The night passed silently, and Qin Yu, still recovering from the exhaustion of climbing Copper Drum Mountain, slept deeply. In a dazed state, he felt someone tapping his body.
"Hey, little brother, wake up! Our stuff has been stolen."
Seeing Qin Yu's lack of response, the person became anxious and lifted his blanket.
"What's going on?"
Feeling a chill, Qin Yu finally woke up and opened his sleepy eyes, only to find a chubby face in front of him. It was the chubby guy, with an expression of anger and urgency on his face.
"What's wrong, little brother? Our luggage has been tampered with. Valuable items are all gone!" The chubby guy complained.
"I didn't have anything valuable in my luggage, just a few changes of clothes," Qin Yu replied calmly. His suitcase contained only clothes, and he carried his money and valuables with him. He had even received a check for one million from Mo Yongxin, but unfortunately, it got wet and became useless when it fell into the river. He didn't have the heart to mention it to Mo Yongxin.
"Little brother, you may not have anything valuable, but my wallet was also stolen. There were fifty thousand yuan in cash!" The chubby guy grumbled.
"You're saying the thief is that woman across from us?" Upon hearing the chubby guy's words, Qin Yu looked towards the opposite bunk. The bunk was empty, with no trace of a woman. The guy in the lower bunk was still there, but unlike the chubby guy, he didn't appear anxious.
"How do you know it was that woman who stole our things?" Qin Yu turned back and asked the chubby guy.
"This compartment is locked from the inside. There's no way an outsider could have entered. And why were the three of us sleeping so soundly? I suspect it was the perfume on that woman," the chubby guy explained.
"I forgot about the lock." Qin Yu slapped his forehead. The sleeper compartment was locked from the inside, so it was impossible for an outsider to enter. They hadn't even opened the door, so it must have been an inside job.
"Little brother, you should check what you've lost. Your suitcase seems to be in a mess," the chubby guy said, smirking. There was a hint of satisfaction on his face. The plain-looking guy hadn't lost anything, so he felt quite unbalanced being the only one targeted by the thief. Seeing Qin Yu's dazed expression, he knew that the other had lost something valuable. It made him feel a bit better.
"Let's report it to the police!"
The Seeker's Compass was extremely precious to Qin Yu. He would rather lose his money than lose the compass. Without hesitation, he called out to the chubby guy and headed towards the train's police office.
"From what you've said, I understand the situation now. But why did the thief only target the two of you and not this gentleman?" The police officer on the train arrived at the compartment where Qin Yu and the others were resting. After recording their statements, he looked up and asked.
"Officer, I think it's because as soon as they saw my appearance, they knew I was a migrant worker with nothing valuable," the plain-looking man explained apologetically.
"You lost fifty thousand yuan in cash. What did you lose?" The police officer glanced at the man for a while and then turned to Qin Yu.
"I lost a compass," Qin Yu replied, and everyone in the room looked at him with puzzled expressions. A young man carrying a compass seemed unbelievable.
"This compass is from the Republican era and has been passed down in my family," Qin Yu reluctantly lied to explain.
"Alright, I've noted down your statements. However, according to the train attendants, that woman got off two stations ago. We have informed the local police station, and they will investigate based on the train station's surveillance footage. We'll inform you if there's any news."
The words of the railway police officer made Qin Yu's heart sink halfway. He knew that the local police station wouldn't really put much effort into catching the thief. Even for local theft cases, they usually just file a report. If they were lucky enough to catch a thief and find stolen items that had been registered, they would notify the reporter to claim them. Otherwise, they would have to consider themselves unlucky.
"This female thief has an interesting style. She only stole from the two of us. This brother's bag wasn't even touched. Could she be a principled thief, robbing the rich to help the poor?" The chubby guy suddenly commented after the railway police officer left. Qin Yu found the statement strange as well. Could the thief really have principles and only steal from wealthy individuals? While the chubby guy could pass as wealthy, Qin Yu doubted he looked the part. Qin Yu glanced at his own clothes, worth only a couple hundred yuan each. They were far from the level of the wealthy.
"I don't know why the thief didn't touch my luggage either. I slept just as soundly as this young brother here. It was you who woke me up, Boss," the plain-looking man spoke up, seeing the skeptical looks from Qin Yu and the chubby guy.
"Ah, let's forget about it. Little brother, your compass from the Republican era isn't worth much either. I lost fifty thousand yuan in cash. Let's just consider it as spending money to admire a beautiful woman, although it was a bit pricey. But that female thief was indeed attractive," the chubby guy patted Qin Yu on the shoulder, trying to comfort him.
"Fifty thousand yuan. With that amount, I couldn't even buy a small part of the compass," Qin Yu sighed, pursing his lips. But now, there was nothing more he could do. The female thief had already gotten off the train, and who knew where she had gone. He couldn't get off the train and chase after her.
After this incident, no one had the mood to sleep anymore. Fortunately, the female thief had only taken his luggage, and his belongings were still intact. Qin Yu closed his eyes and continued pondering over the "Zhu Ge Nei Jing" in his mind.
The study of physiognomy was divided into nine grades, with each grade corresponding to a heavenly realm. This was a scripture that mysteriously appeared in Qin Yu's mind when he broke through to the second realm of physiognomy. The scripture provided a detailed introduction to the realms of physiognomy.
Just like Taoist priests and Buddhist monks, physiognomists also had levels of cultivation. They cultivated their mental power. Once their mental power reached a bottleneck, they had to break through to enter the next grade. The "Zhu Ge Nei Jing" contained many techniques that required a certain grade of mental power to execute. The second grade was considered an entry-level, the third grade was regarded as intermediate, and only after the fourth grade could one truly be called a physiognomist.
However, those who could break through to the fourth grade were extremely rare. It was said that out of a thousand people, only one would achieve it. As for the fifth and sixth grades beyond the fourth grade, they were even more rare. Many feng shui masters spent their whole lives lingering in the second and third grades.
After more than an hour, the plain-looking man also disembarked with his luggage. The train would reach its destination, Guangzhou City, in another hour.
"Anyway, the chubby guy on the lower bunk didn't say anything more. He lay on his bed, lost in thought. At first, Qin Yu thought he was secretly lamenting the loss of fifty thousand yuan, but he soon realized that he was mistaken when he heard the even snoring coming from the lower bunk.
"No wonder he's so fat. His heart is wide, and his body is plump," Qin Yu shook his head and continued studying the Zhu Ge Nei Jing.
..................................................................................................
"Xiaoyu, over here!"
As he pulled his luggage out of the train station, Qin Yu hadn't even had the chance to call his cousin, when a familiar voice came from ahead.
"Cousin," Qin Yu looked up and saw that his cousin was right in front of him. He quickly greeted him.
"You must have been tired on the journey of over ten hours. Come, the room is ready for you. It's in the hotel just outside our construction site. You can take a nap first, and I'll treat you to a good meal at noon," after leaving the train station, the two of them got into Zhang Hua's Honda Accord. Zhang Hua started the car and spoke to Qin Yu.
"I'm not that tired. Let's go to the construction site first," Qin Yu declined, shaking his head. Since his encounter with dragon energy, he had found that his energy levels had improved significantly. Just three hours of sleep would make him feel energetic.
"Don't you need to rest?"
Seeing Qin Yu nod, Zhang Hua didn't insist any further. After all, they were family, and there was no need to be so formal. He drove towards the construction site.
"Xiaoyu, this is the construction site. That building over there is where the workers rest and sleep."
"Not bad, cousin. It's almost like a small apartment building now. Air conditioning and everything," Qin Yu's memory of the construction site was still stuck a few years ago, with a large iron shed housing a bunch of workers.
"Of course. With the improved living standards, we also need to enjoy ourselves," Zhang Hua locked the car door and led Qin Yu towards a room marked as the Project Development Manager's office.
Qin Yu followed closely behind as they entered. There was a potted plant in the center of the room, with two desks on either side. On the left was a round arch-shaped desk with a sign that read "Manager Zhang Hua" in gold letters.
There was no need to guess. It was definitely Zhang Hua's idea to have that sign. It was just like his personality, so flamboyant. Qin Yu's gaze then shifted to the other end. The desk on the right was relatively smaller, but it was neatly arranged with a table full of orchids. The files on the desk were neatly organized and placed on one side of the computer monitor.
"This desk must belong to the accountant, I suppose."
"Yes, but it's Sunday today, so she didn't come to work."
"Cousin, I'm here on a mission from my mom and your mom to keep an eye on this girl. Let me have a look at her," Qin Yu smirked.
"And you have the audacity to say that. After I spoke to you on the phone, my mom immediately called me and kept asking about that girl. She thought you told her everything," Zhang Hua pretended to be angry and questioned Qin Yu.
"Don't blame me. When I called you, my mom was right next to me, and she heard our conversation loud and clear," Qin Yu chuckled mischievously, trying to defend himself.