Chapter 153 Police, make the arrest!

By the way, didn't Sui Yi offend Mr. Yi? To be honest, everyone could clearly see that those two ink sticks—one was absolute trash, and the other was a complete fake!

Old Tang had wanted to speak and stopped himself several times. Lü Haobai, who had managed to cozy up to Old Tang not long ago to establish a connection, now found himself forced to step forward.

The atmosphere was rather awkward.

"Mr. Yi, that ink stick is from my shop..."

Upon hearing this, Old Tang's expression changed instantly. Damn it, you sell garbage like this? Are you trying to ruin my disciple?

Yi Chilian turned his gaze toward Lü Haobai. For some reason, when Lü Haobai met the eyes of this young man who was much younger than himself, a chill ran down his spine, and the words tumbled out of his mouth involuntarily.

"I definitely didn't try to cheat Miss Sui! I actually advised her not to buy so many at the time, since some ancient ink sticks are of rather poor quality and don't work well. But she said that particular ink had a lovely fragrance and she quite liked it."

"A fragrance? Is she picking out soap?" Yi Chilian looked at Sui Yi from a distance of two meters, gazing down at her.

Lü Haobai felt cold sweat beading on his forehead, and Old Tang felt cold sweat beading on his own head as well.

After Yi Chilian once again activated his sharp-tongued mode, Sui Yi merely maintained an indifferent expression...

Before she could say anything, she heard Yi Chilian remark, "Though the fragrance is indeed quite nice... I like it."

The moment the word "like" fell.

Clang!

The closed double doors of the hall were kicked wide open with a violent thud!

The sudden, deafening crash startled many in the room. Before anyone could react, a group of people rushed inside.

"Don't move! Police, nobody move!"

Police officers holding firearms, Yi Chilian holding the ink stick, Sui Yi standing beside him, Old Tang and the others nearby, along with the merchants who had been chatting or trading inside the hall...

All of this froze into a bizarrely silent tableau. The people in the outer exhibition hall had long since gathered and crowded around the entrance. When they saw the people inside clearly... and then looked at the armed figures, everyone thought the same thing:

—Are they filming a movie?

After a long moment, Old Lao's face turned livid. "What is the meaning of this?!"

The man leading the group didn't look like a typical policeman; rather, he appeared refined and scholarly, sporting a thin, trimmed mustache. His cool gaze swept over the people present before he grinned leisurely, slowly pulled a piece of paper from inside his jacket, and slapped it down onto the table with a sharp snap.

His voice rang out clear and crisp.

"We received a tip-off that under the guise of the Literary and Antique Convention, individuals here are openly and collectively selling counterfeit goods, with strong suspicions of private smuggling and money laundering! This is an arrest warrant... All of you bosses are welcome to take a look."

The man spoke with a logical air, his tone rising and falling with dramatic cadence. Coupled with that official-looking arrest warrant, it instantly stunned many of the merchants in the room.

Ordinary citizens do not fight against officials, and neither do businessmen.

Consequently, a wave of restless agitation rippled through the crowd.

The expressions on Old Tang and the others couldn't possibly have been darker. What the hell—first, someone from the provincial Li family came to stir up trouble, and now they were entangled in a scandal involving counterfeit goods. One could easily imagine that if word of this got out, the consequences would be far more severe than the previous provocation by the Li family. Not only would this year's Literary and Antique Convention be ruined, but the reputations they had spent a lifetime building would be completely destroyed overnight!

Suppressing his rising anger, Old Tang said coldly, "No one here is selling counterfeiting goods, nor is anyone laundering black money. Mister, you had better not talk nonsense!"

"Whether it's nonsense isn't up to you to decide. We'll only know after we take you back for an investigation," the man sneered.

"May I ask who you are? And who exactly are you arresting?" Old Lao had managed to steady his expression by now. After all, he did possess a certain backing. The initial panic hadn't been caused by fear of these men, but rather out of anxiety for Yi Chilian's presence here.

"Who?" The man's gaze locked onto Yi Chilian, who was holding the ink stick, and then shifted to Sui Yi standing beside him. Matching them against a certain photograph in his mind, he narrowed his eyes.

"Isn't it obvious enough! It's these two, Sui Yi, right? Come on, take them away!"

Sui Yi truly felt that these successive dramatic turns were unfolding a bit too fast. First, it was those thugs resembling bandits and kidnappers, and now it was the police...

The police?

Sui Yi pushed the chair behind her back, straightened her posture, and looked toward the man. "You gentlemen don't appear to be local police from Nanxun. May I ask where you are from? ...Have you filed a report with the local authorities in Nanxun? Logically speaking, a mere whistleblowing case shouldn't warrant alarming out-of-town police... Could it be that this tip-off itself involves crimes committed elsewhere? However, I haven't left town to visit other places for several years..."

Pausing for a moment, Sui Yi leaned back against the table, resting her palm on its surface while her fingers lightly traced the rim of her teacup.

"The only time was when I stayed in the provincial capital around the age of six or seven. What? Is someone reporting that my six-year-old self was engaged in smuggling?"

Her tone was cool, collected, and calm, yet it concealed a razor-sharp edge!

Old Tang and the others remained silent.

Perhaps they were overawed by the sheer aura Sui Yi naturally exuded, or perhaps... they simply couldn't find a more incisive counter-attack than hers!

The man furrowed his brows, staring intently at Sui Yi for a long moment before letting out a laugh. "Sharp-tongued! But we police don't need to explain all that much to you. All you need to know is that we don't necessarily have to report to a township-level authority like Nanxun before acting... As for whether you've broken the law... shouldn't you explain to us where these two fake ink sticks in your possession came from, and what purpose you intended to sell them for? Oh, and by the way, I also happen to have a thick file detailing your history of helping smuggle ancient artifacts at a tender age... Would you like me to make a copy for you to read?"

Inside and outside the hall, a wave of restless murmuring erupted!

Even Bai Xiong and his companions thought: *Wait, is this true or false?*

Younger individuals like Bai Lingshuang experienced a whirlpool of complex emotions at that moment.

On one hand, they were struck by the immense gap between themselves and Sui Yi; on the other hand, they witnessed the sudden shattering of the lofty position the other party had held.

—Sui Yi was about to plummet into the abyss!

The expressions of Old Tang, Old Lin, and the others shifted instantly! They were naturally aware of Sui Yi's past. While it might not have meant much within their specific circle, spreading it abroad would never sound pleasant, especially since outsiders had no idea what role Sui Yi had actually played in those matters.

—After all, she was still just a child.

And in the eyes of official authorities, such a record was utterly fatal.

Therefore...

They had come fully prepared.

Sui Yi realized almost immediately from the man's demeanor that his sole target was her!

Who else could harbor such deep malice toward her while possessing the capability and precision to execute it?

The Li family.

With assistance from the Qian family as well, since those people understood at least some parts of her past... Zhou然, for instance.

At that moment, another group of people arrived outside, led by Lin Quan and his associates.

His face was ashen as he walked toward the entrance with Zhang Xiao and the others, yet he found himself barred from entering.

Because he recognized the identity of the opposing group.

—The provincial inspection team.

Damn it! Their backing was simply too formidable!

The atmosphere grew oppressive.

Old Tang watched as the man, wearing a faint, mocking smile, produced a pair of handcuffs.

That smile resembled that of a fox that had finally captured its prey.

And if Sui Yi were to be dragged away by these people, one could easily imagine what she would suffer...

—They were people belonging to the Li family.

Old Tang's temples throbbed violently. For the very first time, he deeply regretted having let Sui Yi help him handle affairs back in those early years—filled with profound regret.

It felt as though he had personally smeared a thick, indelible layer of grime over a life that rightfully belonged to Sui Yi, staining her innocent path.

With this thought, Old Tang let out a heavy sigh and was about to speak...

Lü Haobai's face had already turned completely pale, because he suddenly remembered his own role in this.

—That ink stick was sold by Sui Yi. If they truly pursued the origin of the item, undoubtedly even he would be dragged into the mess.

Although such transactions were forgivable within the trade, from a legal standpoint, if the authorities decided to press the issue rigidly, he would be utterly trapped and ruined.

Especially since these men had clearly come with malicious intent.

This time, he had truly stumbled into a massive disaster!

—Assuming Sui Yi was even willing to shield him.

However, as he waited and waited, he ultimately didn't hear Sui Yi utter a single word to shirk responsibility. Instead...

"Who said the ink I bought was counterfeit? Besides, I never intended to sell it to anyone..."

The words drifted leisurely from Sui Yi's lips, and then...

Yi Chilian, who had maintained a detached and indifferent attitude the entire time, calmly picked up the piece of ancient ink stick and said evenly, "You claim this is a fake? If I told you this is the most renowned agarwood ink from the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions, produced by the Jiangnan Liuli Workshop, would you believe it?"

Naturally, the man and his subordinates knew nothing about such matters, but quite a few merchants present were startled and shocked. "This is agarwood ink? The agarwood ink that Master Liu of the Jiangnan Liuli Workshop only makes one piece of a year? A tiny piece of that stuff is worth hundreds of thousands! If put up for auction, it could fetch over a million!"

Agarwood ink? What on earth was that?

Most people present had no clue.

However, the Jiangnan Liuli Workshop was extremely famous; most antique collectors knew its name like thunder piercing the ear, because it represented a towering cultural lineage that had been passed down for over a dozen generations on a massive scale. Master Liu, who was now advanced in years, was an internationally renowned cultural master holding the title of a special-grade artist—he was treated like a national treasure wherever he went.

And this agarwood ink was an artifact that had been long lost to history until Master Liu successfully researched and recreated it through his own efforts.

It was exceedingly rare and held in the highest reverence by contemporary scholars and wealthy elites. (Note: Most of this was compiled from research and slightly dramatized by the author; readers should take it with a grain of salt and not let it confuse their knowledge systems. Those who are interested can look up the relevant topics online.)

After a few merchants offered these explanations, the bystanders began to understand. The man, however, refused to believe it, furrowing his brow with a cold sneer. "Absurd! If it were such precious ink, how could it easily fall into your hands? Don't tell me you bought it from someone else?"

As he spoke, he even glanced toward Lü Haobai not far away, scaring the wits out of the latter!

After a moment of reflection, Lü Haobai adopted a bizarre and deeply complex expression, offering a helpless bitter smile. "Master Liu never sells the agarwood ink he crafts each year; instead, he casually leaves them in various places, or even mixes them into ordinary batches of ink in various ways to be scattered across different regions, leaving them to be discovered only by those destined to find them and kindred spirits... I suppose Miss Sui is that destined person... And I am simply the person who handed this stroke of fortune to Miss Sui..."

Pausing briefly, he spread his hands in a wry gesture. "Miss Sui bought this ancient ink from my shop; it is most certainly not smuggled goods."

Without a doubt, this cleared Sui Yi's name.

Sui Yi hadn't expected this man to possess the sheer daring to invite trouble upon himself, and she gave him a sidelong glance.

The man refused to reconcile himself to defeat.

"What about this one then? Was this also bought from your shop? Ha! It's definitely a fake!"

Truth be told, by this point, Sui Yi could essentially clear herself of the earlier accusations. Unfortunately, the man still held that thick file containing her past records, which gave him an unshakeable sense of arrogant confidence.