Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 54: Confusion

“You’re not Lu Guangzu at all.”

The exposed left eye was bloodshot and full of unspeakable exhaustion. Yin Ren’s fingertips were vaguely under the man’s real eye, and his movements were neither light nor heavy.

The man’s real and fake left eyes turned up at the same time, looking at Yin Ren. Yin Ren couldn’t see any emotions in the fake left eye because of its deformation, but the fear in the real eye was becoming more obvious.

“A demon painted skin* is even rarer than human fragrance.”

*Referencing a short story from Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio by Pu Songling. You can read it by going to the Wikipedia. The TLDR: Demon put on human skin and try to seduce a human.

The reason for this was that, whereas human fragrance required only a small amount of flesh and blood, demon painted human skin didn’t…

To make demon painted skin, one needed to remove the entire human skin, marinate it with special ointment, and then carefully remove all impurities. After drying, it needed to be applied to the user’s face for three days and nights to set, and then finely modified with soft glass and ink worms, then glued together with rattan glue. In this way, it could be made into a real painted face. The materials were mixed so finely that even acne and stubble were revealed.

However, the practice of demon painting skins was extremely cumbersome, so it was a test of the craftsmanship of the spirit smith.

If it was badly done, the face would be stiff and swollen that even a layman could see something was wrong. The better the craftsmanship of the spirit smith, the more realistic the demon painted skin would be, to the point where no abnormalities would be found even by scraping it with a knife.

In this world where corpse servants were on the verge of extinction, Yin Ren thought that demon painted skin had disappeared. Even in Yin Ren’s era, this thing wasn’t very popular.

It was better to rely solely on handwork without touching evil qi. However, considering the production cost, the advantage was negligible—at that time, “Mud Meat Zhang’s” technique of body shaping was more popular and much faster and better in comparison. As for the evil qi left by the spell, cultivators had thousands of ways to cover it up.

“But to deceive Shian’s metaphysical examination is quite useful.”

Yin Ren commented objectively.

“The human skin is well peeled. It’s from a dead face you borrowed, right?”

“If you hadn’t borrowed another identity, you’d be in a bad situation—as my partner said, Fan Yong has the remnants of Evil Force on his body. As far as we know, this matter is related to Sunken Society.”

Hearing the words “Sunken Society”, the man’s breathing briefly became chaotic. He gritted his teeth, and a layer of sweat appeared on his forehead. “Please listen to me.”

“Make it short.” Yin Ren tapped the man’s eyes with his fingertips.

“I did pretend to be Lu Guangzu. I originally planned to take off this demon painted skin after the case was cleared…”

“The purpose of your so-called ‘deal’,” Yin Ren interrupted him. “Make it short, do you understand?”

“I hope you don’t expose me and at the same time help me find the real culprit privately.” The man hurriedly changed his statement. “I made both the human fragrance and demon painted skin myself. There’s no one else behind me.”

“Strange. You have the channels to get human fragrance, so you must’ve come into contact with the ‘true culprit’. Why would you go about this in such a roundabout way?” Yin Ren continued calmly.

The man didn’t answer right away. For a moment, a trace of sadness appeared on the broken face.

“Because I saw what he was thinking.”

Half a minute later, the man seemed to have made some major determination and took a long breath. “But I can only see vague and incoherent thoughts. I don’t know the identity of the culprit. I only know that he’s in Haigu.”

Yin Ren looked at the man in silence.

“I passed him on the street… He was thinking that Lu Yuanyuan as the first would be a bit eye-catching, but the finished product worked well. The next six were a lot easier since no one was looking for them. Then he thought again that his chair was about to collapse, and he wanted to change to a bean bag, so he needed better ‘talent’.”

“There were a lot of people on the road at the time, so I couldn’t chase after him. I only had time to release my spirit weapon to scratch him. Relying on his blood, I made the box of human fragrance.”

“Since you can ‘see parts of people’s thoughts’,” Yin Ren thought about this unheard-of weird ability for a while, “then the culprit’s face or figure should be easier to identify.”

The corners of the man’s mouth curled weakly.

“I can’t do it. I have my own limitations.” There was some self-deprecation in the man’s voice. “It sounds like bullshit, right? If I report this to the police and Shian, what do you think they will think?”

“I would tell them I saw the harmful thoughts of a stranger on the street. However, I don’t know their name, if they’re old or young, or any other details. Even if I can get their fragrance, it may belong to someone who ‘has come into contact with Lu Yuanyuan’. I can’t prove that the smell is from the true culprit.”

The man leaned back in his chair wearily. His eyes were a little dazed.

“Even if they are willing to believe in my abilities, maybe that ‘stranger’ is just a delusional person with countless ideas…”

“I have no actual evidence,” he concluded bitterly. “Even if they take the case, they won’t immediately invest a lot of manpower.”

“So you chose to become a ‘murderer’, become a topic in the metaphysical world in Haigu, and let the police and Shian solve the case.”

Yin Ren murmured without making any more comments.

“I know it’s reckless, but this is the fastest way.” Lu Guangzu gritted his teeth. “And I—I thought this kind of culprit would be extremely arrogant, not happy to have another take credit for his deeds, and he might take action…”

Unfortunately, it backfired.

“As a result, the real culprit in turn threw the ‘collapsed chair’ into the public, trying to confirm your identity as the real perpetrator,” Yin Ren said.

Ultimately, the person in front of him made a bad move.

Now that the human fragrance had been exposed, the focus of Shian’s investigation would shift, making him lose the initiative. The real culprit had someone to blame and didn’t intend on taking any action.

The ability to read minds? The ability to see what’s special in others? Things were getting more interesting than he thought. Yin Ren put away his hostility and moved his fingers up the bridge of the man’s nose.

The man shook, but he heard a sticky gurgling sound in his ears. The evil qi turned into spider-like filaments, sewing up the soft skin in a fine manner. The demon painted skin on his face was quickly smoothed and repaired.

“Well, I’ll let you go for now.” After repairing the demon painted skin, Yin Ren withdrew his hand. “But this is not a deal. I’ll investigate the way I want. I only have one request for you—”

The man looked at him steadily.

“Do not tell anyone about Zhong Chengshuo. If you reveal even half a word to others…”

“I understand,” the man replied with difficulty.

“Regarding other things, what you can and cannot say, I think you know in your heart, ‘Lu Guangzu’.”

Yin Ren patted his clothes and glanced at the exit of the interrogation room.

“…You don’t want to ask about Zhong Chengshuo’s secret?” Seeing that he was leaving, the man couldn’t help but speak up.

“His secret can be used by you as an important ‘bargaining chip’, which is enough for me.”

Yin Ren lowered his head again and leaned close to the man’s face.

“King Yama.” He spat out the words and looked with satisfaction as the man’s expression stiffened.

It wasn’t the shock of hearing it for the first time, but the guilt from losing his bargaining chip.

Yin Ren returned to his brilliant smile.

……

“What did Lu Guangzu say?” After Yin Ren came out, Zhong Chengshuo immediately asked.

“He saw that I was strange and wanted to recruit me to Sunken Society.”

Yin Ren scratched the tip of his nose with some embarrassment in his smile.

“It doesn’t look like Lu Guangzu is the real culprit. If I had to guess, he’s only responsible for clarifying the matter and spreading the word for Sunken Society… Forget it, I’ll write it in the report to Xiaohe Jie later. You prefer to read reports anyway.”

Zhong Chengshuo thought for a moment and didn’t continue to ask. “Okay, I’ll wait for your report.”

“Nn.”

“I will also go in and talk to Lu Guangzu.”

“Talk to him? Zhong Ge, you’re not thinking of entering Sunken Society, are you?” Yin Ren put away his headphones. “This is a negotiation. We can’t give him what he asks.”

Before Yin Ren could intervene, Zhong Chengshuo had already picked up the file bag, walked into the interrogation room, and slammed the door shut.

…This scene seemed a bit familiar. Yin Ren bitterly swallowed back the “I’ll go with you” that he was about to say. Forget it, Great King Yama would have his own thoughts.

In the interrogation room, surveillance hadn’t resumed.

Zhong Chengshuo approached the target with his hands resting on the armrest of the chair. Those pitch-black eyes locked onto Lu Guangzu sharply, causing the latter to shrink vigilantly without saying a word.

“I see.” After staring at Lu Guangzu silently for a while, Zhong Chengshuo straightened up.

The cold sweat on “Lu Guangzu’s” forehead oozed out again—he couldn’t perceive Zhong Chengshuo’s thoughts. They were fast and chaotic as a storm, and he couldn’t pick out any valid information.

Zhong Chengshuo ignored Lu Guangzu and opened the file bag. He put the documents on the floor one by one.

It was the list of missing people in the last three months. The police carefully selected and eliminated the muddled disappearances, and accurately screened out ten cases of “disappearing from the world”.

Zhong Chengshuo walked around with the files with photos posted on them; his eyes never leaving Lu Guangzu for even a moment. Lu Guangzu was sweating coldly, and his eyes were wandering suspiciously. He knew these two people weren’t easy to provoke, but he didn’t expect it to be that hard.

He clearly deliberately pushed aside the difficult bone of “King Yama”!

After a while, Zhong Chengshuo put away all the documents on the floor. He took out two of them and put them aside separately.

“You replaced the real culprit and ‘surrendered’ because you want to use Shian and the police to find him.” Zhong Chengshuo spoke in a calm tone. “Obviously, there’s a more appropriate approach… You have a clue in your hand, but it’s difficult to verify?”

“Once you reveal things that have nothing to do with the real culprit, it will be difficult to influence the direction of the investigation. Coupled with the real culprit fishing in troubled waters, you know you can’t control the situation, so you turned to Yin Ren for help?”

“Yin Ren told you—” Lu Guangzu was shocked.

“He didn’t say anything, but covered up for you.”

It was just that Zhong Chengshuo wouldn’t accept all the words of his partner at face value. Zhong Chengshuo flattened the corners of the files without raising his head.

“I know him well. If you’re related to the true culprit, Yin Ren’s mood wouldn’t be so relaxed, let alone helping you hide your identity.”

When he entered the room, this person was such a mess that he couldn’t even maintain his clever disguise. Zhong Chengshuo only needed a small test to sink him with one blow.

It was interesting that he asked Yin Ren for help alone. However, his partner was a monster who could release a powerful and murderous aura. If this person’s “help” was too strong, it would only have the opposite effect.

Looking at the fear in “Lu Guangzu’s” eyes, most likely he was taught a lesson by the “reverse effect”. He didn’t know what kind of expression Yin Ren had shown at that time.

However, Yin Ren was alone, and there was nothing being manipulated, so he wouldn’t just casually reveal his strength. This person should have discovered Yin Ren’s “special” nature and wanted to use it as leverage… Was it a special ability, or…?

No, these things weren’t the point. Zhong Chengshuo put away his curiosity, took the two separate files, and walked to Lu Guangzu.

“Your gaze stopped on Lu Yuanyuan and Fan Yong for a long time but stayed on the other files at almost the same time, except for these two.”

“This lady should be very important to you. The way you looked at her was very soft.”

He placed a file on the small table in the interrogation chair and tapped on the photo on the file.

In the photo, the young girl was smiling sweetly. Her eyes were misty, with a translucent blue film, like a spiderweb.

The words “Ding Lizi” were written next to the photo, and the date of disappearance was two weeks ago. In the special circumstances column, the police noted “visually impaired” and attached a copy of a hospital exam report.

Lu Guangzu pursed his lips tightly. He looked at the file sadly but couldn’t look away.

“And your gaze has always avoided this one… Hm, this is the person who reported Ding Lizi’s disappearance. A male in his twenties, with extremely similar height and body shape to you.”

Zhong Chengshuo pushed another file and placed it next to the woman’s file. His eyes were locked on Lu Guangzu.

“This ‘missing reporter’, is it you?”

The man’s gaze shrank. He suddenly raised his head and looked at Zhong Chengshuo in disbelief.

“Don’t worry. I don’t mean to expose you for the time being.” Zhong Chengshuo withdrew the files and lowered his gaze.

Sure enough.

Self-sacrificing surrender and being able to perceive Yin Ren’s specialness at a glance were really far from the Lu Guangzu they knew. Although he didn’t know if it was through plastic surgery or something else, it was unlikely that this person in front of him was “not Lu Guangzu”.

And when facing the “reporter’s” information, this person’s fear was only mixed with anxiety. He simply tricked the guy, and he fell for it.

Zhong Chengshuo shook his head in disappointment. “The top priority is to find the real culprit. I don’t plan to cut corners. I only have one request for you—”

The man stared nervously at Zhong Chengshuo.

“Don’t reveal Yin Ren’s specialness.”

Zhong Chengshuo said it in a flat tone as he put the reporter’s information on top of the stack of files. “I don’t have any plans on changing partners yet.”

The man didn’t know what Zhong Chengshuo was thinking. His face twitched. “Okay.”

Half a minute later, Zhong Chengshuo stepped out the door.

“How did it go?” Yin Ren leaned over curiously.

“He didn’t want to say anything.” Zhong Chengshuo pushed up his glasses. “I showed him the missing person file. He reacted a bit to one of them. We can start with this.”

He took out the information on “Ding Lizi” and handed it to Yin Ren.

Yin Ren quickly glanced at it. “I see… Zhong Ge, are you free tonight? I have something very important that needs your help.”

Zhong Chengshuo: “…?”

A few hours later, Zhong Chengshuo was looking out a window speechlessly.

They were sitting at the top-floor restaurant called Feng Dezhuang—the view here was exceptional. The lights outside the window were bright, and the sky was blotted with stars. The noisy sirens were left far behind on the ground, and only quiet classical music was left in the room. Their table had a vase filled with fresh red flowers.

Unfortunately, there were tons of shopping bags piled under Yin Ren’s feet that were crammed into a small mountain, which destroyed the elegant atmosphere around them.

Yin Ren’s “I need help with something very important” seemed to be asking him to help him eat. Before they came here, this person also walked around and bought a bunch of junk food for a midnight snack.

Zhong Chengshuo tried his best to ignore the mountain of calories that was close at hand. Just eating this much and not getting fat was enough to arouse suspicion of Comrade Yin Ren.

“My money has finally been reimbursed.”

Opposite Zhong Chengshuo, Yin Ren wiped away non-existent tears.

“I’ve been bothering you in the middle of the night recently, so I thought about thanking you. The vegetarian food here is delicious. I checked in advance.”

Zhong Chengshuo thought about it for a long time but wasn’t sure if this was considered courting. He could only nod his head and carefully taste the vegetarian version of braised pork and squirrel fish.

The braised pork had a rich taste, but there was no greasy aftertaste unique to fat. He didn’t know what ingredients the chef used, but as soon as the food entered his mouth, it could easily slide down his throat, leaving only a mouthful of fragrance and a long aftertaste.

The dishes were delicious, and the prices were equally impressive. In normal times, Zhong Chengshuo would never come to a place like this.

“Is it good?” Yin Ren looked at Zhong Chengshuo with a smile when he found that Zhong Chengshuo’s expression had softened a bit.

“It tastes good… Yin Ren, do you have something to tell me?” Seeing Yin Ren’s sly smile, Zhong Chengshuo had a bad feeling.

“Hmm? No, I’m just inviting you to dinner. There’s no word on the Evil Force on the chair, and Minister Fu hasn’t shown up recently. Things are definitely not easy, which means we’ll be much busier after this.”

Yin Ren held the squirrel fish between his chopsticks, and his voice was muffled. The squirrel fish here was made from potatoes. It was crispy, tender, and delicious, and tasted not much different from real fish.

“Zhong Ge, what do you think is going on with the culprit? Don’t serial killers always pick their victims? Now we have men, women, and even children all combined.” Yin Ren browsed a video website while eating.

“Maybe they all have something in common that we haven’t discovered yet.” Zhong Chengshuo took a sip of his alcohol-free wine. “Maybe you’ve been watching too much <Criminal Minds> and think the culprit harms others for other purposes.”

“I’m trying to find my lost memories. Maybe I used to be a foreign translator.” Yin Ren poked the squirrel fish in the bowl.

Zhong Chengshuo glanced at Yin Ren faintly and made no comment.

“Do you want to watch a crime drama together at night to find inspiration? We can’t hang ourselves on the tree called Lu Guangzu…”

“Mr. Yin?”

A familiar voice interrupted him.

Yin Ren paused as he was about to grab some rice with his chopsticks. Zhong Chengshuo turned his head sideways—Bai Yongji was settling down with a few colleagues who happened to be sitting at a large table next to them.

“Haha, what a coincidence.” Bai Yongji smiled brightly. “You two are also here to eat?”

“Yes, I got my bonus today, so I’m treating my friend to something good.” Yin Ren lied smoothly and scooped up some vegetables with his chopsticks and gave them to Zhong Chengshuo.

“Have you considered my previous offer?” Bai Yongji slightly turned sideways, blocking a colleague who wanted to take a picture of Yin Ren. “We recently need a guest who looks good to make a temporary cameo. The pay is quite good.”

“Sorry, I didn’t…”

“It’s not convenient for him to go.” Yin Ren hadn’t had time to find a good excuse yet when Zhong Chengshuo took the lead. “Yin Ren was involved in an accident before and is still recuperating, so it’s not suitable for him to participate in this kind of activity.”

“Had an accident?” Bai Yongji was startled.

“Yes, I hurt my head and now have amnesia. Now I have to trouble Zhong Ge to take care of me.” Yin Ren gave an “embarrassed” smile. “Thank you, Bai Ge, for your offer. If there’s a chance in the future, I’ll definitely join.”

Bai Yongji was silent for a moment, then sighed. “I’m sorry! I didn’t know about this before. Health always comes first. Let’s talk about it after you recover.”

“We’ll have a good chat then. How are you and Dr. Sun progressing?” Yin Ren changed the subject with a smile.

“Last time I stayed for dinner. Her parents seemed very satisfied with me.” Speaking of Sun Qi’an, Bai Yongji showed a gentle smile. “Actually, I didn’t have such thoughts at first, but after more contact, I feel that Dr. Sun is very…. nice.”

“She doesn’t want to fall in love yet, so I plan to keep it as friends for now. You have to keep it a secret for me,” he quickly added.

Bai Yongji’s colleagues started heckling him. “Boss Bai is infatuated. You have to pay for this meal.”

Yin Ren looked at him for a while as he started to mix soup with his rice.

Bai Yongji wasn’t the type of person who was enthusiastic enough to make people uncomfortable. This elite understood when to stop and didn’t bother the two at the next table. Only when the group was about to leave did Bai Yongji come up again.

“Mr. Zhong, excuse me. I remember last time we met, you wanted to do some psychological counseling.”

“Xiao Sun won’t be free all the time. If the problem isn’t solved, be sure to remember to go to a formal institution and don’t believe in those messy side methods.”

Speaking of this, Bai Yongji lowered his voice. “I’m ashamed to say, I have also asked for psychological counseling before and was scammed out of thousands. That person almost brought me into an MLM organization. Fortunately, I woke up quickly.”

Yin Ren: “Really, is it so scary?”

“Yes, I talked about this with Officer Sun before, and I should have called the police at that time… I don’t know if it’s okay to go now. Here, look, I screenshotted some of my chat history.”

He casually showed them the screenshots in his photo album.

There were more than dozens of WeChat records from half a year ago. The other party’s ID was “Lu Guangzu” written in large characters.

The first were just some intermittent transfer records, but the content of the last screenshot was quite eye-catching.

[Lu Guangzu: Mr. Bai, your problem is a bit difficult.]

[Lu Guangzu: I have to ask for help from our expert. Why don’t I introduce you?]

[In A Flash*: Expert? What expert? Mr. Lu, the matter hasn’t even been resolved yet. I need an explanation.]

*Like a white horse passing quickly across a gap (白驹过隙). Idiom referring to time is fleeting and passes by quickly.

[In A Flash: Are you lying about the things you’ve talked to me about?]

[Lu Guangzu: Don’t worry. I dare not say anything else. Our family is real. You can inquire about us on the streets.]

[Lu Guangzu: Have you ever heard of “Sunken Society”?]

The screenshot stopped at this point, and the rest was empty, indicating the conversation didn’t continue.

“After that, I went directly to an acquaintance who was a policeman and was scolded by him. At the beginning, Lu Guangzu used a lot of pseudo-science as a coverup, momentarily confusing me for a while, which was why I almost fell for it.”

Bai Yongji smiled bitterly.

“Seeing is not always believing. There are many scammers in the world, so you two must be careful.”

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The author has something to say:

Xiao Zhong’s King Yama skin exposed.

Xiao Yin: Happy to pretend to be ignorant and continue to tease King Yama (???

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<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 53: Fake

[yamaglad: Who are you?]

Yin Ren’s fingers froze on the keyboard.

He was surprised that the real King Yama actually appeared.

Although he always used King Yama to tease Zhong Chengshuo, honestly speaking, Zhong Chengshuo only possessed some of the characteristics of King Yama. Except for Feng Qi seeing him as “Death”, Yin Ren didn’t have any other evidence.

The only thing he could be sure of was that Zhong Chengshuo had nothing to do with Sunken Society and was probably a top master among the Nightwalkers.

But since King Yama had sent himself to his door…

Wasn’t this quite interesting?

[yamagald: Hello, King Yama. I’m a righteous person who does good without leaving a name.]

[yamaglad: ……]

[BOOS Supreme Evil Emperor: ??? King Yama’s account got hacked?????]

[My Name is Little Red Riding Hood: One is glad the other is gald.]

[BOOS Supreme Evil Emperor: Oh.]

[BOOS Supreme Evil Emperor: Pretending to be King Yama, are you fucking sick? If you’re so righteous to the masses, have the balls to meet offline.]

[yamagald: I just said, “I’m interested”, “If anyone knows anything, tell Shian” and “Point them in the right direction”. When did I pretend to be King Yama?]

The online chat room of the Nightwalkers was silent for a few seconds. This time, it wasn’t because of King Yama’s pressure but purely because of the shamelessness of this person.

[BOOS Supreme Evil Emperor: You lied to laozi. What kind of shit is this?]

[yamagald: Ordinary cultivators don’t know what human fragrance is. It’s normal. By the way, your BOSS is spelled wrong.]

[BOOS Supreme Evil Emperor: Fuck your mother. Laozi did it on purpose. Keep your dog eyes open.]

[yamagald: Haha, I see.]

Probably realizing he was being face slapped, BOOS Supreme Evil Emperor sprayed hundreds of swear words. Lord Ghost King looked at the screen indifferently, stretched out his hand, and dug his ears.

[My Name is Little Red Riding Hood: I seem to have a little impression of human fragrance. Are you a spirit craftsman?]

[yamagald: Nice.]

[Xinxin Kennel: I am also a spirit craftsman. How come I don’t know?]

[My Name is Little Red Riding Hood: “Human fragrance” is an old remedy that’s almost lost. For example, if I take your flesh and blood as a primer, adjust it, then smear it on my body, I can make evil things mistakenly think I am you.]

[Xinxin Kennel: Huh? Lao Lu knows human fragrance. Is it important?]

[Sister Xu Hotpot-Order number 1xxxx680184: Of course, it’s important. Human fragrance is used to impersonate people.]

[Favorite Sky: Xu Jie, what you’re insinuating is that Lu Guangzu has been in contact with the real culprit’s smell and is now pretending to be the murderer when he surrendered?]

[Favorite Sky: No way. Is he out of his mind?]

[My Name is Little Red Riding Hood: Collect money to take the blame. It’s not like it’s something trash can’t do. Metaphysical examination won’t check such remote things as human fragrance. Just remind Shian of this.]

[My Name is Little Red Riding Hood: I’ll go if no one else does. The Lu family needs to teach him a lesson.]

[Sister Xu Hotpot-Order Number 1xxxx680184: yamagald, how do you know that Lu Guangzu has been exposed to human fragrance?]

[yamagald: Guess?]

[BOOS Supreme Evil Emperor: You, cancel your account and change the name.]

[yamagald: No.]

[BOOS Supreme Evil Emperor: This will ruin King Yama’s reputation!]

[yamagald: He’s a very generous person and definitely doesn’t care, right King Yama? (^ω^)]

While typing, Lord Ghost King was frantically searching for emojis commonly used by modern young people.

[yamaglad: Accepting tricky tasks, only for evil things. Two-way choice. Don’t bother with miscellaneous matters.]

[yamaglad: Private message if interested. Deadline will be one minute.]

The Nightwalkers master diligently posted his advertisements and seemed to have no intention of getting involved. Yin Ren’s eyes turned. He clicked on King Yama’s profile and opened a private message window with one hand while picking up Dog Thing with his other hand.

Private message interface.

[yamagald: Good evening. I want to talk to you about business.]

At the same time, with a smile on his lips, Yin Ren called Zhong Chengshuo’s number.

……

Time reversed not so long ago.

Yin Ren had just left for the ghost market. Zhong Chengshuo had also finished a day filled with chaos. He looked up, and it was already 1 a.m.

It wasn’t suitable for a night run.

Zhong Chengshuo took a shower, put on a nightcap as usual, and crawled under the blankets. The bedroom was cool and dry, and with the soft cloth wrapped around him, he could always fall asleep within a few minutes.

However, on this day, he couldn’t smoothly fall asleep.

Zhong Chengshuo knew he should be able to sleep now that all the distracting thoughts in his mind had been cleared up, but his nerves were still bursting with continuous and small sparks. The itchy stimulation had invaded his throat.

Zhong Chengshuo felt a little thirsty. He got up and poured himself a glass of lemonade but found it didn’t have much taste. Comrade Xiao Zhong sat in the center of the bed and began to search for “sweet rose tea” in the food delivery app.

It was there, but the store was closed. He stared at the word “Closed” for a while.

…He still couldn’t fall asleep.

Perhaps it was that his sleep has been too irregular these days. Zhong Chengshuo leaned down and took out a spare laptop from the bottom of the bed.

This laptop had been processed to ensure that it wouldn’t be traced by technicians. Zhong Chengshuo logged into the Nightwalkers’ website, intending to read the chat history for a while before going to sleep.

As a result, as soon as he opened the chat room, someone named yamagald crashed directly into his vision.

[yamagald: I checked on it a bit. Lu Guangzu has been exposed to the production method of human fragrance and may have other plans.]

[yamagald: If anyone knows anything, tell Shian. Point them in the right direction to investigate.]

A person who was imitating him?

There were many cases of imposters stealing customers among the Nightwalkers, but the “King Yama” account was weird. Coupled with his reputation, no one dared to imitate him—King Yama’s work was often accompanied by a bloody storm, so impersonating King Yama wasn’t considered “stealing work”, but more like “looking for death”.

Zhong Chengshuo slid the screen upwards.

…This person had new information about Lu Guangzu’s case. If the impersonator was just trying to attract attention, he could help the other party.

[yamaglad:?]

[yamaglad: Human fragrance?]

[yamaglad: Who are you?]

After sending it, Zhong Chengshuo withdrew his hand, ready to see how things would blow up.

Sure enough, the definition of human fragrance and other possibilities were quickly spoken out by the Nightwalkers. As long as the Nightwalkers became privy to this information, Shian would as well. He could then investigate in depth based on the “new clues” with peace of mind.

He should send a pillow* for those sleepyheads.

*Usually refers to keeping them in your thoughts (often with a romantic undertone). Sending a pillow to someone so that they will be reminded of you as they sleep. || In this context, it means he’s making sure that the Nightwalkers remember the human fragrance clue so that Shian can catch on.

After making sure the situation had stabilized, Zhong Chengshuo routinely tossed in a few advertising words.

At this moment, he finally felt sleepy. Zhong Chengshuo pulled his nightcap down, intending to fall asleep. Unfortunately, at this moment, his spare phone and Shian’s phone both vibrated at the same time.

Zhong Chengshuo: “???”

[yamagald: Good evening. I want to talk to you about business.]

A private message pops up on the backup machine.

And just the second before, his phone lit up with a call from Yin Ren.

Zhong Chengshuo’s drowsiness was shaken away. He quickly answered the call, clamped the phone on his shoulder, and started typing with both hands on the keyboard of the spare phone.

“Hello, Yin Ren?” Zhong Chengshuo said while typing.

[yamaglad:?]

“Zhong Ge, it’s already 2. Why do you sound so awake?” Yin Ren’s voice had a smile in it.

[yamagald: Sorry to bother you, but there’s a case in Luanyu, Province H. We can’t handle it.] The message from the imposter appeared.

Zhong Chengshuo replied naturally, “I slept too much in the morning, and now my biological clock is a little messed up. What’s wrong?”

[yamaglad: Target, offer.]

Yin Ren’s voice was indistinct, as if he were yawning. “The reimbursement approval from Shian hasn’t come through yet, and I don’t have enough for a taxi. Can you pick me up at the entrance of the community and help me pay?”

[yamagald: A high-risk cursed spirit weapon is out of control. The matter is very urgent, so you may not be able to get here in time. We want to pay for an online consultation. Is that okay?]

“Taxi…” Zhong Chengshuo locked his eyes on the screen of the spare machine. “Isn’t it possible to just get home directly from the ghost market? Why do you need a taxi?”

[yamaglad: Target, offer, duration.]

“It’s all my fault. I wanted to take the opportunity to get something to eat.” There was a vague noise from Yin Ren’s side. “I’m not far from home. I can be there in ten minutes. Zhong Ge, help me. I’ll give you twice the fare later, okay?”

[yamagald: The lion statue made of 1,000-year-old Ice Blood at the entrance of Rock Town, 880,000, start consultation now, at least half an hour.]

The multi-tasking Zhong Chengshuo paused his hand.

He had never heard of this thing before. The other side must be bluffing, or…

No. Zhong Chengshuo suddenly became vigilant. Adding the two things together, his reaction time was much longer than before.

“Okay, let me know on WeChat when you’re almost there,” Zhong Chengshuo replied.

[yamaglad: Don’t want to pick it up. Find Mud Meat Zhang for things related to spirit weapons.] He quickly typed out his line and exited the private message interface.

“Are you busy with something?” Seeing that Zhong Chengshuo was half a beat slower, Yin Ren thoughtfully asked. “If it’s not convenient, just say so. It’s not too far away. I can walk back. Haa, the ghost market is much more convenient than taking a taxi, but it’s a pity you can only enter it once a day.”

Lord Ghost King stopped typing and also exited the webpage.

“I just yawned, nothing else.” Zhong Chengshuo replied without changing his expression. “I’m hanging up first.”

With a beep, the call was cut off.

In the nameless internet café, Yin Ren turned his phone around and stood up. “Dog Thing, remember to change my GPS information for me.”

In Ping’an Manor, Zhong Chengshuo neatly hid the spare laptop away and looked out the window. There was a drizzle of rain in the summer night. Zhong Chengshuo took out a transparent umbrella and went downstairs in advance.

About ten minutes later, Yin Ren got out of the taxi while carrying a few bulging bags in his hands.

It looked like a lot of barbeque, so it was no wonder why he didn’t have enough.

“Thank you, thank you.” Yin Ren plunged into the umbrella, still smelling of barbeque. “I forgot that Shian’s money hasn’t been transferred yet. Let’s go home quickly.”

“Nn.”

“I also bought two cups of wampee tea with less sugar.” Yin Ren shook the bag in his hand. “How about a drink? It’s early in the morning, so this doesn’t count as two drinks in a day.”

Yin Ren seemed to encounter something happy, as his languor had a bit more subtle smugness. Zhong Chengshuo looked at him for a moment. He seemed to smell the faint aroma of rose tea again.

“Drink,” he said.

“That counseling is quite effective. You have opened up so much.”

“The one you choose is better.”

“I see.”

After arriving home, Zhong Chengshuo took out the ice tray from the freezer and added some ice to the warmed wampee tea. He thought for a few seconds, then carefully picked up the plastic cup. Yin Ren understood and clinked cups with him.

“Cheers!”

“Cheers.”

The drink was sweet and sour. Zhong Chengshuo thought it would make him more awake. Unexpectedly, when the ice in the drink touched his tongue, his heart calmed down arbitrarily. There was a soft darkness outside the window, which made the living room look extremely bright, as if they were the only two people left in the world.

“I’m going to wash up. Good night.”

“Good night!” Yin Ren waved at him.

Zhong Chengshuo closed the door gently. On the other side of the door, Yin Ren scurried around the living room again, making very light noises.

Despite the sound outside the door, when Zhong Chengshuo’s head touched the pillow, he instantly fell asleep.

The next day, Yin Ren met with two old acquaintances in the office.

Red Fedora was still wearing her iconic hat, while Blue Vest had changed vests. The two people had the “visitor” tag on their chests and were currently sitting on the guest couch, looking curiously at the interior of the office.

“It’s you!” After seeing Yin Ren, Blue Vest grinned. “Brother, it’s been so long since I saw you!”

Yin Ren stepped forward and greeted Blue Vest warmly.

Red Fedora stood up and introduced herself. “My name is Lu Nana, and this is my cousin Lu Hui. Lu Guangzu is a distant relative of our family, whom we all have dealt with.”

After getting a full night’s sleep, Lu Xiaohe returned to her radiant look. “These two are here to provide clues.”

Zhong Chengshuo: “Clues?”

“Yes, they came early in the morning, just in time for when Lu Guangzu’s interrogation ended.”

Lu Xiaohe switched the screen display.

“After testing, Lu Guangzu’s body is relatively healthy. He eats three meals as normal, and we found nothing strange in his excrement. He hasn’t been replaced by any kind of magic weapon, such as a meat puppet, and there’s no strange toxins, evil qi, or control devices on his body… Generally speaking, his current behavior looked completely sober and autonomous.”

“It’s impossible for Shian to cover everything. These two asked for the inspection of ‘human fragrance’, and we really discovered a clue. The hand cream that Lu Guangzu carried with him is actually human fragrance, and he has been smearing it on himself these days.”

Their conjecture came true. The two Lu’s were silent for a while.

“We brought a powder specially designed to remove human fragrance. Mix it into a bottle of mineral water and pour it from above.”

Lu Nana opened her handbag and took out a cloth bag.

Inside the cloth bag was a half-full glass tube. Its stopper was sealed with wax, and the name, producer, and production date were written on the label.

“The Lu family has many spirit smiths, so we’re confident that the medicine is accurately mixed.”

Lu Nana sat back on the sofa, staring at the tips of her shoes, looking a little cramped. “King Yama has no intention of intervening in this matter… but if—if you guys come into contact with him, please also speak up for the Lu family. Lu Guangzu hasn’t returned home in many years, and our family doesn’t accept those that don’t follow the righteous path.”

Yin Ren stared at Zhong Chengshuo, who was sitting at his desk without blinking. He picked up the glass tube casually, causing the light yellow powder inside to slide like quicksand, making a soft rustle.

“When was the last time you had contact with Lu Guangzu?” Lord Ghost King briskly changed the subject.

“Chinese New Year.” Blue Vest—Lu Hui said. “He gambled all his money and said he had offended a bigshot and wanted to go home so he could borrow money from everyone. Even our matriarch scolded him and didn’t allow him to enter.”

“Yes, he never contacted us after that, but this has happened before, so no one thought much of it.” Lu Nana unscrewed a bottle of sports drink and sighed.

Yin Ren observed carefully and found that Lu Nana’s wound during the entrance exam had completely healed and there were no scars.

“Doesn’t he have family? Half a year has passed, and no one in your family has contacted him?” Yin Ren retracted his gaze with satisfaction.

Lu Hui scratched his head. “This… Lu Guangzu’s parents died early, and we always heard that he was involved in the ghost market, so we didn’t contact him specifically. After all, he’s a person in his twenties and has his own way of living.”

“But the police probably already discovered these things some time ago, so most likely, what we’re saying won’t be of much help to you.”

“No, no, no. Thank you for your support.” Lu Xiaohe stood up. “If there’s progress in the case, we’ll contact you as soon as possible.”

Yin Ren got up one step ahead of her and was ready to send these two “exam friends” out. However, when Lu Nana and Lu Hui walked to the door, they seemed to have thought of something.

“I almost forgot.”

Lu Nana carefully took out a small pale red porcelain jar from her bag. Although it was sealed, it still exuded a refreshing herbal aroma.

Lu Nana walked quickly to Yin Ren and presented it with both hands.

“After the entrance exam, our matriarch looked at my injury, and she praised you for handling it in a timely manner. This is our family’s scar-removing ointment. I have made more for you. Please use it as needed.”

She then lowered her gaze and whispered something embarrassedly. Hearing her words, Yin Ren gave a gentle smile and nodded slightly.

Zhong Chengshuo’s eyes were originally on the screen, but he was surprised to find that his gaze was floating uncontrollably in Yin Ren’s direction. His fingertips began to tingle, but this time the numbness was tinged with the slight acidity of the wampee tea.

Odd feeling.

Zhong Chengshuo turned his gaze back to the computer and heard the sound of a chair dragging behind him.

“You treated her wounds,” he stated.

Yin Ren downplayed it. “Just a little emergency treatment.”

Zhong Chengshuo swept his eyes over his own injured right arm. When he had been stabbed squarely, there didn’t seem to be any little emergency treatment then.

“Nn.” He simply hummed and continued to look at the computer screen.

A sound of clicking was followed by the noise of the porcelain bottle rubbing against the wooden desk. Zhong Chengshuo looked down and saw Yin Ren poking the porcelain bottle with two fingers and slowly pushing it in his direction.

“You can take it to use. It should be very good medicine. Didn’t you get injured a while ago?”

Yin Ren had smelled it carefully. It was indeed a good recipe. The Lu family had tremendously improved the recipe from 1,000 years ago. It was essentially an herbal home remedy that can also be used in scientific research.

Zhong Chengshuo seemed concerned about the scars on his body. Though the medicine couldn’t get rid of the big scar that ran across his chest and stomach, little scars were nothing to worry about.

“And it also smells good. It has a nice herbal fragrance that suits you well, so it’s not bad to use as a balm.”

“She gave it specially to you.” Zhong Chengshuo pulled his gaze away from the jar and looked at the computer again.

“That’s right.” Lu Xiaohe slid over and heckled. “Xiao Yin, don’t discard a girl’s good intentions. We all saw you two whispering.”

“What are you thinking?” Yin Ren said with a smile. “She just told me that if I met a spirit smith who’s good at creating medicine in Shian, she hopes I can give her a referral—she has some new ideas and wants to discuss them with a professional.”

Lu Xiaohe showed a sad expression of failure and slowly slid back to her original place.

As soon as Yin Ren lowered his head, he found that the small porcelain bottle on the table was gone, and there was something small bulging out of Zhong Chengshuo’s pocket.

Yin Ren: “……?”

Zhong Chengshuo responded calmly, “You just gave it to me.”

It wasn’t a problem, but had this person ever acted so sharply before?

……

When the sun was about to set, they saw Lu Guangzu again.

The human fragrance he was hiding was confiscated, and the medicine powder of the Lu family was poured over him. Lu Guangzu sat expressionlessly on the stool with a faint bluish tint under his eyes.

Yin Ren didn’t say a word and immediately recruited Lu Tanfei.

This time, the old man didn’t suddenly transform. He just stood in front of the window of the interrogation room like an ordinary old man.

“There’s no Yuanyuan. No more Yuanyuan.”

The old man’s voice was hoarse, and his eyes became red.

“Where the hell did Yuanyuan go?”

Yin Ren didn’t tell the old man about the tragedy of the “human chair”. He patted the old man on the back silently and took out the round box full of human fragrance.

The iron box had the words “Plum Blossom Hand Cream” printed on it. The style was old, but it was quite well preserved. Less than one-fifth of the human fragrance inside had been used. When Shian took away the ointment, Yin Ren had specifically asked for the box.

“We found quite a few clues—one of the murderer’s victims, and he’s still alive.”

Yin Ren comforted softly.

“I’ll take this box home. If you’re really uncomfortable, just smell the scent of Yuanyuan inside. Old man, we’re still counting on you to help us identify the culprit.”

Lu Tanfei stared at the iron box in pain, as if he were looking at his own heart that had been ripped out while it was still beating.

He stood quietly for a while, not breaking down as he did last time. After a long time, Lu Tanfei raised his red eyes and nodded very gently at Yin Ren.

He turned into a burst of black qi and quickly disappeared in place.

The next moment, Yin Ren and Zhong Chengshuo stepped into the interrogation room.

“You guys can observe and ask questions. We’ll listen outside. If things change, we’ll stop it in time.” Sun Qinghui’s voice came from the headset. “He’s been a lot more honest recently. Just watch your tone.”

Yin Ren sat down in the interrogation position in a novel manner, poking twice at the computer used for recording.

Lu Guangzu just looked at the two of them without making a sound.

He didn’t know why but compared to the arrogance and provocation of last time, there was now a trace of anxiety on his face. Lu Guangzu’s cheeks were a little sunken, and he looked much thinner.

“We are from Unit 9 of Shian’s Level C Special Investigation Team.”

Zhong Chengshuo showed him his Shian’s ID.

“Lu Guangzu, you should know that you’re no longer the focus of our investigation.”

Lu Guangzu just rolled his eyes as he looked at them, sweeping his gaze between Zhong Chengshuo and Yin Ren.

“We’ve recused Fan Yong. He has remnants of Evil Force on him, but you don’t. Even Lu Yuanyuan’s smell was forged by ‘human fragrance’.”

Seeing that Lu Guangzu was silent, Zhong Chengshuo calmly continued.

“Now there’s no evidence that proves you’re the perpetrator of what you call the ‘murder of seven people’. You didn’t give the police any victims other than Lu Yuanyuan. Even the name Fan Yong was investigated by the police first.”

Lu Guangzu continued to remain silent.

Zhong Chengshuo stood up and walked to Lu Guangzu.

“You’re a black intermediary who does whatever it takes to achieve your goals. You’re shortsighted and act simple and rough. It’s hard for a person like you to carefully lay out a plan three months in advance.”

And it was for such an illusory thing as “provoking King Yama”. Born in a society under the rule of law, few Nightwalkers would think Lu Guangzu’s behavior was ‘serious’. They thought he was probably braindead.

“Furthermore, you claimed that among your victims were children. Such things won’t earn you fame among the Nightwalkers… You lied about your motives.”

“But you did have contact with someone ‘related to Lu Yuanyuan’ recently and obtained a channel for the human fragrance. If you were instructed by the real culprit, or—”

“I don’t want to talk to you.”

Lu Guangzu suddenly interrupted. He looked at Zhong Chengshuo, and a subtle smile flashed in his eyes. Lu Guangzu raised his handcuffed hands and pointed to Yin Ren, who was still poking at the mechanical keyboard.

“…I only want to talk to him, one-on-one, without surveillance.”

Yin Ren’s hand that was playing with the keyboard froze on the spot.

“Grant him his request.” Sun Qinghui’s voice came from the headset. “Let’s see what other tricks he can play.”

“But…”

“You have no confidence in your partner?” Officer Sun joked. “Don’t worry, we’ll ensure Xiao Yin’s safety.”

Five minutes later.

The camera was turned off, and dark curtains were lowered on the wall windows. A young police officer came in and scanned the room to make sure there were no bugs. Miraculously, Lu Guangzu just gave the man a look and didn’t request any more suspicious things.

In the small interrogation room, only Yin Ren and Lu Guangzu were left.

“Interesting.” Yin Ren sat sideways on the interrogation table. “You wanted to talk to me? What do you want to talk about?”

Lu Guangzu didn’t answer at first. He just stared at Yin Ren with a burning gaze. His entire body was visibly tense.

Yin Ren casually played with his hair. “My partner knows more about this than me. You should have let him finish just now.”

“I know,” Lu Guangzu said. “I know what he probably wants to say. He thinks I’m cooperating with the real culprit, or… using my behavior to expose the real culprit.”

Yin Ren stopped playing with the tips of his hair. He stared at Lu Guangzu, and the smile on his face gradually disappeared.

Lu Guangzu started laughing. “But I don’t know what you’re thinking. The first time I saw you… You’re not an ordinary person, Mr. Yin Ren.”

“I want to make a deal with you. If you cooperate with me, I can tell you a little secret—a little secret about your partner. No matter why you snuck into Shian, this secret can help you.”

Yin Ren walked in front of Lu Guangzu expressionlessly. He leisurely stopped and gradually began to smile, but this time, the smile didn’t carry any warmth.

The back of Lu Guangzu’s head went cold.

A few seconds ago, this person was still exuding an approachable and harmless aura. At this moment, the relaxed atmosphere completely disappeared. Yin Ren was just looking at him with a smile, but his eyes were like hail falling from the sky, dousing Lu Guangzu with a jolt.

Lu Guangzu instinctively wanted to back away, but he was firmly confined to the interrogation chair.

“If you’re unsure, I’ll give you my bazi and write down my birth date. I’ll never divulge anything about you. I swear!”

“What if I don’t want to make this deal?” Yin Ren’s tone was unhurried.

“…You don’t want to expose your specialness, right?” Lu Guangzu’s voice was a little dry, with a slight, imperceptible tremor. “Just like ‘human fragrance’, there are tens of thousands of fine inspections. Shian can’t do them all, and someone must have to point it out first…”

He couldn’t continue.

Yin Ren remained motionless. The inexplicable sense of oppression gradually increased, as if it would crush him to a pulp.

“I don’t like being threatened.”

Yin Ren stretched out his index finger of his right hand and tapped lightly above Lu Guangzu’s left eye. The latter swallowed nervously, not daring to move.

Unfortunately, Yin Ren didn’t let him off.

His index finger exerted a slight force and crossed Lu Guangzu’s brow bone, bridge of his nose, and cheekbones.

The dull sound of flesh tearing sounded. Lu Guangzu’s fierce face changed shape. His left eye was pressed under the cheekbone and was completely torn from the skin of his forehead.

Not a drop of blood splashed out.

Beneath the hideous crack, another eye was exposed; a completely different eye. The two left eyes were folded between the deformed flesh, squeezed tightly one above the other in an uncomfortable, comical way.

“Remember, next time you go to the ghost market to buy materials, remember to divide up the number of stalls when buying items.” Yin Ren leaned down and whispered in the other party’s ear. “No matter how unorthodox the prescription is, there’s always a possibility someone will find out.”

Yin Ren had a cold smile on his face.

“…Give me your name and birth date? How interesting. But your aura, appearance, name, or birth date are all fake, right?”

“You’re not Lu Guangzu at all.”

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

---

Chapter 52: Replacement

The man examined Zhong Chengshuo for a few seconds.

After looking back, the man couldn’t help laughing. “Dr. Sun, the task given by your parents is heavy enough. Do you have to line up for a blind date as well?”

“I’m not here for a date. I’m just here to have a cup of coffee with Dr. Sun.” Zhong Chengshuo corrected him seriously.

Sun Qi’an: “……”

Sun Qi’an: “Mr. Bai, don’t mind. This is my friend. We have a counseling appointment at eight.“

She especially aggravated the “eight”.

“Counseling.” After harping on that word for a second, Mr. Bai looked back at Zhong Chengshuo. This time, his gaze was normal, and he quickly moved away.

Zhong Chengshuo looked at him calmly.

Mr. Bai seemed to be in his thirties. He had a handsome and elegant face, dressed in casual, but tasteful attire. Zhong Chengshuo recalled his blind date tragedy a while back—obviously the quality of Dr. Sun’s blind date was several grades higher than his.

“It’s not a formal counseling session. Just a casual chat between friends,” Sun Qi’an explained softly.

Mr. Bai smiled understandingly. “There’s no need to explain between us. Business matters are important. Since he’s here, why don’t you just begin. How long will it take?”

“About twenty minutes.” Dr. Sun tucked her hair back on one side.

“Alright, I’ll go for a walk.” Mr. Bai stood up. “I’ll come back and pick you up in half an hour, and then we can continue.”

Sun Qi’an breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you.”

Zhong Chengshuo sat down in the place where Mr. Bai was and watched as Mr. Bai left the café.

“Did I interrupt?” he asked directly.

Sun Qi’an looked at him with a smile. “No. It was just a blind date introduced by someone else. It just so happens that neither of us has any intention, so we were planning to talk about something else.”

Zhong Chengshuo nodded. He ordered two glasses of ice mochas and then sat down in a regular manner, with a gesture like he was waiting for an interrogation.

“Regarding your abnormality around Yin Ren, let’s continue to talk about the topic this morning… I haven’t touched these things in a while, so I’ll talk to you as a ‘friend’ today.”

Sun Qi’an wore a dark green suspender skirt and a long-sleeved, airy blouse, which looked soft and elegant. It was just when she was concentrating, her eyes were like awls, breaking through the “soft” thin shell.

“The first thing I want to determine is, does your tachycardia and elevated body temperature make you uncomfortable? For example, is it accompanied by fear, resistance, or other feelings?”

Zhong Chengshuo shook his head bluntly.

“So, if you can use one word to summarize your state, what word would you choose?”

Zhong Chengshuo thought for a moment, then replied, “Excited.”

To say that he and Yin Ren had several confrontations, this word should be able to summarize it.

“Well, from my personal point of view, your feelings for Xiao Yin shouldn’t be negative.”

Sun Qi’an didn’t show any weird expressions as she continued solemnly.

“We had dinner together. I can see that Xiao Yin’s personality is quite complementary to yours. Have you always admired this kind of cheerful and caring personality?”

Zhong Chengshuo: “No.”

His attitude was quite straightforward. It was obvious he had thought about this similar issue.

“I know that his character has many merits, but I have been in contact with a lot of such people, and I have never had any similar heart palpitation. As for other aspects… Yin Ren is indeed, um, a capable worker.”

For example, being able to release his killing intent.

Like always, Zhong Chengshuo wanted to continue to explain and dissect in detail. However, he was distressed to find that after counting the bits and pieces of their time together, he actually had nothing he could take out to specifically ask about.

He was left with nothing but unexplained feelings—the monstrous killing intent behind the door made him numb, and the frozen raindrops under the streetlamps made him hold his breath. Sometimes that person would lean over, and with just a simple touch, would cause his heart to struggle endlessly as if it were clenched tightly.

Zhong Chengshuo was miserably stuck.

How could he describe this feeling that he felt for the first time?

Zhong Chengshuo slowly frowned as he muttered to himself, “…I don’t know.”

He clenched his hands tightly, causing his knuckles to turn white.

“I don’t know.” After a long time, Zhong Chengshuo finally spoke again.

“I see. You’re trying to prove that Xiao Yin is special.” Sun Qi’an took a sip of her coffee. “At least to you, he’s special.”

“But this is not reasonable.” Zhong Chengshuo looked at the coffee stains on the table. “Everything should have a reason and explanation. Could it be that my research direction is wrong?”

Sun Qi’an almost choked on a mouthful of coffee. She understood; this person was more suitable for throwing a bomb on time, rather than caring if it reached the end.

“As far as I know, some people can like someone just by the way they smooth the pages of a book, and some people will dislike someone because of the contradiction of not putting down the toilet seat. There’s not so much logic in sensibility, and it’s just a momentary feeling.”

“You’re not the only one who can’t find the reason. Zhong Chengshuo, you are just moved by him.”

Zhong Chengshuo quietly gazed at Sun Qi’an.

This time, he didn’t deny it, and he didn’t know how to continue to deny it.

Zhong Chengshuo’s fingers twirled, as if he wanted to grab something and then slowly let it go.

“Of course, people will change, and their feelings will change them, not to mention the level of ‘heartbeat’. How to deal with these feelings next depends on your own thoughts—whether you want to move on or stop here. The latter solution, you can understand without me telling you.”

Seeing that he hadn’t spoken for a while, Sun Qi’an continued thoughtfully.

Zhong Chengshuo really understood. As small as changing residence, as big as applying for a partner switch, he had countless ways to reduce contact with Yin Ren.

But instead of attracting Shian’s attention, he let Yin Ren, an unidentified existence, wander around…

“I can take the risk of ‘liking him’,” he replied.

That’s it. It turns out it was ‘like’.

Zhong Chengshuo was relieved. Unfathomable reassurance and nervousness converged. What he was afraid of was the unknown. Since he was embracing this common positive emotion, he could study it with confidence.

Although it was fresh and sweet, it was nothing more than some hormones, physiological impulses, and stray thoughts that didn’t sound like a trick from the enemy. The excitement of discovering a new goal reappeared, raging even higher than before.

“Thank you for your help.” Zhong Chengshuo calmly added, “I’ll handle it properly.”

Zhong Chengshuo’s tone was mixed with relief, confidence, and ease. Compared to “understanding his own heart”, his tone was more like “just learned how to catch birds”.

Sun Qi’an cast a pitying look at Zhong Chengshuo and waved her hand wearily. “Another iced mocha with sugar. Are you sure you don’t want me to refer you to a psychiatrist?”

“No need.”

“…Okay.” Sun Qi’an smiled reluctantly.

Not far from the door.

Yin Ren was standing in line at a milk tea store with Ge Tingting.

Lord Ghost King was able to hold back his need for gossip and didn’t eavesdrop as he did last time, but there was a famous milk tea shop nearby and he had nothing better to do. Since he was so close, he could clearly smell Zhong Chengshuo.

Zhong Chengshuo and Sun Qi’an were sitting by the window. He and Ge Tingting were lined up, and he could see them with a tilt of his head.

It seemed that they were having a good conversation.

Yin Ren moved his gaze back to the menu, looking at two tempting red drinks on the stand-up advertising sign of the milk tea shop. A very cute and pink font was printed under the drink—”New on the market! Sweet rose tea for your favorite TA”.

“One passion fruit smoothie with less sugar, and one caramel pearl milk tea with ice and regular sugar.” When it was Yin Ren’s turn, he ordered skillfully. “Two sweet rose tea, half sugar, at room temperature. Please pack them together.”

The waiter tapped on the screen and gave him an embarrassed look. “Sir, I’m really sorry. We’re sold out of the rose tea.”

Yin Ren was startled. “Then do you have any drinks suitable for couples here?”

“This…”

“Do you want mine? I’ll give them to you.” A man standing at the side of the store laughed. “I just finished ordering two of them.”

Yin Ren smiled at the man. “Thank you. Let me order two other drinks for you.”

The man came over with a smile. He didn’t order any more but instead looked at Yin Ren for a while. Seeing the strange man approach, Ge Tingting moved two steps back and hid herself behind Yin Ren.

“This is my business card.” With gleaming eyes, he handed Yin Ren a business card with both hands. “Sorry, it’s a bit sudden—your image is very good. Will you consider cooperating with us?”

Yin Ren lowered his head and glanced at the business card.

[Bai Yongji, Head of New Media Center, Coral Reef (Group) Co., Ltd.,]

So that’s it. His job was similar to Lin Bei’s.

Lord Ghost King naturally didn’t want to expose himself to the public and engage in this cooperation, but since this person had helped him, he took out his phone and added the other party’s WeChat, then stuffed his business card into his pocket.

Bai Yongji immediately accepted, and Yin Ren transferred the money for the two milk teas.

“Thank you,” Yin Ren thanked again.

“If it weren’t for my appointment, we could have a cup of coffee and talk about cooperation.”

Bai Yongji smiled softly. He glanced at the time, nodded to Yin Ren, and walked to the café next door.

“Let’s talk again when we have time.”

Yin Ren: “Hey, Mr. Bai, wait a minute. Since you’re such a gentleman, won’t you do me another favor?”

Mr. Bai turned back in confusion.

“These two drinks, can you deliver them to my friend?” Yin Ren pointed at Zhong Chengshuo and Sun Qi’an by the window. “He’s on a date with a girl today, and I want to help him.”

“Haha!” Bai Yongji laughed out loud on the spot.

……

Five minutes later, Yin Ren and Zhong Chengshuo met in the café.

Bai Yongji explained the situation in a few words, then drove Sun Qi’an home. Before leaving, the two of them had a good laugh together, leaving behind a certain embarrassed Evil Spirit.

“It turns out it was just a private matter.” Yin Ren buried his face in the palm of his hand. “I still wanted to help you…”

Naturally, the two rose milk teas weren’t delivered. They lay quietly in the bag, with a layer of mist condensing outside.

“Forget it. Since it’s already bought, let’s just drink it.” Yin Ren took out a cup of rose tea and pushed it toward Zhong Chengshuo.

Zhong Chengshuo didn’t refuse. He looked around and said, “What about Ge Tingting? Mr. Bai said you came with her.”

“I asked her to go back first. At any rate, this matter concerns your privacy. Okay, let’s go home together.”

“Nn.”

The door of the café opened and closed, isolating the air conditioning. The two of them were instantly wrapped in warm air. The sunset was brilliant, casting its dimming light on the signboard of the café, making it red and orange. The original refreshing color had a bit more warmth to it.

“Yin Ren.” Zhong Chengshuo stopped.

“What?” Yin Ren also stopped as he put a straw into his rose tea.

Zhong Chengshuo suddenly approached and gave him a hug.

This hug lasted only for two seconds; a standard and polite hug. If this was between old friends with a cheerful personality, it wasn’t uncommon, but this was done by Zhong Chengshuo, which meant it suddenly had a more frightening implication.

Yin Ren turned stiff like a coffin board and almost made a combat gesture.

“Thank you for trying to help me out.”

Zhong Chengshuo found a perfect explanation for his behavior.

Sun Qi’an raised the hypothesis, and this was the last step in his proof—Yin Ren’s long hair ran across his palm and his smell lingered at the end of his nose. With just a simple hug, the touch and body temperature of the other person made his heart flutter. Under the sunset, the back of Zhong Chengshuo’s neck and his ears were burning.

His heartbeat was so fast it almost broke his eardrum, but there was no confusion in his thinking.

Stimulation and relaxation mixed together, and there was a subtle sense of healing. For the first time since July 24, Zhong Chengshuo had never felt so at ease.

He had already determined this goal called “good feeling”. Research, control, and elimination had always been what “King Yama” was best at. However, Zhong Chengshuo felt a bit of regret—it would be great if this good feeling had an entity. When the research was completed, the problem could be solved by the Evil Fruit.

How long could this affection survive? Even he was a bit curious.

After letting go of Yin Ren, Zhong Chengshuo took a sip of his rose tea. The taste of flowers rushed into his nose, and the sweetness and coldness were perfect. He knew that if there wasn’t the cover of the sunset, his face and this tea would probably be the same color.

Comrade Xiao Zhong had figured it out, but his stress was almost immediately transferred to another person.

The cup Yin Ren was holding almost slipped from his hand. He was in a daze for a full few seconds before he said, “You’re welcome.”

While Zhong Chengshuo was walking, Lord Ghost King quickly clicked on Dr. Sun’s WeChat.

[Fruit Knife: Did Zhong Chengshuo say he had a terminal illness?!?!]

[Show Me Your Heart: …What’s wrong with him?]

[Fruit Knife: Something is wrong with him, but I can’t tell.]

[Show Me Your Heart: ……]

[Show Me Your Heart: It’s okay. He’s not going to die. 😊]

…Okay. Since the doctor said this… Yin Ren glanced at Zhong Chengshuo worriedly and put down his phone.

“I still want to go to the ghost market tonight.” He pretended that nothing happened.

“Nn.” Zhong Chengshuo responded absentmindedly.

“I’m going to the ghost market alone.”

“Nn.”

“Do you know ‘King Yama’ of the Nightwalkers?”

‘Nn.”

“Really? Who is it?”

“…No, I don’t know.”

……

At night, while Zhong Chengshuo was locked inside his bedroom, Yin Ren secretly took out a cabbage from the refrigerator.

“Aren’t you going to the ghost market? Are you going to set up a stall over there to sell cabbage?” Hu Tao’s face was full of suspicion.

Yin Ren didn’t answer. He cut the roots off the cabbage and put the leaves back in the refrigerator.

Immediately after, he pinched the blooming cabbage and began to forcibly pour evil qi into it. The evil qi quickly disintegrated, and strong evil qi quickly gathered in the cabbage. The white cabbage quickly turned black and shriveled, with its tips protruding from the flat incision looking like a dead man’s finger.

Soon, the cabbage turned into a ball of dried buds.

Hu Tao: “…Unwanted evil qi can be given to me, who’s in need. This is too wasteful!”

“This is called evil grass, which can be used to adjust medicine.” Yin Ren explained absentmindedly. “After the evil qi is washed away repeatedly, the plant will become like this.”

The evil grass that changed from the cabbage was put into cling film. It was neither rare nor common. Yin Ren planned to give this as a gift to Xiao Mengpo, as a way to make amends.

“I’m going to the ghost market,” Lord Ghost King said dreamily. “Keep an eye on Lu Tanfei. Don’t let him run around… I’m going to find clues for the case.”

After speaking, he hurriedly ran to Zhong Chengshuo’s door.

“Zhong Ge, I’m going to the ghost market.”

“Okay.”

“I might buy something.”

“I see. Contact me if you have something urgent.”

Yin Ren: “……”

Yin Ren: “Okay, then I’m off now!”

Brother, aren’t you suspicious of me? Didn’t you want to stick to me closely? How long has it been and you’ve already given up halfway? If it wasn’t for Sun Qi’an’s lack of malice and evil qi, Yin Ren would have suspected that Sun Qi’an was a member of Sunken Society and somehow brainwashed Zhong Chengshuo while he wasn’t paying attention.

Zhong Chengshuo didn’t even come to send him off!

Facing the closed door, Yin Ren was speechless. He understood that it was more difficult to deal with a serious Zhong Chengshuo than a Zhong Chengshuo who he didn’t know what was going on in his head.

Unfortunately, if it weren’t for the limited time, he really wanted to stand still.

Yin Ren walked slowly to the entrance, but he couldn’t help it and went back to Zhong Chengshuo’s bedroom. “Are you going for a night run, or do you have any other work?”

Zhong Chengshuo answered smoothly, “I need to do some research, so I’ll run later at night.”

Yin Ren listened to the meditation music faintly coming from the bedroom in a daze.

……

Xiao Mengpo held the evil grass under her nose and sniffed fiercely.

It was superb and big and round in shape. The evil qi inside was extremely strong. She didn’t know where this kid got it.

“The quality is good, and the plant base is not bad.” Xiao Mengpo instantly forgave Yin Ren.

Yin Ren added lively, “Well, the foundation is made of good snow lotus flowers. I didn’t mean to snatch the chair away from you. I really need it for work…”

“Shian. I get it. It’s not your fault.” Xiao Mengpo stepped out of the shadows and sat under the plaque displaying “Practice Medicine to Save the World”. “You came here specifically this time… Is it to ask about the ‘rat eye goji berries?”

“Yes, elder sister. Look, is this the person who bought rat eye goji berries from you?”

Yin Ren brought up Lu Guangzu’s photo and showed it to Xiao Mengpo.

“Yes. You don’t need to show me. I know Lu Guangzu.” Xiao Mengpo knocked on her pipe. “This kid has bought many things from me, but he usually only buys blood tobacco before. Recently, he started buying some serious medicine.”

“In addition to plum roots and living teeth, did he buy anything special?”

“He did. I’ll write it down for you.” Xiao Mengpo blew a ring of smoke. “In the past, I wouldn’t give this kind of information, but that kid dragged the Nightwalkers under the police’s nose, so he needs to be taught a lesson.”

“That’s right.” Yin Ren smiled as he hugged his arms.

“In addition to this matter, I have two more things to ask elder sister—I want the login method to the Nightwalkers contact station, and I also want the address of the Lu family’s home.”

“Well, neither are troublesome matters. The price… just bring me another evil grass next time you come.”

Yin Ren reached out his finger and tapped Xiao Mengpo’s brows after the old lady finished her explanation.

“No problem. I’ll bring you what you ask for.”

In the surprised eyes of the old lady, Yin Ren was smiling slightly.

“But please also forget about these things.”

……

Yin Ren came out of the ghost market, rubbing his hands casually on his face.

He had shrunk his long hair short, and his facial features were kneaded flat. The temporarily grown skin piled under his clothes, making him look like an ordinary middle-aged man with a beer belly.

After taking advantage of the night to change his face, Yin Ren went straight to a small internet café.

“I forgot my ID card, and it’s urgent,” he said in a thick, panting voice.

A young man was working at the internet café’s front desk. He yawned and nodded casually at Yin Ren. “Forgot to bring your ID? 20 an hour.”

“Done.”

Yin Ren smiled gratefully.

He went to the corner of the Internet cafe, jerkily turned on the machine, and logged into the Nightwalkers’ website.

He recalled the internal information of Shian for a while, carefully typed on the keyboard, and pressed in his account credentials one by one. After the account was created, Yin Ren pondered for a while and successfully entered the online chat room of the Nightwalkers.

The aftermath of Lu Guangzu’s case was still there, and the Nightwalkers were still chatting with each other.

[BOOS Supreme Evil Emperor: It’s been a few days, and Shian hasn’t found shit.]

[BOOS Supreme Evil Emperor: If King Yama were willing to take action, it’s estimated that the investigation would have been completed a long time ago.]

[Xinxin Kennel: I heard that a victim was found, but I don’t know if it’s true or not. Apparently, it was at Lao Jiang’s auction.]

[Xinxin Kennel: If that is really a victim, things will be interesting.]

[BOOS Supreme Evil Emperor: Hahahaha, I heard that Shian sent two stupid newcomers, and they caused a big ruckus.]

[Favorite Sky: Shian actually came to my house, but it seems King Yama isn’t interested. He didn’t show up at all…]

Yin Ren rubbed his hands as his fingertips jumped quickly on the keyboard.

[yamagald: I’m interested.]

[Favorite Sky: ???]

[BOOS Supreme Evil Emperor: ????]

[Xinxin Kennel: ????]

[My Name is Little Red Riding Hood: No, this name is a little off.]

[BOOS Supreme Evil Emperor: Laughing to death. Who dares to use the name of King Yama?]

[yamagald: Shian is getting in my way again.]

[yamagald: I checked a bit on it. Lu Guangzu has been exposed to the production method of human fragrance and may have other plans.]

[yamagald: If anyone knows anything, tell Shian. Point them to the right direction to investigate.]

Old Dog Peng said that at the level of King Yama, as long as he say something, someone would be willing to give it. Sure enough, as soon as he finished typing, he got a warm response…

[BOOS Supreme Evil Emperor: I’m going! I will go tomorrow!]

Sure enough, the name King Yama was really good. Yin Ren smacked his lips in satisfaction.

According to Shian’s records, King Yama only appeared once a month at most. The person had just been active a while ago, so it shouldn’t be too soon…

[yamaglad:?]

[yamaglad: Human fragrance?]

Yin Ren’s satisfied smile froze on his face.

[BOOS Supreme Evil Emperor: ???????]

[yamaglad: Who are you?]

---

The author has something to say:

He’s here!!!!!!!

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

---

Chapter 51: Help Wanted

It could be that the time was too early for Dr. Sun to reply. Minister Fu was taken away by a phone call. Being experienced, Comrade Xiao Lu instantly contacted her immediate boss and got the reply, “You can go rest”.

“Go. To the staff lounge to get some sleep for another 7 hours.” She rubbed her eyes frantically.

“Breakfast…” Zhong Chengshuo was still struggling, “and lunch…”

Yin Ren: “I’ll bring it for you.”

“I’m not eating. I want to sleep.” Lu Xiaohe yawned again. “Don’t wake me up.”

“Okay.”

Yin Ren and Zhong Chengshuo had stayed in the visitor lounge before, but they didn’t come into contact with the legendary “staff lounge”.

As the name implied, the staff lounge was designed for each action group to rest after a task—after all, many people lived far away from the company, and it wasn’t convenient for them to temporarily vacate a dorm.

After seeing the actual lounge, Yin Ren only felt happy and relaxed.

Sleeping in this place was much better than sleeping on a folding bed.

The staff lounge was warm and clean. The main color was a soft earth color, and the curtains had excellent shading. It was currently daytime outside, but the room was dark as night. Only the night light was on at the head of the bed. The temperature and humidity of the room were adjusted just right.

Eight single beds were placed against the wall, and there was a movable screen that divided the area into two: one for men and one for women. Considering the number of members in their Unit 9 group, only four beds had mattresses and sheets.

Lu Xiaohe went straight to the women’s area. She slumped into the bed and casually shook off her shoes. “Good night, comrades.”

After two seconds, she fell asleep.

Zhong Chengshuo shook his head while confirming the bedside table to make sure that the drawers had Shian’s standard clothes inside, then he slowly fell onto the bed.

Given the space utilization rate, the bed density here was similar to that of a hospital ward, with each bed close to the other. Yin Ren stretched his body for a while and turned over with interest.

After thinking about it carefully, the last time they slept together was in a hotel outside of Shian.

He thought Zhong Chengshuo would lie upright, but instead he resolutely turned his back to him and curled up like a shrimp. Yin Ren didn’t know if this was some kind of adaptation to the environment or what, but Zhong Chengshuo’s breathing hadn’t slowed for a long time. It was obvious he was still awake.

Yin Ren slipped out of bed lightly and laid down beside Zhong Chengshuo’s bed. “Hey, what do you want for breakfast?”

Zhong Chengshuo: “A carrot veggie bun, two boiled eggs, and lean meat porridge, or something similar to these.”

“Order something good. My treat.”

“Then one green veggie tofu bun, two boiled eggs, and beef porridge with salted eggs.”

“What about lunch?”

“Beef with garlic sauce, roasted veggies with fermented bean curd, rice, and unsweetened yogurt.” Zhong Chengshuo spoke as if he was reading a report.

“Okay. Pan-fried wagyu beef, stir-fried seasonal fresh vegetables, rice, and unsweetened yogurt. I’ll take it upon myself and add some honeydew melon for you.” Yin Ren responded lightly.

Zhong Chengshuo turned over. He wanted to protest when he met Yin Ren’s smiling eyes.

Yin Ren was squatting on the edge of the bed. His arms were pressing down on the soft mattress, creating a depression. The depression slanted slightly, as if influenced by a gravitational force. His face was only half an arm away from Zhong Chengshuo’s face. The sound of their breathing was clearly audible.

Zhong Chengshuo pulled back, trying to retreat, and almost fell off the single bed.

The smile in Yin Ren’s eyes became a little stronger. ‘This person is simply too entertaining,’ Lord Ghost King thought cheerfully.

Thousands of years ago, there were many humans who wanted to deal with him. Many of them got along with him at first, but then tried to stab him in the back. None of them were like Zhong Chengshuo… They were scheming but shortsighted.

Yin Ren didn’t notice any hostility from this person. Even when the sharp razor slid across his neck when he was cutting his hair, Yin Ren didn’t feel the slightest malice from Zhong Chengshuo… If he had to put it into words, the only emotion he found was similar to “wariness”.

Just like now. Although Zhong Chengshuo would sometimes leak some of this wariness, there was no fear in that alert; only simple vigilance and nervousness.

Yin Ren was in a good mood. “Hurry up and sleep. We have work in the afternoon.”

“I’m just not used to talking to people while lying down,” Zhong Chengshuo explained as he was still shifting towards the edge of the bed.

“Mm-hmm.”

“Really.”

“Okay, okay. I get it.”

“……” Zhong Chengshuo silently rolled back over and turned his back to Yin Ren again.

After Lord Ghost King had played enough, he stood up contentedly and rushed to the cafeteria. Zhong Chengshuo opened his eyes and stared at the empty bed next to him—his body was tired, but his mind was unusually sober.

Without Yin Ren, only Lu Xiaohe’s steady breathing was left in the room. Zhong Chengshuo took out his phone and checked his WeChat messages again.

[Final Fruit: Hello, Dr. Sun. I would like to consult about a psychological problem.]

[Final Fruit: Maybe I really do have some psychological issues.]

[Show Me Your Heart: Oh?]

Sun Qi’an replied a few minutes ago. Zhong Chengshuo thought about it for a moment and decided to continue the conversation immediately.

[Final Fruit: What do I need to do?]

[Show Me Your Heart: Tell me about your situation first, and I’ll refer you to people who are good at the corresponding aspect.]

[Show Me Your Heart: Don’t worry, I’ve taken counseling courses and have a certificate.]

Zhong Chengshuo wasn’t surprised.

Sun Qi’an, the “King of Medicine” of B University, was a medical doctor and a well-known certification fiend. Even Zhong Chengshuo, who didn’t pay attention to the wind outside, had heard of her glorious deeds. If he were to seek consultation from an accountant, Sun Qi’an would probably pull out her CPA certificate.

[Final Fruit: Are you talking about symptoms? I happen to have a friend with similar symptoms. Can that be used as reference?]

[Show Me Your Heart: …….Go ahead.]

[Final Fruit: I have a friend.] To ensure authenticity, he paused for a while.

[Show Me Your Heart: ……] Sun Qi’an returned him a string of ellipses, probably indicating that she was listening.

[Final Fruit: My friend recently had an object of great concern. For some objective reason, he has to observe the other party carefully.]

[Show Me Your Heart: Observe?]

[Final Fruit: Yes. He needs to observe the character of the other party to ensure that they will not harm society.]

[Final Fruit: He has observed many similar objects, but this one is a bit special. When in contact with it, he occasionally has symptoms of rapid heartbeat and facial fever. During breaks, his attention would always turn to the subject of observation.]

[Show Me Your Heart: Well, it may not be nervousness; it sounds like your friend, like the other person.]

[Final Fruit: Absolutely impossible. Their different species.]

[Show Me Your Heart: ???]

[Final Fruit: I have seen cross-species mating, which is similar. Those animals generally have an estrus period, so they either are venting their emotions or they are forcibly locked together by humans or have frequent contact with humans, which causes them to develop species cognitive problems.]

[Final Fruit: My friend has no estrus period, and there’s absolutely no obstacle to species cognition.]

[Show Me Your Heart: ………………………………………………………………..]

[Show Me Your Heart: Classmate Zhong Chengshuo, your thinking is too erratic. Some people like cats and dogs, some people like spiders and reptiles, and even some like large beasts. Cross-species liking is very normal. Maybe he simply likes the object of observation. Of course, if your friend has physical urges, you can ask him to register with the Department of Psychology.]

Zhong Chengshuo curled up in disappointment and continued typing.

If he could, he didn’t want to leave too many personal traces in the public domain. The “characteristic leakage” of the Department of Cardiology and the Department of Psychology wasn’t in the same order.

[Final Fruit: I understand. Then I’ll continue to talk about myself.]

[Final Fruit: I have a colleague, and for various reasons I have to live with him.]

[Show Me Your Heart: Xiao Yin?]

[Final Fruit: Yes, when I was in contact with him, I would occasionally experience heart palpitations, elevated body temperature, and the like. What kind of psychological stress could this be?]

After all, she did just say, “It may not be nervousness”.

[Show Me Your Heart: When you came to visit before, I thought you were tired from work. It turns out that your arrhythmia was due to Xiao Yin. King Zhong, isn’t it because you have a crush on someone?]

[Final Fruit: ?]

[Show Me Your Heart: I’m kidding~ Xiao Yin has a very good personality so it’s normal for you to have a good impression of him. Since you care so much, it’s necessary to distinguish between ‘wanting to be friends’ or other good feelings, so as not to cause embarrassment and misunderstandings.]

The topic finally returned to normal. Dr. Sun was obviously relieved, and the emotions in her words were more cheerful.

[Show Me Your Heart: How about this. At 8 tonight, let’s meet at the White Crow Café on Jiangxue Road and we’ll talk.]

[Show Me Your Heart: My consultation fee will be a cup of mocha~ If necessary, I’ll refer you to an expert in this field.]

[Final Fruit: Okay, thank you.]

Zhong Chengshuo had investigated Sun Qi’an in advance. Dr. Sun’s character was quite good and worthy of a certain degree of trust. The exhaustion that had been hanging in the air for a long time finally surged. Zhong Chengshuo stuffed the phone under his pillow and slowly closed his eyes.

Whether Yin Ren was an evil being or a person with special abilities, he proposed all the possibilities, but the speculations he got were almost the same.

Like? Good impression?

Zhong Chengshuo knew the meaning of these words, but he had never thoroughly understood them. Forget it. He would leave professional matters to the professionals. He believed that Dr. Sun would give him a scientific answer.

……

4 p.m., Foreign Body Identification Department.

Yin Ren and Zhong Chengshuo stood in front of the observation room, quietly looking at one of the victims in this case…

The “human chair” was placed inside the observation room. It was cleaned up and placed on a soft cushion. In the snow-white observation room, about six strange-looking infusion bags hung around the chair, with special needles piercing both sides of the armrest and embedded deep into the wood.

There was a soothing white noise in the observation room, but looking through the glass, the scene was still bizarre.

In the morning, Fang Yuanyuan went to the Municipal Public Security Bureau and did a full metaphysical examination on Lu Guangzu. She went just in time to catch the end of Sun Qinghui’s interrogation.

Lu Guangzu admitted that “Fan Yong”, who had become a chair, was also one of the victims.

Fang Yuanyuan informed Fu Xingchuan of the news as soon as she received it, but Minister Fu didn’t show up again. He had disappeared to who knew where. At present, Yin Ren and Zhong Chengshuo could only carefully read the information obtained by the police.

Fan Yong, 38 years old, disappeared two months ago.

He was an ordinary mover, not even a shift leader. He had an honest and easygoing personality and worked really hard, which gave him a good reputation among his customers.

However, similar to Lu Yuanyuan, Fan Yong’s real situation was also very difficult—about five or six years ago, the old building where his family lived collapsed. Fan Yong’s parents, wife, and children all died in the ruins. Only he survived and lost two fingers. He came to Haigu to make a living two years ago and had been renting a small bungalow in the Old Town.

He was missing for a full month before a client who had a good relationship with him called the police.

It was an ordinary life that had nothing to do with the metaphysics.

The smiling, sturdy man in the photo was now a slightly trembling wooden chair, which could be casually destroyed. Shian didn’t reveal this bizarre event to the police. They only disclosed that Fan Yong had suffered “devastating injuries that are difficult to recover from”.

When the police mentioned that “Fan Yong is still alive”, Lu Guangzu showed an almost distorted smile.

“Then why don’t you bring him back?” He lowered his head and played with his fingers as he replied with a grin. “Lu Yuanyuan’s the same. Everyone’s the same. There is always a time limit in hide and seek, isn’t there?”

Time limit…

Could it be that the other six victims were also turned into objects and hidden in some corner of the city? Yin Ren lifted his gaze from the interrogation video and once again looked at the chair in the white room.

“You can’t communicate with him?”

Yin Ren turned his head and asked the staff on one side.

“No. Even if we did, it’s all wild ravings that we can’t decipher. He’s completely unable to vocalize.”

A male staff member wearing a black seal answered him.

“If this person dies and becomes a ghost, a ghost master can still speak to him, but given his half-dead situation…”

Indeed, Feng Qi’s translation ability could only interpret the “crazy ravings” of the living. Fan Yong couldn’t say a word, which meant the boy couldn’t interpret anything. Yin Ren himself could make a move, but that wasn’t much different from revealing his identity.

Speaking of Feng Qi…

Yin Ren lowered his eyes and thought for a moment. “Can you let Ge Tingting listen?”

“Who?”

“Ge Tingting, a new member of our Unit 9, a rogue corpse servant.”

“This person isn’t dead yet. That’s just too cruel.” The black seal hissed back.

“No, perhaps it’s feasible.” Zhong Chengshuo continued, “Miss Ge can detect remnants of information from corpses, and Fan Yong somatic cells have lost most of their activity. Although it’s not considered ‘death’ in the strict sense, the idea is still worth trying.”

Seeing the staff still wavering, Yin Ren hurriedly added, “It’s still up to Ge Tingting. She’s still a child, so she may not be able to withstand this kind of stimulation.”

It turned out that Miss Ge Tingting was brave.

The young corpse servant bit her lip when she heard that she could save people and came. Ge Tingting held her phone tightly and still had those headphones given to her by Unit 9 around her ears.

When she saw the human chair, she shivered.

“Fan Yong is in an unstable state now, so we can’t give him too much stimulation. Little miss, can you do it alone?” A female red seal gave Ge Tingting a protective suit.

Ge Tingting looked at the real-time subtitles on her phone and quickly typed on her tablet.

[I can.]

[I have read the information for this uncle, and I want to save him.]

“You’re very brave. Do you need anything?”

[Stethoscope.] Ge Tingting made a gesture.

However, after getting the stethoscope, she still hesitated at the door for a few seconds. Her hand holding the stethoscope was trembling imperceptibly. Yin Ren took two steps forward and hung his hand above Ge Tingting’s head.

Seeing that there was no resistance in the other party’s eyes, he rubbed her head gently through the protective suit.

“Don’t worry,” Yin Ren whispered to Ge Tingting. “Zhong Ge and I are outside. If you can’t hear any sound or can’t bear it, come out to us at any time.”

“You’re just a child. It is out of kindness that you’re helping us, not due to work obligations. These things are the responsibilities of adults, so don’t put too much pressure on yourself.”

Ge Tingting clenched the phone tightly and nodded.

[Thank you. I will try my best.]

“Go ahead, Hero Ge.” Yin Ren smiled and retracted his hand.

Zhong Chengshuo glanced at Yin Ren with a complicated expression but didn’t say a word.

Two minutes later, the original bizarre scene in the observation room became even stranger—the infusion bags were still hanging on the ordinary chair, and there was a little girl in a full-body protective suit gesturing with her stethoscope as she pressed it back and forth on the chair.

Behind the mask of the protective suit, Ge Tingting’s brows started to wrinkle tighter.

She first pressed the stethoscope on the back of the chair, listened carefully, and then gestured at the chair for a while with her incomprehensible “ravings”. Finally, she sighed deeply and walked out with red eyes.

Before leaving, she patted the back of the thin chair lightly.

Shian-Small Work Group.

[Ear Person: This uncle seems to be crazy.]

[Final Fruit: ?]

[Ear Person: He keeps saying “I don’t like chairs anymore”, “Don’t want chairs”, “Take the chairs away, please”, “I want to die”, and so on… He didn’t answer my question at all.]

[Ear Person: He’s also speaking all over the place, so the situation is very bad.]

[Ear Person: Can you save him?]

[Fruit Knife: The situation is a bit tricky, but if he’s still alive, there’s hope 👍]

[Fruit Knife: So amazing, Hero Ge. Shian hasn’t found anyone with such great knowledge. You’re the first to find this new clue. Do you want milk tea later? I’ll treat you.]

[Ear Person: Okay, thank you!]

The haze on Ge Tingting’s face dissipated a little. She took off her protective clothing, put back on her headphones, and gave a jerky smile to the two of them.

However, when Ge Tingting’s figure disappeared, the smile on Yin Ren’s face instantly faded. He pinched his brows and fell into contemplation. He didn’t think for long when his wrist suddenly felt hot.

Zhong Chengshuo had carefully grabbed his wrist and dragged Yin Ren to the empty meeting room of the Identification Department.

“What?” Yin Ren raised his brows.

“Think together.” Zhong Chengshuo picked up a marker and walked towards the whiteboard. “Are you thinking about the case?”

Yin Ren: “Actually, I was thinking about what to have for dinner.”

Zhong Chengshuo’s movement instantly froze. He looked at Yin Ren in disbelief and almost dropped the marker he was holding.

“…Just kidding. I’m really thinking about the case.” Yin Ren held back a smile. “Come on, Zhong Ge, summarize the case.”

Zhong Chengshuo glanced at him erratically and pressed the red marker on the whiteboard.

“Leaving aside non-scientific issues such as things related to evil forces, the nature of the case isn’t complicated—we assume that Lu Guangzu didn’t lie, and that Lu Yuanyuan was the first victim.”

He neatly drew a timeline on the whiteboard, marking the dates of Lu Yuanyuan’s and Fan Yong’s disappearances.

“This means that since three months ago, someone has kidnapped seven victims and imprisoned them somewhere. Recently, Lu Guangzu went to Haigu Public Security Bureau to report this case to the police and Shian, and also named ‘King Yama’ and provoked the Nightwalkers by doing so.”

“Now we have Fan Yong… a witness, suspicion on Lu Guangzu is very high, but after thinking about it along this line of thought, I can’t figure it out.”

Yin Ren tilted his head to look at Zhong Chengshuo.

“Entering the police station to surrender, naming Shian, and stirring up topics among the Nightwalkers all seem to be means of attracting the attention of all parties. If I were a murderer… Well, I would arrange the human chair in a public place with the largest flow of people and smash it to let the blood and guts flow out.”

Yin Ren: “…” He didn’t expect Comrade Xiao Zhong to have such a cruel idea.

“As long as the crime statement is left at the scene, the police, Shian, and the Nightwalkers will all be involved in the incident, and the intensity of exposure will be much greater than it is now. Why did Lu Guangzu choose the path of ‘surrendering in person’?”

“You mean Lu Guangzu has another purpose? Indeed, his temperament isn’t like that of someone who can devote three months to an intricate plan… Perhaps he’s not even the murderer.”

Yin Ren was worried about how he could give clues about the dead smell on Lu Guangzu, but Zhong Chengshuo had already sent it to the door. Lord Ghost King played with the tips of his hair as he started calculating in his heart.

Zhong Chengshuo continued without noticing. “Yes, he probably has another purpose, but I have no evidence yet. We’ll continue to consider this hypothesis—”

“Time to get off work.” Yin Ren glanced at his phone. “Let’s discuss it tomorrow. It’s time to go to the cafeteria and eat.”

Zhong Chengshuo: “……”

Zhong Chengshuo: “You go ahead. I have an appointment tonight.”

Yin Ren was putting the marker cap back on. When he heard this, he almost dropped the cap. “You have an appointment? Could it be a date with a woman?”

Countless plots from those third-rate romance dramas floated through his mind. Yin Ren looked at Zhong Chengshuo with burning eyes.

Zhong Chengshuo: “Yes, I have an appointment with Sun Qi’an.”

“Oh, how amazing. The stone is blossoming.” Yin Ren tried hard to suppress his curiosity and sullenly said, “I wish you all the best and an excellent performance.”

“Thank you for your warm wishes.” Zhong Chengshuo nodded his head solemnly.

He did intend to perform well—Zhong Chengshuo decided to go to the appointment two hours early and spend the time rehearsing the appropriate words he wanted to say in his head.

At 6:10 p.m., Zhong Chengshuo arrived at the White Crow Café.

The good news was that Dr. Sun did have the time to meet with him. The bad news was that Dr. Sun was already there, so he didn’t have time to rehearse.

Sun Qi’an was sitting in the best seat, having dinner with a man. The moment she saw Zhong Chengshuo, she coughed fiercely, almost choking.

Seeing her reaction, the man sitting opposite her turned his head, looked at the door, and stared at Zhong Chengshuo.

The moment he saw Zhong Chengshuo, a glint seemed to flash in the man’s eyes.

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The author has something to say:

As we all know, I am a pure love warrior who never writes about a Shura field*.

*Often used to describe romantic relationships where many people appear, and it becomes like a bloody battlefield. 

Just for the record (?

Xiao Zhong Xiao Yin, true-false conversation √

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Kinky Thoughts:

If you read Nian Zhong’s other works, you know she doesn’t write love triangles/romance drama/love entanglements, etc.. Her works are more plot focused. Poor Yin Ren. He won’t get to personally experience the love drama from all those third-rate dramas he’s binging on.

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<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 50: Psychological Problems

If Wu Chiayi was given another chance, he would definitely stay at home tonight and turn off his phone.

When he received Zhong Chengshuo’s message, he was passionately running around trying to earn extra money.

[Final Fruit: I’m at the entrance of Ping’an Manor on Jiu’an Road. Please come pick me up.]

[Exceeding Five Plus One: ?]

[Final Fruit: Urgent mission. Lu Jie said you’re near Jiu’an Road.]

[Exceeding Five Plus One: 👌]

Four minutes later, Wu Chiayi arrived at Ping’an Manor on his small electric motorbike and ran into Zhong Chengshuo, who was pushing a motorcycle while wearing pajamas.

The motorcycle had a wild skull sticker on it, which was extremely inconsistent with Zhong Chengshuo’s striped pajamas.

“Borrowed it from a neighbor.” Zhong Chengshuo automatically explained and didn’t give Xiao Wu any opportunity to ask questions. “Let’s go.”

Xiao Wu: “???”

Although he didn’t quite understand what was going on, he still got on the motorcycle.

“First, Shian must have an emergency way to enter the ghost market. I’ll ride in with the bike, so please show me the way.”

“No, Xiao Zhong, let’s find stairs…”

“It’s too late.”

Wu Chiayi could only bite the bullet and sit in the backseat. “Okay, drive first.”

…The second thing, he regretted.

Zhong Chengshuo drove the motorcycle like he was steering a glider. The speed was comparable to a low-altitude flight. Wu Jiayi’s face almost blew off before he barely managed to complete the technique. The motorcycle broke through the fog and braked hard in the middle of the ghost market street. Many pedestrians were startled, while others’ masks and head scarves became crooked.

Since Wu Chiayi wasn’t hugging Zhong Chengshuo’s waist, after such a violent stop, he almost flew out of the back seat.

Xiao Wu summoned two ghosts in a panic in order to fix himself properly.

Zhong Chengshuo glanced at the GPS position sent by Lu Xiaohe—the bright spot that represented Yin Ren blinked in a small area that was some distance away from the main street of the ghost market. This person had probably entered a hidden place.

“Second, I know that the ghost market isn’t welcoming to those in Shian. Is the ‘not welcoming’ to the point where they will do something?”

Zhong Chengshuo sat firmly on the motorcycle and raised his arm to check the time.

“Uh, it’s not like they will do something, but more like they just don’t like us… After all, there are a lot of gray transactions in the ghost market. I didn’t mention this by default, but we tend to get along well,” Xiao Wu said faintly.

“Third, if you’re familiar with the ghost market, please tell me about places near this location with consumption stalls that sell goods worth 100,000 or more or commodities with uncertain prices, such as an auction house or intelligence agencies.”

The moment Yin Ren finished sending his messages, Zhong Chengshuo already had a faint idea.

Yin Ren still had 60,000 left in his account. If he took out a formal loan, the total amount would be 80,000 yuan. However, he instead chose to ask Zhong Chengshuo for help, and what he wanted was a very high number.

In other words, the price of the thing Yin Ren wanted to buy was uncertain, and they needed a large amount of spare money to ensure it was foolproof. The figure of 100,000 was just an estimate in his request after weighing Zhong Chengshuo’s income.

Xiao Wu stuck firmly to the backseat of the motorcycle and glanced at Yin Ren’s GPS position. “Auction house? There is a ghost pawnshop in that location…”

“Can we drive over?”

“Yes, but it will be a bit…”

Before he could finish saying “rude”, the motorcycle engine roared again.

Xiao Wu: “……”

Xiao Wu understood that this had to be a matter of life and death. In an instant, after the scene of a “science post received a signal for help and bravely broke into the ghost pawnshop to rescue his beautiful ghost master partner who was about to be auctioned”, Xiao Wu’s expression gradually hardened.

“Go!” Xiao Wu lit a talisman.

Smoke rolled over, and a muddy straight road appeared near the main street.

“Over there!” Considering that Zhong Chengshuo may not be able to see, Xiao Wu stretched out his hand and pointed.

Zhong Chengshuo turned the wheel and rushed in the direction Xiao Wu pointed. The emergency route of Shian was naturally not as easy to traverse as the conventional route. According to the words of veterans, it was like drilling into the abdominal cavity of a corpse. However, the science post didn’t seem to have any feeling, and his movements didn’t change.

The wind rushed strongly at Zhong Chengshuo, even over his head. It wasn’t until Xiao Wu yelled “Over there, over there” that the person changed directions and drove back.

‘How difficult,’ Xiao Wu thought blankly. He felt that the person driving a motorcycle wasn’t a human but a voice-activated torpedo.

Zhong Chengshuo saw that the door was open and drove directly into the pawnshop.

“…If it’s confirmed that the case is related to Shian, it will be reimbursed. If it’s not related, the interest will be converted according to the average loan and deducted from your salary.”

When he said this, Zhong Chengshuo hadn’t gotten off the motorcycle yet.

Xiao Wu slowly covered his face. Bro, even if the Nightwalkers won’t do anything to Shian in principle, you’re creating too big of a scene.

And isn’t your partner standing in the audience completely intact? What’s the rush? This is the ghost market. Could it be that Yin Ren, a newcomer, dared to bid on things without money?

Yin Ren rushed to the two of them like an arrow and grabbed Zhong Chengshuo’s hand. “So awesome, Zhong Ge. I bid on something, so I was waiting for you to send money.”

Zhong Chengshuo slowly withdrew his hand and pulled out a card. “Your payroll card. Shian just opened a guarantee authority so you can temporarily overdraw up to 200,000.”

Yin Ren: “Hey, I thought I was going to bid more than 100,000, but in fact, I won it for 100,000. Lao Jiang, here comes the money!”

So it was true that this person dared to bid on things without having money! Does this person have a bear’s heart and the gall of a leopard*? Wu Chiayi was speechless.

*Comes from “The Orphan of Zhao” by Ji Junxiang, which describes an extremely courageous person.

Xiao Wu had to hold back for a while before he could only respond with, “…Fucking great.”

Hearing keywords such as “Shian” and “case”, Lao Jiang didn’t panic.

He jumped in front of the three of them in full view of the audience and said in a casual tone, “250,000.”

Yin Ren: “Wait, didn’t we agree on 100,000 just now?”

Lao Jiang laughed. “You were a Nightwalker only in name, so it was 100,000. Since you’ve revealed yourself as part of Shian, and you broke the rules of driving a car into my shop, then there has to be another price.”

Seeing Yin Ren’s evil-like appearance, he tried to lightly defuse the crisis, and Lao Jiang intended to make acquaintances, but knowing that “Shian” had been revealed, he had no such thoughts left.

The relationship between Shian and the Nightwalkers was delicate.

There was no shortage of capable people in Shian, and sometimes it was still necessary for the Nightwalkers to contribute information. However, the Nightwalkers didn’t like to be supervised by Shian, so they didn’t want to make the relationship too tense.

After a long time, the two parties began to follow the same unspoken rule—as long as the Nightwalkers weren’t involved in criminal activities, Shian would turn a blind eye and let them face off with the police.

The basic idea was not to bring the official status to the surface when it “wasn’t necessary”.

It was okay if it was people like Wu Chiayi, who was born as a Nightwalker, but Yin Ren and Zhong Chengshuo were “outsiders”, so this was tantamount to slapping his face in public. To get involved in a jungle-like organization like the Nightwalkers, “face” was sometimes more important than money.

Wu Chiayi obviously understood this too—Xiao Wu raised his head with a sigh and looked at the ceiling of the theater.

“250,000, please. And yes, I do indeed accept card payments.” Lao Jiang still spoke humorously as he pulled out the POS machine from his chest.

Zhong Chengshuo’s movements froze slowly while Yin Ren’s hand holding the bank card trembled slightly.

Yin Ren’s worst guess was that he would bid about 180,000 yuan against Xiao Mengpo. Even counting the element of anger, the chair would be worth about that much.

Now, his salary card was overdrawn by 200,000, and he had to dig into most of his savings. If Shian didn’t count this, then he would have to say goodbye to late-night spicy crawfish and eat cheap potato stir-fry instead.

Although the loan wasn’t bad, it always felt a bit painful to take one out in order to eat.

Lao Jiang ignored the pain and entanglement on Yin Ren’s face and moved his skeleton-like face. “Since you’re a person who knows Shian, be quick and pay immediately.”

Yin Ren gave him the money with a whimper.

“Thank you for your patronage.” Lao Jiang stuffed the POS machine back into his chest and knocked on his fan again. “I’ll pay you back your collateral, since I always keep my word.”

Yin Ren: “Wait—”

Before he could stop it, the two rats ran back with their heads up. They threw the severed head tied with red silk into Yin Ren’s arms and rushed back to the bottom of the platform.

Lao Jiang smiled meaningfully and said, “Take it. This thing is fresh and can be worth about 30,000 or 40,000 if it’s sold to a spirit smith on the other side… Oh, I forgot. Shian doesn’t do this kind of thing.”

Lao Jiang, you’re doing this on purpose, right? Looking at the hideous head in his arms, Yin Ren fell silent.

At this moment, he was dressed in a black shirt, and his long hair was tied loosely. His ochre eyes glowed red in the lights. Under the dimming lights, his face was beautiful yet somewhat demonic as he was holding a severed head in his arms, giving off a seriously bad vibe.

Zhong Chengshuo, Wu Chiayi: “……”

Yin Ren swallowed pitifully. “I can explain—”

He was afraid that Comrade Xiao Zhong, an enthusiastic citizen, would call the police on the spot.

Fortunately, with Shian in front of him, Zhong Chengshuo only nodded. “Then let’s go to the company and explain.”

He turned his gaze at Lao Jiang. It may be that his eyes were so sharp that Lao Jiang felt that he was being looked at like he was a collection of bones on display. “What are you looking at?”

“May I touch you?” Zhong Chengshuo asked solemnly.

Lao Jiang: “…No. I am a first-class endangered evil being as defined in ‘Shian’s Regulations on the Management of Evil Things’.”

It was all because of those science posts on the outside that he didn’t dare leave the ghost market for 300 years! It wasn’t good to be an evil being in physical form that could be easily dragged away for research.

“Besides, to the living, it’s a crime to vandalize a corpse. Objectively, I am considered a human corpse.” Lao Jiang wasn’t sure of his safety, so he quickly added this.

Zhong Chengshuo retracted his gaze in disappointment. He swept it across the dead man’s head lightly, then turned to Yin Ren. “What about the thing you bought? We’ll send it to the company for appraisal as soon as possible.”

Wu Chiayi scratched his head frantically. Does he not care about the severe head—and this guy is dead yet these two newcomers aren’t afraid at all?!

“Okay, since the person has been found, I’ll go home and sleep.” Wu Chiayi took off his helmet in a daze and buckled it on Yin Ren’s head. “I’ll take you out. You two go to the company by yourselves. Lao Jiang, sorry… These newcomers are a bit ignorant…”

Lao Jiang nodded deeply. He covered his chest with both hands and asked a group of rats to move the packed chair to the entrance.

……

By the time they got to Shian, it was already 3 a.m.

At the entrance of Shian Park, Lu Xiaohe greeted the two with a yawn. Seeing the two of them with a chair in one hand and a severed head in the other, her yawn turned into a violent cough.

“Xiao Wu said you guys brought a head over.” She pointed at the human head wrapped in a black plastic bag with her index finger trembling slightly. “It’s really a human head?!”

“It may be evidence of a crime.” “It was definitely an accident.” The two spoke at the same time.

Compared with the freshly severed head, the weird chair wasn’t as conspicuous.

Since they had a suspected living object and a suspected corpse, the three of them were temporarily unable to enter the office area. A few minutes later, a specialist took away the head and chair. When the chair was taken to the identification department, Yin Ren was immediately called to the “Non-Science Post Accident Handling Department” for questioning.

Luo Xiaohe staggered into the office with extremely heavy steps.

“I’ll take a look,” she said bitterly. “You said that Yin Ren needed a lot of money to find possible clues to the case… Why did it become like this? Did you not buy information?”

She really didn’t expect to get a chair and a severed head.

Zhong Chengshuo adjusted the collar of his pajamas. “I don’t know.”

“You didn’t know, but you still helped him?!”

Zhong Chengshuo frowned and thought for a moment. “…I believe him.”

Yin Ren was at least a strong person who could muddle through under Shian’s eyes, so he wouldn’t drop the ball in that kind of place… right? Even if he wanted to make trouble, there was no need to use this method to hurt the enemy’s reputation while simultaneously racking up a self-loss of 250,000.

Zhong Chengshuo’s tense nerves began to relax again, and he started getting sleepy. His consciousness was slowly drifting off.

Lu Xiaohe was more direct. She skillfully dragged out two folding beds that came with two folded blankets. “It’s still a while before the results come out. Let’s nap for a while.”

“I’ll wait for Yin Ren,” Zhong Chengshuo replied, barely able to keep his eyelids open as he looked at the door.

Lu Xiaohe shook her head. She skillfully pulled out a black blindfold from the drawer. “Then good night.”

“Good night.” Zhong Chengshuo continued to sit at the table.

Around 4 a.m., Yin Ren was finally released from the “Non-science Post Accident Handling Department”.

With the deceased having only traces of his own technique and the testimony of several Nightwalkers, the incident was stamped as a magic backlash. The head of the deceased was confiscated, and his bank card was emptied. Yin Ren returned to the office of Special Investigation Group Unit 9 empty-handed.

The lights in the office were dim.

Lu Xiaohe’s folding bed was against the wall. She was buried deep in the thin blanket, sleeping soundly. Zhong Chengshuo was lying on the table, breathing slowly. He looked extremely weary in his pajamas.

Zhong Chengshuo’s face was still facing the direction of the entrance.

Yin Ren paused at the entrance, lightened his footstep, and walked up to Zhong Chengshuo.

“…Quite good. You don’t have dark circles under your eyes yet.” After sitting back at his workstation, Yin Ren propped up his face and looked at his partner’s sleeping face for a while.

Seeing him like this, this person looked like a harmless scholar, but judging by how mobile he was previously, Zhong Chengshuo would definitely wake up if he had been sleeping on the folding bed.

Yin Ren carefully took off Zhong Chengshuo’s glasses and put them aside.

In the dim light, Zhong Chengshuo’s eyelids trembled slightly, as if he wasn’t sleeping well. Without the cover of his glasses, there was a bit more vague strength and stubbornness between his brows, which was quite interesting.

After looking at him from an angle, Yin Ren got up, stretched out a finger, and put it under Zhong Chengshuo’s nose.

The man’s breath was moist and warm, sweeping over his fingertips.

Yin Ren actually didn’t expect Zhong Chengshuo to actually help him. If Zhong Chengshuo had refused to transfer the money, Yin Ren wouldn’t even bother to “counter-offer”.

Why did he insist on contacting Xiao Mengpo? Why did he have to buy that chair? Both things were related to Yin Ren’s abilities that were hidden under the shadow, and he couldn’t explain them clearly to Zhong Chengshuo.

In fact, Yin Ren had a plan.

If this person didn’t make a move, he could only make a scene at the ghost pawnshop. He would snatch the chair first—there was the aura of a living person in that chair, and the living could easily die, so he couldn’t wait on Shian for too long.

If things had settled like that, no matter how things ended, the relationship between him and Xiao Mengpo would be determined. At least the clues from Xiao Mengpo’s side would be cut off.

…Unexpectedly, Zhong Chengshuo took care of everything and quickly arrived on time.

He didn’t know if that would be considered smart or dumb.

A few minutes later, Yin Ren retracted his hand. He stretched his joints for a while, then pulled a thin blanket from the empty folding bed. The thin blanket was light and soft. He carried it gently and carefully covered Zhong Chengshuo’s back.

“How heartless,” Lord Ghost King commented. “If you really want to study me, you should give me more trouble.”

Feeling the warmth on his body, Zhong Chengshuo curled up, and his brows relaxed a little. Yin Ren didn’t know if he heard it or not.

Yin Ren made a grimace at his partner, then he yawned. He lay down beside Zhong Chengshuo and soon fell asleep.

He dreamed of endless potato stir fry.

Lord Ghost King had to climb up on foot to get to a box of crayfish at the top of the potato mountain. The moment he reached the top and stretched out his hand to reach the lunch box…

“Everyone, get up.”

Fu Xingchuan mercilessly gave them a smack on the head.

Yin Ren almost couldn’t control his murderous aura. He rubbed his head and glared at Fu Xingchuan with great dissatisfaction. Fortunately, at the next moment, Minister Fu brought good news like a desert spring.

“Shian will reimburse you for your 250,000 yuan. Originally, you should have been rewarded with some money, but because you caused an incident at the ghost pawnshop, the rewards and punishments were hedged.”

Fu Xingchuan pulled out a chair from a vacant seat and sat down in front of Yin Ren.

“That’s great that I’ll be reimbursed.” Yin Ren sighed with relief.

Otherwise, carrying a heavy debt when he first entered society would be too cruel for his ghost life.

After receiving a blow to the head, Zhong Chengshuo straightened up in a daze. He was momentarily stunned when he felt the warm blanket on him. On the other side, hearing the sound of dialogue, Lu Xiaohe got up from bed on her own. Her eyes weren’t opened yet, while her hands were already giving several punches to the pillow.

“All awake? Good. Xiaohe, turn on the screen—the results from the chair we got last night are out.”

Clusters of data covered the screen. Shots of the chairs from all angles were attached. Lu Xiaohe and Zhong Chengshuo looked at them line by line, and their expressions gradually became complicated.

Yin Ren looked at the two of them inexplicably. “What’s the matter?”

“It’s not cognitive pollution,” Zhong Chengshuo replied while still looking at the screen. “On a physical level, human cells have fused with the wood of the chair.”

“And that person… How can I put this? He’s still alive but in very poor condition.” Lu Xiaohe’s voice trembled. “At least as far as my expertise is concerned, there have been no similar cases.”

Scans, x-rays, and all kinds of inspection means were used. Science post staff barely found the person in this “human chair”—

It was as if the person’s entire body had become plasticine material and was then rubbed into strips while alive and melded into the wood in equal proportions.

Fat, muscle, internal organs, bones… The person’s entire body was twisted, making all the cells hard to separate from the wood fiber, yet it still maintained some kind of strange activity. It was difficult to say whether this was a “corpse” or not.

The man’s heart had become long and twisted, like a curled earthworm, and the myocardial fibers had obvious wood characteristics, but the heart was still weakly beating rapidly.

“The technician restored the broken DNA overnight and barely managed to identify the man. Fan Chung, 38 years old, disappeared two months ago. The police have this person in their missing people file. Sun Qinghui is now interrogating Lu Guangzu, though the situation is more or less the same.”

Fu Xingchuan rubbed his temples.

“This is not something a spirit smith can do. The water in Lu Guangzu’s case is deeper than we thought.”

The three of them looked at him quietly, waiting for his next words.

Although Fu Xingchuan had a good temper, he was essentially similar to Professor Li; he wouldn’t have come here without a reason*. Since he came in person, the matter was definitely more than just “deeper water”.

*Would come to the Hall of Trinity without reason. (无事不登三宝殿)

Sure enough, Fu Xingchuan unscrewed his thermos cup and poured himself a cup of strong tea.

“…This time we checked on the chair again and found a faint trace of Evil Force.” He gritted his teeth as he accentuated the word “again”.

Yin Ren cheered enthusiastically. “Ah, I have an impression! It was written in the report for Feng Qi’s case. His ability appeared only after being corrupted by the ‘force of an Evil Spirit’… Minister Fu, what is an Evil Spirit? A super concentration of evil qi?”

Fu Xingchuan gave a helpless smile. “It’s in your textbook.”

“We haven’t learned it yet.” Zhong Chengshuo tried to make up for Yin Ren.

“It’s hard to guess what’s going on in God’s mind. Recently, you have encountered two cases related to Evil Spirits.” Fu Xingchuan wiped his face. “Alright, let me tell you. Do you know what carbon dioxide is?”

Yin Ren: “……”

Yin Ren hid his guilt and nodded confidently.

“If an evil spirit is carbon dioxide, no matter how powerful they are, the strength of their evil qi is at most dry ice. However, ‘Evil Spirits’ are different. Their ‘Evil Force’ is more like a diamond—purer, rarer, and stronger.”

“Of course, you can burn diamonds into carbon dioxide, but under natural conditions, this process is completely irreversible. By the same token, Evil Spirits can be transformed into evil spirits, but so far, no one has been able to reverse this process.”

Therefore, the cause of the force of the Evil Spirit was still an unsolved mystery.

“I see.” The Evil Spirit himself pretended to be stupid. “The matter seems to be very serious. Do we need to withdraw from the investigation again?”

“Don’t do things three times in a row*. Our business pays attention to ‘fate’. Since you keep encountering this kind of case, you might as well participate to the end.”

*(事不过三) Idiom referring to the same thing shouldn’t be done three times in a row. From Journey to the West.

Fu Xingchuan grinned at them, showing them a shady smile.

“How about, Xiao Yin, tell me first, why did you think that chair is related to the case?”

Yin Ren had long been prepared.

“That chair didn’t feel right to me. It has too many human characteristics. Lao Jiang also said that the person who wanted to sell it left a message saying, ‘Let the game of hide and seek commence’… This is along the lines of ‘hiding the victims and letting us try to find them’.”

“Moreover, this style of giving clues at auctions is also consistent with Lu Guangzu’s exaggerated style of surrender. The rest is… intuition.”

Zhong Chengshuo frowned. “That’s too arbitrary.”

“The point is that the chair has the characteristics of a living person, Zhong Ge.” Yin Ren’s smile didn’t change, and his tone was casual. “If I was wrong, that’s my loss, but if it’s really a living person, isn’t it worth 250,000 to save a life?”

Zhong Chengshuo’s lips moved, but he didn’t respond.

Fu Xingchuan wanted to say something, but as soon as he opened his mouth, a ringtone sounded from his pocket. Minster Fu took out his phone and quickly walked out of the office.

Lu Xiaohe was busy studying the data on the “human chair” while frowning, unknown what was on her mind. Yin Ren stretched out his waist, hung on the back of the chair, and turned his head to look at the bright sunlight coming from the window.

Unlike when he was in the ghost pawnshop, Yin Ren’s cold aura had cleanly dissipated. The man squinted his eyes in the sun and was surrounded by a lazy warmth.

It was like a soft and thin blanket covering one’s back.

Zhong Chengshuo lowered his head, opened WeChat, and clicked on Sun Qi’an’s avatar, who had just been added a few days ago.

[Final Fruit: Hello, Dr. Sun. I would like to consult about a psychological problem.]

[Final Fruit: Maybe I really do have some psychological issues.]

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The author has something to say:

It’s okay, Xiao Zhong. Zombies aren’t good to touch, but the Ghost King feels good! When the time comes (?) touch as much as you want!

Xiao Yin: That was close. I almost fell into debt from the company…

Xiao Wu’s injured world has been achieved (x

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Kinky Thoughts:

Note: Evil qi and Evil Force are not the same. Evil qi refers to general “energy” from any evil beings, while Evil Force specifically refers to “energy” from an Evil Spirit (note the capitalization). This chapter establishes the difference (to Yin Ren). You can think of it as “Evil Spirit qi” but I’ll use Evil Force for an easier distinction.

The process of converting a diamond to CO² comes from chemistry. Personally, I was never good at chemistry so I don’t really know the details behind the process, so someone who’s more knowledgeable can hopefully provide a better explanation.

Also you can also turn CO² into diamonds, though as Minister Fu said, that’s not possible under natural conditions, while likewise, diamonds can be burned and eventually become CO². 

Using Minister Fu’s analogy, he’s saying an Evil Spirit can become an evil spirit, and theoretically, it can reverse that process (but no one has been able to engineer such a process so it’s currently believed to be impossible).

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