novelraw Chapter 0060 – The guqin was stolen
Chapter 0060 – The guqin was stolen
After school in the afternoon, Jiang Feng was driving Cheng Shaoqing home when his phone rang.
It was a call from Chu Qingqing.
Jiang Feng answered, "Hello, Chu Qingqing, what made you think of calling me?"
"Did you forget? You promised to help my grandfather repair the Nine Heavens Pendant Zither after school today," Chu Qingqing's sweet voice reminded him.
Jiang Feng suddenly remembered, "Oh right, I almost forgot. My apologies."
"Where are you now? Let's go together," Chu Qingqing suggested.
"I'm right at the school gate. Come over," Jiang Feng replied.
"Okay, wait for me a bit," Chu Qingqing said.
After hanging up, Cheng Shaoqing asked, "Do you have something to do?"
"Yeah, just a small matter," Jiang Feng replied.
"If you have something to do, you should go ahead. I can go back by myself," Cheng Shaoqing said.
"No need, let's go together. It won't take long," Jiang Feng insisted.
"Is that really okay?" Cheng Shaoqing hesitated.
"Just trust me," Jiang Feng reassured her.
"Alright," Cheng Shaoqing nodded obediently.
Soon, Chu Qingqing arrived.
Jiang Feng had his own car, so it was convenient. He drove both girls to Chu Tianxiong's residence.
Originally, Chu Qingqing had a private car to pick her up, but to make it easier for Jiang Feng, she dismissed her driver and chose to ride with him.
Cheng Shaoqing and Chu Qingqing knew each other, as they were both among the four school beauties of Meilong Middle School, but they weren't very familiar. After a brief greeting, they fell silent.
The atmosphere in the car was a bit awkward with the two girls sitting together. Cheng Shaoqing hadn't expected the call to be from Chu Qingqing. If she had known, she wouldn't have come along.
Chu Qingqing also thought to herself, "Jiang Feng really doesn't understand that two tigers can't share one mountain. Having us both here, of course, we won't talk."
If she had known, she wouldn't have dismissed her driver and would have gone home first.
Both girls were lost in their thoughts, staring out the window, making the atmosphere even more awkward.
Jiang Feng noticed this but didn't know what to say, so he remained silent.
Fortunately, the destination wasn't far, and they soon arrived.
Getting out of the car, Jiang Feng saw a large mansion with a European style, lush greenery, and a very comfortable ambiance.
Chu Tianxiong was pacing anxiously in front of the mansion.
Seeing Jiang Feng and the others arrive, he hurried over and said, "Something terrible has happened."
"What is it, Grandpa? Take your time," Chu Qingqing said.
"My Nine Heavens Pendant Zither is missing," Chu Tianxiong said, distressed.
"Missing? How could that be? Did you misplace it?" Jiang Feng asked.
"No, I placed it myself. I knew you were coming, so I took it out to prepare for your visit, but now it's gone," Chu Tianxiong explained.
Jiang Feng sensed the gravity of the situation, "Let's go and take a look."
"Follow me," Chu Tianxiong led them to the scene.
It was a study where Chu Tianxiong kept his antiques, with top-notch security and surveillance cameras. It shouldn't have been possible for anyone to steal it.
Chu Tianxiong pointed to a new long box on the shelf, "I had this box specially made to protect the Nine Heavens Pendant Zither. I placed it inside."
"I take it out to admire every day, but today, when I went to look, it was gone."
Jiang Feng examined the box closely but found no clues. It was indeed strange.
"I've checked it myself. Apart from my fingerprints, there are no other fingerprints," Chu Tianxiong added.
"Don't you have surveillance? Let's check the footage," Jiang Feng suggested.
"I've already checked. No one came in. I reviewed all the footage from today, and the zither just vanished," Chu Tianxiong said, bewildered.
"Is that so?" Jiang Feng was even more puzzled, "Let me take a look."
"Alright," Chu Tianxiong called someone to retrieve the footage for Jiang Feng.
Jiang Feng watched the footage carefully, and as Chu Tianxiong said, there was nothing unusual, not even a fly.
Such a bizarre phenomenon made Jiang Feng even more suspicious. An item couldn't just disappear unless there was some supernatural interference.
Or perhaps something extremely mysterious was at play.
Jiang Feng didn't believe in such things and watched the footage again meticulously.
Suddenly, he noticed something unusual.
"Stop, fast forward a bit, yes, here, pause," Jiang Feng instructed.
On the paused screen, there was a faint, blurry mark, almost like a glitch on a computer screen.
More intriguingly, the blurry marks formed semi-transparent threads, resembling spider silk.
In the lower left corner of the screen, there was a small black spot, about the size of a fingernail, in a blind spot, making it hard to see clearly.
The threads seemed to emanate from this black spot.
This black spot was the key.
Jiang Feng noted the time: 3 AM last night.
If the zither was stolen, this could be the time it happened.
"I suspect someone is behind this. I suggest checking all the surveillance footage around 3 AM in the mansion. We might find something," Jiang Feng said.
"Alright, I'll have someone check right away," Chu Tianxiong ordered.
"Let's wait in the living room while we wait for the results," Chu Qingqing suggested.
"All we can do is wait and hope for the best," Chu Tianxiong sighed.
"Don't worry, Grandpa. If worse comes to worst, we can always collect better zithers in the future," Chu Qingqing comforted him.
"Yes, Chu Qingqing is right. I'm here today, and I'll do my best to help you find the zither," Jiang Feng assured.
"Thank you, Jiang Feng," Chu Tianxiong said gratefully.
"No need to thank me," Jiang Feng replied.
It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from "p𝑎wread.com".
"Please, come with me. I just bought some Longjing tea," Chu Tianxiong invited.
They sat in the living room, chatting, but it was clear Chu Tianxiong was still anxious.
Half an hour later, someone reported finding three suspicious spots.
Chu Tianxiong was overjoyed and quickly had the footage retrieved for everyone to see.
The first suspicious spot was at the front gate, where a figure flashed by, but it was so brief, less than a second.
The second spot was in front of the building, where their large guard dog was barking fiercely, as if at a stranger.
The last spot was inside the building, near the study.
This footage didn't show anything directly, but there was a sound.
A clear sound of something falling, like porcelain or metal hitting the ground.
From these observations, Jiang Feng concluded that someone had indeed broken into the mansion.
This person moved stealthily, avoiding the cameras and leaving no valuable clues.
The figure at the gate was likely the intruder approaching.
The barking dog indicated the intruder had entered the yard.
The clear sound could be the intruder accidentally knocking something over.
Combined with the blurry threads found in the study, it was clear that the mansion had been robbed.
"Chu Tianxiong, from the suspicious footage, it's clear someone broke in and stole the Nine Heavens Pendant Zither," Jiang Feng said.
"But only a few of us knew about the zither," Chu Tianxiong said, "The original owner, Liu Quanming, has left Meilong City. He's a businessman, not a thief. It can't be him. That leaves me, Qingqing, and you, Jiang Feng, all of whom can be ruled out."
Chu Tianxiong looked at Jiang Feng, "What about the teacher you brought last time, Ms. Xia?"
"No, you can trust Ms. Xia. She's just a teacher, not someone who would do such a thing," Jiang Feng said.
"Yes, Ms. Xia wouldn't do it," Chu Qingqing agreed.
"Right," Chu Tianxiong pondered, "That leaves Zhang Shengfan, the Daoist. Could he be seeking revenge for losing to you, Jiang Feng, and stole the zither? He's a martial artist with the capability and motive."
"Yes, Zhang Shengfan is indeed suspicious, but it's just speculation. We don't know where he is," Jiang Feng said.
"Then we should find him. He might be the one," Chu Qingqing said.
"I'll have someone look for him," Chu Tianxiong said.
Jiang Feng didn't object. It was their property, and they had the right to suspect anyone.
Zhang Shengfan was indeed suspicious and shouldn't be overlooked.
But Jiang Feng thought of someone else, "You seem to have forgotten someone."
"Who?" Chu Tianxiong thought hard, then his eyes widened, "That mysterious girl who competed with me for the zither. She might be more suspicious than Zhang Shengfan."
"Yes, Le Huadie," Jiang Feng nodded.
"I remember now. Le Huadie was very interested in the zither. She didn't get it because Grandpa outbid her, but I could tell she cared a lot about it," Chu Qingqing said.
"But how could she enter the mansion so easily?" Chu Tianxiong was puzzled.