Ghost Claw gestured for Háo Héng and Xuān Láng to follow her. "You two. Interview room. Now. We need your full account of what happened."
Háo Héng looked nervous. "Are we in trouble? Because I was kidnapped! I didn't do anything wrong! I'm a victim here!"
"You're not in trouble. We just need information. Come on."
She led them to a conference room on the second floor, much more comfortable than an actual interrogation room, with a table, chairs, a whiteboard, and Lucy already set up with her laptop and recording equipment.
Tòumíng started to follow, but Ghost Claw held up a hand. "You go to medical. Get patched up. We'll debrief you later."
"But I want to—"
"Medical. Now. You're dripping blood on my floor."
Tòumíng looked down and realized she was right, his various injuries were actively bleeding through his clothes. He sighed and headed toward the medical wing where Sasha was already preparing supplies with her usual nervous energy.
Interview Room
Ghost Claw, Lucy, and Marco sat across from Xuān Láng and Háo Héng. Lucy had her laptop open, recording everything, multiple screens displaying her previous research alongside new notes.
"Let's start from the beginning," Ghost Claw said. "Xuān Láng, you first. When did Black Hawk make contact?"
Xuān Láng shifted in his chair, his wet clothes squelching. "Two days ago. Around 6 PM. I was closing up the shop when three men in black entered. They knew everything about me, my name, my family, where my children go to school. They said they needed my expertise regarding ice jade. Imperial quality. Qing Dynasty provenance."
Lucy typed rapidly. "Did they specify which piece?"
"No. They just described it in general terms, high-grade ice jade, historically significant, museum quality. They asked if I'd purchased, sold, or authenticated anything matching that description recently."
"And had you?"
Xuān Láng hesitated, clearly weighing how much to reveal. Then he sighed heavily. "No. That's what I told them. That's the truth. I deal in mid-tier jade—necklaces, bracelets, small carvings. Nothing imperial grade. That level requires specialists with credentials I don't have."
Ghost Claw leaned forward. "But you know who WOULD have those credentials. You have connections in that world."
"Of course. Every pawn shop owner does. We network. We refer clients to specialists when we get items outside our expertise. But I never made any such referrals regarding ice jade. Not recently, not ever."
Lucy pulled up financial records on her screen. "Your bank statements show regular deposits from shell companies connected to three loan sharks: Xuě Bào the Ice Queen, Ào Shǔ the Proud Rat, and Ào Wā the Proud Frog. These are protection payments?"
Xuān Láng's face darkened. "Business arrangements. They provide certain... services. I provide certain percentages of my profits. Standard operating procedure in this district."
"Did any of them ever ask you about ice jade?"
"Xuě Bào mentioned it once. About six months ago. She came to my shop personally, which never happens. She's very careful about being seen. She asked hypothetically if I could authenticate an imperial ice jade piece if someone brought one to me."
The room went silent. This was new information.
"What did you tell her?" Ghost Claw asked.
"I told her the truth, that I could do a preliminary assessment based on color, clarity, and structure, but any definitive authentication would require specialized equipment and certified gemologists. She seemed... disappointed. Asked if I knew anyone who could do more comprehensive work."
"Did you give her names?"
"No. She didn't push for it. Just thanked me and left. I assumed it was theoretical. She's known for collecting valuable items, so I thought she was just exploring options."
Lucy's fingers flew across her keyboard, pulling up new searches. "Six months ago. That's before Chesqo Dong started being seen with the mystery woman. The timeline doesn't quite match my original theory."
Háo Héng, who'd been sitting quietly, spoke up. "Can I add something? Because I think I have relevant information."
Ghost Claw nodded. "Go ahead."
"When Black Hawk grabbed me, they were asking about Chesqo Dong. Specifically about a project I helped him with two years ago. He hired me to identify potential jade mining locations in Tibet using my family's old mining connections."
"What kind of jade?"
"High-grade. He was very specific about quality requirements. Said he was looking for deposits that could potentially yield imperial-quality ice jade. Not historical pieces—NEW jade. Raw material that could be cut and polished into something equivalent to or better than historical imperial jade."
Lucy's head snapped up. "Wait. He wasn't trying to acquire existing imperial jade. He was trying to CREATE new imperial jade?"
"Exactly. He said the historical pieces available were either in museums, private collections that wouldn't sell, or..." Háo Héng paused. "Or they were damaged. Broken. Flawed in ways that couldn't be repaired."
Ghost Claw and Lucy exchanged looks.
"That changes everything," Lucy said, already pulling up new research. "If the Ice Queen's existing ice jade piece is damaged or doesn't meet her standards anymore, she'd want a replacement. But you can't just buy imperial ice jade, it's historically significant, heavily regulated, mostly in museums."
"So you make new imperial jade," Ghost Claw finished. "Find raw material of equivalent quality, hire master craftsmen to cut and polish it to imperial standards."
Háo Héng nodded eagerly. "That's what Chesqo was doing! He paid me a huge amount to keep it confidential. The NDA was very strict. He found deposits in Tibet, hired miners, brought in gemologists. But here's the thing, he wanted multiple experts. Not just one. He wanted people with rough backgrounds, people who wouldn't be missed if something went wrong."
Xuān Láng's eyes widened. "People like me. Pawn shop owner with criminal connections. If I disappeared, the police investigation would be minimal."
"Exactly. And when Black Hawk interrogated me, they wanted to know who else Chesqo had hired. I didn't tell them—I honored the NDA even under threat—but they clearly knew he was working with multiple experts."
Lucy was typing furiously, her screens filling with new connections and theories. "Okay. New working theory. The Ice Queen's original imperial ice jade, her signature possession, the piece that's been in her family for generations, is either damaged, broken, or doesn't meet her aesthetic standards anymore. Maybe it was dropped. Maybe there's a structural flaw. Maybe it's just not as perfect as she wants."
She pulled up images of historical ice jade pieces, comparing their styles and characteristics.
"So she asks her boyfriend, Chesqo Dong, to create something even better. A new piece that matches or exceeds the quality of the original. Chesqo hires Black Hawk to acquire experts who can authenticate and work with imperial-grade jade. People with the necessary skills but questionable backgrounds so their disappearances won't trigger major investigations."
"But," Ghost Claw continued the theory, "one of the Ice Queen's other admirers, and there are MANY based on her reputation—found out about Chesqo's project. Maybe through their own intelligence networks, maybe through informants. They realized Chesqo was creating this jade piece for the Ice Queen."
"So they hired Black Hawk too," Marco added, following the logic. "Either a different team or the same team with a competing contract. They wanted to interfere with Chesqo's project, or steal the jade for themselves, or use it as leverage to win the Ice Queen's affection instead."
Xuān Láng processed this. "So I was kidnapped by one faction trying to complete the jade project, and Háo Héng was kidnapped by another faction trying to sabotage or steal it?"
"Possibly," Lucy said. "Black Hawk works for whoever pays. They could easily have multiple teams running parallel operations for competing clients. It's actually more profitable that way—charge both sides."
Háo Héng looked horrified. "So I got kidnapped, threatened, traumatized, and nearly drowned because rich people are having a love triangle over a woman who probably doesn't care about any of them?"
"Welcome to high-stakes organized crime," Ghost Claw said dryly. "Where everyone's motivations are stupid but the consequences are deadly."
Lucy continued typing, updating her files with the new information. "The question now is: who's the competing admirer? Who else wants the Ice Queen badly enough to hire Black Hawk and interfere with Chesqo Dong's project?"
She pulled up financial records, known associates of the Ice Queen, wealthy individuals in the region with connections to organized crime.
"Could be anyone. She's legendary. Men have literally killed for her attention. We're looking at potentially dozens of suspects with the resources to hire Black Hawk."
Xuān Láng leaned back in his chair, exhausted. "Can I ask a question? What happens to me now? Black Hawk knows where my family lives. They threatened my daughters. Even if you rescued me, they're still out there."
Ghost Claw considered this. "We can provide protection. Temporary relocation for your family if necessary. But the permanent solution is eliminating the threat, either by taking down Black Hawk's operations in this region, or by resolving the underlying conflict so they have no reason to pursue you anymore."
"And how do we do that?"
"We find out who the competing admirer is. We figure out what they want. And we either give it to them or take them out of the picture entirely."
She stood up, signaling the interview was over. "You're both safe here for now. Get some rest. We'll figure out next steps tomorrow."
As Xuān Láng and Háo Héng left the room, Lucy turned to Ghost Claw. "This is way more complicated than I thought."
"It always is," Ghost Claw replied. "Rich people make everything complicated."