Yin Wuwang leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling.
Ten million.
In the cultivation world, ten million spirit stones could buy a small spiritual vein. But in the mortal world, ten million was a number that a young man spent ten years, all the revenue from a bar, and his entire quality of life to repay.
He remembered what he'd seen at Chen Wan's residence. The evidence of what that debt had cost was written in every bare wall, every empty shelf, every missing photograph. Five years of being crushed by numbers on a statement.
"Ten million." Yin Wuwang said in a low voice.
Xie Qingyan watched him.
Yin Wuwang's tone was light, but there was an almost imperceptible heaviness beneath it. "The Demon Palace has gambling dens too. Northern Desolation's twelve cities—at least three in each."
Xie Qingyan didn't interrupt.
"This sovereign has seen too many people walk in high-spirited and walk out with nothing." Yin Wuwang's gaze moved from the ceiling to the files before him. "But the one who loses the gamble isn't always the one who walked in. Sometimes it's their children, their partners, their sect juniors who clean up the mess."
"You're talking about Chen Wan." Xie Qingyan said.
"Mm." Yin Wuwang sat up straight. "Chen Wan didn't gamble this himself. He's paying it off for someone else. Captain Lin is right—a young man in his twenties couldn't possibly owe a gambling operation ten million."
"Family." Xie Qingyan said. Not a conclusion—a direction.
Yin Wuwang nodded. One detail stood out—no family portraits anywhere in that apartment. A man paying off someone else's debt, who'd given up everything, yet kept not a single photo of the person he was protecting.
Whatever was hidden there couldn't be found through business records alone.
Little Deer Assistant spoke up then: "Master, I looked up Liu Long's public information—"
Yin Wuwang asked mentally: "What?"
"Liu Long, known as Dragon Brother, real name Liu Long, around here he's a..." Little Deer Assistant paused. "Restaurant owner?"
"..."
"Wait, that's wrong." Little Deer Assistant corrected itself. "Casino owner. Runs the Long Wei Group, multiple enterprises under his name. Public records show two administrative penalties, both for venue violations—but no criminal record."
"Personality?"
"That... there's no 'personality' field in public records." Little Deer Assistant answered honestly. "But judging from his business records, he operates steadily. He's not the type with an ugly appetite. Looking at Chen Wan's contract terms too—eight percent annual interest is relatively restrained for that circle."
Yin Wuwang noted this mentally.
Not some vicious criminal. But someone who'd been in the gambling business this long, grown this large, definitely wasn't a soft touch.
"One more thing," Little Deer Assistant added. "Long Wei Group's registered business address is 18th floor, Long Teng Tower, East District. If you want to go—"
"We will." Yin Wuwang said.
2:00 PM. Captain Lin called back.
"I've looked into part of Chen Wan's family background." Captain Lin's tone carried some uncertainty. "Father deceased early—that's confirmed. The mother's records are more complicated; there are residence transfer records, still running those down."
"What about the debt's origin?" Yin Wuwang asked.
"Business records only show the contract parties are Chen Wan and Long Wei Trading. As for why Chen Wan owes this money, whether he's carrying it for someone else—none of that gets written into contracts." Captain Lin paused. "Fastest way to learn the inside story is to ask Dragon Brother directly. He's dealt with Chen Wan for five years; he knows everything worth knowing."
"Understood."
"But don't rush." Captain Lin added. "Let me finish running down Chen Wan's mother's records first, then you go. Having cards versus not having cards—completely different results when you talk."
The call ended.
Yin Wuwang leaned back in his chair.
So the current situation was—they knew Chen Wan carried ten million in debt, knew the creditor was Dragon Brother, knew he'd mortgaged the bar and paid back 5.6 million over five years. But they didn't know the source of this debt.
Paying for someone else. Almost certain. But for whom? Why?
"Two paths." Xie Qingyan stood, walked to the whiteboard, and drew a circle next to "Long Wei Trading—Liu Long (Dragon Brother)" with a marker. "First path: wait for Captain Lin to finish checking Chen Wan's mother's records, then go find Dragon Brother."
He drew several branching lines from Chen Wan's name.
"Second path: start with the people around Chen Wan. Debt is dead, but people are alive. Chen Wan worked at the bar for five years, facing that many people every day—his life couldn't have been just about repaying debt."
Yin Wuwang looked at those lines on the whiteboard.
"You want to take the second path first." He said.
"Mm." Xie Qingyan wrote three characters on the whiteboard—
"Protecting whom?"
Yin Wuwang looked at those three characters.
A young man in his twenties, carrying ten million in debt for someone else. He'd sacrificed everything—yet showed up to work every day with a smile, never complained to anyone.
This kind of person's life must have something more important than repaying debt.
Who was he protecting?
Xie Qingyan set down the marker and turned around.
"The bartender is the best entry point. They stand behind the bar counter; they see everyone."
Yin Wuwang thought about it and nodded. Last time during the bar visit, he'd noticed the bartender was the talkative, observant type—that kind of person often knew things they shouldn't know.
"Tomorrow?"
"Tonight." Xie Qingyan's tone was certain. "The bar operates at night; bartenders are most relaxed in their own territory. What relaxed people say is closer to the truth."
Yin Wuwang looked at him, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly.
Fuguang's choice to visit the bar at night used the exact same logic as when he interrogated prisoners in the cultivation world—let the subject stay in their most familiar environment, lower their guard, then cut to the key questions.
"Let's go." Yin Wuwang pulled on his jacket.
[End of V2_Chapter 34]
Next: Little Lu's gossip radar, a travel mug that got brought along, and heading into the night.