corrupted…”

“Xiao Zhao stayed at the hotel last night. I came alone,” Shen La quickly waved his hands. “Big Saint, don’t go spreading nonsense. It’s fine for me, but Zhao is an innocent girl. She can’t take that kind of rumor. We’re perfectly proper—we didn’t do anything.”

“You didn’t do anything?” Sun Desheng looked disappointed. “I thought you’d already done everything that needed doing. When did you become so old-fashioned? I was even planning for you to get married and have a son’s full-month celebration at the same time.”

“Alright, fatty, enough,” Che Qianzi interrupted. “Why are you so excited about whether La Zi’s girlfriend is innocent or not?”

He turned to Shen La and said, “Too bad you came late. If you had come a day earlier, you could’ve had a free meal—and maybe even taken some gold home. La Zi, when you get married, I’ll give you two gold ingots as a gift.”

Shen La didn’t quite understand what he meant, so Sun Desheng briefly explained. Only then did Shen La realize that the young Taoist had gotten unbelievably lucky—he had not only eaten a free meal but also brought back several suitcases of gold ingots.

After hearing this, Shen La asked, “So what about the task Director Wu assigned? How did it go? Big Saint, you were there—it should’ve been fine, right?”

Sun Desheng sighed. “It didn’t work. It’s been almost twenty years. Unless we find that little American guy, no one can go back to the past to see who owned that button. La Zi, just treat this trip to Hangzhou as a vacation. I’ll take you and Old Three around for a bit, then we’ll head back to Beiping.”

Seeing Sun Desheng acting so unusual, Shen La—who knew him well—immediately sensed something was off. The white-haired man gave a strange smile.

“Big Saint, tell me the truth. Did you find something? We’ve worked together for almost ten years. Every time you speak like this, it means you already have a plan. We’re not outsiders—just tell us.”

“This time it really won’t work,” Sun Desheng said with a bitter smile. “The waters here are too deep—even I can’t handle it.”

He looked around the shabby room and continued, “All I know is about this place. Back then, Director Wu must have lost his white-haired ability for some reason and was being hunted. He hid here for a while…”

Suddenly hearing this, Che Qianzi widened his eyes. “Fatty, how do you know all this? Did they send over the twenty-year-old surveillance materials after I left yesterday?”

“No, those records are still in storage,” Sun Desheng said with a faint smile. “After you left, I went around asking some elderly locals. Some of them remembered that around twenty years ago, people were walking around with a photo, asking about someone. It’s too long ago—no one remembers the name—but I found this…”

He pulled out a photograph.

It showed a family of three resting outside. In the background, several black-clad men were holding a photo and asking around. The angle was bad, and the face in the photo couldn’t be seen clearly.

Then Sun Desheng produced a second photo: a magnified, clarified version.

It was the same image—but now the photo the black-clad men were holding was clearly visible.

A black-haired Wu Rendi.

In the image, above the heads of the searching men, inside a room, a shadowy figure stood behind a window, coldly watching them.

Sun Desheng then produced a third photo: a clearer version of the window scene.

The figure at the window was unmistakably the black-haired Wu Rendi.

Behind him… there was another person standing.

But this was the limit of the image enhancement.

“This is the clearest it can get,” Sun Desheng said helplessly. “The person behind him can’t be resolved anymore. I can only infer everything from these photos.”

He put the pictures away and continued, “My deduction is that Director Wu was in a weakened state back then—his white hair reverted. He couldn’t stay at the bureau, so he fled to Hangzhou, thinking he could recover in peace. But he was still found by enemies.”

“Fortunately, he had an acquaintance in Hangzhou—Jiao Dalang. With his help, Director Wu hid here. He stayed in this room until his white hair returned. During that time, there must have been another person with him…”

“That’s as far as I can deduce. The rest depends on Director Wu providing more clues. Otherwise, it’s impossible to investigate further.”

Che Qianzi said, “Fatty, no need to be modest. You’re the only one who can extract clues like this from photos within photos. If it were me, I’d already be on my way back to Beiping, waiting to be beaten to death by Director Wu.”

While speaking, he took the last photo from Sun Desheng.

At first glance, his brows immediately furrowed.

He turned it in different angles, but the more he looked, the more uneasy he felt.

The shadow behind the window… looked very much like his own master—

Kong Dalong.

That old man… had connections with Wu Rendi?

Impossible. He must be mistaken.

He couldn’t say anything.

Anything involving Kong Dalong—he didn’t dare speak carelessly. One wrong word and that old man might get dragged into trouble.

Sun Desheng noticed his reaction and patted him on the shoulder with a smile.

“Brother, don’t overthink it. I already studied that photo for half the night before going to the Jiang family yesterday. I couldn’t figure out who it was either. That was before you were even here—so you looking won’t change anything.”

Che Qianzi blinked and forced a laugh. “Yeah, I was just looking randomly anyway. Nothing useful can be seen. You’re right—we should head back soon.”

But before he could finish, Sun Desheng’s phone rang.

He received another photo—this one from twenty years ago.

After glancing at it, he silently handed the phone to Che Qianzi.

On the screen was West Lake in Hangzhou twenty years ago.

A man in his forties stood by the lakeside.

It was Che Qianzi’s master—

Kong Dalong.

Beside him lay a white robe.

And on that robe… was a black jade button.