Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

---

Chapter 20: Cat

The bed was too soft. Yin Ren slowly turned over and changed his lying position. He ignored Liang Shan and clicked on the first chat history forwarded by Lin Bei.

It was easy to find Gao Mengyu. Her avatar was a hand-painted winged cat, and her WeChat name was also “Feather Cat”.

The group chat started normally. Everyone talked about their cats and dogs. After the dog owners finished talking about dog food brands, cat owners also began to exchange their experiences with raising cats. The atmosphere in the group was quite harmonious, and from time to time, someone would send photos of their pets.

Perhaps it was this peaceful atmosphere that moved Gao Mengyu. When the topic was cats, she couldn’t help but interject.

[Don’t Forget Your Original Intention: Haha, I prefer white cats.]

[Don’t Forget Your Original Intention: [picture]]

[Yunyun Loves To Eat Whoppers: So cute! My family is a big orange~ It’s too fat, so I won’t post a picture~]

[Feather Cat: So cute.]

[Feather Cat: How many eyes does your cat have?]

No one spoke in the group for a while.

A few minutes passed.

[Kyle: You’re very funny.]

[Kyle: By the way, what do you guys think of Royal Cat Food? Has anyone bought this brand?]

[Kyle: [picture]]

[AAA~Robbery: Expensive.]

Someone started a new topic, so the chat proceeded as normal again. People invariably ignored Gao Mengyu, and she didn’t speak out again.

Yin Ren: “Huh.”

He then clicked on the second chat history.

This time, it was different. It was still the same group with a similar topic, but they were talking about how to pet a cat.

[Yunyun Loves To Eat Whoppers: My family likes it when I scratch its chin, but I prefer the belly, hahaha.]

[KK*: Pinch its paws!]

[Super Xiaobin: It must be the tail.]

[AAA~Robbery: Don’t like being touched.]

[Feather Cat: I like to touch the place where many of its legs meet.]

[Feather Cat: What’s that part called?]

[Kyle: ….]

[AAA~Robbery: ? Is there a psycho in this group?]

[AAA~Robbery: What kind of B* did you raise. Send a picture.]

*Slang for pussy. This is originally in English for the word [bi] (逼). In this sense, it’s also a double entendre, as pussy can also refer to a cat.

[Yunyun Loves To Eat Whoppers: Don’t make noise~ Look at my little milk cat~]

[Yunyun Loves To Eat Whoppers: [picture]]

[AAA~Robbery: Don’t interrupt. If you’re sick, you need to be treated.]

[AAA~Robbery: @Feather Cat, send pictures or you’ll be kicked from the group.]

[Feather Cat: I’m going to take a picture right now. I just picked it up, and it’s a little shy.]

[Xixiu, Tian Tian?::*&1111 kg 7{![Picture?Film]]

[Feather Cat: It doesn’t really like cat food. I’m going to try raw meat.]

[AAA~Robbery: …]

[KK*: This joke isn’t funny.]

[Super Xiaobin: @Aizhen Clinic, Dr. Song, can we kick this person? You have to be sick to send this kind of thing.]

[Yunyun Loves To Eat Whoppers: @Feather Cat, everyone is chatting nicely. What are you doing? Is this funny to you?]

[Feather Cat: What’s wrong? The picture I sent is the same.]

[Feather Cat: My family just has a different skin color.]

[Feather Cat: It may be because I just picked it up and it’s a little weak. It doesn’t want to go out, so I can only raise it slowly.]

[Yunyun Loves To Eat Whoppers: [chat history of group chat]]

[Yunyun Loves To Eat Whoppers: You, take a good look at these normal cats. What do you mean the pictures we sent are like yours?]

[AAA~Robbery: I can’t transfer the picture posted by this woman. It’s weird. It’s all garbled code.]

[AAA~Robbery: Can you do it?]

[KK*: The forwarding here is also garbled. I can’t save screenshots of the photos or do screen recordings. The files are all broken.

[KK*: Toxic.]

No wonder the records forwarded by Lin Bei were all garbled.

Yin Ren then clicked on the third chat history. It was normal compared to the first two. The content was generally “AAA~Robbery”. This person posted a video of Mr. Rose in the group. They were talking about the “ex-girlfriend” and the wording was very unpleasant. Gao Mengyu didn’t hold back and jumped out to refute their words as an “acquaintance of the ex-girlfriend”.

AAA~Robbery’s mouth was poisonous, and he directly cursed her out and mocked her for her previous abnormal messages.

At this time, the group admin finally came forward and kicked out Gao Mengyu, who was “mentally troubled”.

According to Lin Bei’s supplementary explanation, the contributor was AAA~Robbery. He claimed that Feather Cat was an acquaintance of the woman, sent all her messages to Lin Bei’s assistant, and kept asking how much he could get paid for it.

The abnormal pictures in the records could only be displayed on AAA~Robbery’s phone. Lin Bei had made an appointment with that person, but this matter was too weird that Lin Bei herself didn’t want to go.

“Zhong Ge, shall we go together tomorrow? Do you want to tell Liang Ge first?”

“Uh, huh…?” Zhong Chengshuo rolled over and let out a drowsy grunt.

This guy actually ignored the messages and went to bed early!

Yin Ren felt that he wasn’t being lazy enough, so he tossed his phone to the side and decided to talk about the matter at dawn.

—-

The next day, Liang Shan looked at the empty hotel room and threw a middle finger into the group chat. Though he was still angry, he dutifully dictated a few hundred words of caution.

His tirade ended with “For the sake of your lives, don’t go near room 1413 of Fanghua Apartments anymore.”

Yin Ren didn’t have time to respond to him.

In order to avoid rush hour, Yin Ren and Zhong Chengshuo had left early and were already sitting in a self-service BBQ restaurant opposite of AAA~Robbery.

AAA~Robbery’s real name was Wang Qiang. He had no job, no money, and usually made ends meet by doing mundane daily work. He spent most of his time in internet cafes. Wang Qian was thin and dull. He had shrewd eyes that kept darting around. His hair was long and greasy, as if he hadn’t washed it in a long time.

According to Lin Bei, this person didn’t have a pet but worked part-time in a pet clinic.

“Tsk, that rich woman said buffet, so I thought it was one of those high-end buffets.”

Wang Qiang filled up his plate full of meat, and there was a pile of beer bottles at his feet.

“Let me start by saying that the contribution price and the interview are separately calculated. Don’t fool me. I know you guys play short videos and make lots of money… Hehe, you’re with that rich woman, right?”

When he said this, he stared casually at Yin Ren with a wretched look of “I get it”.

‘If this guy dies, he might become part of a Grievance Basket,’ Yin Ren thought with some malice.

Still, his lamb chops were more important.

The tender lamb was grilled on an iron plate. The aroma of scorched fat rushed straight to his nose. The lean meat was marinated in a garlic sauce, and juices flowed out as it sizzled on the fire, revealing a delightful, tender flavor. Yin Ren casually glanced at Wang Qiang. He didn’t respond and continued to concentrate on grilling the meat.

“What’s that look supposed to mean, huh? Laozi* is annoyed by sell-outs like you.” Wang Qiang stretched his neck, and his face tensed.

*It’s an arrogant way to refer to yourself. Translated would be like I, this great one.

His spit splattered indiscriminately, and a few drops splashed onto Yin Ren’s lamb chops.

Yin Ren’s smile froze, and his chopsticks clicked as he pinched them together. Lord Ghost King had to bid goodbye to his lamb chops with a sorrowful gaze as his mind ran through 108 ways on how to take care of Wang Qiang.

Forget it. Killing was against the law, so he had to think of a more roundabout way…

Zhong Chengshuo: “Apologize.”

Seeing Zhong Chengshuo suddenly speak up, Yin Ren turned his face quite unexpectedly.

“Why? Is he your concubine?” Wang Qiang grinned at Zhong Chengshuo.

Zhong Chengshuo remained calm. “Wang Qiang, born on March 16, 20xx. From Province D. In 20×4 and 20×6, was detained twice for sexually harassing women.”

Wang Qiang’s expression changed drastically. He pointed to Yin Ren’s long hair tremblingly. “You two are cops? Impossible. Cops don’t look like him.”

“That’s a wig,” Zhong Chengshuo stated solemnly.

Yin Ren: “?”

Zhong Chengshuo pushed up his glasses. “We’re not police officers, but we work closely with them. This time, we’re conducting inquiries and providing remuneration in accordance with regulations. The entire process is recorded, so please be cautious with your words and actions.”

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry, comrades. I wasn’t thinking when I opened my mouth. I’ll be sure to keep this in mind.”

The color of Wang Qiang’s face disappeared in an instant. He shrank back into his chair and even moved his chopsticks more uniformly.

Yin Ren discovered a shocking thing—as long as he didn’t get closer to the other party, Zhong Chengshuo was very good at communication in a sense.

“Comrades, look, this is the photo sent by that crazy… person.” Wang Qiang felt like he was sitting on pins and needles as he took a bite of his meat while holding his phone to show them.

Wang Qiang’s phone screen was dirty and had cobweb cracks on it, making it difficult to see things. Even so, it couldn’t; hide the weird feeling of that picture.

[Feather Cat: I’m going to take a picture right now. I just picked it up, and it’s a little shy.]

[Feather Cat: [image]]

[Feather Cat: It doesn’t really like cat food. I’m going to try raw meat.]

The picture was a selfie of Gao Mengyu. She covered her face with a smiley sticker. In the photo, Gao Mengyu was leaning against the door of the bedroom that was facing the living room. There was sunlight in the picture, showing that it was obvious that it was the day when it was taken.

However, there was no light in the living room.

On the other side of the bedroom door, it was as dark as a tomb. That darkness was neat and regular, without the usual fuzzy edges, and looked extremely unnatural.

Gao Mengyu used one hand to take the selfie while the other was stretched out in the direction of the living room, as if stroking something from the other side of the door. Her hand was engulfed in that darkness, and the border line at her wrist was neat, like it was dipped in thick black ink.

Coupled with the cute smiley face she covered herself with, this picture made people feel uncomfortable all over.

“Isn’t this scary?” Wang Qiang muttered. “I don’t know what that woman is thinking, posting a picture like this. It’s not that I won’t send it to you, but I can’t get this broken picture out. There must be some kind of virus on it.”

“We need to take this phone away, and we will compensate you for 150% of the market price of the new phone.”

“This picture is very important. You have to at least add…” Wang Qiang paused halfway as if he remembered something, and his tone changed. “Look at me. You’re doing this for business, so can’t you just double it?”

Zhong Chengshuo gave him a deep look.

“…Okay as much as you stated!”

After receiving the payment, Wang Qiang quickly pulled out his SIM card from his phone and gave them a toothachey smile. “Comrades, I still have something to do, so I’ll go first.”

When Wang Qian’s figure disappeared, Zhong Chengshuo pinched two napkins and used them to hold up Wang Qiang’s phone and carefully put it in the evidence bag without touching it.

Yin Ren had already finished four plates of garlic lamb chops and was happily roasting diced beef.

Zhong Chengshuo: “Your guess is right. Gao Mengyu did raise something. According to the timeline, she should have raised this ‘abnormal creature’ a month ago.”

“Mm-hmm.” Yin Ren chewed happily as he nodded.

“All the kinds of raw meat are a preference for that thing, and so far, it seems to like brains the most. Looking at what she said in the chat room, she seems to think she was saving a cat.”

“Indeed… Zhong Ge, do you want ice cream? I’ll go get some.” These were all guessed by Yin Ren. While he listened with his ears, his eyes drifted elsewhere—the sky was the limit when it came to the evil things he had seen, but this was the first time he saw an ice cream cone.

Zhong Chengshuo turned a deaf ear as he pulled out his phone and skillfully traced the timeline.

Gao Mengyu discovered an unknown evil thing a month ago, treated it as an injured cat, and bought it all kinds of meat.

But the pressure from Mr. Rose was too great, and this incident didn’t successfully distract her.

Four weeks ago, Gao Mengyu and Wang Qiang quarreled in the pet group. Nearly three weeks ago, Xie Chao died. Two weeks ago, Gao Mengyu told a “horror story” in a entrance exam small group chat. Nearly a week ago, Gao Mengyu disappeared, and Lin Bei was harassed by the ghost of “Mr. Rose”.

Zhong Chengshuo didn’t touch the roasted meat. He was frowning at the timeline. Yin Ren had already stuffed two pounds of meat into his stomach and was going to the dessert area to make an oversized ice cream cone. When he sat down, humming a little song, the potatoes in front of Zhong Chengshuo had gone mushy.

Yin Ren’s hand holding the cone trembled a bit.

“The potatoes are burnt.”

“I got it.”

The two spoke almost simultaneously.

Yin Ren: “…You go first.”

Ice cream didn’t wait for anyone, and he couldn’t be bothered to vacate his mouth for the time being.

“There was a place I couldn’t figure out before. Gao Mengyu said, ‘I don’t dare to go out. It’s so cold outside and it smells like roses everywhere’, but Lin Bei was the one that was continuously harassed by anomalies and couldn’t rest properly… It wasn’t that the anomaly didn’t want to do anything to Gao Mengyu, but that it couldn’t enter her home.”

“The ‘cat’ rescued by Gao Mengyu was living in her apartment. Whether intentionally or not, it protected her.”

Zhong Chengshuo took a bite of the roasted potato and chewed on it mechanically. Yin Ren couldn’t bear to watch anymore, so he replaced the potatoes with freshly roasted sweet corn.

Zhong Chengshuo chucked up the corn and continued to speak. “That ‘cat’ can keep anomalies out, but the watcher in her ‘horror story’ was a living person. If it really intends to protect Gao Mengyu, what will it do?”

The values of other creatures were different from those of humans. Just like real cats would offer dead mice or cockroaches to people like they were sharing prey, humans may not want or need it.

Considering the angle of that “cat” trying to protect Gao Mengyu was to hide her…

“Gao Mengyu might still be alive.”

---

The author has something to say:

Unexpectedly, the chat history can really be seen!

Cute cat (?) Warmth (?) Short story√

---

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

---

Chapter 19: Horror Story

Municipal Public Security Bureau, conference room.

Shian’s work ID was easier to use than the two of them thought. Perhaps it was because the case itself wasn’t big that the police quickly retrieved the information and agreed to Yin Ren’s application to meet with the guest here.

However, when the two checked the information, there were always two public security officers present in the conference room.

At two in the afternoon, Lin Bei arrived as promised. Compared to yesterday, she looked quite refreshed. Before she sat down, she glanced at the two officers.

“What, such a big gesture? Do I have to call a lawyer?” Lin Bei said it half-jokingly.

Her posture was very relaxed, and she didn’t seem to be guilting them. Yin Ren smiled and said, “Bei Jie, we have a thought, and we need your help.”

“Say it.”

“You said before that you took over the work of ‘Mr. Rose’s death’. Has the project started?”

“No. It’s still in the topic selection stage.” Lin Bei was slightly surprised. “Why are you asking about this?”

“Your studio’s account has a lot of influence in Haigu, right?”

“One of the best.” When it came to her work, Lin Bei exuded an overwhelming confidence.

Yin Ren looked at Zhong Chengshuo and motioned for him to speak.

Zhong Chengshuo cleared his throat. “Miss Lin, Mr. Rose is indeed Xie Chao. We hope you can take advantage of this topic selection opportunity to collect clues from fans about ‘Mr. Rose’s girlfriend’.”

The smile on Lin Bei’s face stiffened instantly.

“I’m sorry. I don’t quite understand.” Her shoulders tightened, and her tone became more defensive. “Do you want Gao Mengyu to be exposed? You two have seen the remarks made by Mr. Rose’s fans. Even if Gao Mengyu can be found, she can’t bear what will happen next.”

“Moreover, this behavior is just pretending to be helpful in disguise. I personally think it’s inappropriate.”

Zhong Chengshuo: “No, I don’t need any clues about her. Your company only needs to let fans provide online discussion or debates related to the ‘ex-girlfriend’, and at the same time pay for contributions… This part will be reimbursed by Shian.”

Things had progressed to the point where Yin Ren didn’t understand what he was hearing.

Was this a meeting? It was much more boring than he thought. Yin Ren’s expression looked solemn, but his eyes were empty. He was secretly searching for the keyword “shark” under the table on his phone.

This was the word that he unintentionally typed wrong, and it was a type of fish that he didn’t know about, so he was a little curious.

While Yin Ren was distracted, Lin Bei clearly understood everything…

“I get it. You’re soliciting chat records on the topic of ‘Mr. Rose’s ex-girlfriend’?… You want to know if any fans have contacted Gao Mengyu?”

“Yes. She often visits Mr. Rose’s homepage and once pretended to be someone defending the ‘ex-girlfriend’. Before she disappeared, she was on the verge of an emotional breakdown, and she might have had a confrontation with someone online.”

“But if it’s a crazy fan that committed the crime, it’s impossible for the culprit to jump out and provide clues on their own.” Lin Bei frowned.

Zhong Chengshuo didn’t respond as he continued solemnly, “Gao Mengyu is introverted and timid. She would never pull someone into a one-on-one fight. Her exchanges with strangers usually occur online in multi-person discussions, so it’s very likely there are people who know about it.”

Lin Bei smoothed out her hair. “Your guess has quite a lot of details.”

“This is an analysis, and I have proof—she has already done so.”

Zhong Chengshuo pushed the laptop over.

Looking at the pause screen on the tablet, it was an interrogation video recorded by the police station’s surveillance. The subject of the inquiry was a young woman who looked very upset.

“Gao Mengyu is missing? I—I don’t know anything. I have no personal relationship with her.”

“I admit that I didn’t pay attention to what I said that day… but that was half a month ago. She wouldn’t think about me because of that. That’s just too far off!”

The girl’s name was Zhai Jing, a junior preparing for graduate school.

The story wasn’t complicated.

She and Gao Mengyu were in the same local graduate school entrance exam group.

Gao Mengyu was a little out of place in the group. She was too old, had no family support for her exams, and she had just broken up with her boyfriend. In every sense, she could be considered truly alone. Not only that, but she also wasn’t very good at socializing. The students in the group would chat on Twitter, but she never said anything.

However, while Gao Mengyu didn’t have a strong presence, she had a good temperament. The people in the group weren’t interested in being friends with her, but they had no ill feelings towards her either.

The conflict started in a group voice chat.

Zhai Jing’s club was going to hold a summer night horror story meeting. She specially pulled everyone in the group so she could draw materials from.

The atmosphere was good at first until Gao Mengyu spoke.

Gao Mengyu usually just listened on this kind of occasion and never spoke when a person should have. Seeing her take the initiative to participate, everyone was a little surprised, but they all calmed down and listened to her.

Gao Mangyu’s story was extremely strange.

She said she heard a rumor from a friend…

Friend A once came back from shopping for groceries and saw an unfamiliar old man on the street. The old man stood quietly there with an uncomfortable deadness in his facial features.

A didn’t think much about it and went home with her food.

Every day after that, A would see the old man whenever she bought groceries. First on the street near the farmer’s market, then at the entrance to the community near the apartment, then at the entrance to the apartment building.

The old man would do nothing, but every time A noticed the old man, the old man would always be looking at her.

Until one day, A got up and opened the curtains.

The old man was standing at the entrance of her apartment, looking expressionlessly at her window.

The story ended here.

The stories told by the first few people were all a bit grim, with blood and ghosts. Compared to those exciting tales, this story was particularly dull and boring.

“It’s kind of boring. Is this story true?” Zhai Jing was the first to comment. “Your friend seems overly self-conscious.”

Gao Mengyu: “Isn’t it scary?”

“How is it scary? Anyway, it’s not nearly as exciting as a murderer counting each floor of his victim.”

“…Is it really not scary at all?”

“Are you a voice recorder on repeat?”

“You didn’t have to be unpleasant about it.”

“Am I scolding you?”

Zhai Jing had always been blunt when speaking, and usually Gao Mengyu would keep silent to avoid making something small into a big deal. Who would have thought that she quarreled clumsily with Zhai Jing that day, during which Zhai Jing said, “Auntie is still taking the graduate entrance exam like a little girl”, which caused Gao Mengyu to directly withdraw from the group.

Since Gao Mengyu had no friends in the group, no one defended her. Afterwards, Zhai Jing felt that she had said too much, but she didn’t make any specific apologies and left the matter alone.

Lin Bei was covered in sweat after hearing this. “That story, could it be that it was happening to Gao Mengyu herself…”

“I’m not sure, but it’s very possible.” Zhong Chengshuo took back the laptop. “She has a normal relationship with her family and broke up with Xie Chao. She also resigned from her job and didn’t seem to have many friends as she didn’t have a common language with her colleagues. While she had some acquaintances, I’m afraid none of them could be considered close friends, as they only made superficial talk at most.”

This was why she confided in Lin Bei, who wasn’t even a friend.

“This matter may have been partially made up by her, so it can’t be accepted in full. She was probably trying to get feedback from the others in her exam group—she needed to make sure that she wasn’t ‘being too paranoid’.”

Lin Bei pursed her mouth, looking a little sad.

“Three weeks ago, Gao Mengyu knew that Xie Chao was Mr. Rose. At that time, she should have been quite stressed out…”

Because of Mr. Rose, the internet was full of insults against his “ex-girlfriend”, and Gao Mengyu was already helpless as she was. If that horror story was true, she couldn’t even call the police for help.

After all, the old man hadn’t done anything yet.

Gao Mengyu was timid by nature, and with wave after wave of gloomy encounters, what would she think?

“I’ll find a way to cooperate with the topic selection you mentioned before.” Lin Bei smiled stiffly.

“The two of you set the meeting place here because you want to show your legitimacy by using the police… I trust you.”

She looked at Zhong Chengshuo.

Zhong Chengshuo was wiping his glasses and seemed to feel Lin Bei’s gaze. He hurriedly raised his head. “Yes, we have always abided by discipline and the law.”

Lin Bei’s thought of shaking hands was killed in the cradle. She understood that she shouldn’t expect any normal cooperative feedback.

“And this is your business. We don’t want to kidnap you morally. If it’s inconvenient for you, we’ll find another way… Ngh!”

Yin Ren instantly dropped his cellphone that was full of shark pictures and smacked Zhong Chengshuo’s mouth. He lowered his head and whispered at high speed in his partner’s ear. “She has already promised us. What are you doing, trying to throw it back. Besides, it’s impossible for Bei Jie to do serious business with us just as a favor—”

Zhong Chengshuo said in a muffled voice, “Well, I’m afraid she won’t understand.”

“This is something that someone who’s semi-comatose will understand better than you!”

Lin Bei: “……”

The self-blame and depression in her heart had turned into speechlessness.

“Mr. Rose’s recent emotional topic selection is a case I personally worked on. The stress on Gao Mengyu is also partly my fault,” she said softly. “…Please believe in my professionalism. Xiao Yin is right. I don’t make decisions about serious business so casually. I have my thoughts.”

“Okay, Bei Jie, let’s add each other on WeChat and make a group so it’ll be easy to update each other on the progress.”

Yin Ren struck while the iron was hot, and he pressed Zhong Chengshuo’s head down as he leaned forward with his phone in hand.

Lin Bei couldn’t laugh or cry. “You’re really not afraid that I’ll poach you.”

She readily agreed and operated quickly.

After a while, a cooperation group called “Shian-Flower Bud Studio Cooperation Group” was established.

[LadyBud: When there’s progress, I’ll send the relevant materials here.]

[LadyBud: I hope everything goes well.]

[Fruit Knife: Hard work Bei Jie. We’ll definitely get Mengyu Jie back 👍*]

*He’s actually using the jiayou emoji, which I can’t find.

Zhong Chengshuo gestured for a while, feeling that it wasn’t good to copy and paste directly. He pondered for a bit and finally decided to be innovative.

[Final Fruit: 🙂]

Although he wasn’t familiar with using these emojis, this emoji ranked first among all others and was also a smile, which meant it should be very general and friendly.

Zhong Chengshuo pulled up the chat history and clicked on Yin Ren’s avatar. At noon, this person was still using the default avatar, but now he had changed his picture. Maybe he could infer something from Yin Ren’s past based on the avatar that he chose…

The large picture of the avatar had just loaded, and it was an IKEA shark with its belly turned over and lying on the sofa.

Zhong Chengshuo closed the WeChat app blankly.

He had no intention of trying to analyze the meaning of this avatar.

……

That night, after taking a shower, the two of them got into bed. Their mobile phones shook at the same time, and new message notifications appeared in the two groups.

Shian-Farmer’s Orchard:

[The River Flows Eastward: Holy shit, are you guys still awake? Something happened at Fanghua!!!]

[The River Flows Eastward: We actually miss a big boss.]

[The River Flows Eastward: @Everyone you two, don’t go running around.]

[The River Flows Eastward: Don’t go anywhere tomorrow. I’ll pick you up at the hotel.]

[The River Flows Eastward: Things are getting complicated. I guess you’ll have to go to headquarters for a medical checkup!]

Shian-Flower Bud Studio Cooperation Group:

[LadyBud: @Fruit Knife @Final Fruit Are you two there? Excuse me. I got a message here. That person sent several group chat records. I confirmed the WeChat name and avatar, and Gao Mengyu was in it.]

[LadyBud: It’s a pet clinic group. Because of Mr. Rose’s topic, she quarreled with the contributor and was kicked out of the group four weeks ago.]

[LadyBud: [chat record of group chat]]

[LadyBud: [chat record of group chat]]

[LadyBud: [chat record of group chat]]

[LadyBud: I’m a little scared. The contributor is in Haigu. I have already contacted them, so take a look!]

[LadyBud: @Fruit Knife @Final Fruit Did Gao Mengyu go crazy a long time ago?]

---

The author has something to say:

“The Thousand-Year-Old Ghost King was lazy when he searched for shark pictures during the meeting at the Public Security Bureau”

I didn’t expect that after a few years, I would actually be writing such an outrageous plot that seemed too drunk.

Xiao Yin, looking at you (?

---

Kinky Thoughts:

How is it that Yin Ren is this cute?

Just a note, I’m not familiar with WeChat and what kind of emoji it uses, so I’m just googling the description the author is giving and plugging in that emoji. For those that I can’t find (like in the case of jiayou), I just plug in an emoji that I think comes closest to the intention.

Here’s some fan art of Yin Ren in an Ikea Shark costume:

---

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

---

Chapter 18: Motivation

Yin Ren didn’t move immediately.

He stood quietly in place, waiting for the opponent to take action. However, the hostility only faintly persisted. There were a few eyes watching him from extremely close. Yin Ren could smell their vigilance.

Was this a test?

He gradually narrowed the range of his murderous aura, and the air in the room seemed to freeze under the heavy oppression.

At this time, if Zhong Chengshuo was at the scene, even he could detect something was off—Yin Ren’s maroon eyes completely turned bright red, as if they were like sparks in the dark night. His long black hair was blowing in the wind, creating a halo of light around him.

Five seconds.

Thirty seconds.

One minute.

The thing behind Yin Ren didn’t stop releasing its killing intent, but it didn’t take action either. The subtlety of being watched hadn’t disappeared, and the source of those gazes seemed to be a little far away.

It was avoiding him.

“Got a bit of brain.” Yin Ren smiled.

He pretended to have found nothing, pulled back his murderous aura, and then stretched his waist.

He had seen this kind of thing they called a “gap” thousands of years ago. He only saw it as a swamp beneath the turf; a crack in the ice—just a hole for the unlucky. He could just go around, so why bother with dead things?

The gap naturally didn’t possess eyes that could gaze, which meant something was using it, like a viper lurking in the swamp.

Evil things also have their own ways of self-cultivation. People usually stay away from dangerous things like this. In other words, if there was an evil thing that wanted to take advantage of the gap, it must possess at least some skills. There were Shian employees everywhere, yet it still chose to entrench itself here, which was enough to explain certain problems.

The evil thing in this apartment wasn’t weak, wasn’t very hostile, and didn’t seem aggressive.

There was work to be done, but he was just a weak and helpless rookie ghost master. Yin Ren decided to learn his lesson from last time and hand over the matter to the professionals.

After finishing what he wanted to do, Yin Ren moved himself and opened the door happily.

The hostility in the room dissipated instantly, as if it had never existed. Although before it dissipated, there was a lot of “what’s the matter” feeling of doubt mixed in with the hostility.

Zhong Chengshuo, who was guarding the door, asked him when he came out, “Did you feel anything?”

Yin Ren: “I feel, hungry.”

Zhong Chengshuo’s expression became a little more complicated.

“…Do you want to eat ramen?” He didn’t press the matter after that and just glanced at the time.

Now they could move freely in Haigu. Although it was still far from noon, it wasn’t as if they couldn’t have lunch.

“Eat!” Yin Ren readily agreed. He had been coveting the beef ramen next to the apartment for a while now.

“Have you been here all this time?” A voice interrupted suddenly.

The two of them turned their heads at the same time and saw Fu Xingchuan’s solemn expression.

Fu Xingchuan was dressed in a weird outfit. He had changed into a long coat and switched the color from ochre to magenta. He wasn’t wearing any protective clothing, was holding a long knife in his hand, and the dark circles under his eyes were even worse than the last time they saw him. In addition, there was a strong smell of smoke coming from his body.

Zhong Chengshuo: “Yes. We’re continuing to investigate the scene.”

Fu Xingchuan gave a non-committal response. He glanced at the empty room and turned directly to Yin Ren.

“What about you? Did you find anything unusual?”

Yin Ren stood at attention and said with a heavy tone, “Yes, I suddenly felt chilly just now, so I deliberately stayed in the room alone for a while. Then…”

Fu Xingchuan and Zhong Chengshuo both looked at him.

“Then I felt the hairs on my back straighten.” Yin Ren looked serious. “But I think it might be an illusion. Maybe it’s because I’m hungry and I was thinking about it, so I came out and asked Zhong Ge to go for a meal.”

Fu Xingchuan didn’t show a relaxed expression.

“What did you do in the room?” he asked calmly. “There was a very strong killing intent nearby just now.”

‘Great,’ Yin Ren thought. This was the effect he wanted.

Yin Ren glanced at Zhong Chengshuo and spoke with a bit of hesitation. “I didn’t do anything special… Just now, Zhong Ge deduced that Gao Mengyu looked out for some unknown reason, so I kept looking at the window.”

“Did you touch anything?”

“I didn’t,” Yin Ren replied sincerely.

The clues that should be given… Well, he gave out all the work reports that needed to be given. As a human, Fu Xingchuan could perceive his murderous aura, which meant his level was acceptable. Since he was tasked to take over the matter, Yin Rin felt relieved by this.

So he added in a good mood, “Is there such a mysterious thing as killing intent in the world? Minister Fu is incredible. Where can I learn this?”

Fu Xingchuan’s eyes wandered. “When you’re strong enough to be 007.”

Yin Ren: “…” Is it good to be that straightforward? Do you still want to recruit new people to Shian?

They handed back their protective clothing before they headed downstairs. Yin Ren whispered to Zhong Chengshuo, “Do you think Minister Fu’s knife is a controlled knife?”

He missed his dagger. Back then, he said he had picked it up because he was in a desperate situation. Now, it couldn’t be regarded as a spiritual weapon and was handed over to Shian to be labeled as a first-class national cultural relic.

He felt very wronged.

However, as soon as he finished muttering, Fu Xingchuan shouted from room 1413, “My knife has no blade, so it won’t cut anything living!”

Yin Ren instantly responded back, “Wow, our Minister Fu also has good hearing. Is this a top-notch master?”

Zhong Chengshuo: “…”

Zhong Chengshuo made a serious face. “You may have been a social worker before if you could recall this kind of stuff.”

……

The isolation zone of Fanghua Apartments wasn’t withdrawn, which only made the number of passersby watching the excitement grow. The old men and women who had acquired a rare pastime set up their table downstairs and drank tea while they played mahjong.

As he passed through the crowd, Zheng Chengshuo’s eyes swept around. Yin Ren didn’t know what he saw, but he suddenly stopped for a moment.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” Zhong Chengshuo retracted his gaze and shook his head.

The ramen store had few customers since it wasn’t lunchtime yet.

It was a chain store, and the inside was clean. The interior decoration of the store had unique characteristics. The back kitchen and the restaurant were separated by a layer of glass, and the customer could see the cook slapping the noodles on the white table. The kitchen was steaming with the fragrant aroma of beef sauce that was stewing in the pot.

Zhong Chengshuo ordered a bowl of noodles accompanied by beef sauce and vegetables. Yin Ren asked for the “Big Mac” sea bowl, added sweet rice wine, and ordered 30 lamb skewers—this was a rare opportunity, so he didn’t want to eat vegetables.

When the ramen hit the bowl, it was filled with steaming bone broth. Thin slices of radish were decorated with chives, then topped with sliced beef that was neither thick nor thin and was half covered with orange and red chili oil. On the whole, it was full of color, fragrance, and flavor.

Without Liang Shan’s heated atmosphere, Zhong Chengshuo didn’t say a word and just quietly ate. He ate carefully without missing a single item. Even the chives in the soup were eaten clean. Yin Ren was busy with his meal, so the two of them didn’t talk for a while.

However, even though Liang Shan wasn’t there, his spirit still was. As soon as the two of them were halfway through eating, their phones vibrated at the same time.

Taking a closer look, the name of their group chat was changed by Liang Shan to “Shian—Farmer Orchard”.

[The River Flows Eastward: @Final Fruit @Fruit Knife Did you two go to Fanghua in the morning?]

[Final Fruit: ?]

[The River Flows Eastward: Minister Fu recruited several Black Seal bosses to Fanghua! Isn’t this still looking for evil spirits? Things are definitely not simple. Do you know what’s going on?]

Yin Ren raised his brows, daring to believe that this senior had interrupted their lunch break for gossip.

[Fruit Knife: There seems to be some corruption in Gao Mengyu’s apartment 😱 😱 😱]

[Fruit Knife: Minster Fu also said he felt a shark.]

[Fruit Knife: Killing intent.]

After a few days of pondering, Yin Ren had initially grasped the usage of pinyin, but he was still a little jerky*.

*Clarity: The common way to type text in China on cellphones is in pinyin. This is why Yin Ren mistypes killing intent [shayi] as shark [shayu] since he’s not familiar with it.

[The River Flows Eastward: Impossible. Absolutely impossible!!!]

[The River Flows Eastward: The investigation of the gap is very intensive. If there are evil things, it would’ve been discovered long ago. Besides, our people have entered the gap. Why would evil things still be there?]

[Final Fruit: Guarding of course?]

[The River Flows Eastward: ……]

[The River Flows Eastward: Anyway, don’t meddle in this matter. Maybe it’s a new kind of evil being. You can’t handle it.]

[Fruit Knife: 🙏]

[Final Fruit: 🙏]

Liang Shan stopped responding. Yin Ren hurriedly continued to eat to eat his ramen—after chatting for a while, the noodles became a bit too soggy.

“Under what circumstances do you think people will take inventory of their food?” Zhong Chengshuo suddenly asked.

Liang Shan had dragged his thoughts back to the case, so Zhong Chengshuo began to think about Gao Mengyu’s behavioral logic again.

“Either when they pack it up or to pick out the bad stuff and throw them away. Or, if grain… food is insufficient, they estimate consumption.” This kind of thing had been around since ancient times, so Yin Ren could answer it smoothly.

Zhong Chengshuo paused his hand holding the chopsticks.

“Gao Mengyu was flustered at the time. The meat had been frozen for a month, so it wouldn’t be bad. It shouldn’t be that she suddenly wanted to clean house. There’s a market near Fanghua Apartments and there’s always takeout or express delivery, so it’s reasonable to say lack of food isn’t an issue, unless she decides to stay behind closed doors.”

“According to what you said, the anomaly is in her room. If she was to avoid ‘evil things’, normally she would try to escape from the apartment, right?”

“You seem to misunderstand. Not all evil things want to harm people.” Yin Ren stared at Zhong Chengshuo’s face, which was beginning to turn pale, like his heart was slowly being drained of blood. “Maybe people’s ‘anomalies’ aren’t involved in this matter. Didn’t Miss Fang say before there’s also a possibility of ‘the living picking a fight’?”

Zhong Chengshuo stood up suddenly. He knocked against the bowl, causing the soup inside to almost splash out.

Yin Ren quickly reacted, and he protected the bowl from spilling. “Speak clearly if you have something to say! Speak clearly if you have something to say!”

“Come with me to the police station in the afternoon.”

“Why? I’m not carrying a controlled knife.” Yin Ren became vigilant.

“I’m not trying to turn you in. I have a suspicion, but a lack of evidence. At least the knowledge on Shian’s side isn’t enough.”

“Okay, okay. Let’s eat first.”

Zhong Chengshuo paused. A few seconds later, he sat down, muttering “for shame on being wasteful”, and stuffed noodles into his mouth as if he had no desire to eat.

Five minutes passed.

“What do you suspect? Why are you so excited?”

Yin Ren finished eating his food in a flustered manner, and his mouth was finally empty. Opposite him, Zhong Chengshuo drank the last of his soup in one gulp and let out a long sigh.

“You’re right. Gao Mengyu has an average resume and isn’t special like you. This incident may be able to eliminate the ‘abnormal phenomenon’—Gao Mengyu saw something outside the window, so much so that she firmly believes it would be dangerous to go outside.”

Zhong Chengshuo’s eyes were focused. Locked on by those dark eyes, it made Yin Ren feel a little uncomfortable.

Yin Ren recalled for a bit. “But I have seen the information. In the past week, there hasn’t been any abnormal situation nearby—not even a neighborhood conflict.”

“The ‘dangerous situation’ encountered by Gao Mengyu may seem to others to be a trivial matter, and such a situation may not have happened for the first time. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have reacted so severely.”

Zhong Chengshuo stressed his words.

“…A person who’s afraid will definitely vent their fear in certain ways. She may have left behind some kind of clue. Relevant personnel should have been investigated by the police, and there should be a comprehensive record at the station.”

As Yin Ren thought about it, his fingers wound around the end of his hair unintentionally. Zhong Chengshuo rarely talked at such length. He took a sip of tea and looked at Yin Ren seemingly short of breath.

“Good idea, though it seems a bit simple.” Lord Ghost King smiled lightly. “It’s rare for us to have a favor in our hands, so it’s too wasteful not to use it.”

He shook his phone and immediately dialed Lin Bei’s number.

“Hello, Bei Jie*? It’s me, Xiao Yin from Shian.”

*Sister (姐). Similar to ge but used to refer to an older woman as a sign of respect/closeness.

“Chengshuo and I need your help with something. Yes, can we meet? At two in the afternoon. Is it convenient for you to come to the Municipal Public Security Bureau?”

---

The author has something to say:

Damn it, Xiao Yin and I are different. I really need leafy veggies.Yesterday, I counted the inventory of my freezer while dividing the (hard-to-get) meat. What is an immersive experience_(;””∠)_

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

---

Chapter 17: Killing Intent

At first, when he heard that they could take a break, he wasn’t happy.

They came up with this idea over dinner and spent the rest of the time running wildly in the wrong direction—at least Shian thought it was wrong. The investigation was stopped only after a few days, and during that time they also went AWOL. Would Shian really exempt them from the probation period?

Zhong Chengshuo was filled with a sense of loss. After returning to the table, his eating movements were much more stagnant.

After the meal, they exchanged contact information. Lin Bei still had work to do, so she took a taxi and returned to the studio.

“Let’s go for a walk,” Yin Ren suggested.

The restaurant was facing the river, which reflected the lights from thousands of homes. The cool river breeze was slightly alluring. More importantly, Zhong Chengshuo was like a cat that had just gotten all its fur shaved. He was in a state of half-daze, half-deep thought.

As Yin Ren expected, Zhong Chengshuo didn’t refuse. He surmised that even if he were to say, “Let’s jump off a building,” Zhong Chengshuo would subconsciously just let out an oh.

“There’s something I don’t understand from what Liang Shan told us.” Yin Ren was soothed by the night breeze and casually started a topic. “What does ‘be on standby as support staff and wait for the outcome of the incident’ mean?”

Zhong Chengshuo contemplated a bit. “It should be regarded as some kind of paid leave.”

“They aren’t punishing us for acting without authorization?”

“We blocked the attack on Lin Bei before. The police determined that we were righteous and brave, so our merits even it out.” Although they were given a lecture because they chased after the culprit instead of calling the police.

In short, it was good that they didn’t lose their job.

“Paid leave…” Yin Ren chewed on these words for a while and felt they were as refreshing as the summer night breeze.

But Zhong Chengshuo had on a solemn expression. He looked at the river in the dark night, and Yin Ren couldn’t guess what he was thinking.

Since he didn’t understand, he asked, “Unhappy?”

After all, Zhong Chengshuo was the one who took the lead in “acting without authorization and pursuing on his own”, so shouldn’t he be relieved to know that Shian wasn’t holding him accountable?

“…I was just thinking about Gao Mengyu.” Zhong Chengshuo didn’t seem quite comfortable with this conversation, as he hesitated for a bit before answering.

“Why?”

“Phenomenon C-B4, ‘gap’. According to Liang Shan, if Gao Mengyu enters the gap, she won’t ‘come back’. The primary goal of Shian may not be rescue but prevention and control.”

Yin Ren thought for a bit before saying, “I think so too.”

It had been about six days since Gao Mengyu disappeared without a trace, so she had probably entered the “can’t come back” kind of “gap” by mistake. Rather than aimlessly search and try to rescue her, it was more urgent to control the gap.

“I don’t want to give up now. That’s a human life.”

Zhong Chengshuo lowered his gaze.

“The timing is too coincidental. Looking at Shian’s reaction, the appearance of this gap isn’t normal.”

“Although there’s no evidence that her disappearance is related to Xie Chao, it can’t prove that it’s ‘irrelevant’. I want to do some more research. If you don’t…”

“Sure, let’s both do it together,” Yin Ren readily agreed.

Zhong Chengshuo paused his steps.

“Well, you’re the one who mentioned the gap and the one who caught that knife-wielding thug. If I were to be lazy again at this point, it’d be like I’m deadweight.”

After all, the matter of him seriously wounding that ghost couldn’t be exposed. Not to mention that the ghost didn’t have any language skills, even if it opened its mouth to confess, Yin Ren was ready to cry about being wronged.

Adding up, he didn’t need to do anything.

Thinking of this, Yin Ren’s tone was as firm as iron. “If I do such a bad job right when I start working, I will really have no face!”

Zhong Chengshuo pondered for a moment. He couldn’t think of what kind of face a person with amnesia needed.

Then he gave Yin Ren a sideways glance.

Yin Ren walked closer to the river and would stop from time to time to look at the various facilities. Tonight, was a formal occasion, so Liang Shan had given him a high-end black shirt. His long hair was tied up in a low ponytail and braided a few times. His hair was soft, and right now it looked low-key and untidy, as if it were part of the evening breeze.

The lights were dimly lit, which gave Yin Ren’s outline a warm edge.

‘The fruit dessert was delicious, and this person was truly good-looking,’ Zhong Chengshuo thought to himself. Except for the occasional short circuit in his brain, he couldn’t find any faults in his partner.

So Zhong Chengshuo decided to lighten the mood. “Thank you. You’re a very good person.”

Yin Ren: “……”

Yin Ren: “…Thank you too?”

The next day, the two went to Fanghua Apartments early.

Unlike yesterday, the entire apartment was evacuated, and there was a bright yellow barrier erected outside. An official sign was planted at the entrance of the apartment notifying everyone that part of the building was aging and cracking, so an emergency safety inspection was required.

The regular employees of Shian were dressed up with detection machines in their hands as they carefully explored every corner.

The case was taken over by the regular army, and Liang Shan had returned to his civilian job at the police station, where he could only answer their questions through text.

[Final Fruit: Mr. Liang, can we still enter Fanghua Apartments?]

[The River Flow Eastward: Just show your work ID. You can enter the places that have already been checked.]

[The River Flows Eastward: I personally suggest you take a two-day break and take the opportunity to recuperate from your injuries.]

[Final Fruit: We want to check again.]

[The River Flows Eastward: …Well, I understand. Go ahead. Say hello to Shian for me.]

[Fruit Knife: Thank you, Liang Ge 🥺]

[Final Fruit: Thank you, Liang Ge 🥺]

[The River Flows Eastward: ……]

Zhong Chengshuo withdrew the hand that he used to copy and paste and opened the door to the apartment.

Room 1413, Gao Mengyu’s residence, was the first place to be investigated. Shian’s investigation team had worked all night, and the 14^th floor was the first to be classified as a safe area.

Seeing that the two of them didn’t rest in the hotel, the staff in charge of the 14^th floor was a little surprise.

“Go ahead. We’ll give you an hour. The ‘gap’ is estimated to still be moving nearby, so don’t stay too long.”

She patiently helped the two of them put on protective clothing.

They all knew that Gao Mengyu’s apartment had been carefully inspected by veterans, so it was quite interesting to see these two wanting to do another check. However, the staff member didn’t mention this and just smiled gently.

“If you find a clue, remember to report it!”

The rancid smell of room 1413 had long since dissipated. There were no longer any traces of the sewage on the ground or the flies buzzing around. There was only warm and tidy furniture left in the home. The windows, bedding, and other debris remained as they were, as if their owner had only temporarily left and could return home at any time.

Zhong Chengshuo stood at the entrance. He took a deep breath, then walked into the bedroom with his eyes closed and lay down on Gao Mengyu’s bed.

Yin Ren: “???”

Let alone someone else’s bed, this was also a girl’s! Isn’t this bad?

Not only that, Zhong Chengshuo’s steps were strange—they became light and slow, as if he were possessed by something.

“She woke up in the morning, poured a glass of water, and then opened the bedroom curtains.” Zhong Chengshuo opened his eyes naturally and got up from the bed. He walked towards the window where the curtains weren’t drawn and gave a false pull.

His movements were still light, with a little caution and a bit of softness.

Yin Ren finally came back to his senses and realized that Zhong Chengshuo was imitating Gao Mengyu.

“She finished washing up and ate a few cookies, then went to the table to study.” Zhong Chengshuo was talking to himself in a slow and solemn voice.

Slender fingers brushed the cookie package that was opened, and after a short pause, Zhong Chengshuo sat down in front of the desk.

Facing the desk was another small window. The window was half opened, and the curtains on the pages of the book were gently swaying in the wind.

“At an unknown time, she walked to the vicinity of the refrigerator and began to organize the meat in the freezer.”

Zhong Chengshuo pushed away the chair he was sitting in and walked towards the fridge. Halfway through, his movements suddenly stopped.

Yin Ren was watching with fascination. “What’s the matter?”

“Something’s not right.” Zhong Chengshuo slightly frowned. He looked at the window in front of the desk. “Why is she opening the window?”

“Ventilation in the summer?”

Zhong Chengshuo took out his phone. “On the day she disappeared, the temperature in Donghe District was 35℃. It was dry and windless. Opening the window would only make it hotter. Even if she really wanted to open the window to breathe, she wouldn’t open the screen window with it—not to mention the summer mosquitoes, she has raised cats for years.”

Yin Ren murmured to himself. These details were indeed subtle, but it wasn’t subtle enough to be suspicious. This was the 14^th floor. It was fine for him since he knew how to fly, but that was something that was impossible for Gao Mengyu to do.

While Zhong Chengshuo stared affectionately at the air, Yin Ren bypassed the desk and leaned his head out the window.

From this angle, he could see the vestibule and the entrance of Fanghua Apartments. The barrier blocked the curious passersby outside. When he poked his head out, many people looked up at him, and some even raised their phones, which made Yin Ren shrink back quickly in fright.

“What’s the matter?” This time, it was Zhong Chengshuo who asked.

“No, there are quite a lot of people watching the excitement.”

Zhong Chengshuo was stunned for a moment, then he stood up suddenly and lay down on the windowsill.

The 14^th floor was quite high, but if he used the camera function on his phone as an aid, he could manage to barely see the people from below. Zhong Chengshuo quickly turned on the camera and zoomed in on the screen, scanning the scattered crowd downstairs.

“That’s right. Her phone was on the porch at the time. Maybe she saw something from the window and wanted to go out, and she couldn’t even wait to close it.”

Zhong Chengshuo grabbed his phone and walked to the door, put down the phone on the shoe cabinet, and made the action of putting on shoes.

“But she suddenly changed her mind, hurriedly returned to the fridge, and took out all the frozen products she was storing—there are live photos the police took of the fridge showing that the inside was well taken care of. Yin Ren, regardless of the non-scientific possibility, she was probably checking her inventory.”

The things she had in the fridge were everyday items that could be recognized at a glance, but considering that she didn’t eat much meat and didn’t often use the freezer, it wasn’t surprising that she had to make an impromptu inventory.

Then, in the process of checking the inventory, she disappeared.

This time, Zhong Chengshuo demonstrated Gao Mengyu’s actions fluently—she first looked out the window, then rushed to the door. Just as she was about to put on her shoes, she seemed to have thought of something, and she even forgot to take her phone as she rushed straight back to the front of the refrigerator.

Unfortunately, he could restore the trajectory of her actions but not her motivation. Zhong Chengshuo was squatting in front of the freezer, poking at the door of the fridge with a deep expression.

But there was another entry point in this matter.

“What did she see nearby…” Yin Ren rubbed the wall. “Zhong Ge, can you go out first?”

Zhong Chengshuo looked at him in confusion.

Yin Ren: “I’m going to do some feudal superstition activities.”

Zhong Chengshuo: “…”

“Do you want to watch me do the Great God dance?”

“Do you remember how to do the Great God dance?” Zhong Chengshuo said it in surprise.

“No, it’s just an expression*. I just had a kind of spiritual induction just now, and I want to meditate here… Mediation requires the environment to be quiet.”

*Clarity: Yin Ren is saying (sarcastically) do you want to watch me do a ritual dance (跳大神) to which Zhong Chengshuo thought he really could, but he’s saying it in a joking way. (跳大神) is a folk ritual dance handed down that must be completed by two people. Nowadays, it’s considered a feudal superstitious activity and folk art.

Due to the short video platform, he didn’t know how many fashionable excuses he had learned from it. Sure enough, Zhong Chengshuo didn’t ask any more questions and honestly left. He didn’t even forget to gently close the door before leaving.

‘Such a good trick,’ Yin Ren thought with relief.

He then went to the middle of the room and stood there.

The entire building was staffed by Shian. Not to mention evil qi, he couldn’t even use ordinary evil spirits and spells, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t do anything.

Evil things were always sensitive to human emotions, especially negative emotions. As the saying went, people were three points afraid of ghosts, and ghosts were seven points afraid of people*. Strong emotions such as hatred and fear were especially easy to be exploited by evil beings.

*This saying is basically saying people fear ghosts 30% while ghosts fear people 70%. It boils down to people are afraid of the unknown (like ghosts) and are just an imagination made up by people because they don’t conform to science and common sense. More than anything, a ghost is probably more afraid of people (if they are righteous and blessed by God and can ward them off). There’s also a more Buddhist aspect to why the 3/7 points are assigned, but I won’t go into details about that since it’s too confusing for me.

Yin Ren closed his eyes and slightly bent the corners of his mouth.

In the next instant, centered in room 1413, a strong killing intent suddenly exploded.

The majestic, murderous qi of the King of Evil encircled the entire Fanghua Apartments. The pressure was like a battlefield of 10,000 people in deep winter; the thick soil was soaked in blood and ice. It was like a swamp that had devoured countless corpses, full of cold and viscous evil.

This wasn’t just evil qi, but pure murderous intent.

Letting this murderous intent spread for a few seconds, Yin Ren opened his eyes and looked at the window expectantly…

As long as there were any evil beings that were still here, they would react to this level of “demonstration”.

He was only half right, it turned out.

The half that he guessed right was that the evil being in his conjecture did exist, and in the face of such murderous intent, it subconsciously responded with hostility.

As for the wrong half…

The source of that hostility wasn’t outside the window, but behind him.

---

The author has something to say:

Xiao Yin, it’s rare to be so cool for three seconds (?

Xiao Zhong: Thank you, you are a good person.

Xiao Yin (thinking): Thank you, so are you.

Two male guests exchanged the good person card!

---

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

---

Chapter 16: Perfect Packaging

“Actually, Mengyu and I are not good friends.”

Unlike the last time when she looked weak and panicked, Lin Bei’s eyes were now clear, and her brows showed the ability of a manager.

“I wanted to meet you guys because, first, of my situation and Shian’s reputation with the supernatural. Second… I know that someone has been stalking me recently, but as soon as I approached the police, he stopped showing up.”

“I really can’t help it. I used you two to lure him out. I didn’t expect him to attack you with a knife… I’m really sorry.”

She lowered her head and made a standard apology gesture.

“As compensation for you two—this is all the information on Mr. Rose. I have asked someone to sort it out. Next, I’ll use my resources to fully cooperate, and I hope to help you both.”

In the end, she was a shrewd businesswoman who was completely airtight*.

*(滴水不漏) Idiom describing doing something meticulously and impeccably without a single flaw.

As the main recipient of the apology, Zhong Chengshuo was more concerned about the information. “It’s okay.”

He stared at Lin Bei’s cellphone, as if intending to dig out the information with his gaze.

Lin Bei waited for a while, expecting something more, but found the person really didn’t intend to say much else. She gave a self-deprecating smile and straightened her posture.

“’Mr. Rose’ isn’t signed by our studio. He was registered in November of last year…”

The story this time was different from Lin Bei’s previous statement.

In actuality, Lin Bei had looked down on Gao Mengyu.

When she was a student, Gao Mengyu had a weak temperament, and years later, she still hadn’t grown out of it. She was still working as an on-call servant for Xie Chao. Lin Bei listened to her whining for three years, and it wasn’t until her cat was strangled to death that this obedient little girl finally thought about breaking up.

Gao Mengyu’s only redeeming quality was her kind heart. She liked to rescue stray cats and dogs and was even willing to pay to get them neutered so they could be put up for adoption. Seeing that she knew Haigu’s pet resources well, Lin Bei reluctantly kept in touch.

At first, the two would only talk about cats during their free time, so they could only be considered acquaintances at most. Later, she didn’t know whether Gao Mengyu had no one to talk to or if Gao Mengyu thought she was “worldly”, but she started to talk about her life troubles. However, the more she talked about it, the more annoyed Lin Bei became.

Perhaps Gao Mengyu didn’t know that the suggestion of taking the “postgraduate entrance exam” was just Lin Bei’s perfunctory rhetoric.

Lin Bei had intentionally alienated Gao Mengyu when she insulted Xie Chao. If it hadn’t been for Gao Mengyu’s disappearance four days ago, Lin Bei would’ve almost forgotten the two of them, but then she suddenly became entangled with strange things.

“If Xie Chao is Mr. Rose, everything would make sense. He knew me when he was alive, and of course he could find me when he’s dead… Looking at the time, this account was probably created so Xie Chao could try to get her back. His brain was the type that could come up with this kind of thing.”

Lin Bei had obviously studied Mr. Rose. All his most famous video clips had been edited and were displayed with great skills…

Mr. Rose wore a suit and a small top hat and always held a bouquet of bright roses. In the short video, he would always stay at an unrecognizable intersection and stare quietly at his true love.

The only images taken were the bouquet of flowers and the quiet street at night, which made for a beautiful composition. Mr. Rose occasionally interacted with fans and sometimes revealed his “sad love”, and other times he would answer the love troubles of his fans, like a late-night radio anchor.

As a senior salesperson, Xie Chao was someone who had a way with words and naturally knew how to create topics. In the video, Mr. Rose was courteous, and his voice was processed to sound extra gentle and sad.

The conversation was smooth. His voice was silky, with just the right amount of mystery. Although the connotation in “Mr. Rose’s” speech was slightly lacking and the literary flavor felt rushed, for the platform audience, this kind of image was “extremely charming”.

In Lin Bei’s file, there was a collection dedicated to Mr. Rose’s self-narrated love story.

He said that they had been dating since high school, and both their first love and youth were given to each other. He said he understood her loneliness and that he was too busy and wasn’t considerate of her before. He knew that it was his fault.

He said that now he wouldn’t disturb her life but just wanted to wait for another chance.

At first, there were only a few bystanders. However, as the days passed, his fans gradually increased.

Last Christmas, the account was discovered by the local media and became a complete hit. At the beginning of the year, “Mr. Rose” officially became one of the leading anchors in Haigu, earning a ton of money.

Zhong Chengshuo counted the days, and it was around the time when Gao Mengyu moved to the apartment.

“But Xie Chao had a car accident two weeks ago. Didn’t Mr. Rose just die of illness a few days ago?” Yin Ren silently muted the video. All those strange and weird noises were giving him a headache.

“Do you know how much that account is worth?” Lin Bei didn’t answer directly but asked a question instead.

Yin Ren was at a loss. He subconsciously turned to Zhong Chengshuo but didn’t expect him to have the same blank expression.

Lin Bei sighed. “After he became viral, Mr. Rose signed with a marketing company. The account is estimated to be owned by that company. Two weeks ago, Mr. Rose’s live broadcast stopped for a while, and they said it was because of health issues… At that time, their company suddenly began to recruit a senior emotional anchor, so we guessed that Mr. Rose had quit.”

Having said that, she suddenly fell silent and looked out the window.

“If you can’t find a suitable replacement, instead of waiting for them to fade out in the public’s eye, it’s better to arrange a tragic ‘death’ for the account and take the opportunity to milk it.”

Zhong Chengshuo: “Are these your conjectures, or…?”

“I have worked with them and planned three of the four live topic selections for Mr. Rose. This time our studio also took over and is responsible for getting ‘Withering of the Rose’ hot.”

Lin Bei smiled dryly, and her expression became a little ugly.

“Mr. Rose died of illness, had been infatuated all his life, and was waiting for his first and last love. Pfft, there are so many gimmicks nowadays, but it just so happens Mr. Rose’s account is mysterious, so no one can figure out who he is.”

Naturally, no one knew the truth.

The expensive dishes were served one by one, but Lin Bei didn’t reach for her utensils. “It’s no wonder Gao Mengyu was under so much pressure. She used to like to watch short videos. She did complain a few times recently, but I thought it was just…”

When she was halfway through speaking, Lin Bei stopped.

This time, Yin Ren was still confused, and Zhong Chengshuo frowned.

It was inevitable to cut the speeches of the participants into collections. Mr. Rose became popular, and naturally, the discussion of the “mysterious woman” never stopped. A milder person would regret that she missed such a rare, good man in the world, but those who were more radical would inevitably yell and curse.

This account allowed him to make money with his left hand and put pressure on his ex-girlfriend with his right hand, which was truly like killing two birds with one stone.

This would explain the ambiguous conversation they had on WeChat three weeks ago…

If Gao Mengyu were to explode from Mr. Rose and reveal herself, it could indeed cause the value of the account to plummet, but if she did this in front of his supporters, what awaited her would be harassment and abuse that directly involved her private life.

After all, Haigu was just that big.

She seemed to have no choice but to bear the pressure silently.

“We will entrust our superiors with checking the identity of Mr. Rose.” Zhong Chengshuo nodded solemnly. “The clues you have provided are very valuable. Thank you very much. Yin Ren, we…”

The words “should go” were stuck in his throat.

In the shadow of the dining table, there seemed to be several hands that grabbed at his ankles.

Zhong Chengshuo looked down suspiciously but found nothing strange. When he looked up again, Yin Ren was sitting next to him, eating his steak without looking away.

This person claimed to have amnesia, but his skill with a knife was very good. He saw the blade of the knife glint, and then the meat was cut cleanly. The meat was tender and red, with juices flowing out. Yin Ren was casually eating it and chewing quietly with a look of satisfaction on his face.

Unfortunately, Zhong Chengshuo didn’t care to watch. He paused and then tried to get up. “Yin Ren, let’s go back first…”

It was there again. Something was pulling at his feet, trying to fix him in place. Zhong Chengshuo lowered his head again at the speed of light but still didn’t see anything.

Zhong Chengshuo: “…?”

He looked deeply at Yin Ren, who had just finished eating his steak and was now dealing with the plate of creamy risotto. His partner was eating attentively, with a serene atmosphere surrounding him.

Was he seeing things?

Zhong Chengshuo bent down and carefully checked if there were any protruding items nearby. Unfortunately, when he reached down and grabbed around, he touched nothing—he even hit his head on the corner of the table when he got up due to his inattention.

Zhong Chengshuo grunted in pain and held his head as he curled up slightly in his seat.

Yin Ren hurriedly leaned over. “Sit still, Zhong Ge. If you don’t finish this meal, Miss Lin will feel bad—come on, try it. The fruit dessert is very delicious.”

He even shared what was on his own plate with Zhong Chengshuo, but his movements were mixed with a strange kind of reluctance.

“It tastes really refreshing. It’s not very sweet either,” Lord Ghost King especially emphasized.

Yin Ren temporarily put a few hands on Zhong Chengshuo’s ankles to “retain” his partner, but he quickly shrank them back, and thankfully with the dim lighting, Zhong Chengshuo probably didn’t notice them.

Lin Bei knew nothing of what was happening under the table. “Mr. Zhong, don’t worry, and please eat with peace of mind. I still have a second batch of materials to sort out, and I can explain them to you later.”

Zhong Chengshuo was finally willing to stay in his seat obediently.

He scooped up the fruit dessert with a small spoon and carefully put it in his mouth, then his entire temperament softened.

…Well, it’s really delicious.

If he ignored the complex emotions in Lin Bei’s eyes, the current atmosphere was relaxed and peaceful. It was just that this calm didn’t last for even ten minutes. Zhong Chengshuo’s phone kept vibrating, and notifications kept prompting on his cellphone.

When he turned on his phone, he saw Liang Shan’s message pop up at a glance.

[The River Flows Eastward: Have you finished eating?]

[The River Flows Eastward: Is it convenient for you to answer the phone?]

[Final Fruit: Inconvenient.]

[The River Flows Eastward: I have something urgent to tell you. Hurry up and find a place to answer the phone.]

[Final Fruit: Then why would you ask us if it’s inconvenient?]

[The River Flows Eastward: ……]

[The River Flows Eastward: @Fruit Knife]

[The River Flows Eastward: @Fruit Knife Yin Ren look.]

Five minutes later.

[The River Flows Eastward: @Fruit Knife ??? You there?]

[Fruit Knife: Liang Ge, it’s already time to get off work 🥺] 

Comrade Liang Shan couldn’t stand it any longer and called Yin Ren’s phone directly. The two had to leave the dining table and run to the nearest bathroom.

“Are you still checking on Xie Chao?”

“Yes,” Yin Ren replied with a wilted voice.

“No need to investigate. You’re not responsible for this matter.” Liang Shan sighed. “There are incomplete traces of ‘gaps’ in Gao Mengyu’s apartment. Starting tomorrow, Minister Fu will lead an investigation team to follow up on this matter.”

Yin Ren was stunned. “But we found out clues about Xie Chao…”

“You found out that he’s Mr. Rose, right? The ghost has already been captured, and someone recognized his image. It is indeed rare for a newly deceased person to be transformed into a ghost of this level, but this is not without precedent. Now the focus is on the ‘gap’—the danger level of the ghost is completely incomparable to it.”

Zhong Chengshuo took out his phone. “But Miss Lin can testify that Gao Mengyu has also been affected by this ‘abnormal phenomenon’.”

Liang Shan: “Think about it, if it wants to kill Lin Bei, it can only use evil qi to influence her spirit and bewitch her enemies to murder her. Even if it really attacked Mengyu, it doesn’t have the ability to make her disappear from the world.”

The two didn’t answer.

“…Don’t be discouraged. That’s what our investigation is like. It’s normal that you sometimes head in the wrong direction. At least the idea of the ‘gap’ was given by you two, so you did a good job.”

Liang Shan quickly comforted them.

“Rest early, your work is over.”

---

The author has something to say:

[almost crying] is an emoji in WeChat √

Xiao Yin: Oh, but it’s almost time to get off work!

Xiao Zhong: (Eat fruit dessert silently)

Xiao Zhong, it’s hard to be promoted if you hate seniors like this. Let me tell you…

---

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

---

Chapter 15: Footsteps

Yin Ren didn’t think too much for a moment.

Two thoughts flashed through his mind at the same time. The first was that the cooked ghost was about to escape; the second was that he still owed Zhong Chengshuo a piece of buttercream cake.

It took Yin Ren less than half a second to turn his body and slash at the ghost. He attached a bit of evil qi to his nails—he only heard a fierce scream, and like a hot knife cutting butter, there was a huge wound on the ghost’s body where it was slashed.

It was almost cut in half.

Yin Ren didn’t stop. He took advantage of the opportunity and turned to Zhong Chengshuo to grab him and pull him toward himself.

The force of the pull was so strong that Zhong Chengshuo lost his balance and slammed directly into Yin Ren’s arms. However, Zhong Chengshuo had already noticed something was wrong and was about to turn his body…

This caused the two of them to fall into the classic downward pose of the tango. Yin Ren’s black hair fell down and brushed the side of Zhong Chengshuo’s neck.

Zhong Chengshuo, who was in the “female position”: “…”

Lin Bei: “…”

Even the knife-wielding man was stunned for two seconds.

At last, Yin Ren finally moved from his position, causing the weakened ghost to collapse and flee. On the other side, the knife-wielding man reacted and stumbled towards Lin Bei.

Lin Bei was already weakened by the evil qi, so she stood in place in a daze, unable to scream.

Zhong Chengshuo’s reaction was amazingly fast. He tilted his body and threw his phone hard, straight at the man’s head. Then he rushed forward, put his arm around the man’s throat, and dragged back the man’s hand that was holding the knife.

At the same time, Yin Ren skillfully activated his cellphone emergency alarm, creating a shrill ringing sound that echoed through the alley.

More back doors opened, and many people popped their heads out to check on the situation.

Seeing that the tide had shifted, the man with the knife screamed wildly. He struggled frantically, trying to stab Zhong Chengshuo’s arm with the knife.

Blood splattered.

Although the man was a bit thin and somewhat out of shape, he was half a head taller than Zhong Chengshuo, which gave him a physique advantage. Taking advantage of Zhong Chengshuo’s pain, he rushed to a back door.

Zhong Chengshuo ignored his bleeding right arm and chased after him.

Yin Ren wanted to follow, but the two of them quickly ran out of sight. It wasn’t easy for him to leave Lin Bei behind, so he had to go back to the girl and check on her.

He lost his partner, and he floundered in his performance. It was all over now.

Before they came, Fang Yuanyuan had instructed them a thousand times, saying it was imperative that they not act without authorization. Ironically, it was Zhong Chengshuo, who had a harmless face, who was the bad kid who broke the rule first.

Everything happened too fast. Even if Liang Shang arrived quickly, Zhong Chengshuo had already completely disappeared.

“I let you two go out for a while, and this is the situation?!” Liang Shan picked up the semi-conscious Lin Bei. “Why does she have such heavy evil qi? What’s with all this blood?”

“Go back first, and we’ll talk about it later.” Seeing that Lin Bei was finally taken care of, Yin Ren sprinted away and abandoned Liang Shan, who was still in a daze.

It was nothing for a living man to chase another living man, but this man dared hurt his partner and wreck his performance. Today, Yin Ren wanted the knife wielder to know what it meant to be remembered by ghosts…

However, Yin Ren didn’t know that the knife-wielding man was on the verge of collapse.

He was already in a trance, hanging on by a thread of hostility. The first reaction of the knife-wielding man was to flee when he saw that he had failed to hurt the person, but he didn’t expect that four-eyed kid to dare chase after him unarmed.

Because the alley was close to the old town, it was intricate, which was why he chose this path of retreat.

The knife-wielding man plunged into the complex alley. His footsteps strewn rocks all over the place as the dogs around him barked, completely covering his tracks. After running in the ant-nest-like maze for a few minutes, the knife-wielding man leaned against the wall and panted for breath.

He definitely lost them.

However, just as he was about to sit down and rest, there was a soft noise near the corner.

Thud, thud, thud, thud. The sound of rapid and steady footsteps was getting closer.

How could this be? The skin of the knife-wielding man was going numb. He stood up with trembling legs and gritted his teeth as he continued to flee. This time, he used all his strength to climb over the wall and drill into a dog hole. He was covered in dirt and grime as he squeezed through the gap.

Did he get rid of him this time?

As soon as he exhaled, the sound of those cursed footsteps echoed not far away…

Thud, thud, thud, thud. The rhythm of those footsteps was no different than before.

The knife-wielding man’s hand trembled uncontrollably. He was supposed to be the hunter, but now he had an inexplicable fear of being the hunted.

He had been stalking Lin Bei for quite some time. She had talked with the police a few days ago, so he didn’t dare make any obvious moves. Today, she was with two green boys, so she was probably meeting with them to talk about business.

Were male anchors this ferocious these days?

Irritability and fear were suppressed in unison. The knife-wielding man’s eyes grew bloodier. He roared and rushed out head-on while swinging wildly with his knife towards the sound of the footsteps.

The next moment, the face of the knife-wielding man hit the ground. It took a few seconds for the pain to register in his brain.

His hand was being clipped to his back, and his body felt as if it were being crushed to death by the man’s knees. He had no idea what happened to his knife. This was a standard police takedown technique. This time, he didn’t even notice how the other side was able to maneuver in such a way.

Male anchor my ass! There was something wrong with this guy!

“You—What are you doing? What do you want?” Glancing at the pair of deep eyes, the voice of the knife-wielding man changed his tone.

“……” Zhong Chengshuo was silent for a few seconds before he spoke with some bewilderment. “Don’t you know you just broke the law?”

Knife wielder: “……”

Zheng Chengshuo: “I have the right to restrain you.”

Fine, don’t say it. Thousands of words were stuck in the knife-wielding man’s throat. The man was left speechless for a moment, and he wanted to spit out a mouthful of blood.

Just as Zhong Chengshuo was pondering how to tie this man up, another figure ejected into the alley.

“You better give… Huh? Zhong Ge, you’re here?” Yin Ren came to a sharp stop in front of the two of them.

Zhong Chengshuo looked at him suspiciously. “You sound disappointed?”

“How can this be!”

Yin Ren smiled and grabbed the head of the knife-wielder and slammed it against the wall. His strength was just right and caused the knife-wielding man to faint in an instant.

“Now that’s a little disappointing.”

After patting the dust off his hand, Yin Ren leaned forward and carefully checked on Zheng Chengshuo’s wound. “It’s okay. It’s quite shallow.”

“I know.”

“I helped you dodge the knife attack, so that counts as paying back for the cake.” Yin Ren struggled. Originally he was going to mention chocolate muffins, but now it seemed that it didn’t matter.

“Actually, I found him just now.” Zhong Chengshuo wiped away the blood from his glasses and spoke in a sincere tone. “If you hadn’t pulled me away, I could have subdued him right then and there.”

In other words, what he did was unnecessary. He could’ve caught a ghost, while Zhong Chengshuo would have caught this knife-wielder without injuries.

Why even mention such a woeful matter?

Yin Ren: “…..”

Yin Ren: “Zhong Ge, has anyone ever told you your personality is very…”

“Out of character? Many have told me this.” Zhong Chengshuo put back on his glasses while maintaining a calm expression. “Fortunately, I have no need to fit in for the time being.”

Aren’t you missing the point? Yin Ren didn’t know if the dizziness at the moment was because he had used evil qi or because his partner was too maverick… or maybe both.

Sadly, he realized that chocolate muffins were out of the question.

Two hours later, at the hotel.

“What the hell?!” Liang Shan roared. “You all know to call me, but not the police? The other party had a knife. What are you two doing chasing after him! God, it seems like I have to have a lecture about the rules—”

Liang Shan scratched his flat head. There were a few veins popping from his temples as he paced around the room in anger, stomping his feet loudly on the floor.

Zhong Chengshuo’s wound had been addressed. He sat honestly in his bed, and his arm was wrapped in bandages while his eyes stared at the ground. He had returned to his harmless appearance as a docile animal.

“Ah, it hurts,” he recited.

Unfortunately, Comrade Zhong Chengshuo’s acting skills weren’t up to par, and his tone lacked iambic and frustration, so this only made Liang Shan angrier. “You don’t want to be disciplined, ah? You’re badly attempting to sell misery, Zhong Chengshuo—”

“I’m a little dizzy,” Yin Ren quickly interrupted Liang Shan’s power tantrum and relieved his partner.

His tone was much more sincere than Zhong Chengshuo’s.

Truth be told, it was a fact. To beat that ghost just now, Yin Ren tentatively used some of his evil qi, as he knew there weren’t any cultivators around. As a result, he used too much, so the dizziness still lingered.

The world in his eyes was as if it were melting like ice cream, and their contours were crooked and twisted. At this moment, he didn’t want to listen to incessant nagging.

Liang Shang stared at the two of them bitterly.

“The person you caught was just put on trial. He’s Lin Bei’s ex-boyfriend in the same industry and wants revenge on her.” Liang Shang decided to change the subject.

Yin Ren pricked his ears up. “Why?”

“Aren’t you dizzy?”

“I’m still willing to work even when I’m ill.”

Liang Shan gritted his teeth. “…It’s not something earth-shattering. The man cheated on her, so Lin Bei kicked him to the curb. He recently lost his job and resources. He believed that Lin Bei had spoken badly of him, and that was the cause of him losing his job.”

“The guy claims that he had recently experienced auditory hallucinations. He heard a bewitching voice compelling him before he acted. Now he’s still crying at the police station—I guess this guy wants to lean on mental illness to reduce his punishment.”

Zhong Chengshuo slowly raised his head. “Excuses. If that voice was enticing him to donate all of his money, he’d go straight to psychiatric treatment.”

“And aren’t you supposed to be in pain?”

“I’m willing to work even with injuries.”

You two clearly just want to listen to the gossip! Liang Shan clenched his fist but didn’t say anything.

“On Lin Bei’s side, Shian sent someone to follow up.” Liang Shan glanced at Yin Ren before he continued, “Shian will give her some support, so she won’t encounter this kind of danger again.”

Yin Ren naturally understood. A professional cultivator probably got rid of all the evil spirits around Lin Bei and gave her a spiritual tool to guard against ghosts. If he guessed right that ghost would probably be handled by an experienced cultivator.

His achievements…

“One more thing.” Seeing Yin Ren’s sluggish face, Liang Shan purposefully raised his voice. “Lin Bei is in stable condition now, and she wants to talk to you again. I made an appointment for you in the evening, so get some rest first.”

……

Lin Bei chose the most famous western restaurant in Haigu.

Soft music rolled through the air. The price and seating certainly matched the theme. There weren’t many people at the restaurant. Lin Bei chose a corner facing window, which was very quiet and had a good view.

As night fell, everything outside the window was immersed in the indigo night breeze. The traffic had turned into strips of lights, leaving a small reflection on the glass.

Unlike this morning, Lin Bei didn’t wear heavy makeup. This time her clothes were on the casual side, and the jade Buddha she was wearing had been replaced with a pearl necklace. Without the evil spirits around her, Lin Bei’s complexion looked much better.

This time, she waited for Yin Ren and Zhong Chengshuo.

He had heard that the occasion was formal, so Yin Ren specially tied up his hair while Zhong Chengshuo changed into a clean and crisp shirt. The bandage made his sleeve bulge slightly.

“I’m really sorry I took advantage of you.”

Lin Bei looked serious as she got straight to the point.

---

The author has something to say:

It’s too miserable for Xiao Yin. He didn’t get to eat, didn’t perform well, and didn’t return the favor.

---

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

---

Chapter 14: Mr. Rose

“I’m Lin Bei. You are?”

The woman took off her sunglasses and gave them a reluctant smile. She had a beautiful face, but her eyes were bloodshot, and the bags under them were so heavy that she couldn’t cover them up. Without the sunglasses, she suddenly looked a lot more haggard.

She had a jade Buddha hanging around her neck that looked extremely valuable, but it didn’t match her fashionable attire.

“We are security investigators from a formal third party that is assisting the police in their investigation.”

Yin Ren solemnly showed his work ID. He had been secretly practicing what to say in his heart for a while now.

Lin Bei looked at Yin Ren up and down. “If it weren’t for the unsuitable situation, I would want to poach you.”

What does “poach” mean? Yin Ren, who had just drilled himself out of the ground, was suddenly alert*.

*Clarity: The term Lin Bei is using is “dig you”, which is a reference to “dig a corner” (挖墙脚), which is a metaphor referring to corporate espionage and poaching (digging out the technology of companies or personnel (poaching) of competitors as to maximize your benefits). It can also be used in relationships (as in this case), where it’s a term used to pursue someone who is already in a relationship (dig you out from your gf/bf). In this context, honestly it refers to both things (given Yin Ren’s appearance). Yin Ren, not understanding modern usage, is confused and scared because he literally unburied himself from the ground when his seal was broken (that’s the joke).

Fortunately, his partner relieved him in time. Zhong Chengshuo turned on the phone and pressed the record button. “Miss Lin, what is your occupation?”

“I have a self-publishing studio that does local advertising and delivers goods.” Lin Bei leaned back in her chair wearily. “However, given that Haigu is a first-tier city, you can imagine how business is. Wait, it’s starting already?”

“Yes.”

“Let’s order something first. I want a soymilk ice latte. What do you two want to drink?”

“I agree,” Yin Ren happily interjected. “I want this waffle chocolate deluxe sundae. What about Zhong Ge?”

“A glass of hot milk, no sugar.”

Lin Bei: “…” Why did she feel as if that was out of place? If she had known this in advance, she wouldn’t have made an appointment at a café that specialized in cold drinks.

Yin Ren wasn’t surprised. He had most likely figured out Zhong Chengshuo’s eating style by now.

Whether it was the Shian canteen or here, Zhong Chengshuo always ate a light and balanced diet—not too little and not too full. He was quite restrained in his food choices and didn’t like to touch fatty foods like fried chicken or cakes.

It was no wonder why his body was so healthy. He never grabbed what people usually love to eat.

There was plenty of light during the day, which made it quite conspicuous how clear Zhong Chengshuo’s skin was compared to Lin Bei’s, who had makeup on. It was the height of summer, but unlike the men around them, who smelled like sweat and smoke, Zhong Chengshuo’s scent was like a breath of fresh air.

Lin Bei’s attention gradually shifted to Zhong Chengshuo. Perhaps what she needed right now was this gentle and non-irritating reassurance.

“To thank you for your cooperation, Shian will pay for this meal.” After ordering, Zhong Chengshuo quickly returned to the topic. “Miss Lin, what’s your relationship with Gao Mengyu…?”

Lin Bei subconsciously glanced out the window and rubbed the corner of her napkin nervously. We went to middle and high school together, but at that time we weren’t familiar with each other. I took the university exam and didn’t start to talk to her until I started working.”

Then, without waiting for Zhong Chengshuo to ask, she continued on her own.

“About a few years ago, we happened to meet at the pet hospital. My cat was sick, and she happened to be taking her cat in for a physical. After that, we talked about cats and our life… Well, you can consider us friends.”

Zhong Chengshuo stopped sipping on his milk while Yin Ren still had a spoonful of ice cream in his mouth.

Lin Bei seemed to be aware of the doubt they had and felt a bit helpless. “Mengyu is very introverted. Even though we’re in the same city, she’s rarely willing to come out. We mainly chatted on WeChat and hardly ever met up in person.”

Yin Ren sniffed the fresh ghost around her body and put down his spoon. “You took the initiative to find us… Do you have any conjectures about Gao Mengyu’s disappearance?”

“Yes!” They didn’t know why but Lin Bei suddenly became excited. “It must be Xie Chao! He’s just a pervert, but even when he’s dead, he’s still harming people!”

She coughed because she got too riled up and took several sips of her latte. After taking a deep breath, Lin Bei took out a medicine bottle from her purse and swallowed a few pills.

“I told the police, but they didn’t believe me. You must check on Xie Chao.”

Zhong Chengshuo, Yin Ren: “…”

It was understandable that the police didn’t believe it. The police were basically good comrades comparable to the people in the science post, and the suspect, Xie Chao, had already been cremated.

“Continue,” Yin Ren said.

Lin Bei’s body was covered in evil spirits that emitted a strong aura full of malice. Regardless of whether the situation was related to Gao Mengyu’s disappearance or not, he could catch some of these ghosts and find out more.

This was an act that was basically spoon feeding him! Yin Ren continued to happily stuff the sundae into his mouth, full of vigor.

“In high school, she and Xie Chao were very famous. They were already dating then and seemed to have a good relationship. Mengyu’s grade was above average, but Xie Chao was dead last. He could barely speak properly.”

After Lin Bei finished taking her medicine, she continued to rub her napkin nervously.

“Mengyu could have gone on to a good college, but she stayed in Haigu for Xie Chao. She mentioned to me last year that she regretted this a bit.”

“The housing market has been good over the years, so Xie Chao made a small killing from his work. Mengyu was only a teller, so she only made no more than four thousand a month. They lived together for two years, and Xie Chao basically made her his caretaker… Though Mengyu earned less, her work wasn’t easy. It looks like she had no way out, and Xie Chao kept looking down on her.”

Zhong Chengshuo clearly understood this point.

In the WeChat history, the two quarreled over this matter. Even if Xie Chao was idle at home, his ten fingers would not touch spring water*. However, whenever Gao Mengyu dared to raise this point, their arguments always ended with “You only make a few dollars. Are you blind not to see who supports this household?” or “You don’t have time to work but have time to play with cats?”.

*(十指不沾阳春水) Metaphor referring to a pampered person who doesn’t need to do housework.

In the end, Gao Mengyu could only be silent.

“Later, Xie Chao lost a ton of money trading stocks, and they quarreled for three days straight. Then that happened immediately afterwards… Xie Chao strangled Qiqi to death. Oh, Qiqi is Mengyu’s cat. She adopted it when she was just in college, and they have a really deep relationship. Mengyu thought about calling the police, but a cat was worthless, and she had no evidence…”

“Miss Lin, we know all this,” Zhong Chengshuo interrupted Lin Bei’s chatter. “Let’s talk about the abnormal situation first.”

Lin Bei choked.

Wow. Yin Ren was amazed. Zhong Chengshuo really gave him a sense of security on all fronts—not only was his spiritual value zero, but his worldly knowledge was even worse than a ghost that was just unearthed. Whether it was a ghost or him pretending to be human, it would be difficult to expose his feet* in front of this person.

*Exposing the horse’s feet (露马脚) Metaphor referring to showing flaws and exposing the truth (aka Let the cat out of the bag).

He wanted to keep this partnership with Zhong Chengshuo. This man was full of reassurance and trust.

Yin Ren smiled brightly. “What Zhong Ge wants to say is that we have a clear understanding of Miss Gao’s situation. You look very tired. If we can get to the main points, you can retire earlier and get some rest.”

Lin Bei turned to stare at Yin Ren with slightly moist eyes. “Okay.”

“Xie Chao had been pestering Mengyu before, so she would talk to me every so often about it. She sounded like she was in pain, but when I asked what Xie Chao had done, she wouldn’t tell me anything. It’s not the kind of avoidance where someone doesn’t want to say something, but rather ‘dare not say’.”

This was exactly what they found suspicious.

Zheng Chengshuo regained his vigor. He drank his milk in one gulp and listened attentively. As for Yin Ren, his giant sundae had long since been emptied, and there was only at thin layer of cream at the bottom of the cup.

God knew how he managed to eat all that so gracefully. Even Lin Bei, who was sitting opposite didn’t notice anything off.

She took out her phone and pulled up her chat history with Gao Mengyu. Looking at the time stamp, it wasn’t long after Xie Chao’s death.

[“Feather Cat” withdrew a message.]

[LadyBud: It’s fine. No need to withdraw it, right?]

[“Feather Cat” withdrew a message.]

[LadyBud: Don’t force it. Just follow your habits.]

[Feather Cat: I dare not go out. It’s so cold outside, and there’s the smell of roses everywhere.]

[Feather Cat: I’m a little scared. Do you have time lately?]

This was the content of their last conversation.

“I was busy at work at that time, so I didn’t reply to her, and she never contacted me again after that. I thought…”

Lin Bei shook her head.

“Forget it. No point talking about that now. The two messages she withdrew, one was telling me Xie Chao had died and the other saying she felt Xie Chao wasn’t dead yet and she didn’t want any records mentioning him to be kept.”

Seeing that the two of them were listening intently, Lin Bei half cried, and half smiled. “As for why I said it must be Xie Chao… I know it’s ridiculous, but I have evidence. Can you accompany me somewhere?”

“Of course.”

“No problem.” They both spoke in unison.

Unlike Yin Ren’s expectations, Lin Bei didn’t go far. She just asked Zhong Chengshuo and Yin Ren to follow her for about 20 meters. When they left the store, they turned to an alley near a shopping center.

The alley was a dead end with only the backdoor to small shops at the front. The shop buildings were uneven, and the surroundings were dirty with a poor view.

Lin Ben walked to the end of the alley and stopped, as if she was waiting for something.

The two stopped and hid behind a protruding corner of the alley.

Yin Ren narrowed his eyes.

The air around Lin Bei gradually distorted, and a ghost in a suit with a bouquet in his hand appeared.

The ghost’s suit was poorly tailored, and it could be seen that it was something cheap. The ghost was wearing a pair of overly white gloves, a similar overly white, close-fitting mask, and a top hat that tightly covered its hair.

It had no eyes, nose, or mouth through the hole in the mask; only emptiness filled the area. At the same time, it also held a large bouquet of rose-like things.

Beautiful cellophane tied with ribbons was wrapped with rotten and broken entrails. They were dried and cracked, looking like flowers from a distance.

The fragrance of roses was instantly overwhelming as they forcibly invaded their nasal cavity, almost turning into some kind of stench. The dark red ghosts were like drops of blood, splashing and jumping above the bouquet, like drizzles falling in the wrong direction.

The ghost stopped in the deepest part of the shadow, only a few steps away from Lin Bei. It emitted evil spirits and malice unreservedly. Despite it being noon and summer, the air in the alley was getting colder.

[It’s so cold outside, and there’s the smell of roses everywhere.]

The current situation was exactly like Gao Mengyu’s description. Even Zhong Chengshuo was affected. “It’s pretty cold here.”

Yin Ren was a bit impressed. This was a powerful ghost that was suitable for eating after a chocolate sundae.

But considering that he had to continue his performance, Yin Ren had to pressed back the idea of having a side dish.

Lin Bei trembled. She hugged her arms under the sunlight as if it were unbearably cold.

“Can you smell it?” She gritted her teeth loudly. “It smells like roses. It’s cold around here, and there’s even a dark shadow! See… As long as I walk to a place where there are a few people, it’ll come out…”

Lin Bei rolled her eyes wildly. Her lips turned blue, and the water vapor she exhaled didn’t turn into white vapor. Her voice wasn’t very loud—close to murmuring—but Yin Ren could hear it very clearly.

“It’s been four or five days that I haven’t slept well… I told others, and they all thought I was crazy. I’m not crazy. I’m not. I just want to rest…”

It seemed that she couldn’t see the ghost clearly, but only a vague figure.

The ghost completely ignored Yin Ren and Zhong Chengshuo. It was dead set on Lin Bei. There was an inaudible whisper emanating from its throat. The bundle of visceral “roses” kept spewing evil qi, getting closer and closer to Lin Bei’s face.

Lin Bei’s voice became smaller, and she shook twice in place and almost fell over.

From a distance, it looked like a man handing a bouquet to his beloved. Lin Bei’s face was splattered with more evil spirits, and they quickly penetrated deeply into her skin, turning into strands of dark red blood.

As a mortal who believed in ghosts and gods and wasn’t in a good mental state, Lin Bei was greatly affected.

Yin Ren took out his cellphone and motioned for Zheng Chengshuo to contact Liang Shan. Then he strode forward and inserted himself very neatly between the human and ghost.

Yin Ren turned his back to the ghost and supported Lin Bei with concern. “Miss Lin, are you okay?”

The bouquet was separated by Yin Ren, and Lin Bei’s breathing became a little smoother. Her eyes looked unfocused as she shook her head very lightly. She grabbed Yin Ren’s arms tightly with one hand.

The ghost let out a vague mocking smile and tried to bypass Yin Ren to continue to attack Lin Bei. In the next moment…

Ghost: “?”

It found itself unable to move.

Yin Ren had stepped on its foot with his heel with great force. Though the ghost couldn’t feel pain, it couldn’t move even half a step.

It slapped Yin Ren on the back of his head angrily with the bouquet, but Yin Ren was unaffected. The evil spirit slashed at him with the bouquet, but it couldn’t hurt this person in the slightest. Yin Ren pretended not to see the ghost and said such nonsense as “We will definitely pay attention to the clues you have given us” and “Go back and drink more hot water and make sure to stay in a well-ventilated space”.

Unfortunately, no matter how indignant the ghost was, there was no hope. Its foot was firmly nailed in place.

When Lin Bei recovered, Yin Ren still refused to let go of its feet.

He stayed where he was and continued conscientiously, “Miss Lin, are you feeling better? I do smell roses, and the temperature nearby is abnormal.”

Ghost: “…” Pretend. You’re still pretending.

Lin Bei was unaware. “Since Mengyu disappeared, it’s been like this when I’m alone… It’s so cold that I can’t sleep, and I feel unlucky when I go out… It must be Xie Chao. It’s not enough to harm Mengyu, but he wants me to die too…”

“Why is he bothering you?”

“I mentioned it before and suggested that Mengyu go to graduate school, and she agreed.”

Lin Bei smiled weakly.

“Xie Chao knew about this, so he specially registered a few numbers on WeChat to scold me and also posted my number on those kinds of websites. The two of them broke up because of Mengyu’s graduate entrance exam. In his opinion, I was probably the source of this.”

Yin Ren paused for a moment before pulling out his cellphone.

“Iron buddy, Rose Ge is really affectionate!”

In the familiar video, the male anchor was wiping away his fake tears. There was a man in the black-and-white image of the video, and the image was exactly the same as this ghost.

The video was newly released in the past two days, and the picture was marked with conspicuous yellow characters: [Donghe District, Mr. Rose unfortunately passed away!]

“Is he Xie Chao?” Yin Ren pointed to the man in the black-and-white picture.

Lin Bei was taken aback. “No! No…”

She paused suddenly for several seconds.

“…I don’t know. I—I…”

Lin Bei’s lips trembled violently. Her eyes widened, and she seemed to be greatly stimulated. Seeing that she was in bad condition, Zhong Chengshuo, who had just finished his call, also leaned in. He was still holding the phone in his right hand.

“Shh, it’s okay. It’s okay. We’ll talk about it later,” Yin Ren comforted her. “Our colleague who’s in charge will be here soon. Zhong—”

Yin Ren turned his head, and his voice abruptly stopped.

In just an instant, someone opened the backdoor of the shop closest to them.

It was a thin, bony man wearing a dirty white shirt. When the door was opened, his movements didn’t stop—

The man quickly crashed into Zhong Chengshuo. His eyes were bulging, and there was a knife in his right hand that glinted with a cold light.

---

The author has something to say:

Xiao Zhong, danger! (?)

Speaking of the smell of tobacco… In fact, as a non-smoker, I have never been able to understand the writing of “tobacco aroma” in literary works.

I just think the smell of smoke is so smelly. _(:з”))_ Minister Fu, I’m here to criticize and shame you!

---

Kinky Thoughts:

It looks like the abnormal cases mentioned in chapter 3 are converging.

---

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

---

Chapter 13: Chat History

The next day, Zhong Chengshuo was almost dragged by Yin Ren to the dessert shop.

He had just left and ordered a quick delivery to send the cake he had bought yesterday back home. As a result, when he went back to the store, he saw Yin Ren ordering a wedding cake.

“It was the biggest one they have,” Yin Ren said with great satisfaction.

Zheng Chengshuo’s hand slightly trembled. Careless. After all, this was a guy suffering from amnesia. All the things he did were so completely outrageous that they were hard to fathom.

He turned to the clerk with a sullen face. “Sorry, can you please refund it.”

Yin Ren huffed aggrievedly, “Why! This is my salary—”

“I said last night that you must discuss it with me before you can spend it.”

“You also said that I could buy it myself if I liked it.”

The clerk’s eyes swept across the two of them, then he gave a smile of “understanding” to Zhong Chengshuo. “Sir, do you think the style is too flashy? Our store also provides special customization…”

Zheng Chengshuo: “No, please refund it. Thank you.”

Yin Ren smiled brightly. “No refunds!”

The clerk was blinded by Yin Ren’s smile. “Good sir, may I ask what you and your partner like? Based on your situation, I recommend going with a mild chocolate flavor.”

Yin Ren didn’t understand what the word “partner*” meant. Since there was only one person around him, he guessed that the clerk was referring to Zhong Chengshuo. Even if kindness and gratitude were unconventional virtues of an Evil Spirt, he should be mindful and share the cake with his partner.

*Clarity: The term the clerk is using is (对象) which refers to “(the) object (of ones’s affection)/lover”. So he’s referring to a romantic partner. Supposedly this word started being used in the 1900s, so someone as old as Yin Ren wouldn’t know what it means. Partner in a normal sense is (搭档) which refers to teaming/pairing up.

As a sign of goodwill, he asked Zhong Chengshuo, “Do you like chocolate?”

Zhong Chengshuo stared straight at him and said, “…Do you know what a ‘wedding cake’ is?”

“I do, but we’re not married. It’s just for eating.”

“It’s too big and won’t be easy to store in the fridge if we can’t finish eating it.” Zhong Chengshuo tried to push back. “This kind of thing won’t taste good after a few days, so it’ll only be wasted.”

Hearing this, Yin Ren suddenly realized that Zhong Chengshuo had little appetite. If he were to eat too much at once, it could cause people to become suspicious.

After a while, Liang Shan drove over to the hotel to pick them up. At first glance, he saw a melancholy Zhong Chengshuo, who was holding a huge box.

“This is…?”

“I tried my best,” Zhong Chengshuo rushed to answer.

“Mr. Liang, do you like cake?” Yin Ren nodded hard at him from behind the box.

Liang Shan: “……”

Liang Shan: “No thanks. We’re going to the scene again today. The police officers will be there as well. You two can ask them questions, but don’t hinder their work.”

“Understood.”

“Got it.”

Fanghua Apartments, Room 1413.

The carrion all over the floor was cleaned up. Besides that, the rest of the items in the apartment were untouched. The photo-taking for evidence was long over. There were only two plainclothes police officers left inside the apartment, trying to find any remaining clues.

The apartment was too small. Liang Shan dragged a few plastic chairs from the corridor, and the three of them temporarily sat outside the place. It was a weekday and during the day, so the surrounding tenants were shuffling about, trying to get to work. After they had left, the surrounding area became quiet.

“Pets?” After listening to Yin Ren’s theory, Liang Shan frowned. “I don’t think so. She used to have a pet, but that was before she moved to Fanghua.”

Zhong Chengshuo and Yin Ren looked at each other.

Liang Shan wasn’t being ambiguous. He turned on the tablet and pulled up the information.

“Before moving to Fanghua, Gao Mengyu rented a home near her place of work. She lived there for five years and brought a cat from home to raise—her parents said that it was their household cat that they raised from childhood and was almost eight years old.”

Zhong Chengshuo: “Where’s the cat now?”

“Dead.” Liang Shan sighed lightly. “It’s a long story…”

Most cases in modern society were inextricably linked to love, hate, or money. The police checked Gao Mengyu’s network and naturally knew about the cat.

It was strangled to death by her ex-fiancé.

Gao Mengyu once had a fiancé named Xie Chao. The two had started dating in high school. After that, Gao Mengyu went to a community college in the local area, while Xie Chao didn’t pursue higher education. After graduating high school, he went to work as a real estate agent. They had a pretty good relationship, and occasionally they would have some fights.

Xie Chao had successfully proposed last summer. In October of last year, Gao Mengyu had the idea of resigning from her job to pursue a postgraduate degree, and this triggered a big fight with Xie Chao.

During the conflict, Xie Chao took advantage of Gao Mengyu’s absence while she was at work and threw away all her test materials that she bought and also strangled her cat.

Yin Ren, who heard this: “?”

He knew that in this era, women could work and become scholars*. In his impression, being able to pursue it was a great thing to celebrate.

*He calls it an examination of merit and use (功名) which is the title/official position that was used in feudal China. It’s generally referring to China’s imperial examination where men in ancient China would take the imperial exam in hopes of joining the imperial palace and hold a political seat, and was of course not open for women.

Yin Ren tugged on Zhong Chengshuo and asked, “What’s wrong with that? Don’t they say that all people go to high places and water flows low*?”

*(人往高处走，水往低处流) Proverb referring to humans always want to climb and rush to higher places because they yearn for a better life, while the habit of water is to flow in low places. || This is a bit ironic, considering what he wants to do right now.

Zhong Chengshuo was a scholar, so he had to know the inside story.

“Mr. Xie has some mental problems.” Zhong Chengshuo replied straightforwardly. He pursed his lips tightly, and his brows wrinkled tightly.

This answer was so direct that Yin Ren didn’t know how to respond. “…Uh, don’t be too angry?”

Zhong Chengshuo frowned. “I’m not angry. I just think it’s despicable to use indiscriminate killing to coerce people.”

When Zhong Chengshuo raised his voice, Liang Shan vigorously cleared his throat, breaking up the conversation. The two of them hurriedly quieted down and continued to listen to Liang Shan’s explanation.

Contrary to Xie Chao’s expectation, Gao Mengyu, who had a soft-natured temperament, wasn’t deterred. Her emotions broke out, and she ended their ten-year relationship. The two officials broke up in November.

After the breakup, Xie Chao pestered Gao Mengyu to get back together, but she didn’t agree. At the beginning of this year, Gao Mengyu officially resigned and stayed in Fanghua to prepare for her exam, which had spanned a little less than half a year now.

“I want to know the results of Xie Chao’s investigation,” Zhong Chengshuo said seriously. 

“He’s not a suspect. The police already checked.”

Liang Shan’s expression became complicated. “He died just two weeks ago. It was an ordinary car accident. The truck driver was tired, wasn’t paying attention, and crashed into his car. Xie Chao died on the spot.”

“What about his family?”

“Xie Chao is an only child. His parents are so old they have trouble getting up and down the stairs.”

Given that Xie Chao had been dead for two weeks and there was no trace of a fight at the scene where Gao Mengyu disappeared, the police didn’t dig deeper into this line. After Liang Shan confirmed that there was no aura of evil spirits, Shian had no choice but to give up.

Liang Shan even checked the corpse of the old cat.

Liang Shan was sitting upright, waiting for Yin Ren, a rookie metaphysician, to ask questions. Who would have thought that Yin Ren calmly finished eating his chocolate muffin, then took out his phone and started browsing on it without any intention of opening his mouth.

This work attitude was quite unorthodox.

Liang Shan: “…Xiao Yin, don’t you want to ask about the cat?”

Gao Mengyu’s disappearance was full of doubt. According to the usual film and television tropes, it probably became some kind of demon or something.

Previously, he had to explain basic knowledge about evil things to the rookie cultivators he had led. He wasn’t used to someone like Yin Ren who didn’t ask any questions.

Yin Ren was a little surprise. “Liang Ge, it’s not easy to become an evil being. Not to mention cats and dogs, even if it were a human, it would be difficult for them to become something evil when they die. The matter mainly lies with fate. If a strangled cat could become something evil, then the slaughterhouse would be quite crowded.”

Liang Shan was choked speechless. Of course he knew this, but he should be the one to explain it! Did this kid understand the status quo?

“So as far as we know for now,” Zhong Chengshuo began to summarize the key points, “this incident has no signs of paranormal activity, and there are no suspects either… Is there any clues related to the ‘gap’?”

“I reported to the higher-ups last night. To check for a gap, we need to use special tools. I reckon they will approve of it this afternoon.”

Zhong Chengshuo: “Since there’s no clear task right now, can I look at Gao Mengyu’s phone?”

This was an example of how a good employee should behave. Liang Shan sighed. “Here. It’s a copy. Her phone is important physical evidence, so you can only look at a backup.”

As a result, the scene turned into three people sitting in a row in the corridor, playing on their phones. The two policemen who were busy inside investigating for clues looked at the three with a subtle disgust in their eyes.

The phone was developed by Shian. The technology of this era was unfathomable. Yin Ren didn’t dare search for something too outrageous on his phone. He wrote “Donghe District News” and clicked on the results one by one.

He hadn’t been on the phone for more than ten minutes, and he had already launched five apps.

The modern man was such a schemer. Yin Ren could only shake his head and click on the short video app that kept appearing. He became speechless as he saw the login interface and hurriedly searched for “how to log in”.

Zhong Chengshuo clicked on Gao Mengyu’s WeChat and browsed her recent chat history.

Gao Mengyu didn’t have pets, but her cat died last year, so this didn’t explain why she bought so much meat and brains.

Zhong Chengshuo didn’t search for any keywords. He read her chat records quietly and didn’t even miss the five special offers and discount groups that she joined.

After poking around for a long time, he finally found a clue.

He wasn’t sure if it was because she wasn’t annoyed by the harassment or for another reason, but she didn’t block Xie Chao. Her WeChat name was “Feather Cat”, and she labeled Xie Chao as “.”. The chat history had stopped two weeks ago, which happened to be the time when Xie Chao unexpectedly died.

Xie Chao’s messages were very divided. Either it was gentle, like “I want to see you again” or “Baby, I bought you a kitten. It’s very cute”, or it was dirty and unbearable insulting words.

His remarks basically revolved around one theme—he was the best in the world, and she was being pretentious for breaking up with him. She hurt him, so this thing wasn’t over.

The two had known each other for too long, so many of the things they were saying were like code words that were difficult for outsiders to understand. In addition, the two probably had other contact besides DMing, as the text was fragmented and incoherent. There were a lot of voice messages mixed in, which made it really difficult to read.

However, his efforts paid off. Zhong Chengshuo did pick up something unnatural.

It was a conversation about three weeks ago…

[Feather Cat: Please, just let me go, okay?]

[.: You’re the one that didn’t let me go first…]

[.: You’re a bitch to threatened me. If you say it, I’ll say it too. Let’s see who’s the one to get sprayed*.]

*Slang referring to scolding someone online..

[Feather Cat: It’s been a few months. We can’t.]

[Feather Cat: How many times do I have to say it? Can you not understand human speech?]

[“.” Withdrew a message]

[“.” Withdrew a message]

[“.” Withdrew a message]

[Feather Cat: Xie Chao, can’t you just fucking die!!!!]

Zhong Chengshuo was just about to ask if they had anything on the withdrew messages when a strand of black hair fell on him.

Yin Ren was leaning to one side, looking intently at the screen.

The smell of Yin Ren’s shampoo was the same as his, and the scent of the two suddenly merged together. It was as if the strand of black hair possessed consciousness. It slid down Zheng Chengshuo’s chest like flowing water, causing him to tense up, but he didn’t avoid it.

“This Gao Mengyu and her, um, fiance?” Yin Ren said it with some hesitancy. “What you said is quite interesting.”

Zhong Chengshuo: “Do you have an idea?”

“Yes, how do I log in to this?” Yin Ren presented his phone with both hands.

Zhong Chengshuo reluctantly took the phone and helped Yin Ren register for the video app. From the corner of his eyes, he glanced at Liang Shan and whispered, “This is not something you should be watching while at work. Remember to turn the volume down—”

Unfortunately, he wasn’t quick enough than the hand speed of the Ghost King. An earthy pop song sounded and instantly blared through the corridor.

Zhong Chengshuo slowly straightened his posture and continued to look through the chat history blankly as his eyes wandered a little.

Liang Shan’s face was slightly green. “Xiao Yin, you…”

“I’m trying to find clues!” Yin Ren pressed on the volume button furiously. “Recently, strange things are happening in the Donghe District. Many people are talking about it. Maybe this has something to do with the meat.”

As he was talking, a man’s cry came from his cellphone. “Iron buddy*, Rose Ge is really affectionate!”

*(铁子) Internet slang. Depending on how it’s used, it originally referred to as good brothers (two people having a good relationship), but now generally refers to two people having improper close relationships.

Yin Ren: “……”

This era was so weird.

He resolutely turned off the phone. “Liang Ge, Zhong Ge just found something interesting. Do you want to take a look together?”

……

“Isn’t this just an ordinary quarrel?” After reading the chat history, Liang Shan was a little confused.

Zhong Chengshuo: “I went through all their chat records. Gao Mengyu had never been as agitated as before when being pestered by Xie Chie. The frequency of contact between the two was much higher in the last month, and their interesting relationship had turned quite threatening.”

“There’s no problem with Xie Chao’s case. It was a complete accident. I can guarantee that. Neither Xie Chao nor the driver had anything to do with Gao Mengyu.” Liang Shan touched the back of his head. “But Xiao Zhong is right. We really don’t know what they were arguing about.”

Facing the abnormality of Gao Mengyu’s apartment, neither the police nor Shian had a clue. Solving a case never went as smoothly as it was written in stories. They couldn’t let go of any doubts and had to investigate all possible leads.

Liang Shan glanced at Yin Ren, who was trying to decrease his sense of existence. “Anyway, things will arrive in the afternoon. If you two are interested, you can try to investigate.”

He stood up and went to say a few words to the two policemen. One of them took out their phone and gestured to Liang Shan for a while.

“Gao Mengyu’s parents aren’t in a good mental state and don’t want contact with anyone other than the police. They just finished interviewing a friend of Gao Mengyu who seems willing to help—her residence is nearby, and she just happens to be free now.”

Yin Ren: “That’s great. Zhong Ge, you can go.”

“Xiao Yin, you go with him.”

“But it’s daytime now, and the subject of investigation is a living person…”

“Please go with him.” Liang Shan raised his tone.

Cannibals had soft mouths but short hands*. Yin Ren had a little idea of just how much Shian’s salary really was—if he ate all he wanted every month at that high-end dessert store this morning, he still wouldn’t even spend half of his salary. He certainly shouldn’t offend the one offering him a rice bowl, so Yin Ren could only tearfully bid goodbye to the cake he just bought.

*(拿人手短吃人嘴软) Colloquialism that refers to when taking advantage of others, you should say good things to them when necessary; if you take their things, you should stop messing with them. The extended meaning is that if you accept the benefits of others, you need to help them.

They made an appointment with Gao Mengyu’s friend at a coffee shop close by.

Yin Ren and Zhong Chengshuo were the first to arrive, while Gao Mengyu’s friend arrived late…

She was the same age as Gao Mengyu, looking to be in her thirties. She was dressed fashionably, wearing sunglasses. Her hair was curled up stylishly, and she was wearing bright red lipstick. As soon as she entered the door, she looked around. When she saw Yin Ren and Zhong Chengshuo, she was stunned.

At almost the same time that she entered, Yin Ren also put down his menu and looked over.

There was a fresh ghost smell on this woman.

---

The author has something to say:

Things like the wedding cake, even if you don’t buy it now, you’ll certainly buy it in the future.

---

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

---

Chapter 12: Scar

“It’s very simple. Since there are no clues to prove that she left, she may still be here.”

Facing this sentence that seemed reasonable but was actually complete bullshit, Liang Shan was speechless. The room fell into silence, and even the flies all over the apartment seemed a bit quieter.

Half a minute later, Liang Shan said, “You just got here first thing today and haven’t had dinner, right? Let’s go. I’ll take you to hotpot and get rid of this rotting smell.”

Zhong Chengshuo: “I just said…”

Liang Shan: “Can you eat spicy food?”

“I just…”

“If you can eat spicy food, I know a delicious restaurant nearby. My treat.”

Seeing that Liang Shan wasn’t responding, Zhong Chengshuo lowered his eyes and looked a little aggrieved.

Yin Ren sympathized with his new partner, but there were more important things right now…

“I especially like spicy food,” Yin Ren said solemnly.

“That’s good.” Liang Shen then looked at Zhong Chengshuo and said, “The problem Xiao Zhong just described will not be clear for a while. We can talk about it while we eat.”

Zhong Chengshuo: “Okay, but I don’t like spicy food.”

Liang Shan: “……”

—-

The hotpot restaurant wasn’t a high-end place. The decorations were simple, making it quite homey. Since everyone had a strong stench on them, Liang Shan booked a private room. It could be seen that he was a regular customer at this place. The boss quickly put the pot on and gave them three complementary bowls of shaved ice.

The mandarin duck pot had a tangy aroma that steamed out of the pot as it boiled.

The three of them had a paper menu in their hands, ready to order. The waitress shook her head symbolically, like she wanted to look at Yin Ren a few more times but ended up not being able to stay in the room due to the horrible stench.

“Choose what you like and, uh, send it to the front desk.” She retched as she spoke and quickly fled the booth as if she were fleeing from something.

Liang Shan gave a painful look. “Remember, after this kind of scene, you have to eat hotpot. Otherwise, the smell will just stick with you and frighten everyone in the streets… Xiao Yin, Xiao Yin, take it easy. Portions here are family size!”

Yin Ren stopped ticking the menu and showed a look of disappointment—his eyes were glowing. He had checked off almost all the meat items on the menu and even specially ordered two portions of brains. Zhong Chengshuo was more polite. In addition to two plates of lean meat, he only ordered a vegetable platter and soy milk.

When the meat was put into the pot, the thin and tender slices rolled in the heated oil. Fresh shrimp and fish balls were added and floated to the top. With the addition of vegetables that complimented the red soup, it created a dazzling sight that simply whetted their appetite. The thick noodles that had absorbed the soup looked crystal clear as they were set on top of fried rice. Taking out a piece of meat and lightly dipping it in sauce, after taking a bite, the delicious flavor exploded on the tip of their tongues.

A ladle was stirring the tips of their chopsticks to and fro as the white mist of the pot became so thick that it made it hard to see clearly.

Liang Zhan opened a can of beer and spoke somewhat emotionally. “Oh, I can’t even remember the last time I brought newcomers here…”

There were traces of nostalgia in his voice, which was quite intriguing.

Yin Ren’s mouth gave a muffled response. His head was buried in the food. He could, of course, grow an extra mouth or even another head to talk to them, but Liang Shan and Zhong Chengshuo were unlikely to approve.

Zhong Chengshuo was sitting upright. He wanted to return to the topic. “Mr. Liang, I just…”

Liang Shan hung his head despondently and said, “Alright, let’s get down to business.”

Yin Ren raised his eyes and cooperated by slowing down his eating.

“There have been a few cases that are like what Xiao Zhong spoke about. Phenomenon C-B4 ‘gap’.”

“For instance, you take a familiar road and car, but you end up in a place you haven’t seen before. Or you stay in a place with many people, leave for a while, and when you come back, half of them are gone… We call this kind of situation ‘entering the gap’. From the eyes of others, the person who entered the gap has indeed disappeared.” Liang Shan glanced at Zhong Chengshuo. “It can be understood as straying into a different dimensional gap. Think of it like that.”

Zhong Chengshuo turned his head and put down his chopsticks.

“The cause of the ‘gap’ is unknown, and the location of its appearance is relatively fixed. It’ll grow and die on its own. In the early stages of the gap, ordinary people will be able to come back soon after entering it. When it grows old enough, it will be like a fork in the road that makes people ‘unable to come back’. At present, there is only one growing gap in Haigu, and it’s under the control of Shian.”

Liang Shan raised the slotted ladle, intending to fish out some meat, but only got a handful of spices.

He faintly glanced at Yin Ren, who was chewing happily and had ordered two more plates of lamb.

“In short, the ‘gap’ is a very dangerous phenomenon. There’s a large flow of people in the Fanghua Apartments. If the ‘gap’ appeared nearby, it’s impossible for Shian not to notice it.”

Zhong Chengshuo nodded and reached out with his chopsticks to pick up some potatoes.

Liang Shan learned quickly and used a ladle to scoop up some vegetables. “In short, you can be at ease*. If there really is a ‘gap’, that’ll be handled by Minister Fu or Director Li.”

*Put your heard in your belly (把心放在肚子里).

“I understand.”

“Don’t be too stressed. There’s still time to investigate tomorrow. Rest early after eating. I’ll pick you up at the hotel tomorrow morning.

Zhong Chengshuo used his chopsticks to break the potato in half. “Hotel?”

“Yes. I booked a double room for you. Don’t worry, Shian will reimburse you for everything.”

“No need. I have a home in Haigu,” Zhong Chengshuo said earnestly.

“I know that you and your parents live in the Xizhao District. That’s about a two-hour drive away. Why bother with that? Do you have pets at home or something?”

“No, but…”

“Then it’s settled. When you go on missions in the future, having a partner is standard, so it’s better to get used to it earlier.”

Zhong Chengshuo was silent. He lowered his head and started cooking the mushrooms.

When the conversation came to a stop, Liang Shan suddenly realized that there seemed to be someone who had been surprisingly quiet during this meal…

Yin Ren was chewing on a crispy piece of meat. There were five empty Coke cans stacked next to him. The atmosphere around him was so warm and blissful that it made it unbearable for people to disturb.

“I’ll order a few more servings of meat. What else do you want to eat?” Liang Shan stood up and shook his head.

Yin Ren: “The ‘gap’ you mentioned…”

“What do you want to eat?!”

“No, I just think what Zhong Ge said makes sense. There’s still a possibility that ‘she didn’t leave’.” Yin Ren swallowed his food then continued, “Since you said that the cause of the gap is unknown, that means you don’t know much about it.”

“What I said…”

“Then don’t rush to a conclusion. There’s always an exception to everything.” Yin Ren smiled, which was reflected on the pile of Coke cans.

Liang Shan subconsciously wanted to refute, but there was a subtle authority in the other person’s words that compelled him to swallow back his words. Zhong Chengshuo gave Yin Ren a moving look and pushed the bottle of soy milk over.

Yin Ren smiled happily and quickly started sweeping the next round of servings. Liang Shan had just placed another order for additional servings, and he watched as they all went into Yin Ren’s stomach.

Liang Shan: “……”

Forget it.

The rest of their conversation wasn’t fruitful. Liang Shan just picked a few interesting stories about the police station. As it was getting late and the three of them were full of food and drink, they soon left.

The hotel that Liang Shan booked for them was close to the hotpot restaurant. It was just a regular, average hotel.

The room was quite spacious, was cleaned thoroughly, and had a light fragrance in it. There were two single beds with snow-white sheets on them, and the air conditioner was blowing cool air.

Yin Ren stood by the door silently with two ice-cold Cokes in hand…

Before he even had the chance to imprint his figure on the bed, he was whisked out by Zhong Chengshuo, who was carrying a large bag. After sending them to the entrance, Zhong Chengshuo started to frantically… clean.

In his left hand was disinfectant spray, and his right hand had alcohol wipes. He was working hard, wiping down and disinfecting every nook and cranny of the hotel room. He even wiped down the shower and then hung two disposal towers in the bathroom.

“One tip, don’t use the kettle to boil water to drink.” After he finished cleaning, Zhong Chengshuo took off his glasses and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Yin Ren: “…Okay.”

He wouldn’t use it anyway, but was this the normal practice of modern people? Why did he have the feeling that it wasn’t?

Looking at this scene, if Zhong Chengshuo knew what kind of environment he had been sealed in before, it wouldn’t be a hotpot cooking meat, but Zhong Chengshuo boiling him in alcohol.

“Okay, I’ll take a shower first. You can choose which bed you want.”

Zhong Chengshuo didn’t see through the strange thoughts his new partner was having. He walked into the bathroom, and the sound of water was soon heard.

Yin Ren took out his cellphone and, in a race against time, began studying the mysterious thing that was in front of him.

He quickly discovered the input function, but he couldn’t understand all these weird, twisted, ghostly characters on the keyboard. Fortunately, after a few minutes, Yin Ren was able to pull up a handwritten input.

When he clicked on the web browser, he was suddenly exposed to a whole new world.

As a pragmatic Evil Spirit, Yin Ren quickly decided on the first search topic…

Lord Ghost King poked the screen carefully and wrote down the words “How to use a cellphone to call for help”.

The result he got was a sea of text. Just as he was about to explore them, the phone suddenly emitted a sharp, loud alarm. Yin Ren’s hair exploded, and he almost threw his phone away.

The emergency alarm sounded urgent, and the sound was so loud that it almost pierced his eardrums. The noise was giving Yin Ren a headache. He grabbed the phone and rushed to the bathroom, where he knocked on the door.

“Zhong Ge, I can’t turn this sound off…”

Before Yin Ren finished speaking, his knock cracked the fragile door open.

Perhaps he had too high an expectation for this era, thinking that the frosted glass would be as hard as wood; before Yin Ren could knock a second time, the frosted glass door shattered, spilling fine fragments all over the floor.

Luckily, Zhong Chengshuo was standing a distance away from it, and he wasn’t injured.

Unluckily, the incident happened so suddenly that Zhong Chengshuo didn’t have time to dodge. He was washing his hair and just happened to be facing Yin Ren.

Yin Ren originally thought that their bodies were both male, so there shouldn’t be any kind of awkwardness, but Zhong Chengshuo didn’t seem to be in line with that thought—his expression stiffened, and he quickly turned around, putting his back towards him.

However, Yin Ren had seen everything.

He didn’t understand why Zhong Chengshuo had such a great reaction. In every sense, that body was quite good.

Without clothes covering him, Zhong Chengshuo’s smooth body was completely exposed. His limbs were slender, and his abdomen was tight. His body was just right; not too burly and quite elegant.

A very healthy and beautiful human body.

If he had to pick out a flaw, it was probably the scar.

From the collarbone to his lower abdomen, there was a huge scar that cut across Zhong Chengshuo’s chest and abdomen. It curved around and branched at the bottom, barley forming the “人*” character. To Yin Ren, the scar looked like a poisonous worm that had entrenched itself in his body.

*Human. Take note, because this (人) character is also in the title of the novel and specifically replaced the god/deity (神) character in the idiom (凶神恶煞) which I’ve explained in chapter 1 of my Kinky Thoughts.

Yin Ren suddenly realized something. Most mortals find scars unattractive and are used to covering them up. Perhaps Zhong Chengshuo also thought like this, so it was best if he didn’t poke at people’s insecurities.

Among the blaring sound of the alarm on the phone, Yin Ren shouted, “Oh, the quality of this door is too poor!”

After the culprit brought up the complaint first*, Yin Ren felt that he was being unfair to the hotel. He lowered his voice and pushed the glass aside with his slippers. “Forget it. I’ll pay for it. Does Shian provide a salary advance?”

*(恶人先告状) Idiom referring to bad/unreasonable people who preemptively tell or distort the facts. || In this context, Yin Ren is saying it’s not his fault that the glass door broke because the quality is too fragile (and not because of his inhuman strength).

There were still shampoo suds on Zhong Chengshuo’s head. While facing the corner, he spoke with some fatigue in his voice. “…Why are you looking for me?”

“I can’t turn off the alarm on this phone.”

“Press the top power button three times.”

“Oh, oh.”

“…We’ll talk about this later. I’ll take care of the glass. You go out first.”

Yin Ren knew that he was in the wrong. He resentfully went back to bed. When Zhong Chengshuo came out again, he had changed into the same Shian uniform Yin Ren was wearing, but his shirt was long-sleeved. He didn’t have his glasses on as he stared at Yin Ren with a pair of eyes that looked like a black hole.

“I’ll talk to Mr. Liang about the broken door and see what he wants to do with it.”

What followed was a ten-second silent staring contest.

Zhong Chengshuo had “don’t ask” written all over his face, while Yin Ren had “I won’t ask” written on his face. Through this weird tacit understanding, Yin Ren was the first to laugh out loud, and even the corner of Zhong Chengshuo’s mouth was slightly bent.

“I have cleaned up all the glass on the floor. You can use the bathroom now.” Zhong Chengshuo began to unpack the pile of shopping bags.

When Yin Ren came out after taking a shower, he found a piece of cake on the small bedside table. The cake was square, with a yellowish coating of whipped cream that covered it, and a tiny red wine-stained cherry nestled in the middle.

It exuded a wonderful, sweet aroma that tickled people’s emotions.

Zhong Chengshuo was leaning against the head of the bed. He was still wearing his long-sleeved shirt and was reading on his cellphone.

Yin Ren was overjoyed. “Is this for me?”

“Nn, it’s from a famous cake shop nearby. This was a limited-time item, and my family likes it very much.”

“You’re not going to eat it?”

Yin Ren was certain there was no cake scent on Zhong Chengshuo’s body, and there was no cake on his bedside table; only a bright red apple.

Zhong Chengshuo continued reading as he said, “No. Don’t touch the cake in the fridge. That’s for my parents. If you like it, you can buy it yourself tomorrow—I just contacted Mr. Liang. Considering your situation, Shian will give you an advance of two months’ salary.”

“Really?!”

“But I have to be there when you use it.”

Yin Ren’s action of digging into the cake stiffened. Did this mean that they had to be partners for more than two months? What about his dreams of being a slacker?!

Fortunately, the cake was delicious, and after a mouthful of whip cream, Yin Ren’s sorrow was transformed into confetti. Immediately after, he realized a subtle problem.

“Zhong Ge…”

“Hmm?”

“Did that girl raise something?”

Zhong Chengshuo put down his phone. “I don’t think so. It’s written in her information that her neighbor hasn’t heard any strange noises recently. There’s also no animal hair or pet supplies in her apartment.”

“She bought something she didn’t like to eat and didn’t give it away. I suspect she’s raising something.” Yin Ren held the cake with a solemn expression. “Maybe the thing she’s raising doesn’t have hair and doesn’t need other supplies.”

There were many evil things that didn’t shed hair and didn’t like to eat out of a food bowl. Yin Ren was quite familiar with this.

Zhong Chengshuo: “…”

Zhong Chengshuo: “…Maybe.”

He looked at the cake on the plate, and then at Yin Ren with a complicated expression.

He didn’t quite want to pursue how Comrade Yin Ren had this flash of inspiration.

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The author has something to say:

*Laughs to death*. Why do you think you’re going to be partners for more than two months? I’m giving you a partner for a lifetime. √

Xiao Zhong felt miserable being looked at.

Xiao Yin: What a healthy human being! (Relieved)

Perhaps Fruit Knife’s passive skill was activated (?

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 11: Disappearing From The World

Liang Shan was an employee of Shian Group stationed at the Municipal Public Security Bureau, which wasn’t a science post.

As a cultivator, Liang Shan’s ability was appalling, but he had a quick head and a good personality. He was usually only responsible for information collection and liaison. As soon as the Evil Spirit broke the seal, all non-science posts went to work overtime as combat powers, and he had to run to the scene to work part-time.

Right now, he was waiting at the door at Fanghua Apartments, ready to pick up a car.

Liang Shan sighed and looked at the old building towering beside him.

There were neat square windows embedded on more than a dozen floors, and only the smaller half of the windows were lit. The characters “Fanghua Apartments” stood at the entrance of the building with its gold coating falling off.

Just a few days ago, a girl disappeared from this apartment.

Gao Mengyu, 27 years old. She used to be a bank clerk but resigned at the beginning of the year to prepare for her postgraduate entrance exam. For this reason, she rented a single room in the Fanghua Apartments.

There was a picture of the girl in the police file. Gao Mengyu wore her hair in a high ponytail, had a square face with long eyes and a slightly big nose, all of which were ordinary features. In the photo, she looked at the camera blankly, with a slightly stiff expression.

Since four days ago, Gao Mengyu hadn’t contacted anyone.

Her family and friends only thought she was focusing on her studies, but it was actually Fanghua Apartments that found it abnormal…

In recent days, Gao Mengyu’s room had exuded an indescribable stench. She hadn’t responded to the knocks on her door from her neighbors, and the apartment manager couldn’t get in contact with anyone, so he simply opened the door with a spare key.

After seeing the condition of the room, the apartment manager called the police on the spot.

Fortunately, the police did not find Gao Mengyu’s body in the room, so this case was still considered a missing person case.

Liang Shan had heard that Shian wanted to send two probationary employees and wanted to refuse—though the case involved a missing person, the scene inside was brutal and wasn’t suitable for rookies.

The afterglow of the sunset had completely disappeared. Shian’s special car had just parked at the entrance to the apartments.

The one who came out first wore glasses. On his work ID was a stamped red seal. He had the temperament of a poor college student, which Liang Shian assumed was typical of a novice in the science post. The one who came out after… Wait, was this an employee of Shian or an evil spirit to catch?

He suspiciously glanced at the work ID, and his head almost exploded.

Shit, the work ID clearly showed: “For Medical Examination Only”!

Rather than newcomers, these two were still in factory settings, and looking at the temperament of “Yin Ren”, he was definitely not an orthodox cultivator in any way.

Liang Shan sighed and took two steps forward, showing his work ID with a black seal. “Shian. Here, here!”

“Zhong Chengshuo and Yin Ren, right? Take it. Inside is a three-piece set of gloves, shoe covers, and vomit bags. You might need to use it in a bit.”

He distributed the bag in his hand to the two of them as he spoke rapidly.

“We have to greet the police in advance. We’ll go to the missing person’s room later. Don’t take or move anything from the scene. If you find something suspicious, you must report it to me first… Hey, Xiao Zhong, where are you looking?”

Yin Ren was listening intently. When he turned his head, he found that Zhong Chengshuo’s eyes were wandering around.

He followed Zhong Chengshuo’s gaze and saw a large person…

It was an old man carrying a folding chair, sitting alone at the entrance to the apartments.

The old man was wearing a plain shirt. His eyes drooped, and there were dark circles beneath them, making him look extra creepy. He glared at the three of them and then looked straight back at the ground again.

Zhong Chengshuo observed the man for a while. “Who’s that?”

“Nearby resident, I think. This is the first time I’ve seen him. Don’t disturb him. If you really mind, you can mention it to the police.”

Liang Shan pressed the elevator button as he spoke with more emphasis in his tone.

Most newcomers were like this. They were curious about everything and considered everyone a suspect.

“Did you read the case information? You’ll be working as a third-party to assist this time, so think of this as field experience. Make sure to take good notes. You don’t need to solve the case… By the way, I hope you haven’t had dinner yet. If you did, you’re about to throw it all up now.”

Zhong Chengshuo nodded earnestly and even prepared the vomit bag, just in case. Yin Ren quickly followed suit, taking out the paper bag and squeezing it in his hand.

Gao Mengyu lived in room 1413 on the 14^th floor. As soon as the elevator arrived, a trace of stench that no one wanted to invade their nostrils filled the elevator.

Yin Ren twitched his nose in disgust.

The stench of raw, rotten meat was something he was all too familiar with.

The elevator door slid open, and the stench wafted in. The smell instantly enveloped them, as if the three of them had slid into a sewer. Yin Ren quickly frowned, while Zhong Chengshuo took a half step back and covered his mouth and nose.

Liang Shan took the lead in stepping off the elevator and gave his introduction without changing his expression. “Fanghua Apartments used to be an office building. It’s a bit old, so the rent is low. Most of the tenants are young people, and despite the large influx of people, the surveillance is airtight.”

Zhong Chengshuo had pinched his nose, which made his voice sound muffled. “Why is Shian…?”

Since there was airtight surveillance, this matter shouldn’t be difficult to solve. This was the 14^th floor. If someone wanted to bypass the surveillance system, the only way was to jump off the building.

“The police checked the surveillance already.”

The science post was quite quick, which made Liang Shan’s tense mood relax a bit.

“Gao Mengyu is the only tenant in 1413. She entered the apartment four days ago and hasn’t left since… You guys should come in and take a look first. The cops just finished taking photos today, so this place would be dealt with tomorrow.”

Liang Shan walked to the front door and put on his shoes and gloves. Finally, he grabbed the door handle and opened the door.

It was the height of summer, and it had just rained last night. If the stench was just wrapping around them before, the stench this time was like a punch in the face.

Yin Ren, who was repeatedly beaten black and blue by the stench: “…”

Is this job really reliable?

After making sure the two of them didn’t vomit, Liang Shan pushed the door all the way open. There was only a squeaking sound on the anti-theft door of room 1413 as it slowly opened.

Inside was a one-bedroom apartment of about 30 square meters. There was a toilet that was separated by sliding doors, and there was no space to hide anything.

The shoes were neatly arranged at the entrance, and Gao Mengyu’s phone and keys were all placed on the shoe cabinet. The kitchen and sink were clean, and the blanket on the bed was flat. A square table with a cat-patterned tablecloth was placed next to the bed.

There were only a few spread-out books on top of the table. A fountain pen with a broken cap was sandwiched between the pages of the book full of notes.

There weren’t many things in the house, and everything was orderly. Just looking at this scene, the owner seemed to take good care of herself.

At this moment, a fly flew over and stopped at the tip of the pen.

It crawled over the ink on the tip and rubbed its feet quietly. Around it, countless fat flies buzzed loudly. They formed a wave of shiny, insect fog that was flying and colliding about.

The flies weren’t the only “anomaly” in the room…

The floor was full of white, translucent plastic bags. They piled up quietly around the refrigerator and were swollen with whatever corrupted content was inside, like a giant bug sac.

Each bag was covered with squirming maggots, and murky, rotten juice was dripping everywhere.

Given his experience, Yin Ren could guess what was inside the plastic bag. Those were all carefully portioned, fist-sized pieces of raw meat.

They were wrapped in a mottled mass of maggots, and only their outline could be seen. Chicken, duck, and fish were easily distinguishable, but the other pieces of meat were so rotten that it was difficult to tell what animal they came from.

Near the pile of bags, the refrigerator door was ajar, and a large amount of vicious grayish-yellow liquid flowed out from the frozen layer. The mucus seeped into the cracks of the tiles and flowed through half the room, making the already strong stench even stronger.

Everything was incompatible with the neat environment, and this incongruity made people feel uncomfortable everywhere.

Seeing the situation inside the room, everyone was speechless for a while.

Yin Ren decided to take a more active lead. “What is that? That… grayish-yellow slime on the ground.”

That was the only thing Yin Ren wasn’t sure about. Unfortunately, he didn’t know what refrigerators were, so he had to temporarily change the term.

Liang Shan didn’t care about his small pause. He gave a bitter huff.

“It’s rotten brains.”

Zhong Chengshuo forgot to cover his mouth and nose as he inquired, “Brains?”

Yin Ren’s spirit lifted. “You can buy brains alone?”

In this weird atmosphere, the two newcomers showed a ton of resistance. Neither of them seemed to have any fear at all. Liang Shan suddenly had the illusion of being a tour guide at a farmer’s market.

It seemed that the two rookies weren’t as green as he imagined. Despite seeing such a scene, the vomit bag that they prepared didn’t come in handy.

Liang Shan pointed to a fairly clear bag and showed the two of them the logo displaying “Donghe Farmer’s Market”.

“The girl bought a lot of pig brains and all these meats. We have a record of her payment. There’s nothing here that’s not on the receipt. It’s a common item at the farmer’s market.”

It was just that the scene and situation were particularly wrong.

According to the police investigation, since preparing for her postgraduate entrance exam, Gao Mangyu’s life only had two main points—during the day, she would board herself up in the apartment and at most come downstairs to pick up deliveries. At night, she would take advantage of the closing specials and go to the nearby farmer’s market and buy vegetables.

The stall owners all had some impression of her; she didn’t seem to like meat very much.

However, in the last month, Gao Mengyu began to frequently buy all kinds of meat. In the past two weeks, she gave up buying randomly mixed items, and began to focus on buying fresh pig brains. In a day, she would buy about 10 kg.

This amount was clearly enough to open a little shop, let alone eat by herself. The butcher remembered it very clearly.

Looking at the surveillance, from Gao Mengyu’s abnormal behavior to her disappearance, there was no one that came in and out of her apartment. She also didn’t have items similar to luggage, cabinets, and other large items that could hide a person, and there was no possibility of quietly sneaking someone into the apartment. There were also no traces that the surveillance had been tampered with, so the matter was too bizarre.

Four days ago, Gao Mengyu walked into her apartment with a shopping bag and hadn’t left since.

It looked as if she had evaporated from this small room.

The Haigu police retrieved all nearby surveillance but still found nothing. The investigation hadn’t stopped, but because this may involve an evil sect, Liang Shan took the initiative to ask Shian to intervene.

Liang Shan tried to guide the rookies. “You’ve read the information, so do you have any idea? Xiao Yin, you can speak first.”

After all, their positions were similar, so he wanted to test the depth of this metaphysician of the younger generation.

Yin Ren tried to shrink to the window. “There’s no trace of her packing her luggage so it may be that a thief… or gangster kidnapped her.”

He wasn’t lying. Yin Ren had smelled the stench. There was no unique smell of ghosts here. In other words, there wasn’t a possibility that Gao Mengyu was possessed by something.

There were a few traces of miscellaneous evil qi, but he didn’t sense any hostility from it. There were a mix of fish and dragons* here, and these apartments changed owners frequently, so it was normal to have a bit of dirt.

*(鱼龙混杂) Idiom referring to the good mixes with the bad.

Thousands of years had passed, and the sea had changed. It was given that new evil beings would be born. Before determining the source of the evil qi, Yin Ren didn’t want to be too presumptuous.

Unfortunately, his modesty was a bit too much.

Liang Shan wiped his face vicariously. “Well, you and the police have the same view.”

Gao Mengyu didn’t have a phone on her when she disappeared, didn’t wear outdoor shoes, and didn’t have the ability to tamper with the surveillance. Her family was well-off, so the police were indeed biased towards kidnapping… But how could a metaphysician say this?

“What about Xiao Zhong? Do you have any other opinions?” Liang Shan turned his head hopelessly.

Zhong Chengshuo covered his mouth and nose tightly, carefully crossing the pieces of carrion, and paced around the room for a while.

“She may still be here.”

Liang Shan: “What?”

“It’s simple. Since there are no clues to prove that she left, she may still be here.”

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The author has something to say:

Ghost King: I think it’s kidnapping.

High-end scientific research talent (facing the empty house): She may still be here.

Liang Shan: ? What’s wrong with these two?

——————

I responded to a few questions yesterday!

①The personalities of the two protagonists are different from the style of the title, “fierce and vicious*”.

*Clarity: As I explained in my Chapter 1 Kinky Thoughts, the idiom behind the title of the novel, which refers to particular fierce/vicious people. The comment is indicating this doesn’t seem very indicative of the two MCs… but we’ll see how that’ll go as the story pans out.

I won’t take the title of the novel lightly. If the name of the novel is chosen, there must be a reason why I chose it☆

②Why is Xiao Zhong’s name originally pronounced shuō but he is used to using yuè?

In the same way, in the first few books, I like to add spoilers to the protagonist’s name (???) Or some symbolic stems. It’s the same for this one——

③Adding on to a question that I’ve answered before:

This novel is not an orthodox supernatural worldview. There is no reincarnation system, and I personally don’t like the “reincarnation” theme very much, so I haven’t written about it and I won’t in the future. XD

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Kinky Thoughts:

Since I haven’t read ahead, I’m unsure about how Zhong Chengshuo’s name fits in all this. 

Second note: I’ve explained the title of the novel and why it’s translated as so. You can read about it in my Kinky Thoughts in chapter 1.

To celebrate my 1-year anniversary of starting danmei translation, I’ve decided to release the rest of this arc. Happy reading.

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