Chapter 187 - 140: Preparing for the Arrest! Set a Thief to Catch a Thief

There were thieves in the prison.

But theft isn’t considered an especially serious crime, so they’re usually only locked up for a few years.

"There’s a very famous one. He was originally sentenced to death by firing squad, but it seems he handed something over. His sentence was reduced to life, and he’s still locked up."

"In the men’s maximum-security ward."

"Xiao Sun used to mention him to us all the time."

the woman said matter-of-factly.

Xu Huo and Li Jianye were surprised to hear this and exchanged a look.

’A thief on death row?’

As the woman had said, theft wasn’t a serious crime, so they usually only got a few years.

Only if it led to a death, like an accidental killing during a robbery, would a death sentence be possible.

’Then this guy...’

Xu Huo dismissed the three people before him, then looked at the guard escorting them.

"Who is this person?"

"The Thief King."

the prison guard said without a second thought.

He was a one-of-a-kind character in the entire prison; basically everyone had heard of him.

"The Thief King?"

Li Jianye was taken aback, not quite understanding.

"What makes him a ’king’ of thieves?"

"He was the grandmaster of all thieves in the country. He even convened a national thieves’ convention once!"

"Twenty years ago, he single-handedly stole several hundred thousand..."

"The police, at their wits’ end, finally managed to capture him..."

the guard explained with a sigh.

"He’s also the only thief in our prison held in the maximum-security ward for something other than murder."

"He was originally sentenced to death, but his sentence was reduced because he turned over a national treasure that had been lost abroad."

"The man is a master of numerous thieving techniques and all sorts of lock-picking skills. He gets special treatment here in the maximum-security ward."

"We’re afraid he’ll break out."

Li Jianye was practically buzzing with excitement.

He whipped his head around to look at Xu Huo.

Xu Huo spoke up. "Can we have him brought over?"

The guard thought for a moment, made a brief call to his superior, and then nodded.

He led Xu Huo to another prison block.

「A while later.」

A scruffy-bearded man appeared before them.

The man was a bit unkempt, but his hygiene wasn’t terrible. He seemed unfazed by the surrounding guards, acting nonchalantly. He wasn’t even handcuffed.

However, an anklet was fastened around his leg, containing a location tracker.

He wasn’t tall—about five-foot-three—and was approaching seventy. His frame was gaunt, his face utterly unremarkable.

He now sat on a chair across from them in the interrogation room.

"Do you know Sun Jiang?"

Xu Huo asked, looking him straight in the eye.

"Sun Jiang?"

The Thief King, Huang Song, paused for a moment, then chuckled.

Clearly, Sun Jiang had left a strong impression on him.

"That kid? The one who was a born thief?"

"Did you teach him?"

Li Jianye asked coldly.

"Me teach him?"

Huang Song shook his head firmly, muttering curses. "That kid is way better than I ever was."

"He learned my techniques after watching this old man just a couple of times. The kid’s a natural... no, it’s more like the craft itself is chasing him down, begging him to learn!"

Li Jianye was stunned.

’Just by watching a few times?’

In a daze, Li Jianye’s heart sank as he glanced around the prison.

’There are countless people locked up here...’

"Did anyone else teach him?!"

Xu Huo asked in a low voice.

"Who else would teach him?"

Huang Song shook his head.

"Some of those con artists who use stage magic to scam people would mess with him..."

"There was a psycho who’d studied medicine, too. Acted like a madman, showing the kid anatomical charts of the human body."

"And also..."

The more Li Jianye listened, the more his heart chilled and his spirits sank.

"Did you teach him or not?"

Xu Huo suddenly asked again.

Huang Song paused, then gave a sly grin.

"Hey, we’re all in prison. You’re lucky just to survive. It’s not like you’re getting out."

He didn’t answer the question.

"Was there anyone else?!"

Xu Huo pressed.

Huang Song shook his head, muttering:

"That Turtle Master who got the death penalty, the head honcho of Haiyun Province."

"The Gambling Chief who ran a casino, the seduction party, and a few guys who taught body conditioning..."

Li Jianye’s expression turned grim.

"Speak plainly! This is a prison!"

"Organizing prostitution, that’s a Turtle Master. A Madam is the woman, the Turtle Master is the man. A Gambling Chief is a casino boss. The seduction party are scammers who use sex to lure people. The rest are the Black Society types."

Huang Song repeated himself.

This time, Li Jianye fell silent.

According to Huang Song, Sun Jiang was immensely talented.

Besides theft, he also knew Gambling Skill, Deceit, the Eye Concealment Technique...

Li Jianye froze, his mind flashing back to the case in Linlan City.

In the span of a month, while committing murder and carrying out his plans... he had also stolen at least one hundred thousand yuan from a wealthy district, all while managing to cover his tracks...

’If he dedicated himself entirely to Deceit, or to theft, how much could he take?’

’What would happen if he went on a killing spree?’

In a flash, the image of Liu Bo from Zhaozhou surfaced in Li Jianye’s mind.

"We can’t wait any longer. Back to Jiangsan City!"

Xu Huo stood up and said in a heavy tone.

He paused and looked at Huang Song.

"Bring him, too."

"Me?"

Huang Song shook his head. "Take me out? For what?"

"To earn merit!"

Xu Huo said, then looked at the guard behind him.

"Let’s go through the official channels."

"I need to requisition a few..."

"Maximum-security prisoners!"

...

...

「Around two in the afternoon.」

At Linlan City airport, a group of familiar figures appeared.

"How did it go?"

"Did you find anything?!"

Qian Hua, who had been waiting anxiously, saw them and hurried to his feet, asking in a grave voice.

"We found something."

Xu Huo nodded, handing over the file in his hand.

They had gotten Sun Jiang’s file.

The timeline in it was almost identical to what they’d heard from the other criminals.

However, the information in the official file wasn’t as detailed. Compared to an ordinary person’s file, the amount of information was pitifully small.

Regardless, they had at least dug up his information.

And now that they had it, all that was left was to arrest him!

"And who are these people?"

Qian Hua felt a little more at ease, but then he looked past Xu Huo, and his expression turned to confusion.