Chapter 31: My Son! Your Heart Is Not at Peace!

Li Haibo walked over with calm composure, bent down, and picked up the exquisitely crafted revolver. A glimmer of pleasant surprise flashed in his eyes. "Whoa, a Colt made in America. This is truly beautiful; I shall accept it with pleasure."

While toying with the pistol, he glanced up and noticed the safe in the corner. A sudden realization dawned on him. "So that’s why the old man insisted on keeping three bodyguards every time he went out—he was protecting his wealth. Since that's the case, I’ll take it all. I, Officer Li, love safes the most!"

With those words, Li Haibo immediately launched into a frantic looting spree.

First, he swept the wardrobe clean, stuffing all the high-end clothes, shoes, and hats into his storage space. Next, he cleared the desk of its diverse collection of books, fountain pens, documents, letters, and various delicate ornaments and trinkets.

There was also an imported camera on the desk. Li Haibo grabbed it, snapped two close-up shots of the late Wu Yi, and thought, *This camera is a beauty—taking it too!*

Having scoured the upstairs, he hurried back downstairs to continue the pillaging, not even sparing the firewood and rice in the kitchen.

Just as he finished and prepared to leave, a "thud" echoed from the courtyard—someone had scaled the wall.

It was Ma Quanyi. Ever since he had pulled the power switch, he had been pacing outside like an ant on a hot pan. Unable to suppress his anxiety any longer, he had climbed over the wall to see what was happening.

"Little Ma!" Li Haibo whispered.

"Brother Bo, how did it go?" Ma Quanyi asked urgently.

"It's done. Let's go!" Li Haibo led Ma Quanyi, who had just jumped over the wall, straight to the front gate and walked out.

Li Haibo glanced at his watch—it was only half-past eight. It was still early, so the two went their separate ways, disappearing into the night.

Li Haibo returned home on tiptoe. As soon as he stepped into the main room, he was startled by his mother, who was sitting in front of the family shrine.

At that moment, his mother sat like a statue, her figure cast in a quiet, indescribable serenity by the dim light.

"Mother, why aren't you asleep yet at this hour?" Li Haibo asked cautiously.

His mother did not reply; she simply stared at her son with a gaze as piercing as a torch, unmoving. Li Haibo felt a chill run down his spine.

After a long silence, his mother finally spoke slowly: "Son! Your heart is not at peace!"

"Ah!"

"Come here and chant the sutras with me!"

"Oh... this!"

"Come, chant the Heart Sutra! I will say a line, and you repeat it!"

"No need, no need, I know it!" Li Haibo sat down obediently. "Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva, while practicing deeply the Prajnaparamita, perceived that all five skandhas are empty, and was saved from all suffering and distress. Shariputra, form does not differ from emptiness, emptiness does not differ from form. Form is emptiness, emptiness is form; feelings, perceptions, volitions, and consciousness are also like this..."

*Hmm, my heart is calm now.*

Having finally placated his mother, Li Haibo hurried back to his room. He couldn't wait to retrieve the safe he had taken from Wu Yi from his storage space.

Thinking that he had gained experience from opening Huang San's safe previously, he figured this time would go much smoother. Without further ado, he threw himself into the task of cracking the safe.

Time ticked away. Although he was significantly faster than last time, it still took an hour before a faint "click" signaled the safe had been successfully opened.

Li Haibo let out a long sigh of relief, muttering to himself, "Still not professional enough. It's fortunate that I stole this safe to tinker with at leisure; if I had tried to crack it on the spot, I would never have had the luxury of time to study it, and I surely would have been discovered."

With a heart full of nervous excitement, he slowly pushed the door of the safe open. Instantly, a dazzling golden glow hit him, making his eyes swim.

Inside the safe, gold bars were stacked neatly, shimmering with a mesmerizing luster in the dim light.

Li Haibo was so excited he nearly jumped. He marveled to himself, "What a massive fortune! I never expected that the traitor Wu Yi would carry so many gold bars just to buy an official position in Shanghai."

He had never seen such a vast quantity of gold before. These gleaming, golden metal bars seemed like the most beautiful things in the world to him.

He couldn't help but reach out and gently stroke these "adorable treasures." Afterward, he piled all the gold bars onto his bed, threw himself onto the heap, and fell into a deeply satisfied slumber.

The next morning, as the first rays of sunlight hit his face, Li Haibo woke up languidly. He quickly got up, efficiently stowed away all the gold bars, and headed to work in high spirits.

At the police station, Li Haibo went through the routine of collecting his gun and beginning his patrol. Then, he met up with Fatty Liu in the small park.

After briefly recounting last night's events to Fatty Liu, he took out the film from the camera and handed it to him.

Naturally, he omitted any mention of Ma Quanyi and the safe.

Fatty Liu listened intently, his face showing a mix of surprise and approval.

After finishing, Li Haibo happily accepted the reward of five hundred ocean dollars from Fatty Liu. The reward hadn't been skimmed this time; Fatty Liu was truly a good man.

...

Meanwhile, at Wu Yi's villa, the atmosphere was exceptionally tense.

Japanese military police were swarming in and out like a tide.

As it turned out, the person who reported the crime was the maid who came to cook at the Wu residence.

When she arrived for work that morning and pushed open the gate, the scene before her left her terrified—two corpses were lying in the courtyard.

The maid was so frightened her legs went weak. Daring not to take another step into the yard, she immediately ran off to report the crime, wailing all the way.

When the criminal police from the Zhabei branch arrived and saw the address was Wu Yi's house—a traitor!—they immediately concluded it must be the work of anti-Japanese elements.

Without even entering to investigate, they quickly escalated the matter to the military police headquarters.

Second Lieutenant Koizumi Muraichiro looked at the empty villa with a headache.

Second Lieutenant Yamamoto Qianliu walked over and asked, "Koizumi-kun, how is the crime scene investigation going?"

Second Lieutenant Koizumi Muraichiro shook his head. "The scene has been devastated. These soldiers are truly excessive; this time they didn't even spare the seasonings in the kitchen!"

Second Lieutenant Yamamoto Qianliu was stunned. If Li Haibo were here, he would have died laughing.

It was no wonder they were mistaken; they had walked in just as a few Japanese soldiers were walking out clutching table lamps and ashtrays!

If they were going to take the ashtrays, it was only natural they'd take the seasonings, too.

Second Lieutenant Yamamoto Qianliu patted Koizumi's shoulder. "Get used to it. Tell me, what have you found?"

Koizumi Muraichiro looked up slightly and spoke slowly, "Yamamoto-kun, do you remember that Military Statistics Bureau mole who surrendered to the Imperial Army a while back?"