His first reaction was: he had been discovered!

His heart raced faster.

But Shen Renjie quickly realized that something was wrong.

Even if he had been discovered, it shouldn't be this dead silent, as if--

The whole room was empty.

At this moment, Ling Shu had already quietly circled the master bedroom, and took the opportunity to lift a corner of the curtain to look outside.

It was quiet outside, with the sound of night watchmen in the distance. The air was a bit stuffy, but it wasn't the hottest time yet. It was just an ordinary summer night.

Shen Renjie also became suspicious at this time.

Without Ling Shu's instructions, he went out to explore other rooms.

He looked at two rooms in a row, but there was no one.

He was covered in cold sweat.

Someone who was clearly there during the day disappeared at night.

Mrs. Sun was a weak widow, so where could she run to?

And as for Lu Zude, not only did the adult disappear, but the child as well. In just a few hours, could they have moved their entire family without anyone noticing?

If it wasn't a ghost, then what was it?

Ling Shu emerged from the master bedroom and headed straight for the closet where they had stored their clothes during the day. Although there was no one there, he had already suspected something.

The Sun family couldn't have all gone out, and even if they did, there would have been some movement. The only possibility was that they were still in the room, just in an undiscovered place.

Where could that be?

Shen Renjie watched as Ling Shu bent down and searched the closet for a long time.

Suddenly, Ling Shu paused, and Shen Renjie became even more nervous.

"Did you find something?" he whispered.

Ling Shu nodded, and Shen Renjie became even more anxious. The partition in the wardrobe was not attached to the back wall and was hollow.

Ling Shu was afraid of making noise, so he didn't dare to knock. He just lightly touched it with his finger, and he could feel it.

After exploring for a while, he found that the partition could be pushed open.

In other words, there was indeed a space inside.

Bending down and entering, it could just accommodate one person.

Shen Renjie watched Ling Shu disappear directly into the wardrobe with his eyes wide open.

The other party's movements were very fast. Before Shen Renjie could reach out to pull him, he had already disappeared into the wardrobe.

Should he follow or not?

Shen Renjie thought for a while in confusion, then bent down and stretched his body.

Behind the wardrobe was actually a sloping path.

At first, he could only move down while hunching over, but as he went further back, it became more and more spacious, even able to accommodate two or three people. It was a straight and narrow tunnel with kerosene lamps on both sides, so the visibility wasn't completely pitch black.

Judging from the wick, the lamps had been lit recently.

This meant that there might be someone ahead.

Shen Renjie followed behind Ling Shu, and they didn't have to walk far before they saw an iron door.

The door was locked, but there was a small iron-barred window on it, through which light was visible and and voices could be heard from behind.

Slap, slap, slap.

The sound of a whip striking flesh.

For some reason, Shen Renjie's whole body was covered in goosebumps.

Unable to resist his curiosity, he saw Ling Shu sneakily peering through the window and followed suit, carefully hiding in the shadows so as not to be discovered by the people behind the door.

Then he witnessed a horrifying scene.

A half-naked woman with disheveled hair was lying face down on the ground, her neck chained up.

On the other end of the iron chain, the person pulled in the opposite direction, forcing her to crawl that way while another person occasionally whipping her bare skin. Her body was covered in red marks, bruises, and oozing wounds, even on her neck.

The whip-wielding and chain-pulling individuals showed no mercy, continuously forcing her to crawl around the cramped room. The whip-wielder looked familiar, but in the dim light, Shen Renjie momentarily couldn't recognize them.

However, the half-tall figure pulling the chain made it clear who they were: the maid, Sister Song, and the young master, Lu Zude.

Shen Renjie had been watching them for the past few days from across the street, so he knew who they were. And the person being forced to crawl on the ground?

Shen Renjie quickly covered his mouth in shock!

If he hadn't reacted quickly, he would have been scared out of his wits.

The woman who seemed neither human nor ghost turned out to be Mrs. Sun!

Shen Renjie's imagination was not lacking.

In his years at the police station, he had seen all sorts of things, some of which were so absurd that they could be published in third-rate tabloids.

But everything before him was even more bizarre than anything he had ever seen or heard of.

"Spare me, spare me, I won't do it again, I won't do it again..."

Mrs. Sun's voice echoed behind the door, weak and desolate, with a sense of despair and extreme fear.

"Aren't you capable? You want to run away and resist, is it because you've been treated too well lately and don't know the difference between heaven and earth?"

"I think she's heartless, not shedding a tear even when the coffin is right in front of her. But we don't necessarily need her either. We could just let her die of illness in a few days and avoid any further trouble."

"No, that guy Ling Shu has been keeping a close eye on us these past few days and is already suspicious. He'll definitely come back in a few days, and we'll need this wretched woman to handle him first before we can do anything else."

"I don't understand. Can that Ling guy really be more powerful than Third Master?"

"We're just small fries in front of Third Master, and this is a small matter that we should handle ourselves. We can't always bother him with everything. I've looked into it, and that guy Ling isn't that important, but he has some connections. It's best not to make a big deal out of this and quietly take care of this woman afterwards. We don't want to interfere with Third Master's important affairs."

"You're right." The voice of Lu Zude was still a bit childish, but the maid, Sister Song, obeyed him unquestioningly, obviously considering him as the master.

Shen Renjie felt it was bizarre and terrifying.

Could it be that there were demons and monsters inside that childlike body?

He looked through the small window and could only see Lu Zude's profile, unable to see any of his expressions.

However, those eyes were undoubtedly sinister and cold-blooded, and the iron chain in his hand seemed like a death lock from the underworld.

After exchanging a few words, Sister Song began to torture Mrs. Sun mercilessly with her whip.

Perhaps it was because of the drugs she was given, Mrs. Sun's cries were low, but they made one's heart race.

However, Sister Song and Lu Zude seemed to enjoy it like psychopaths, even laughing and mocking her.

Even someone like Shen Renjie, who was used to seeing torture in the police station, couldn't bear to watch anymore.

At that moment, Ling Shu poked him and took the lead in retreating.

Shen Renjie was afraid that they would make a noise when they left, which would alert the two demons behind them and cause them to catch up. So they tiptoed away, not daring to even breathe loudly.

Although it was just a woman and a child, in Shen Renjie's eyes, they were more terrifying than two adult men.

When the two of them crawled out of the wardrobe and saw the light of day again, Shen Renjie couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

He quickly straightened his clothes, closed the wardrobe, and carefully checked again to make sure that no one would discover that someone had broken in.

"What should we do next? Should we go find Captain Yue?"

Ling Shu didn't say anything, gesturing for them to leave the house first before discussing their next move.

"Old Yue will definitely go find Jiang He to clarify things after receiving my message, but I've never heard of Jiang He being called 'Third Master', so it might not be him behind this."

Finally speaking as they exited the back door of the small house, Ling Shu continued.

Shen Renjie suggested, "Then should we go to the police station to report it?"

Ling Shu replied, "You yourself came from the police station. Do you think they would take on a case like this?"

Shen Renjie knew they wouldn't. Cases involving influential people usually ended up being swept under the rug.

"What do you suggest then?"

Shen Renjie was afraid Ling Shu would rush down without a second thought.

Rescuing someone was one thing, but just looking at Sister Song and Lu Zude, he knew it wasn't that simple. If it involved something bigger, Shen Renjie didn't think he could handle it and wasn't willing to risk his life.

He hoped that Ling Shu would give up and go home, or just go directly to the police station and ask them to rescue Mrs. Sun.

Ling Shu said, "I think Mrs. Sun is just a decoy. From their conversation, they must be hiding something. Judging from the direction under the wardrobe, the secret room should be in the house on the left of the Sun residence. Let's go and take a look."

Shen Renjie: ... Are you still not giving up?

After speaking, Ling Shu walked towards that direction.

After taking a few steps, he found that Shen Renjie was standing still and urged him, "Hurry up and follow me."

Shen Renjie cried with a mournful face, "I need to pee."

He wanted to run away.

Ling Shu chuckled and grabbed him by the back of his collar, redirecting him.

"Old Shen, we are brothers who share weal and woe. You can't desert me at a critical moment."

Shen Renjie felt hopeless.

...

In Shanghai, Jiang He had several houses.

As someone of his status, he couldn't stay in one place for too long, whether it was to show off his status or to avoid being caught. Despite being able to weather any storm, he had his fair share of enemies.

Yue Dingtang had no idea where Jiang He was staying tonight, but he knew how to contact him. With the help of his connections, he quickly called Jiang He, inviting him to meet on the third floor of the Licha Hotel.

This was a famous hotel where many celebrities had stayed before. On weekends, there were various parties and tea gatherings where socialites and gentlemen would gather.

Yue Dingtang had been there once before, but found the gatherings to be quite boring and hadn't returned since. He didn't waste a moment and quickly arrived outside room 305, where he had arranged to meet Jiang He.

As soon as he knocked on the door, it opened from the inside.

Jiang He personally came to open the door, and he was the only one in the room.

"Mr. Jiang, sorry to bother you."

"If you're in such a hurry to find me, there must be something important. I even cancelled a date for this."

Yue Dingtang didn't waste any time with small talk and got straight to the point.

"I heard you took in a godson named Lu Zude?"

Jiang He replied calmly, "Yes, I do have such a godson." He was not surprised at all, indicating that he may have already guessed Yue Dingtang's intentions.

Yue Dingtang asked for guidance, "Please point me in the right direction, Mr. Jiang."

Jiang He smiled, "If I point you in the right direction, what's in it for me?"

He took out a cigarette box, lit one for himself, and handed one to Yue Dingtang.

It was a casual and relaxed atmosphere, as if they were old friends meeting after many years.

He was not in a hurry, but Yue Dingtang couldn't help but feel anxious.

It was all because of Ling Shu.