Author: 梦溪石 / Meng Xi Shi

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 172

A group of people crossed the shore. They had to walk a long way before reaching the edge of the reserve to find any sign of human habitation.

Xiao Zhao was shivering from the cold. Kan Chaosheng, however, was too lazy to walk and decided to coil around Xiao Zhao’s neck, killing two birds with one stone. However, with Kan Chaosheng’s fur damp, Xiao Zhao shivered even more. Dong Zhi had no choice but to light two sunlight talismans and place them on both sides of Xiao Zhao’s shoulders.

Having had his soul taken out and his body possessed by Su Huan, Xiao Zhao was weaker than usual. Dong Zhi used the flames from the talisman to stimulate the yang energy in Xiao Zhao, and soon enough, his complexion improved.

From the start to the end, Long Shen was always holding onto Dong Zhi’s wrist, not even letting go when he saw him take out a talisman, making Dong Zhi operate with just one hand.

Dong Zhi found it odd, even more so by the actions of the yin ghost that tried to detain him earlier. He suddenly remembered the scene in the abyssal hell and was slightly shocked.

Everyone was exhausted and not in the mood for idle chatter. Xiao Zhao, with the support of Chang Qing, barely managed to keep up with the rest of the group. After walking for more than two hours, they finally made it out and met the night shift staff of the reserve.

Seeing them looking disheveled and carrying strange items, like swords and a cat, the staff almost mistook them for poachers. Long Shen showed his ID, explaining that they were police officers chasing a suspect and had already contacted the local police to verify their identity.

The staff member was skeptical and asked, “Where’s the suspect then? Did you not catch him?”

Long Shen casually pointed at Xiao Zhao.

Xiao Zhao: ……

He felt he should play along and pretended to be fierce, shouting, “Even if you catch me, it’s useless! I’ll be out in a few years!”

Probably used to seeing criminals, his act was quite convincing. Chang Qing looked at Long Shen, then at Xiao Zhao, realizing he should play the role of the arresting officer, and gave Xiao Zhao a slap on the back of his head. “Be honest!”

This almost made the already weakened Xiao Zhao fall.

Captain Yin quickly arrived with reinforcements. Three hours later, they finally changed into clean clothes and sat in an office with a warm air conditioner, as if the events on the lake were just a dream.

After Long Shen introduced himself, Captain Yin became serious. The Special Administration Bureau was mysterious and had vast authority. Captain Yin had never expected someone of such high rank from the bureau to be involved. Seizing the opportunity, Captain Yin spoke passionately for five minutes, expressing his gratitude.

Dong Zhi briefly explained the events after they got the book. Captain Yin was flabbergasted. If not for his knowledge of the Special Administration Bureau mysterious cases, he would have thought Dong Zhi was telling a fantasy story or was trying to trick him.

“So, the illustration book is gone?” Captain Yin looked disappointed. “From my personal standpoint, I believe you, but there’s surveillance footage of Deng Bin entering and exiting the house. Unless it can be proven that it wasn’t him in the footage or he has an alibi for those two hours, it would be tough to clear his name.”

In other words, the bizarre story involving a monster called an Aoyin, who manipulated people’s minds through a book and Su Huan becoming a vengeful spirit after death, couldn’t be used as evidence.

Dong Zhi felt this issue was challenging. After all the efforts to bring down the real culprit, Deng Bin was still suspected. It wasn’t like Su Huan’s ghost could testify either.

Long Shen said, “Take me to Deng Bin. Let me try.”

Captain Yin, still skeptical, led Long Shen and Dong Zhi to the detention center.

Right now, Kan Chaosheng was just a cat, which had its privileges as a cat. He didn’t need to follow and rush about, so he could stay here for now and comfortably rest. He was lying in front of the heater, warming up and dozing. His tail swished back and forth. Getting overly comfortable, the tip of his tail hit the heater, and in an instant, his tail was burnt, causing him to jump up and whine.

Idiot. Chang Qing looked at him without speaking, but that word was clearly written on his face.

Kan Chaosheng brandished his claws and shouted, “With me here, you definitely won’t get into the Special Administration Bureau!”

Chang Qing mocked, “You better take care of yourself first. Did you not notice the way Director Long looked at you just now?”

“What kind of look?” Kan Chaosheng became suspicious.

Chang Qing: “A look that says you need to be retrained.”

Kan Chaosheng: “…”

He forgot his grudge with Chang Qing and began to reflect on his behavior since the appearance of Long Shen.

Well, when the Aoyin transformed into a dragon, due to his psychological scars, he didn’t dare revert back to his original form to face it head-on. But he saved Xiao Zhao, and at that time he didn’t know that the dragon wasn’t a real one, but half a dragon. That wasn’t his fault, right?

The more he thought about it, the guiltier he felt. The fat yellow cat curled up into a ball, as if this could save him from disaster.

On Long Shen’s side, Deng Bin still looked dejected. Captain Yin hadn’t told him about Su Huan’s ghost. Regardless of how absurd these matters seem to ordinary people, revealing this to Deng Bin, who was already psychologically fragile, would only confuse him more.

Captain Yin knew that Deng Bin’s family was doing their best to help him. It seemed they even wanted to get a psychiatric evaluation for him. If he was diagnosed with a mental illness, the courts would likely be lenient given the condition when judging the murder. But Deng Bin knew he didn’t kill anyone, so he wouldn’t want to use this as an excuse.

Captain Yin introduced Long Shen. “This is a psychological expert invited by our provincial office. He has some questions for you.”

Without even greeting, Deng Bin just nodded in a lackluster manner.

Long Shen said, “I believe you didn’t kill anyone.”

Suddenly, Deng Bin looked up at him and also noticed Dong Zhi. He became excited.

“You… aren’t you the one from Kunlun Mountain last time?”

Dong Zhi recognized him too. Previously, Deng Bin tried to contact Dong Zhi for help but couldn’t reach him. Yet fate works in mysterious ways.

Long Shen: “During the two hours when Su Huan had an accident, where were you? If we can’t clarify this, you’ll remain a suspect.”

Deng Bin, whose hopes were raised, sank back into despair. He clutched his hair in agony. “I don’t know. I really can’t remember! If I could, I wouldn’t be sitting here now…”

Before he could finish, Long Shen suddenly stood up, walked around the table, and flicked him on the forehead three times.

“Snap!”

To the bystanders, Long Shen’s words sounded faint, but in Deng Bin’s ears, it was as loud as a morning bell or evening drum, deafening.

The chaos in his mind suddenly cleared up. He remembered a prank he played on his parents when he was six and even earlier memories from when he couldn’t speak, lying in his crib and seeing his mother’s smile…

“I remember now!” He shouted. “I went to the suburbs, near Nanyun Road. There’s a forest there, where before the liberation, there was a chaotic burial ground. I don’t know what got into me, but I drove there and parked on the small road outside the forest for two hours, in a daze!”

Captain Yin pondered. “I know the place you’re talking about. It’s indeed desolate around there and probably has no surveillance. But there should be surveillance at the entrance and exit of Nanyun Road. I’ll have someone check it.”

If they find surveillance footage, it would be an alibi for Deng Bin.

For the remaining work, Long Shen and Dong Zhi couldn’t help anymore. When they returned with Captain Yin, the fat yellow cat was sleeping on the sofa with its belly up. Beside him, Chang Qing was playing with his phone, occasionally glancing at the cat with disdain.

“Chaosheng,” Long Shen said.

The fat yellow cat just turned over and continued sleeping.

Long Shen casually picked up a pen from the table and threw it at him, hitting him right on the nose.

Dong Zhi smirked, reminded of classmates who were hit by pens thrown by teachers for sleeping in class.

The fat yellow cat jumped up with a yowl, his face filled with anger, which immediately wilted upon seeing Long Shen.

“Meow meow meow?”

Long Shen: “Speak human.”

The fat yellow cat reluctantly transformed back into a child’s form, but he forgot to retract his tail, which continued to sway behind him.

Idiot. Chang Qing glanced at him, clearly expressing disdain with his look.

“Boss, you’re back. How did it go?”

Long Shen replied, “Pack up. I will send you on your way tomorrow.”

Kan Chaosheng was horrified. “All I did was take a short nap, and now I’m going to be silenced?! Boss, you can’t be so heartless. You picked me up and raised me with your own hands. Our bond should be deeper than yours with Dong Zhi!”

He rushed forward, wrapping his arms around Long Shen’s legs and wailing.

With just one hand, Long Shen easily pulled him away.

“I’m sending you to Huaishui.”

Kan Chaosheng looked puzzled. “Why am I going there?”

Long Shen gave him a slight smile. “I previously neglected to discipline you, which allowed you to be lax in your training. In Wuzhiqi’s place, you should find a quiet environment to study and won’t be easily distracted by the city’s allure.”

Faced with Long Shen’s rare gentle smile, Kan Chaosheng shivered. Remembering his desperate farewell with the octopus, the realization of no phones, no snacks, no internet, he weakly asked, “Can I refuse? How about if you deduct my salary for this year? And next year too? Or I’ll work for free for ten years?”

Long Shen responded, “First, go to Huaishui. After that, you can work for free for ten years.”

Kan Chaosheng’s vision went dark.

Dong Zhi silently lit a candle for him in his mind.

After settling all these matters, the two returned to the hotel.

Dong Zhi stretched. “Finally, we can get some rest!”

He collapsed onto the bed and immediately felt the heaviness of sleep on his eyelids.

Suddenly remembering something, he opened his eyes to ask Long Shen, “Master, you only booked one room, right?”

Long Shen hummed in affirmation, turning away and bending over to retrieve clothes from his suitcase.

Pretending to be serious, Dong Zhi said, “If Captain Yin comes to report to you tomorrow and sees both of us under the same blanket, won’t that leave a bad impression?”

After considering for a moment, Long Shen replied, “That’s true. I’ll ask them to book another room for us.”

As he moved towards the door, Dong Zhi, not expecting him to take the suggestion seriously, quickly jumped up and hugged him from behind.

“Who cares about appearances? After all, Lao Yin has no authority over us. Being overly concerned with others’ opinions will tarnish your brilliant and heroic image, right?”

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