Chapter 556: The Ancestral Hall’s Doors Shut Tight!

Listening to Guo Qing’s slightly teasing words,

Chen Xiao rolled his eyes speechlessly.

The plan of using attractive men was not something he’d easily allow Xiaoji Knife Man to deploy.

Moreover, this tactic was used so frequently that Chen Xiao was genuinely worried that one day the Knife Man would die young.

Seeing that Chen Xiao was ignoring him, Guo Qing chuckled a couple of times and said no more.

Soon,

Guo Qing drove Chen Xiao to his residence.

Now Guo Qing was very busy, and after dropping off Chen Xiao, he immediately returned to Dragon Cauldron.

Chen Xiao didn’t rush to get involved with Dragon Cauldron’s affairs.

After all, he had been away for a long time and wasn’t familiar with the matters of Dragon Cauldron.

So what he needed to do now was essentially one thing.

Whether it was Dragon Cauldron or Huang Zhao’s request, he needed to take his time to thoroughly review the materials first.

Chen Xiao sat in the study that Guo Qing had specially set aside for him and first opened Zhu Nianying’s file.

The first thing that came into view was an old ID card.

An old generation ID card with a white background and gray picture!

And the second generation ID cards had only started being issued in the past couple of years.

As soon as he picked up the ID card, a thought sprang to Chen Xiao’s mind: since Zhu Nianying’s ID card was there, it meant she probably didn’t intend to leave that night.

If she had intended to leave Shencheng City, the ID card would have been the first thing she’d take.

But since the Huang Family found her ID, it meant those things were probably left at her residence then.

After memorizing Zhu Nianying’s identity information, Chen Xiao began to check the street map from back then.

Why did Chen Xiao want Huang Zhao to find this information?

It’s because the times have developed so rapidly.

Even for a period of six or seven months, changes could be significant, let alone six or seven years.

So Chen Xiao wanted to remember the appearance of the streets back then, and only then could he attempt to simulate what Zhu Nianying experienced the night she disappeared.

After looking at the street map and memorizing it firmly in his mind, Chen Xiao started reviewing Zhu Nianying’s family information.

When Zhu Nianying came to Shencheng City, her parents were alive, and she had an older brother, two sisters, and a younger brother.

But her older brother had committed a serious crime and had been executed long ago.

And Zhu Nianying’s two sisters had already married young before she came to Shencheng City.

Both sisters had not married well, either marrying men much older than themselves or men with physical disabilities.

Such information undoubtedly told Chen Xiao that,

Zhu Nianying’s original family was not just bad for her but extremely terrible.

It also reminded Chen Xiao of a previous murder case in Shencheng City involving a victim named Xue Xiangdi.

Her original family was also in a complete mess.

But Zhu Nianying was somewhat luckier than Xue Xiangdi, as Xue Xiangdi continued to encounter scum after entering society.

If she had met a good person, she might not have been killed under Jiang Anguang’s suspicion of eating Duoduo.

And after meeting Huang Zhao, Zhu Nianying not only escaped hunger but also acquired a vast knowledge of traditional Chinese medicine.

Unfortunately, the ultimate outcomes for both seemed still the same.

Although Zhu Nianying’s fate remains uncertain at the moment.

Chen Xiao continued to examine the materials.

After getting a general understanding of everything about Zhu Nianying, Chen Xiao set the materials aside and stopped thinking about anything related to Zhu Nianying.

Chen Xiao took out the plans Guo Qing had left for him about Dragon Cauldron and its recent plans to infiltrate Li Hai.

Looking at the detailed steps listed by Guo Qing, Chen Xiao immediately understood what Guo Zhengchang meant when he said, "Guo Qing has made great progress."

Guo Qing indeed had some knack for business.

However, the existence of Qingtian Architecture had led many to mistakenly believe that Guo Qing had no other strengths besides some tricks of the underworld.

Chen Xiao began to study Guo Qing’s upcoming business plans more seriously.

Especially regarding the takeover of Li Hai, Chen Xiao could confirm that Guo Qing wanted to fight this battle openly.

The fundamental reason for this battle stemmed from the Qi Family’s unrighteousness in a previous case, attempting to gain benefits during Dragon Cauldron’s crisis.

But ultimately, the Qi Family not only failed to get any benefit but had internal problems instead.

Guo Qing’s tactic was to grasp those problems and use Dragon Cauldron’s and the Guo Family’s immense financial power to pry open Li Hai’s tightly shut gates!

However, Guo Qing’s plan seemed a bit presumptive.

The current Qi Wei has already seized control of the situation in Li Hai, and her only task is to prevent the opponent’s counter-attack.

From this situation alone, Chen Xiao could see that Qi Wei had a significant advantage.

Plus, the Qi Family’s financial resources were not any less than the Guo Family’s.

Therefore, Dragon Cauldron actually had no advantage.

If a choice had to be made between Zhu Nianying and Dragon Cauldron, Chen Xiao had to resolve Dragon Cauldron’s immediate troubles first.

Some actions leave no way back once taken.

Dragon Cauldron’s current ambition to meddle in Li Hai was surely known to the Qi Family by now.

Therefore, even if Dragon Cauldron withdrew at this point, once the Qi Family recovered, there would inevitably be a fierce counterattack.

Thinking of this, Chen Xiao picked up his phone and called the Knife Man.

His purpose in contacting the Knife Man wasn’t to deploy some kind of attractive man strategy again, but to ask if the Knife Man knew more about the Qi Family.

The call connected quickly, and the Knife Man asked,

"Brother, why are you calling me? Is there something you need done?"

"You better take a good rest lately and do nothing! I’m calling to ask if Qi Wei ever talked to you about her family?"

"Uh... Sister Weiwei’s family, yes, she did mention some things."

"If I remember correctly, she has two older brothers, right?"

"Yes, the Qi Family has three siblings in total. Sister Weiwei is the youngest and possibly the only daughter, so she was particularly favored at home and grew up spoiled."

"Then who’s in charge of the Qi Family now?" Chen Xiao asked further.

"The elders are still in charge. Sister Weiwei’s two brothers have been fighting over the inheritance for years, but..."

The Knife Man hesitated, causing Chen Xiao to frown: "But what? Is there something you can’t say?"

"It’s not that I can’t say; it’s just my own feeling. Sister Weiwei seems to show some disdain towards her two brothers when mentioning this. I think Sister Weiwei is also interested in her family’s inheritance."

The Knife Man shared his thoughts.

Chen Xiao listened, his eyes narrowing, sensing some opportunity in this,

But before he could speak further, the Knife Man remembered something else:

"By the way, brother, the Qi Family holds significant power locally. You’re not planning to do something to the Qi Family, are you?"

Chen Xiao did not answer but asked with a smile: "So what did she tell you about the Qi Family’s power?"

"She mentioned quite a few things, the most famous being the Qi Family Ancestral Hall!"

"Qi Family Ancestral Hall?"

"Yes, that hall is located in a prime spot. Later during Shencheng City’s development boom, many places were gradually torn down. But due to the Qi Family, the ancestral hall was forcibly preserved, causing the redevelopment plan at the time to be rerouted!"