【Texture】(55, 56, 57, 58, 59)

page views:1 Publication date:2023-03-23

Author: Wandering Traveler
, October 15, 2015,
Chapter 55:
The European-style streetlights surrounding the open-air café in Dongcheng Park emitted a soft, milky-white glow. I lowered my head,
stirring the hot milk on the table in front of me. Lu Zhaohui sat opposite me, discussing with great interest her
"long-term plans" for Yan Guang and his entire gang's future.
I had initially thought Lu Zhaohui's words on the way to the hospital were just a joke, but unexpectedly,
they became a reality within the next hour! That kid Yan Guang actually recognized Lu Zhaohui as his godmother. And now,
Lu Zhaohui, as Yan Guang's godmother, was seriously discussing Yan Guang's "future
prospects" with me, Yan Guang's older brother.
Although Lu Zhaohui's original words were that she wanted to recognize me as her godson, I still couldn't bring myself to
call a woman only ten years older than me "godmother." However, in terms of age, Yan Guang
wouldn't have any psychological barriers to calling her that.
Lu Zhaohui seemed to be in a good mood at this moment, the most relaxed I'd ever seen her since I'd known her
.
"A-Guang himself must sever ties with his businesses on Dyeing Street. Since you said that Yang Mengjun
is trustworthy, let him take over. After all, that's A-Guang's foundation;
he won't feel at ease without a reliable person overseeing it. For the new company, whatever A-Guang invests, I'll double it.
The specific share allocation is six for him, three for me, and you get a 10% stake..."
"Wh-what?" I looked up at Lu Zhaohui, bewildered.
Having recognized Yan Guang as her godson, Lu Zhaohui naturally couldn't let him become some kind of underworld boss.
Therefore, "whitewashing" Yan Guang became Lu Zhaohui's first priority. The method for laundering the money was simple. Lu
Zhaohui planned to have Yan Guang hand over all the "entertainment business" on Ranfang Street to his subordinates. Yan Guang himself would ostensibly
distance himself from that circle, with Lu Zhaohui providing the majority of the profits, along with some of the existing
funds from Yan Guang's gang, to form a new "legitimate company." Yan Guang unconditionally obeyed Lu Zhaohui's plan.
Even disregarding his injuries, he excitedly ran back to his men to finalize the personnel arrangements
. I was quite speechless. Back then, he was never so obedient to his own mother. On the contrary, his rebellious nature often enraged his aunt. Now, hearing that Lu Zhaohui actually planned to give 　　me a 10% stake
in the new company , I was immediately at a loss. 　　"Aunt Lu, is this...is this appropriate? Setting up a new company is your and A-Guang's business. What does it have 　　to do with me? I don't have any money to invest. Taking a 10% stake is just making me take advantage of you, isn't it? No, no 　　..." 　　"Do you think I'm giving you this 10% stake for free? Giving you a 10% stake is to pay you for watching over A-Guang 　　!" Lu Zhaohui took a sip of her coffee and said in a tone that clearly distinguished between public and private matters. "Although you're his older 　　brother, in this day and age, nobody will work seriously unless they have their own interests involved! Wanmei 　　Group is a huge operation, and without my constant oversight, Xiao Chao couldn't manage it all by himself. For 　　that reason, once things are settled here, I'll be leaving soon, and I might only be able to 　　visit A-Guang a few days a year. I can't keep an eye on him all the time, so I need to arrange for 　　someone reliable and trustworthy to look after him. After all, I don't want him to turn this company into some kind of triad 　　, and the purpose of setting up a company is to make money. I'm really worried about A-Guang running it all by himself..." 　　I sighed. "Then we can hire a professional manager? I know absolutely nothing about business." 　　"You don't need to know anything. You just need to remind Ah Guang when he's confused. If he doesn't listen, 　　just let me know. I'll come and deal with him. You're his older brother, and you own 10% of the shares. I believe you can definitely 　　help him manage the company well." Seeing that I was still trying to refuse, Lu Zhaohui waved her hand in front of me, then 　　quickly took out her phone and changed the subject. 　　"What's with the text message reminding me to be careful of Luo Zhendong? I remember you two were quite close!" 　　"Lu Zhaohui's actions at this moment forced me to temporarily set aside my concerns about Yan Guang and focus my attention 　　on Luo Zhendong's situation. 　　I was unsure how to explain things to Lu Zhaohui. I had now completely figured out 　　the truth behind Cao Zixuan's disappearance of the antiques he was carrying. However, I couldn't clearly explain this truth to Lu Zhaohui 　　… 　　Before Cao Zixuan died, perhaps due to some unknown special ability, I 　　saw scenes in his eyes that were like a live broadcast. At that moment, I suddenly realized that Cao Zixuan was innocent 　　. I withdrew from him, retreating repeatedly, because I had already given up 　　the idea of killing him. But unexpectedly, Cao Zixuan still died, and the way he died was so horrific that even I…" 　　I felt a deep fear of the unknown ability I possessed . 　　After learning of my special ability from Ye Tong, I was extremely curious and eager 　　to discover it as soon as possible. But now, that desire was gone; I 　　even wished that unknown ability would remain dormant within me forever. 　　As for why I was certain Cao Zixuan was innocent, it was because I 　　saw his entire past few days reflected in the image in his pupils… 　　Three days ago, Cao Zixuan was resting in a room guarding the antiques he had brought from the underground palace. Luo Zhendong 　　appeared before him, bringing a woman. I remembered that woman's appearance vividly—it was 　　"Yingzi," the one who had cast illusions on me at the police station! Although I didn't know Cao Zixuan well, it was clear 　　he shared the same flaw as most men: lust. Perhaps because he was responsible for guarding the antiques, 　　he couldn't go out and philander like Leopard and A-Can. So when Yingzi, a rather attractive woman 　　, appeared, the two quickly ended up in bed together. Just as Cao Zixuan was about to reach his climax, the 　　scene abruptly ended, the last image showing Yingzi's eyes glowing with a green light.

In the second scene, Cao Zixuan was already in a simple hotel room,
lying limply on the bed. Two strange men had forced him to drink some unknown liquid, and
they had drawn strange magic circles and symbols around his bed with cinnabar ink, chanting incantations around his body… Cao Zixuan
closed his eyes in terror, and the second scene disappeared.
The third scene was blurry and distorted. Despite the blurriness, I could still make out
Qiangzi, Yan Guang, and others appearing in the scene, then Lu Zhaohui and He Qiang entered his field of vision, and finally,
my own image…
After seeing these three scenes, how could I not understand what Cao Zixuan had gone through! This poor guy
, just because he indulged in momentary physical pleasure, had become a scapegoat for Luo Zhendong and his gang!
But how could I tell Lu Zhaohui this now? Even if she witnessed Cao Zixuan
's death and realized that I might possess some unknown abilities, I still couldn't tell her the truth.
Because I realized I did possess a certain ability to probe into the inner world and memories of others. This ability was
absolutely something I couldn't let outsiders know. The reason was simple: if Lu Zhaohui knew I might be able to understand her inner thoughts
and memories, how would she view me? And how would she treat me? I fear that once she realized this, her first
thought would be to eliminate me. No one would allow others to freely intrude on their privacy… it
's almost a natural human instinct for self-preservation! Everyone knows that the Eastern Depot, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and secret service agencies are
necessary for maintaining rule and social stability, but that's why nobody likes them.
Understanding this, I could only conceal the facts I saw through Cao Zixuan's eyes. I only told Lu Zhaohui about
how I bumped into Luo Zhendong on his way to the brothel.
After I finished speaking, Lu Zhaohui frowned slightly. I didn't know if she found it disgusting that I talked about prostitutes in front of her
, or if she found Luo Zhendong's act of visiting prostitutes disgusting. However
, she was clearly a rational woman, and immediately asked me to explain the specific reasons for my suspicion of Luo Zhendong.
"As a boss, I have no right to interfere in my subordinates' private lives. As for prostitution, although it's illegal,
it doesn't cause any substantial harm to the company or me personally. Besides, I'm not an inflexible
person. He's a grown man, and I can understand a man spending money to solve his physiological needs when he needs it
. I don't understand why you're making me wary of him based on this?"
Faced with Lu Zhaohui's questioning, I hesitated for a moment. Leaving aside the scene from Cao Zixuan's memory, I needed to
tell Lu Zhaohui about Luo Zhendong's association with the people who appeared in Liziping the night before last. And to explain
what happened in Liziping, I had to explain Wang Lie and the others. And in this, I had to
mention the woman in white! In my opinion, the fewer people who knew about the woman in white, the better. I didn't want Lu Zhaohui
to be involved in this matter. Although Lu Zhaohui had experienced what happened in the Phoenix Mountain prison, and had a powerful background and was
very wealthy, she was ultimately just an ordinary woman. Demons and monsters, along with Wang Lie and his group's opponents, are
terrifying and dangerous. I didn't want her to get too involved and suffer the same fate as Cao Zixuan. Having understood this,
I ultimately chose silence.
Lu Zhaohui, seeing my hesitant expression, suddenly smiled sweetly at me.
Her feminine charm was immediately apparent.
"Alright, alright, I understand. Luo Zhendong, right? I'll arrange for someone to secretly keep an eye on his every move
!"
I was somewhat surprised that Lu Zhaohui suddenly accepted my suggestion. Lu Zhaohui, however, proactively explained
her reasons for doing so.
"Judging from your hesitant expression, you must have something you can't say! Since you feel it's inappropriate to tell
me, I won't ask. As for why I decided to accept your suggestion to have someone monitor Luo Zhendong, it's very
simple: I trust you! Up to now, you and A-Guang have both saved me. I believe that you two brothers have absolutely
no ill intentions towards me. Based on that alone, I should trust and accept your suggestion. By the way, there's something I
want to ask you, and you must give me an honest answer."
"What is it?" I was puzzled by Lu Zhaohui's expression at this moment. Because this woman's face
actually showed a mischievous look.
"I was planning to adopt two godsons, but in the end I only adopted one. Can you tell me why you
refused? You might not know, but these days a lot of young people are vying to have me as their godmother!
For example, a few pretty boys from CCTV once used an interview opportunity to hover around me
for ages, and even mentioned it to my friends, but I ignored them. Then one of them went and adopted Gu Liping. You're in
the same profession as them, and now I'm offering to adopt you as my godson, why did you refuse? You know, if you
adopt me as your godmother, I guarantee you'll save at least twenty years of hard work in your career. For one thing, with just a
word, I can get you out of this lousy editorial department and back to your group's headquarters. You like being
a news reporter, right? Even if you want to do an exclusive interview with those Politburo members, I can arrange it
...
"
Lu Zhaohui's words really stirred my heart. After all, becoming like Joseph Pulitzer,
William Russell, and Eddie... I dream of working as a journalist as outstanding as Adams. But then I thought,
I've already rejected her, and it would be embarrassing to change my mind now. So I could only reluctantly confess
the real reason I rejected her.
"Well, it's mainly because I feel the age difference isn't right. There's really no other reason. Guang is turning thirty this year,
almost twenty years older than you, and he has no problem calling you 'Mom.' As for me, you're only
eleven or twelve years older than me. Do you think I should call you 'Mom'? I call you 'Aunt Lu' now, but that's only out
of respect. If we're really going by age, you're at most my older sister..." As I said this, I
couldn't help but shake my head and laugh.
Lu Zhaohui couldn't help but chuckle when she heard me say this. After laughing, Lu Zhaohui nodded.
"That's it. You know, when you rejected me just now, I thought you were still holding a grudge against
Xiao Chao for detaining you and Jingyi in the tunnel..." At this point, Lu Zhaohui suddenly seemed to remember
something, and her spirits slumped.
Hearing her mention Li Chao, and remembering that I hadn't seen or heard anything about this Boss Li since we were released from the prison
, I couldn't help but ask. "Given the circumstances,
it was understandable that Boss Li detained the three of us. Me, Zhou Jingyi, and Qiangzi are all out of there now, aren't we? Why
would I still hold a grudge against him? By the way, he hasn't been by your side since we got out; he's been busy with company matters, hasn't he?"
Lu Zhaohui shook her head sadly. "No, he was severely injured inside. If it weren't for He Qiang and
A-Can taking turns carrying him, it's hard to say whether he would have come out alive. So after I saw him,
I immediately arranged for someone to send him directly to Shanghai for emergency treatment. I didn't go with him because I wanted to handle the aftermath here
. Those monsters are poisonous, and Xiao Chao was bitten several times. The hospital there still hasn't found
the correct antidote and can only do their best to keep him alive. Mr. Tang was discharged from the hospital the day before yesterday and rushed to Shanghai
for this matter." As she said this, Lu Zhaohui couldn't help but tremble. I saw two
lines of tears silently slide down her cheeks...
First, she sobbed softly, then she collapsed onto the table,
knocking the coffee cup in front of her to the ground when she touched the table.
I quickly got up and went to her side. Originally, I thought that men and women should be different, but seeing her back heaving so violently
, I finally reached out and gently patted her shoulder to comfort her. "Aunt Lu, good people are always blessed!
With today's advanced medical technology, there's almost no injury or illness that can't be cured. Besides, Mr. Tang went
there too, didn't he? You've seen his abilities; he dealt with those monsters like it
was nothing, so removing the poison from Boss Li's body should be a piece of cake for him..."
Lu Zhaohui straightened up, supporting herself on the edge of the table, and gently leaned against my waist. I'm not a sentimental
person, but I knew that she needed someone to lean on right now.
If I were to avoid her out of consideration for propriety, it would be extremely cold and cruel. So I didn't do anything more
, letting her lean on me and sob for a while.
"It's my fault... I taught him from a young age to do whatever he wanted. I always wanted to raise him to be
a responsible and upright person. But I never expected him to turn out like this. He knew that tomb raiding
was wrong, but when he brought it up, I didn't even object..." Lu Zhaohui murmured to herself.
After a while, Lu Zhaohui seemed to have regained her composure and stood up from her seat. She took out
a handkerchief to wipe away the tears from the corners of her eyes, forcing a smile as she apologized to me. "I'm so sorry… I couldn't control
myself for a moment. I'm sorry you had to see me like this."
Seeing that she was still swaying slightly due to her emotions, I quickly reached out and gently supported her
waist. Lu Zhaohui steadied herself, straightened her body, and pulled away from my arm,
saying with a slightly embarrassed self-deprecating laugh, "We were having coffee together to discuss A-Guang's matter. Look at me, crying in front of you
. It's so rude of me."
I forced a smile and replied, "Everyone has a limit to how much pressure they can handle. If you can't bear it,
it's better to cry it out. Holding it in is uncomfortable and bad for your health."
Lu Zhaohui nodded, managing a weak smile. "Thank you. I
haven't cried like this in almost ten years. You're right, crying makes me feel a little better. It seems
I should take your advice and cry when I need to from now on."
Seeing Lu Zhaohui say this, I scratched the back of my head a little embarrassedly and
replied half-seriously and half-jokingly. "That's the right way to think. Well, if you feel it's not appropriate to cry alone,
let me know when you want to cry, and I'll come and cry with you." In my memory, this seemed to be a line from an old movie,
but I inexplicably said it in front of Lu Zhaohui.
Lu Zhaohui was stunned for a moment, then looked at me with an almost teasing expression.
"You're your age, and you've actually seen that kind of movie? I'm a little surprised. I always thought you were a very steady
type, I didn't expect you to be so smooth-talking and good at making women happy."
The line I just quoted was immediately exposed in front of the older woman. I could only force a smile to
hide my embarrassment.
Lu Zhaohui, however, smiled genuinely, her lips pursed…
After escorting Lu Zhaohui back to her temporary residence like a chivalrous protector, I said goodbye to He Qiang.
On the way back, Lu Zhaohui instructed He Qiang to secretly monitor Luo Zhendong. Relieved, I went to the
T-junction and called Wang Lie, intending to inquire about Ye Tong's surveillance of Hualiu Street. However
, the call didn't go through. I frowned, about to dial again, when I suddenly sensed
someone climbing over the wall and jumping down from a building on the other side of the street.
I glanced sideways; the person didn't notice me standing at the street corner and quickly
walked towards the opposite side of the street. I didn't intend to pay attention to it, turning back to call Wang Lie,
but the moment I raised my phone, it dawned on me. Wasn't that Luo Zhendong climbing over the wall?
I quickly glanced again at the buildings inside the wall; it
was the hotel where Lu Zhaohui and her group were currently staying. At that moment, I immediately realized that Luo Zhendong was about to flee! I was extremely surprised.
Luo Zhendong's choice to escape from Lu Zhaohui and the others now clearly indicated that he knew Lu Zhaohui had
become suspicious of him. But only a few minutes had passed since Lu Zhaohui and He Qiang entered the hotel. Those few
minutes probably weren't even enough time for Lu Zhaohui and He Qiang to see Luo Zhendong. Could he have
known beforehand that I had warned Lu Zhaohui?
I immediately put my phone in my pocket and, without thinking, resumed tracking Luo Zhendong
…
Luo Zhendong was walking extremely hurriedly, seemingly having no time or energy to observe his surroundings…
He quickly walked along the street to another main street and then got into a car waiting by the roadside
.
Seeing him get in, I looked around, and coincidentally, a taxi with its "For Hire" sign lit up pulled up behind me
. I immediately flagged it down, and as soon as I got in, I pointed to the car that Luo Zhendong had just started moving and
said to the driver, "Follow that car in front."
The taxi driver was clearly experienced and didn't object to my request. He then drove me to follow
the car.
After driving for a while, the driver finally asked why I had asked him to follow. Of course, I
couldn't tell the truth, so I quickly made up a reason to appease the driver.
"Damn it, that bastard in front and my girlfriend just checked into a hotel. He's cheating on me! I'm
going to follow him and find where he lives..."
In a sense, my reason wasn't entirely fabricated. Just a few hours earlier,
I had witnessed the entire sexual intercourse between Luo Zhendong and Liao Xiaoqian. Liao Xiaoqian was, after all, my ex-girlfriend
, and calling her a "girlfriend" wouldn't be wrong. It's an absolute fact that Luo Zhendong slept with my girlfriend!
Upon hearing this reason, the driver became excited! "Damn, what I hate most
are these adulterers! Brother, don't worry, I definitely won't lose him!"
I turned my head, quite shocked by the driver's focused and serious expression. Judging from his
angry eyes, I felt that after hearing my reason, he hated the car in front and the
people inside even more than I did. I then maliciously speculated whether this driver had ever experienced the painful experience of his wife cheating on him
…
Luo Zhendong's car drove out of the ring road, heading towards Huaqiao Town outside the city. As we approached Huaqiao Town,
I received a call from Lu Zhaohui. Lu Zhaohui sounded extremely surprised and worried on the phone.
"Luo Zhendong has disappeared. He Qiang and the others have searched the hotel inside and out twice!"
Without thinking too much, I immediately told her the current situation. "He ran away.
I just happened to see him climbing over the hotel wall. I'm currently chasing him in a taxi,"
Lu Zhaohui asked me over the phone. "Where are you now? Do you need me to arrange for He Qiang and the others to come
and help you?" I thought to myself, what time is it? He Qiang has just left the hotel; he's not familiar with the local area
. Besides, Luo Zhendong's vehicle is still moving. It's hard to say whether He Qiang can even find the route I'm currently tracking
. So I refused her suggestion. "No need. That guy is in a car now; you
might not be able to find the place. I'll call you again when I get news. If I really need you to arrange for someone to come and help,"
Lu Zhaohui was a rational person. After hearing my explanation, she didn't say anything more. She just told me,
"Be careful, and don't be reckless!" Then she hung up the phone.
After ending the call, I noticed that Luo Zhendong's car had passed through Huaqiao Town and turned onto a rural dirt
road. After confirming the location and direction of the dirt road, I felt a slight sense of surprise.
This road is familiar to me. To be precise, this road carries the most painful memories of my
past. Because this road was once the only way to my hometown, Qingyuan Town! More than twenty years ago,
my father and I took a bus along this road back to our hometown for my grandmother's funeral. Later, my uncle
encountered a mudslide at Shuipodang, a section of this road, and was stranded halfway, unable to reach
our hometown in time. However, since the provincial highway opened ten years ago, this rural dirt road has largely faded from
the ranks of local transportation arteries. Nowadays, apart from a few middlemen who frequently
drive this road during the day to buy agricultural products from the villages and towns along the way, even public transportation between the nearby towns has switched to the wider and
sturdier new rural roads. After nightfall, this road is deserted. Because to this day,
there isn't a single streetlight on this road.
Just as I unconsciously fell back into painful memories of the past, the taxi's speed gradually
slowed down. Just as I realized this and was about to ask the driver why, he spoke up.
"Brother, I dare not drive any further. If I continue, something bad might happen."
I looked at the taxi driver, somewhat puzzled. The driver gestured forward with his lip, and following his direction, I
immediately understood why he had slowed down!
Fog…
I don't know when or where it started, but the taxi I was in had been completely enveloped in thick fog
. Outside the window, the headlights could only illuminate a range of about ten meters. In the distance, I could
vaguely see the taillights of Luo Zhendong's vehicle flickering.
"Brother, it's not that I don't want to help you, but this road, and the current road conditions… I really dare not continue!
That car ahead has a high chassis and high horsepower; they dare to drive on this kind of road. My car has a low chassis; if I continue, I might
get into trouble."
I knew the driver was telling the truth. After observing that the taillights of Luo Zhendong's vehicle ahead were
also moving extremely slowly, I immediately made a decision. I took out my wallet, stuffed the fare into the driver's hand, and got
out of the car, intending to follow the vehicle ahead on foot. The car ahead was clearly also affected by the thick fog;
without streetlights and with extremely poor visibility, it could barely move at idle speed. I figured
if I ran at full speed, I might actually be able to catch up.
As for whether I could handle it alone after catching up, I didn't think too much about it.
Besides Luo Zhendong, there should at least be a driver in that car. The taxi driver, however, had thought of this and
pulled a car stalker from the bottom of the windshield and handed it to me. "Brother, there are at least two
people in that bastard's car. I can't help you keep chasing. Here, take this. If you want to fight, you have something else,
right?"
I was somewhat amused and exasperated by the driver's kindness. But I still took the metal stalker and
ran after the faintly visible taillights of the car ahead!
Although the other car was driving extremely slowly, it was still moving. I chased after him for several hundred meters with all my might.
I could barely keep up with the other car's taillights.
And the more I chased, the thicker the fog became!
I knew that the road from Huaqiao Town to Qingyuan Town was foggy at night! It
was a common weather phenomenon in this region at this time of year. And this wasn't unique to this area; many other
places experienced similar phenomena. For example, the Kawanakajima region in northern Shinano Plain, Japan,
is shrouded in dense fog from midnight to 11 am every year from mid-September to mid-October of the lunar calendar.
The Fourth Battle of Kawanakajima, fought between the two great warlords of the Sengoku period, Uesugi Kenshin and Takeda Shingen,
broke out amidst the dense fog of the Kawanakajima region!
Thinking of this, I composed myself and began to recall the general route of the dirt road. After a moment's thought,
I couldn't help but smile smugly. I estimated that we were about two or three kilometers away from Huaqiao Town
. In my memory, about three kilometers from Huaqiao Town, there's a
large zigzag bend in the road, nearly a kilometer long. Luo Zhendong's car can only travel along the road,
while I can walk directly through the fields surrounding the bend, shortening the distance by at least seven or eight hundred meters.
I was certain that if they maintained their current idling speed, I could take a shortcut and reach the
other side of the bend before them.
When the taillights of the car in the distance turned to the left, I chased after it and rushed straight into the field ahead. The field
was muddy and difficult to traverse, but I still reached the other side of the bend in less than two minutes.
A little over a minute later, the headlights of a car appeared in the fog. I gripped the joystick tightly and stood
on the left side of the road…
Chapter 56
The lights grew brighter. I took a deep breath, and just as I raised the joystick, ready to sprint forward
, a figure suddenly darted out from the field on the right side of the road and rushed towards the slowly approaching vehicle.
The figure moved with incredible speed, so fast it could only be described as ghostly. Before I could even react
, the figure slammed heavily into the side of the car.
A loud crash echoed. The small SUV carrying Luo Zhendong was overturned
, falling off the edge of the paddy field!
My mouth dropped open, and I stared dumbfounded at the scene before me…
“Who…who is this? To…to actually ram a car with their body? No, no, it’s a demon! Only
demons have that ability!” I snapped out of my daze and grabbed the joystick, running towards the overturned car.
Reaching the edge of the field, I saw the people inside struggling to climb out of the vehicle. Luo
Zhendong emerged from the passenger seat. Just as he crawled out, the figure that had rammed the car appeared beside him.
Luo Zhendong looked up and, upon seeing the figure, his expression turned to shock and astonishment. Before
Luo Zhendong could react, the figure suddenly bent down, reached out, and grabbed Luo Zhendong's neck,
lifting his entire body into the air. A look of pain immediately appeared on Luo Zhendong's face. He gripped
the figure's wrist with both hands, his legs kicking wildly in the air…
At the same time Luo Zhendong was captured, the person in the driver's cab climbed out of the vehicle. Seeing Luo Zhendong being captured, he swayed as if trying to help, but after taking a few steps, he seemed to realize something 　　and screamed
in terror .
"A...a living corpse? No..." The man turned to run away, but before he could take two steps, the figure grabbed
Luo Zhendong's arm and casually swung it, sending Luo
Zhendong flying towards the man. The impact sent both of them crashing heavily into the field. Perhaps the impact was even greater this time, as they both passed
out.
At that moment, I finally saw the figure's true face. A tight-fitting tracksuit, high breasts, arched
eyebrows, almond eyes, small red lips...
"Lin Meimei..." I stared blankly at the beautiful woman before me, the joystick in my hand falling to the ground.
I was momentarily stunned! It took me a long time to react. The person before me, though still in Lin Meimei's body
, had already become a living corpse under Ye Tong's control. The Lin Meimei of the past gave me the impression of
a gentle and charming woman, like water. But now, she was dressed in a sharp, imposing outfit, all traces of her former allure gone,
replaced by a vibrant, spirited air!
Lin Meimei's expression was indifferent; she ignored me completely, quickly approaching Luo Zhendong and the other
man. Then, with a swift movement, she grabbed their clothes from behind, lifted them into the air, and
stepped onto the ridge of the paddy field. She walked straight past me. Just as I felt a slight,
inexplicable sadness at her indifference, she took a step back and shook her neck beside me. I paused, realizing
she was gesturing for me to follow her, then bent down to pick up the joystick and followed her.
We walked nearly a kilometer along the road in the thick fog when I sensed someone rapidly approaching from ahead
. I cautiously picked up the joystick. However, as the person approached and I saw their face clearly,
I put the joystick down again. Ye Tong appeared in front of me with a look of surprise.
"Yan Ping, how did you manage to track me here? Wang Lie was just about to call you! Hearing Ye Tong's
words
, I asked in surprise. "You knew I was here?"
Ye Tong pointed at Lin Meimei. "What my sister can see, I can see too! I was wondering
why someone suddenly appeared out of the field, and then I saw it was you. Seeing you were trying to intercept that car, I
had her take care of it for you!"
Ye Tong's words made me understand why Lin Meimei had suddenly appeared and rammed into Luo Zhendong's SUV, simultaneously
arresting Luo Zhendong and the driver.
I pointed to Luo Zhendong, who was still unconscious and being held by Lin Meimei. "It's all because of him.
This guy sneaked away from those people at Wanmei Group, and I just happened to run into him. That's why I followed
him all the way here. But how did you end up here? Wang Lie is here too? Weren't you guys tracking
that group of people in the red-light district?"
Ye Tong chuckled after hearing this. "We came here to intercept those guys on the way
. They were really unlucky. Because they were afraid of the police checkpoints on the main roads,
they planned to leave for Nanjing via this old dirt road. But they didn't know about the fog in Huaqiao Town lately
. Wang Lie and I easily took advantage of the fog to set up an ambush. We caught
them all. Wang Lie was just saying he wanted to contact you to call the police to arrest them. And here you are now
." He snapped his fingers at Lin Meimei, who immediately started walking again. I followed
behind her, side by side with Ye Tong.
As I walked, I expressed my dissatisfaction to Ye Tong. "I remember telling you to be nicer to Lin Meimei!
You actually made her run into a car!"
Ye Tong protested, looking aggrieved. "She's a power type! To stop that car,
the most direct way is to ram it!"
"Power type?" I realized I still knew too little about the zombies in Ye Tong's hands, so I couldn't help
but ask him.
"You know far too little about our profession as Soul Shapers! Let me put it this way: theoretically, any
woman can be turned into a zombie! But no Soul Shaper would casually turn a living person into
a zombie! First, doing so would be no different from murder. We Soul Shapers are exorcists
, after all, we would never do such heinous things! Second, ordinary women turned into zombies
wouldn't have much combat ability. The most suitable candidates to become zombies are actually demonized
female demons like Lin Meimei! If female demons like her aren't killed, they'll only harm ordinary people. Turning them into
zombies so they can slay demons and monsters can atone for their sins in life. It's a kind of atonement!
Furthermore, different female demons often possess various different abilities. The one I took to deal with Lin Meimei is
named Tang Yan, you should remember her, that's me..." The one who took her to bars to dance and earn money. Tang Yan's ability lies in
her amazing recovery ability. No matter how much damage her body suffers, while other girls need months or even
a year or two to recover, she can usually recover in a few hours, at most a few days. That's why
I usually like to take her out to work. There's no other reason; as long as she doesn't get her head chopped off or
suffer serious injuries, she can be taken out to work again after a few days. It's economical! Lin Meimei's greatest
ability after her mutation is her strength. What's so special about crashing into that SUV? Do you know how Wang Lie and I
caught those guys on the red-light district? Those guys were riding in a long-distance bus! Lin Meimei still managed to
knock that bus down... "When I heard this, I grabbed Ye Tong's arm. "What? You
actually let Lin Meimei crash into a bus?"
Ye Tong hurriedly put on a smiling face. "Well, there's nothing I can do about it! Of all the girls I have, she's
the strong type. The others can't handle this! Look... she's perfectly fine, isn't she?
If you don't believe me, when we get there, I'll have her strip naked for you to examine. If there are any scratches or abrasions
, I'll buy the best skincare products to heal her, okay?"
Seeing Ye Tong's lazy yet ambiguous attitude, I was speechless! In the end, I could only grunt
to vent my dissatisfaction. After all, whether Lin Meimei was dead or alive, human or demon, she was Lao Lu's wife.
How could I possibly examine her naked body just to check for injuries? To me, that would be
a complete insult and betrayal of my comrade!
"Anyway, you know how important she is to me! Even if she's just a shell, you can't neglect
her..."
Hearing my extremely serious tone, Ye Tong smiled. As for whether he actually took my words seriously,
I had no way of knowing. Then I asked why Lin Meimei was at that bend.
Ye Tong explained, "Locals here don't usually take this road in foggy weather.
But you never know, someone might come by, so I arranged for two girls to keep watch at the front and back of the road.
If someone comes, we'll scare them first. If that doesn't work, we'll have to knock them out first!"
As she spoke, I saw a light appear in the thick fog ahead. Getting closer, I saw
a passenger bus overturned on the side of the road. My eyelids twitched involuntarily. According to Ye Tong,
Lin Meimei had directly crashed into the bus and overturned it. I had to
revise my memory of Lin Meimei to some extent.
Beside the overturned bus, a group of people were lying or sitting together. At the front and back of the bus, two women
stood at the front and back of the bus, respectively, clearly female zombies on surveillance duty. Perhaps because of the
large crowd, the fog was relatively thinner. As I approached the bus, I could see Wang Lie sitting
on the edge of a field about ten meters away, smoking and talking to a thin man. The man looked vaguely familiar, and then
I remembered—this was the guy who
had exchanged a few moves with me using Tai Chi techniques under the big tree where Li Ziping had surrounded the spirit maiden.
Wang Lie also saw Ye Tong and me and waved to us. Lin Meimei
tossed the unconscious Luo Zhendong and the driver into the crowd, then stood in the middle of the bus,
forming a triangular shape with the other two zombies, monitoring the crowd.
After approaching Wang Lie, he first offered cigarettes to Ye Tong and me, then spoke. "There are still some
loose ends to be sorted out. Once that's done, you can call Director Zhao and ask him to come and arrest them!"
I looked at the crowd gathered there, numbering twenty or thirty, many of them seemingly
bearing some kind of injury, groaning in pain. I then asked疑惑地问, "Just hand them
all over to the police like that? They know everything that happened in Liziping. If we tell the police everything
, Director Zhao will probably still pester me!"
Wang Lie shook his head and said, "I've already told this guy what to say and what not to say."
He pointed to the man sitting next to him. As for whether Director Zhao would stop there...
"We can only let him be. But in my opinion, since he released you before, his purpose was probably
just to close the case of digging up graves and stealing corpses. Although we didn't steal any corpses, going to Liziping in the middle of the night
can't really be explained by that excuse of collecting evidence of chemical plant pollution. I've
heard of Director Zhao's name. With so many years of experience in criminal investigation, do you really think you can fool him? In my opinion, he probably
already has a pretty good idea of what we do. It's just that he's sure we're not involved in the corpse theft incident and doesn't want to
get too involved in the disputes in our line of work, so he simply pretended not to know and released you.
As for asking you to assist him, it's really just to get an explanation from us. So, now as long as
we hand over the real parties involved to him, he shouldn't cause you any more trouble."
What Wang Lie said at this moment, in my opinion, makes some sense. Moreover, for me, if I wanted to give Zhao Yongyi an
explanation, it seemed the only way to completely get rid of that old
fox's entanglement was to hand over the masterminds of these grave robbings to him. I sighed and shook my head helplessly.
Wang Lie understood my current situation, stood up, and patted my shoulder, saying, "We haven't committed any crimes!
There's nothing to be afraid of. If that Zhao guy arrests these people and still won't let you
go, we can just hand Xia Jiang over to him and let him handle it! But if that really happens, I think it'll be those
policemen who have a headache!"
"Xia Jiang? Who is Xia Jiang?" Hearing an unfamiliar name suddenly appear in Wang Lie's words, I blinked
and asked.
Wang Lie lowered his voice and said, "It's the spirit girl you rescued!"
"Spirit, spirit girl..." I realized what he meant and looked at Wang Lie in surprise. "Her, her name
is Xia Jiang? You already know her name?"
Wang Lie nodded. "Old Han has been keeping an eye on her all day. He even managed to find out her name
. I've been working with Ye Tong all day to figure out how to find her and get revenge on those bastards.
I don't know exactly how Old Han got her name. But when I talked to him on the phone just now,
all he told me was that he knew the spirit girl's name. I guess there hasn't been much progress on that.
As for the details, you can ask Old Han yourself after you've sorted things out with the police!"
I stood there, repeatedly muttering the spirit girl's name that I had just learned. "Xia Jiang, Xia Jiang... that's a
nice name... not bad. Her surname is Xia... could she really have some connection with Xia Nan in the underground palace?"
Wang Lie shrugged and spread his hands. "Who knows? Maybe she really is a descendant of Xia Nan.
But let's deal with the immediate trouble first. Of these people,
Ye Tong and I will take some with us. The rest, you stay and hand them over to the police."
I was stunned, not understanding Wang Lie's reasoning. Wang Lie glanced at the person next to him,
then pulled me a few meters to the side and whispered his explanation. "There are two groups inside. This
guy over here is called Dongfang Yao. He's not with Li Yong. He and his group were hired by Li Yong to capture the spirit maiden. They're also the ones digging up graves, stealing corpses, and making zombies. This guy's sister is 　　the woman who cast the illusion
on you at the police station , named Dongfang Ying. I only found out from talking to him earlier that he and his sister are actually 　　junior brothers of one of my friends. Out of respect for my friend, I made a deal with him. He agreed to 　　obediently go with you to the police station and confess to the crime of digging up graves and stealing corpses. As a condition of the deal, I agreed..." "Let his 　　sister Dongfang Ying and the other woman go. Besides these two women, there are six other women who belong to Li 　　Yong's group. They originally planned to go to Nanjing with them, but Ye Tong and I happened to stop them 　　. 　　These six women can't be handed over to the police. I plan to pry them open and see if I can get any information out of them. 　　Because Dongfang Yao just told me that Li Yong seems to be planning something big recently. This trip to our 　　area is just part of their plan." 　　After listening to Wang Lie's explanation, I turned and looked at the crowd gathered by the overturned bus. I quickly counted 　　the number of people and found that there were only eight women, and the rest were men. In addition, I also confirmed one thing: among 　　these eight women, apart from "Yingzi" whose eyes were currently covered with gauze, I 　　had seen at least one woman in the red-light district that afternoon. She was the woman who was gesturing with the customer, and Liao Xiaoqian was not among them. After 　　hearing the man's phone call in the backyard and the subsequent conversation between Liao Xiaoqian and Luo Zhendong, I suspected that Liao Xiaoqian might 　　also be going to Nanjing with these people. So when Ye Tong and I came here, I was still considering 　　how I should face Liao Xiaoqian when we met again. Now, confirming that Liao Xiaoqian wasn't there, I 　　felt a strange sense of relief. As for why, I couldn't explain it myself. 　　I guess the reason Liao Xiaoqian wasn't among these people was probably because Luo Zhendong's words to that Master Li had worked. That's why she 　　didn't travel with them. Thinking of this, I suddenly remembered Luo Zhendong, who was still unconscious 　　. I then said to Wang Lie... "If you're taking anyone with you, take those two unconscious 　　guys Ye Tong and I brought back earlier too! One of them 　　escaped from the Phoenix Mountain prison with Boss Li from Wanmei Group and me. If they fall into the hands of the police, Boss Li and his group's tomb raiding might be exposed. 　　I promised Aunt Lu I'd keep this a secret for them. Also, this guy might 　　be an undercover agent planted in Boss Li's team. Perhaps we can find out their 　　real purpose in encouraging Boss Li to go down to the Phoenix Mountain prison from him." 　　After I explained, Wang Lie glanced at Luo Zhendong lying there and nodded. "Okay, I'll 　　take both of them with me." 　　After saying that, Wang Lie and I walked back to the man named Dongfang Yao. Wang Lie 　　said expressionlessly to Dongfang Yao, "I promised you, and I will definitely do it. As for whether you're willing to abide by 　　the terms of our deal, I don't care. I think you should know what the consequences of breaking a deal are, right?"

Dongfang Yao nodded repeatedly to Wang Lie. "Brother Lie, don't worry, my brother and I know
what we're doing with the police. This time, I was blinded by my own ignorance and offended you by coming to your territory
. It was all my fault. You've been so kind and righteous, letting my sister off the hook. How could I dare to play any tricks in front of you
?"
Wang Lie replied coldly. "That's for the best. Now I'll take the rest of the others and leave. But I won't
go far; I'll keep an eye on you until you obediently go back with the police!"
He patted my shoulder and said, "My brother will stay here and hand you over to the police.
You'd better behave yourselves in front of him. Don't think you can do anything crazy just because you outnumber him. Otherwise..."
"Hehe, I'm considering trying to create male zombies... If you twenty-odd people don't want to go to jail
, I don't mind testing them on you! Of course, you know, no one
has successfully created male zombies yet; failure usually results in turning them into zombies!" Ye Tong seamlessly picked up where
Wang Lie left off, further intimidating Dongfang Yao.
Dongfang Yao was helpless against Ye Tong's almost mocking threats. It was clear he
was terrified of Wang Lie and Ye Tong. He could only smile and nod along.
Wang Lie felt the time was right, so he walked to the front of the crowd and called out to eight women to come out
and follow him. Dongfang Ying, her face bandaged, quickly emerged with the help of a woman, while the other six women,
under Wang Lie's coercion, could only reluctantly follow. Lin Meimei then went directly to the crowd
, arresting Luo Zhendong and the driver again. She then turned and
disappeared into the thick fog with Ye Tong and two other female zombies who had been monitoring them.
I then sent a text message to the phone number Zhao Yongyi had given me, informing him of my location and asking
him to bring the police to arrest them. While I was composing the message, Dongfang Yao returned to the crowd and, as
Wang Lie had instructed, began exchanging statements with his brothers.
I had now confirmed that the person who made the phone call in the backyard of Hualiu Street that afternoon was indeed Dongfang Yao. Seeing him earnestly
fulfilling his promise to Wang Lie, I didn't disturb him after sending the message. Instead, I went to the roadside
and sat down to rest.
After spending some time rehearsing the story with the others about what to say to the police, Dongfang Yao walked
over and sat down next to me, offering me a cigarette.
Thinking he was just doing a job for money and there was no real conflict between us, I didn't refuse
and lit it myself. Seeing that I accepted his offer, Dongfang Yao tentatively spoke up.
"If I remember correctly, I should have seen you before, right?"
I nodded. "That's right, the night before last, we fought under that tree. You even
chased me for miles with
your men..." Dongfang Yao seemed extremely embarrassed when I mentioned it. "I'm really sorry. I was just
doing a job for someone. I hope you can forgive me, brother,"
I smiled and replied. "I know, otherwise do you think I would still smoke your cigarette? If I wanted to smoke
, I have my own, don't I?"
Dongfang Yao, hearing my straightforward answer, realized that I didn't take the conflict between them too seriously, and
his face immediately relaxed. "I appreciate your understanding. By the way, you're Brother Lie's friend.
What's your surname?"
"My surname is Yan, and my name is Yan Ping," I replied casually.
After hearing this, Dongfang Yao's facial muscles twitched a few times, and after a long while, he confirmed in a low voice with surprise,
"You, you're Yan Ping?"
I blinked and turned my head to look at Dongfang Yao's strange expression. "What's wrong? Am I that
famous? Why are you making that face when you hear my name?"
"No, no, no..." Dongfang Yao shook his head repeatedly in front of me with a bitter face. "I didn't mean anything by it,
I just didn't expect you to be Yan Ping. You have no idea how badly you've ruined Yingzi's life. I'm even
worried about whether she can keep her eyes. Of course, it's not your fault, I'm the one who let her provoke you. I shouldn't have done it,
I shouldn't have been so greedy as her brother, it's ruined me and her too." As he spoke, he unconsciously
started using polite language towards me.
Hearing Dongfang Yao say this, I couldn't help but feel a jolt in my heart. "Yingzi is
the woman who used illusion magic on me at the police station, right? She's your sister? I don't remember doing anything to her. How can you say I've
ruined her life? Brother Dongfang, you can't say things like that. People who don't know might think I did something to your sister
!"
Dongfang Yao saw that I was being flippant, but he didn't dare to show any displeasure. "That's right, that's right. Yingzi
is ignorant and doesn't know you are Honglian. She played tricks on you, which she brought upon herself. But ultimately, it
's my fault as her older brother. Please be magnanimous and don't take it to heart. Please don't cause her any trouble! If
you're still angry, take it out on me, okay? I, as her older brother, apologize on her behalf."
Realizing the sincerity in Dongfang Yao's words, I felt a bit more favorably disposed towards him. Putting everything else aside, just based on
the concern he showed for his sister at that moment, how could I possibly still
hold a grudge against what they had done to me? The bond between him and his sister Yingzi was clearly very deep, which unconsciously reminded me of
Yan Guang and me.
"No need for apologies. I do have some things I'd like to ask you. I just don't know if you'd be willing to tell
me." At that moment, I had an idea; perhaps I could get some
information about the special ability within my body from Dongfang Yao, so I tentatively began to probe.
"Please ask away," Dongfang Yao quickly said.
"I want to know what exactly the Crimson Lotus is? And how did you become so certain that I am the Crimson Lotus?"
Dongfang Yao was taken aback at first, then looked puzzled. I frowned and explained,
"Let me tell you, I only recently discovered that I seem to possess some kind of special ability. As for what my
ability is, I actually don't quite know. If you really feel bad for me, then..."
"Why don't you answer my questions about this? If I'm not mistaken, you, Wang Lie, and Ye Tong
are in the same line of work. As for me... I haven't known Wang Lie and the others for very long, and there are many things about your industry that
I don't really understand."
"I see..." Dongfang Yao let out a long sigh. He looked at me for a moment, and after seemingly making
a decision, he finally began to explain.
"Fine, I've made a deal with Brother Lie this time, and I don't plan to cooperate with Li Yong and the others again. I'm
truly afraid of Brother Lie, and I never want to be his enemy again in this life. After I get out, I might still need Brother Lie and
you to help protect me. Since that's the case, there's no need for me to hide anything. Brother Yan, it seems you really don't know
your own abilities. Let me put it this way: my sister Yingzi also possesses special abilities. Our
group relies heavily on her abilities to make a living. Although I also practice some magic
, it's nothing compared to my sister's illusionary abilities. And Yingzi's abilities are far inferior to yours.
"
I noticed Dongfang Yao was getting a little agitated, so I couldn't help but offer him a cigarette and patted the seat next to me, gesturing
for him to sit down. Dongfang Yao probably thought this was an opportunity to build rapport with me. He readily accepted
the cigarette, sat down beside me, and began to explain in detail.
"In our line of work, everyone has some skill. We're all concerned with saving face, so we don't say it out loud, but
everyone knows their own limitations, and we secretly categorize ourselves into different classes. Someone like me, who knows some formations and
talismans, is barely considered competent. Exorcising evil spirits and killing zombies is no problem, but if we encounter truly powerful
demons, my brothers and I would probably have to gang up on them. Everyone in this line of work has their own methods,
but there's also the concept of 'innate' and 'acquired' skills. People like Brother Ye and me rely on external forces. He
uses soul-shaping techniques to create living corpses, a family skill passed down and not shared outside. Most others, like me, use formations
, incantations, and various runes passed down from different sects and schools. These are acquired skills. The so-called 'innate' skills
refer to those like Brother Lie and my sister Yingzi, who are born with special abilities and innate talents." "This is unusual. Brother Yan, since you know
you possess special abilities, then you must be one of them. However, as far as I know,
everyone has innate skills, but only a very few people can perceive and trigger them due to certain coincidences
. Take Yingzi for example. When she was little, she was no different from other girls. I remember when she was eleven years old, she
went swimming in the river and drowned. After being rescued and suffering a serious illness, she gradually discovered that she could bewitch
others and create illusions. If you still don't understand your own abilities, I guess you must have recently
encountered some opportunity and unintentionally awakened the power of the Crimson Lotus within you."
As Dongfang Yao said this, I immediately remembered the time I used the Four Symbols Golden Light Array with Old Man Lin in the old house's living room
, and my heart immediately became uneasy. "Could it be because of those four talismans?"
"In this trade, it's called 'enlightenment,' sometimes called 'opening the third eye,' or 'sudden enlightenment.' In short, the names vary from place to place and school
to school. They all mean the same thing! And nobody can say for sure; it
has nothing to do with age, gender, or the depth of one's daily cultivation. It's purely a matter of probability. For example, my master's wife was originally an ordinary
rural woman. But when she gave birth to her third child, I heard that at the very moment the child was born, she unexpectedly
opened her eyes. After that, her divination of good and bad fortune was always accurate, and that's how she entered our trade. However
, the effects of these special abilities vary, and it depends on the person. In the ten years since I became an apprentice,
I've seen and heard of at least hundreds, if not thousands, of different abilities, and the vast majority of these abilities..." Most of them don't have
a name or title. I know my master's wife and Yingzi's abilities, but I'm not sure what to call them.
But there are about ten abilities that do have their own unique names! These dozen or so abilities with unique names
are extremely rare, and they are exceptionally powerful
!
Brother Lie's Yin-Yang is one of them. I used to be a narrow-minded person, always thinking that with Yingzi and me
supporting them, these brothers could make a living anywhere. This time, after offending Brother Lie and you, I realized what it means to be
outmatched. "
After noticing that Dongfang Yao was about to flatter me, I immediately interrupted him and steered the conversation to
the key question I was most concerned about. "Is Honglian also one of these dozen or so abilities with a unique name?"
Dongfang Yao quickly nodded repeatedly. "That's right, Crimson Lotus, like Yin and Yang, is one of these dozen or so
special abilities with specific names."
Chapter 57
"Crimson Lotus, as the name suggests, refers to the fire of punishment. Almost no demon or monster can withstand
the fire of Crimson Lotus! There's a saying in our line of work: 'When Crimson Lotus appears, demons and ghosts are annihilated!' In terms of
subduing demons and monsters, the power of Crimson Lotus can be said to be the most powerful among those dozen or so special abilities."
I said with a smirk. "Have you seen anyone else with the ability of Crimson Lotus?"
Dongfang Yao immediately shook his head.
"Then why do you think the ability I have is Crimson Lotus?" I blinked and looked at Dongfang Yao. Dongfang
Yao didn't seem surprised by my question. He immediately gave me his answer. "Because
the characteristics you had when you burned Yingzi's eyes were exactly the same as the legendary Crimson Lotus!"
I was stunned and asked. "Then tell me what the characteristics of the Crimson Lotus ability are?"
Dongfang Yao said after stubbing out the last embers of his cigarette on the ground. "Although I haven't seen any other true
Crimson Lotuses, the characteristics of the Crimson Lotus's power after activation are almost universally known in our line of work!
Those who possess the Crimson Lotus's power will inevitably have three abilities. The first, naturally, is the Crimson Lotus Fire! The Crimson Lotus Fire is a fire of punishment,
and this fire is different from the flames summoned by the talismans we usually use. This fire is a fire of the heart, an internal
fire! It doesn't kill monsters or targets from the outside, but rather originates from within the target's body."
At this moment, the scene of Cao Zixuan being ultimately exploded by the raging fire burning from within his body after his demonic transformation that afternoon flashed through my mind
…
"Secondly, it's about seeing through the truth! Legend has it that the Crimson Lotus Flame not only burns away evil, but also possesses
the power to burn away all falsehood and pretense. Those who possess the Crimson Lotus can naturally see through the truth of everything, even
see through obstacles and read minds! Abilities like deception and illusion are utterly insignificant before the Crimson Lotus. Yingzi
's eyes were clearly
burned from the inside by the backlash of the Crimson Lotus power within you."
I then recalled
the illusory images of Li Qingqing, Xu Yue, and the man who ate with Xu Yue that appeared in my eyes, as well as the thoughts revealed in my mind when the man transformed into a ghost mask…
"The third type is the Crimson Lotus Flame. Those who possess the power of the Crimson Lotus can silently plant
a wisp of Crimson Lotus Flame within their target's body. Before the flame extinguishes, no matter where the target flees or where they are,
the possessor of the Crimson Lotus can track and sense the flame's exact location. Once demons and monsters encounter the Crimson Lotus,
they are powerless to fight or escape; they are doomed."
At this moment, my eyelids twitched involuntarily. At this moment, I seemed to understand why I was able to
pinpoint the location of Xu Yue and that man's hotel room in such a vast city, and
why I was able to confirm Zhou Jingyi's room at the hot spring hotel.
"It's not surprising that Yingzi's eyes were burned. Besides Honglian, there are several other abilities that can see through her illusions
and damage her eyes! The real reason she confirmed you were Honglian lies in Honglian's third ability.
In addition to illusions, Yingzi can also introspect her own body. After escaping from the police station, she introspectively
examined her injuries and discovered that there was a spark-like
thing constantly burning inside her dantian. Without introspection, she wouldn't have noticed it at all. This thing
couldn't be anything other than Honglian's Honglian flame. After Yingzi told me, I knew we had run into Honglian
. That's why I thought I should immediately take the brothers and escape from here. Alas... I didn't expect that we
would still be stopped by Brother Lie here!" Dongfang Yao looked annoyed at this moment, not knowing whether he felt unlucky
or regretted provoking me and Wang Lie!
Just as I was about to ask some questions that interested me, I heard the faint sound of police sirens in the distance. Dongfang Yao and I
exchanged a glance, understanding that the police were about to arrive. We tacitly ended our conversation.
I stood up, brushed the dust off my backside, and said, "If you hadn't made such a big fuss about stealing the corpse in Zhoujia Village and dragged
the police into this, this wouldn't have happened. Now the police are watching me and Wang Lie. If we don't hand you over
to them, we'll probably be harassed by them forever. I hope you won't
hold a grudge against me for this."
Dongfang Yao shook his head as he stood up and replied. "Brother Yan, this is all my fault for being greedy! How could I dare to hold
a grudge against you and Brother Lie! To be honest, if Brother Lie really wanted to, he has plenty of ways to deal with us. Compared to that, falling into the hands of the police
, admitting what happened, and spending some time in jail is probably the lightest punishment for us. Because even if
we're in jail, no one will dare to do anything to us."
I was stunned for a moment, then quickly realized that Dongfang Yao wasn't joking. He knew magic, and he was a practitioner
. Once in prison, no one could bully him, not even the cell bosses or the local bullies. For him, going to jail
might really just be like staying in a hotel. Understanding his meaning, I patted him on the shoulder.
A few minutes later, several police cars pulled up to the side of the road, and a large number of police officers poured out. Dongfang Yao and
his group seemed to have been arrested by the police before; upon seeing the police, they all knelt down
on the ground with their hands behind their heads, as if in training. The officer leading the team was the same Mr. Tang who had apprehended me in front of the Sunshine Department Store.
Seeing this scene, he didn't question me at all, but immediately directed his men to
handcuff Dongfang Yao and the others and stuff them into the police cars in batches. Afterwards, Mr. Tang walked to my side, glanced at
the overturned bus on the side of the road, and although his face showed doubt, he didn't ask any
questions about the matter.
He simply said to me... "Chief Zhao is in the last car. He has something he wants to discuss with you."
He then turned and walked towards the nearest police car, speaking into his walkie-talkie as he went. "
Notify the traffic police that besides the SUV from before, there's a bus here.
Tell them to arrange a tow truck. Clean up the scene as quickly as possible..."
Following Officer Tang's instructions, I walked to the very back of the police convoy. As I approached the last police
car, the rear door opened. I peered inside and saw Zhao Yongyi
moving towards the back, waving for me to get in. Reluctantly, I climbed into the trunk.
After I was inside, Zhao Yongyi gestured for me to close the door and patted the back of the driver's seat,
telling the driver, "Tell your Captain Tang not to wait for me. Take him directly to the station for questioning."
The driver finished communicating with Officer Tang via walkie-talkie. Zhao Yongyi then instructed him, "
Drive back to the city now."
Zhao Yongyi held considerable authority within the city's Public Security Bureau. The officer driving, without asking any questions,
started the vehicle as instructed and turned back towards the city. After I got into the car, Zhao Yongyi didn't
speak to me, only muttering to himself as he looked out the window at the thick fog, "
Such a thick fog tonight..."
On the way back to the city, Zhao Yongyi remained silent, simply leaning back with his arms crossed and eyes closed, seemingly resting. Since he
didn't speak, I remained silent as well. This old man gave me an unfathomable feeling; therefore,
I needed to be extremely cautious when communicating with him, fearing that saying the wrong thing would provoke him, and he would use his
power against me and Yan Guang.
Only after the police car entered the city did Zhao Yongyi open his eyes again. Passing a roadside food stall, the old man
patted the back of the driver's seat again, signaling the driver to stop.
Although I didn't know why he parked there, I obediently followed him out of the car.
The car. Zhao Yongyi leaned close to the window and let the driver drive back to the Municipal Public Security Bureau. Then he led me
to a seat in a corner of the food stall. He then ostentatiously called over a waiter and
ordered food and drinks in front of me.
After ordering, the old man turned to me, smiled, and handed me a cigarette. I took the cigarette and,
seeing his smile, felt he seemed to be in a good mood, so I tentatively asked, "Director Zhao, did you
bring me here to treat me to a late-night snack?"
The old man chuckled dryly twice and said. "You're right! This time, being able to catch these people,
I can give Zhoujia Village some closure on this case! So I'm treating you to a late-night snack as a way of thanking
you for helping me."
I blinked when I heard the old man say this. "Are you so sure those people were
the culprits who dug up graves and stole corpses in Zhoujia Village? You didn't interrogate them, and you have no evidence. Aren't you afraid I brought them here to take the blame?"
The old man's expression remained calm as he pointed at me. "Kid, it seems you haven't learned your lesson
! No wonder you couldn't keep up with your reporter job and ended up in that lousy editorial department. If you want
to live to be a hundred, you'd better change your temper!" The old man said, taking a drag of his cigarette and leisurely exhaling a smoke ring
. "You can say whatever you want to me! But if it were anyone else, they'd all hear you mocking
us cops for neglecting our duties. For that alone, the other officers would be tearing you apart! But
you're lucky. I'm handling this case, so I don't care what you say. What I care about is catching the real
culprit. It's just you and me here, so I might as well be frank with you. Who are you? I already knew from
the CCTV footage outside the detention room."
I was confused. "What do you mean, 'who are you'? I don't understand."
"Damn it, you're still pretending with me! That woman outside the detention room must have used
illusion magic on you, right? You're really something, burning her eyes from so far away. Do you think I'm
blind? I can't see what happened? Let me tell you, I've dealt with people in your line of work for ages
. You don't have the right to play dumb with me."
The old man's words hit me like a hammer blow. I was speechless…
The old man noticed my expression and chuckled again. “Kid, speechless now!
Since I know you’re from that line of work, what do I have to worry about with the suspects you hand over
?
People in your line of work are generally true to their word. I don’t know about others, but at least
the ones I’ve dealt with are. I’ve rarely misjudged people over the years. I have a pretty
good grasp of your character now. You wouldn’t do something like finding someone to take the blame. So I’m sure that once these people are brought to
justice, I can close this case!”
Zhao Yongyi said, leaving me unsure how to respond. Fortunately, the waiter came over with the dishes
, which masked my momentary unease.
From his words, I realized that Zhao Yongyi had probably been in contact with other exorcists
or similar individuals before me. Thinking of this, I poured him a beer, then raised my own glass,
toasting him while tentatively asking him… "You mean, before me, you had already been in contact with
people like me?"
The old man seemed pleased, probably thinking I had admitted to his suspicions, and
nodded as he downed his drink. "Not only had I been in contact with them, but I also made a good friend! To be honest, it was just bad
luck that I couldn't contact him when the incident happened in Zhoujia Village. Otherwise, I would definitely have asked him to come and help
, instead of using you to solve the case and arrest people! But then again,
I guess I made the right bet this time. I'm treating you to dinner to express my gratitude."
Being older, it was only right that I serve him out of basic courtesy. I immediately refilled his drink and asked,
"So, you won't hold my trip to Liziping against me anymore?"
Zhao Yongyi waved his hand. "I don't have time to bother with your meddlesome affairs! I just need to catch
those bastards who dug up graves and stole corpses. As for demons and ghosts, those are things we cops can't handle
. You guys have to deal with that." Hearing the old man say this, I breathed a sigh of relief. My biggest
worry was that Zhao Yongyi would pry into my experiences at Liziping that night. Now, hearing him say this,
I realized Wang Lie's earlier judgment was correct. The old policeman in front of me was knowledgeable and understood
the ways of Wang Lie and his gang. Moreover, he was very self-aware and had no interest in getting involved in
events beyond the comprehension of ordinary people.
The old man finished his drink again and sighed. "When I was young, I didn't believe in superstitions and always
wanted to know everything. I almost lost my life once because of that. Since then, I
've realized that the world isn't as simple as it seems. Sometimes, it's better not to know some things..."
…
From the old man's words, I realized he seemed to have experienced something terrible in his youth
. Intrigued, I continued pouring him drinks while subtly coaxing him into opening up.
Initially, he seemed reluctant to speak, but perhaps realizing I might have similar experiences, and after a few drinks
, he finally started talking…
Around 2 AM, I paid the bill at the food stall, glancing helplessly at Zhao Yongyi, who was slumped in his chair,
panting heavily.
The old man said he'd treated me to a late-night snack, but ended up getting completely drunk and now was muttering incoherently. In the end
, I paid the bill. I began to suspect the old man was doing it on purpose. His claim of treating me was pure nonsense; his
real intention was to take advantage of me. After all, the food cost little, but empty bottles
littered the floor. At first, he only drank beer, but then the old man got carried away and complained that beer was tasteless, so he started
asking for baijiu (Chinese liquor). Unfortunately, he was particular about the quality of baijiu; he looked down on things like Erguotou and insisted on ordering two bottles of Langya liquor.
The alcohol. Finally, he finished his story and got drunk. I figured I couldn't just leave him alone
at this food stall. Although he looked healthy, he was definitely over fifty.
I went to his side and helped him to the roadside.
I didn't know where he lived, but I figured taking him back to the city police station would be the right thing to do.
We waited for a while, but didn't see a single taxi. I realized we were still
on the outskirts of the city, where taxis rarely passed. And at this time of year, many taxi
drivers were quite tired. The lazy ones would often drive to the taxi stands in the city
and sleep. The diligent ones would only pick up passengers around the nightlife hotspots in the city, like
the Ranfang Street where Yan Guang lived. So it wasn't surprising that no taxis passed by here.
Realizing the chances of hailing a taxi if we continued waiting were slim, I had no choice but to help him walk
. In my memory, walking about two more blocks towards the city center from here would lead to Xinghua Road. There are
some KTVs and other entertainment venues there that operate all night. Although it
's quieter than the city's famous nightlife streets, the chances of hailing a taxi there are much higher.
At the end of this street, we should logically turn left to reach Xinghua Road. But instead, I
stopped at the three-way intersection with Zhao Yongyi, and couldn't help but glance at the road to the right.
The road to the right was extremely deserted, stretching out into a dense cluster of dark factory buildings.
The private leather factory where Liao Xiaoqian used to work was located on the edge of this street extending outwards from the city.
During our relationship, I passed this road many times. After she ran away, this area became a place of heartbreak for me. For the next five
years, unless it was for work, I rarely came here again. Having unintentionally arrived at this intersection, I
was unconsciously stirred by past memories, and habitually glanced a few more times in the direction of the leather factory.
But those few glances led me to see someone seemingly jogging briskly down the road. The runner was
petite, and after the runner passed under a dim streetlamp, several figures clearly appeared in the darkness
following behind. I blinked and realized that these people seemed to be chasing after the petite
runner.
Although I saw it, I didn't consider interfering. Normally, with my journalistic instincts,
I would most likely have followed out of curiosity to investigate, but at this moment I was supporting a drunken
old man, thinking I had to get him back to the city police station first, so I unusually chose to
ignore it. Unexpectedly, Zhao Yongyi, who had previously needed my support, suddenly pushed away my arm and
looked in the direction the figures had appeared. After glancing at them a few times, the old man suddenly grabbed me and
quickly walked towards the direction the figures had gone.
"Director Zhao, are you sober now?" I didn't know why the old man was pulling me that way. I was more concerned
about his current mental state. Zhao Yongyi showed no signs of drunkenness whatsoever; on the contrary, his
eyes were bright and his spirits were almost frenzied.
The old man didn't answer my question but instead started scolding me. "You really didn't see those
people, or were you planning to stay out of it? Didn't you see a few men chasing a girl?"
"I saw them! But what does that have to do with us?" I was a little confused by the old man's question
.
"You saw them but didn't you think about helping them?" The old man turned and glared at me hatefully. "Recently
, there have been several violent robberies and rapes targeting single women at night in our city ! The security team has already
been dealt with by the bureau's party committee several times because of this. I'm in charge of criminal investigations at the bureau, so this shouldn't be my responsibility.
But it's obvious those guys following behind are planning to target that girl in front.
Even if I hadn't run into them, I would have intervened! You're strong and capable, are you planning to just stand by and do nothing?"
"What...what...what are you talking about?" The old man rambled on, making me
feel like I was talking to a brick wall. "Maybe they just happened to be walking the same road. Why do you assume those guys behind were trying
to harm that girl in front?" I quickly tried to justify my previous indifference.
"Listen to me, I'm right! I've been a cop for decades! I
know what those bastards are up to the moment they step in! Hurry up and follow them, or that girl might be in big trouble." The old man
didn't deny my self-justification, but just kept pulling me along, increasing our pace.
The woman in the lead must have noticed we were being followed by now, and her jog had turned into a full-blown
run. The men chasing her also noticed me and Zhao Yongyi behind them, but
they didn't seem to have any intention of turning around and confronting us. Instead, they quickened their pace, clearly
intending to use speed and distance to ambush the woman and escape before we caught up.
Zhao Yongyi and I became the last ones left in this "chase." I just didn't understand
why the woman in the lead, since she already realized she was being targeted, didn't just shout for help to attract
more attention, but instead only tried to escape by running away.
Just as I was filled with doubt, the woman in front reached a low wall. She
jumped up, grabbed the top, and then leaped over to the other side. Several
men followed suit, one by one scaling the wall. Finally, Zhao
Yongyi and I arrived at the wall. I looked up at the building behind the wall and froze…
behind the wall was the private leather factory where Liao Xiaoqian had worked. While I
hesitated about whether to climb over as well, Zhao Yongyi had already scaled the wall. His agile movements
were nothing like someone who had just been drunk… it seemed this old man hadn't been drunk at all; his pretense was just a ploy
to get me to pay the bill.
“What are you waiting for? Come on up!” Old Zhao beckoned to me, cursing under his breath.
"Those bastards, if I catch them, I'll make them pay dearly!"
Seeing Old Zhao's eagerness, I focused my mind and finally climbed over the low wall. Beforehand, I was worried that simply
scaling the wall like this might be misunderstood by the factory security guards. But then I remembered that the person leading the way was Zhao
Yongyi, the deputy director of the Public Security Bureau. Following him, even if my actions were illegal, with him
in front, I shouldn't bear any responsibility.
Once inside the factory area, Zhao Yongyi and I suddenly lost our bearings. Old Zhao immediately started complaining to me.
"You're a soldier, yet you hesitate and dawdle even when climbing over a wall! Now look what's happened, the woman's
vanished!"
Without thinking too much, I casually replied, "That woman's probably a factory worker. I've been here before
; I know where their dormitories are. If she's trying to avoid being tracked, she's probably heading towards the dorms
."
"If you know the place, why are you wasting your breath? Lead the way! I'm going to catch those bastards today and give them a piece of my
mind!" Urged on by Zhao Yongyi, I had no choice but to rely on my memory and lead the old man towards the factory's dormitories
.
As we walked, I suddenly realized something was wrong. Although it was night, or perhaps because my latent
abilities were gradually awakening, I could now
clearly see the factory's environment and the condition of each building. I remembered that this leather factory was quite large, with hundreds of male and female employees in the past.
When Liao Xiaoqian and I were dating, I used to accompany her for walks in the factory area after work at night. In my memory, even
in the early morning, there would be people walking around the factory area. But now, the entire factory area was deserted. After
running a few steps, I saw a seal on the gate of a factory building and realized that after five years, the factory
had stopped production sometime during that time! In that case, the leather factory should be vacant now
. Who would be living in the staff dormitory?
Thinking of this, I stopped. "Director Zhao, that's not right! I'm afraid I misjudged. The factory
is now closed. There shouldn't be anyone working here, and the dormitory should be empty too
."
"Hmm, it seems that's true." Zhao Yongyi also noticed the current state of the factory,
stopping and looking around. "What's that woman doing running in here? If she wanted to escape
, she should have run along the main road! Going into this deserted factory just makes it easier for those guys to
attack her. Did she panic and run here because she was being chased?"
Zhao Yongyi speculated, while my expression changed. I hadn't paid much attention to this before,
missing many details. Now, thinking back, the woman running in front
looked very familiar. After a closer look, I suddenly realized that the woman being chased
was most likely Liao Xiaoqian!
"Could it really be her? She didn't go to Nanjing with Dongfang Yao and his group, thus evading Wang Lie and Ye
Tong's interception. Furthermore, she wasn't with Luo Zhendong either. Yet, she appeared in this
abandoned leather factory where she used to work in the middle of the night. What is she up to? Those chasing her are probably not ordinary robbers
or rapists. Did she run here in a panic, as Zhao Yongyi analyzed? Or
was this her original destination?" My brain raced.
Just as my thoughts were in disarray, Zhao Yongyi suddenly pulled me aside, hiding me
behind a corner of a nearby building, and then made a shushing gesture. I snapped out of my thoughts. I
then noticed someone walking quickly towards us from the other side of the corner.
The person seemed to be quietly making a phone call to someone else as they walked. "Isn't
it at the cafeteria? You go to the materials warehouse, I'll check the polishing workshop. We didn't see those two tails,
they probably didn't follow us in! If they didn't come in, we don't need to worry about them. Finding that woman is the most important
thing! How am I supposed to know why I'm chasing her? Anyway, it's a client's request. We got the money, so we have to do our job...
"
The person hung up the phone and walked past the corner where Zhao Yongyi and I were hiding. Zhao Yongyi
seized the opportunity, silently creeping up behind the man, pressing against his back, grabbing
his neck, and pressing his fingers against the man's lower back. He growled menacingly,
"Don't make a sound, or I'll shoot you!"
Caught off guard, the man fell for Zhao Yongyi's trick. The feeling of a real gun barrel and a finger pressed against the lower back
are completely different. The man in front of me clearly couldn't tell the difference. He thought Zhao Yongyi really
had a gun and, terrified, obediently submitted, being dragged back around the corner by Zhao Yongyi.
Judging from his behavior, this man didn't seem to be a long-time gangster,
and he didn't seem to know much about fighting skills or weapons. So, when Zhao Yongyi dragged him in front of me, I immediately
cooperated by putting on a fierce expression and making a gesture as if I wanted to hit him. Upon seeing this, the man
immediately raised his hands to protect his head, repeatedly begging for mercy. "Big brother, don't hit me, don't hit me!"
Zhao Yongyi and I exchanged a smile, both realizing that this guy was a coward. This put us
at ease.
"Who are you, and what are you doing here in the middle of the night?" Zhao Yongyi released his arm, turned
around, and grabbed his collar, demanding an explanation.
"We...we're detectives...someone hired us to follow a woman, and we
ended up here in this factory..." The man quickly explained when he saw our menacing expressions.
"Detectives?" Zhao Yongyi and I exchanged another glance.
Detective work is common abroad, but it seems we've never heard of anyone doing it in China. However, with
economic development and international integration, similar
industries and individuals have indeed emerged in China in recent years. But as far as I'm concerned, this guy who so openly calls himself a detective is still a first for me.
It was the first time I'd seen him. Zhao Yongyi's expression at that moment told me he probably didn't know when true
detectives had appeared in China.
The man quickly pulled a business card from his inner pocket and handed it to Zhao Yongyi and me. We
both glanced at it and couldn't help but laugh.
The man's business card actually had "XX Detective Agency, Du Jinlong" printed on it in a very proper manner.
Chapter 58
Seeing Zhao Yongyi and me smile, the man probably understood why we were laughing
. He seemed somewhat helpless at our mockery. He just blushed and defended himself. "I know you're
laughing at us, but we really are detectives, and we're doing it very seriously!"
Zhao Yongyi's expression softened slightly as he spoke. "Do you know who I am?"
The man in front of us, who was probably named Du Jinlong, looked at Zhao Yongyi's face with a puzzled expression and shook his head.
Zhao Yongyi chuckled. "I am Zhao Yongyi, Deputy Director of the Municipal Public Security Bureau!"
Zhao Yongyi was quite well-known locally, and Du Jinlong had obviously heard of him, especially since he called himself a detective
. If a detective didn't even know some of the key leaders in the local public security and judicial system, that would be a huge failure!
Du Jinlong at least knew a little about him. Upon hearing Zhao Yongyi introduce himself,
a look of shock immediately appeared on his face.
"You...you are Zhao Yongyi..." In his shock, Du Jinlong quickly realized something and immediately
began to explain. "Deputy Director Zhao, please listen to me...we really are detectives. We
were hired to follow that woman, and we only followed her; we didn't do anything else, really!"
Zhao Yongyi stared intently into Du Jinlong's eyes, and only after a moment did he speak again. "Following?
What are you following that woman for? Who hired you?"
"I don't know why I'm following that woman. I only know the client's phone number, and
I told them the woman's specific movements and location over the phone. I just spoke to the client on the phone and told
him we followed that woman into this leather factory. And then, and then you showed up." Du Jinlong looked
like he was about to cry.
I had once stared at Zhao Yongyi for two hours straight, so Du Jinlong's reaction seemed normal to me.
Because Old Zhao's gaze was very fierce. It wouldn't be surprising if someone with a weak stomach felt fear from his glare
.
"Where's the phone?" Zhao Yongyi held out his hand, and Du Jinlong tremblingly pulled out his phone and handed it to Zhao Yongyi
. After Old Zhao took it, he handed it directly to me. Du Jinlong quickly added, "The second to last
call is the client's, and the last one was a call to my colleague."
I took the phone and showed the call log; Du Jinlong had labeled the second to last call as "Client's
. " I clicked on the number's details again, and a string of phone numbers appeared before my eyes.
While I was scrolling through the numbers, Zhao Yongyi mocked Du Jinlong with considerable disdain. "Someone like you can
be a detective?"
Du Jinlong's face flushed even more, and he stammered in response. "Everyone needs to find a job to make a living,"
Zhao Yongyi replied, amused by the guy's answer once again. "When did your detective agency start? I've
never heard of it."
"It's only been established for a little over two months. The application with the Industry and Commerce Bureau is still pending..." "Still pending? That means you
're not a legitimate business entity yet? You're operating without a license?" Zhao Yongyi looked at
the guy in front of him, a hint of helplessness in his expression. "The application hasn't even been approved, and you dare to come out
and follow people? Do you know that even if you didn't do anything to that woman, your actions are still illegal
!"
Du Jinlong defended himself with a bitter face. "I understand what you're saying. But who knows when the Industry and Commerce Bureau
will approve it? The agency can't just keep waiting, so we can only try taking on some jobs first to earn some
money."
"You mean, besides today's case, you've taken on other cases before?" Zhao Yongyi
chuckled. He probably thought that Du Jinlong's current performance made it hard for anyone to believe that anyone would actually hire
him to work as a detective.
"Well, just one job. We took on a follow-up job before. But we
got caught halfway through. They led us to a disco on Ranfang Street. Our editor-in-chief, clueless
, followed us in and got beaten up. Luckily, we reacted quickly and saw things were going wrong, so we made a
hasty retreat. Later, fearing that Master Yan's men would find us, we didn't dare leave the house for almost half a month.
These past few days, feeling that things had calmed down, we took on this job again, and then we ran into you..." Du Jinlong
's voice trailed off, his face full of misfortune.
I had just saved the client's number on my phone when I heard Du Jinlong's
words. Then, I suddenly remembered the day before in the Phoenix Mountain tunnel, when I
was followed after borrowing camera equipment from the editorial department. Connecting the dots, I couldn't help but stare wide-eyed at Du
Jinlong. After all that, it turns out the guy who followed me in that Mercedes was this so-called
"detective" in front of me.
Realizing this, I grabbed his collar and dragged him in front of me, demanding an
explanation. "What did you say? You followed someone else all the way to the disco on Ranfang Street?
Who told you to follow them? Who was it?"
"Whom did we follow? I don't know! I just went with the club president that day. Only the president knows
the specifics of the target! I didn't even get a good look at what the person we were following looked like. As for the client,
it's the same one as today's client. He's the one who told us to follow them!" Du Jinlong was caught off guard by my sudden outburst
. Knowing something, he immediately blurted it out. Zhao Yongyi didn't seem to care about my reaction.
He knew about my relationship with Yan Guang. In his opinion, my questioning stemmed from concern for his younger brother.
However, he still felt my behavior was a bit too rough. So he quickly patted my arm, signaling
me to let go of Du Jinlong.
I knew this guy in front of me was just a layabout, and I figured I wouldn't get any more
information from him. However, knowing that the person who hired them to follow me before and the one who was following Liao Xiaoqian this time was the same person,
I immediately picked up Du Jinlong's phone.
"What are you doing?" Zhao Yongyi looked at me, puzzled.
"This guy followed me last time! I'm going to call this client. I want to know
who he is and what his purpose is in following me." After explaining, I quickly dialed the "client
's" phone number.
"What? The person they followed last time was you?" Zhao Yongyi was stunned by my explanation. He
didn't understand how this accidental stalking incident had implicated me.
After the call connected, I heard the sound of a signal connection coming from the phone. At the same time,
somewhere in the empty factory area, a series of pre-set ringtones rang out.
Hearing the ringtones, Zhao Yongyi, Du Jinlong, and I all showed expressions of shock and confusion! And of all of us,
I was the most shocked. The ringtone was none other than my most familiar piece, *Impromptu Fantasy
*!
But the shock was brief. I took off running, grabbing Du Jinlong's phone and
sprinting towards the source of the sound! Zhao Yongyi followed closely behind. Du Jinlong, seeing that Zhao Yongyi and I ignored him, paused for a
moment, then seemed to realize what was happening and joined us, shouting, "Big brother, big brother,
that's my phone! It's mine!"
At that moment, I had no energy to pay attention to this clown! The ringing phone meant only one thing: the
client's phone was inside the factory. In other words, the client had somehow entered
this deserted leather factory. Ignoring the buildings in between, the distance was probably only a few dozen meters.
I was now impatient to catch this guy who had hired a bunch of detectives to follow me! I needed to
find out who he was and what his purpose was in following me.
The music grew closer, and I suddenly realized that the ringing was
coming from the former workers' dormitory of the leather factory. Having come here many times to meet Liao Xiaoqian, I knew the dormitory
and its surroundings like the back of my hand.
As I turned the corner to the side of the dormitory's main entrance, the music stopped… My phone, which I'd been holding to my ear,
rang, and a pleasant female voice came through. "Hello, Detective Du?
Need something?"
At the same time, the scene at the dormitory's main entrance came into view…
A figure in a trench coat stood beside the flower bed outside the dormitory's main entrance, her back to me. In her left hand, she held
a small, exquisite jewelry box covered in mud, while her right hand held the phone,
speaking into her ear.
At that moment, I also saw Liao Xiaoqian. She was being forced to
crawl on the ground by the person with their back to me, desperately trying to break free.
Because I didn't answer, the figure spoke again. "Hello, hello…". As the man spoke,
his voice also came through Du Jinlong's phone. He clearly heard
the ringing behind him, immediately stopping the call and remaining rooted to the spot, still holding Liao Xiaoqian down.
I, staring at the man with his back to me, finally couldn't hold back and shouted at him sharply! "Who are you? Turn
around!"
The man clearly heard my shout; he slowly lowered his right hand, which was holding the phone. But he showed no
intention of turning to face me. Because I suddenly appeared behind him, his foot seemed to loosen its grip on Liao Xiaoqian
. Liao Xiaoqian thus successfully scrambled off his foot, rolling and crawling forward several meters.
At this moment, Zhao Yongyi and Du Jinlong arrived at my side, while Du
Jinlong's detective partners, who had noticed the noise, also rushed over.
I stared intently at the mysterious man's back, panting heavily… My attention was completely focused
on this mysterious man, and I completely ignored Liao Xiaoqian, whom I had seen again.
But our presence seemed to embolden Liao Xiaoqian. After breaking free from the mysterious man's control, she
steadied herself and lunged at him again, screaming, "Give me the thing...it's mine
!"
The mysterious man, keeping his back to me and Zhao Yongyi, easily dodged Liao Xiaoqian's attack.
Only then did I notice that Liao Xiaoqian's target was the jewelry box in the mysterious man's left hand. In
the dim light of the distance, I quickly recognized the jewelry box!
Although Liao Xiaoqian was shouting that it was hers, I knew very well that the true owner of that jewelry box
was actually me! This jewelry box was used by my grandmother to store her jewelry. After my grandmother passed away, I inherited the
box and its contents, including the jade bracelet my mother left me.
When Liao Xiaoqian left me, she took the box and its contents with her. Because I had told her that the box was
made of sandalwood and was extremely valuable!
After missing her target, Liao Xiaoqian turned and lunged at the mysterious man again, her target still
the jewelry box in his hand. At that moment, I suddenly understood why Liao Xiaoqian hadn't wanted to
leave with Dongfang Yao or Luo Zhendong, but instead chose to stay. It seemed her true purpose in staying was for
this box of jewelry.
Thinking back, when she ran away from me five years ago, perhaps considering
the safety of a woman carrying such valuable jewelry, she secretly buried the box and its contents
in the leather factory where she worked. She planned to return and retrieve
them later. Dongfang Yao and the others left in a hurry, and she didn't have time to return, so she asked Luo Zhendong to
plead with that Master Li to extend her stay, giving her time to come back and retrieve her things.
But unexpectedly, this mysterious man had hired Du Jinlong and his detectives to follow her, and successfully
snatched the box from her hand as she retrieved the jewelry. Her current goal is clearly to take back...
The mysterious man held a jewelry box in his hand.
This time, instead of dodging Liao Xiaoqian's attack, he delivered a side kick, sending her flying. Liao
Xiaoqian fell to the ground but struggled to her feet again, shouting, "That's mine! It's mine!" She
charged at the mysterious man relentlessly. The mysterious man chuckled, kicked Liao Xiaoqian aside once more
, and coldly said to her, "What do you mean 'your'! This is mine! It's back to its rightful owner! You
shameless bitch..."
Although I had long since lost all romantic feelings for Liao Xiaoqian, seeing her being repeatedly
kicked by the mysterious man still stirred a sliver of pity in me. Even a one-night stand could have a hundred days of kindness; no matter
what Liao Xiaoqian had done to me, I couldn't just stand by and watch her be beaten. Moreover, the mysterious man's claim to be the owner of the jewelry box also angered me. Because I was 　　the de facto rightful owner
of the box and its contents . 　　Thinking this, I stepped forward and snapped at the mysterious person who had been keeping her back to me. "That box is 　　mine! It's a keepsake from my grandmother..." 　　The mysterious person clearly heard my statement, followed by a series of melodious, bell-like laughs 　　. Only then did I realize that the mysterious person in front of me was actually a woman! 　　After the laughter stopped, the mysterious person didn't turn to look at me, but instead held the jewelry box to 　　the side of her head with her back to me. Then, with an elegant posture, she opened the box and slowly took out the jade 　　bracelet that had been kept inside. Then, as if no one else was there, she put it on her right hand... 　　My eyelids twitched involuntarily. Because that bracelet was the only keepsake my mother had left me. 　　To me, it was more than just a piece of jewelry. It was a memento of my mother! 　　I finally couldn't help but shout, "What are you doing? That's my mother's bracelet!" 　　"Now it's mine!" The mysterious person immediately responded to my shout! 　　I growled and charged towards the mysterious person. The mysterious woman stood motionless. Just as I thought 　　I could grab her immediately, she suddenly leaped into the air, and I missed. She 　　landed gracefully a few meters in front of me… 　　The mysterious woman's actions shocked Zhao Yongyi and the other so-called detectives, including Du Jinlong 　　, who almost simultaneously exclaimed in amazement. They hadn't yet figured out what was 　　happening, so they all stood there watching the situation unfold. But the mysterious woman's 　　almost unimaginable jumping ability ultimately left them stunned! 　　I missed my attack and stood frozen in place! My mind was in turmoil… 　　The woman's jumping ability and speed seemed to me to surpass even the demonized Lin Meimei! She 　　was probably comparable to the spirit maiden Xia Jiang! At that moment, I realized that this mysterious woman was definitely not human! Because even an Olympic world champion couldn't 　　jump so high and so far 　　without a running start ! 　　I jerked my head up, staring intently at the woman's retreating figure, and coldly asked, "Who...who are you 　　? No, no...what are you?" 　　The woman, with her back to me, threw her head back and burst into unrestrained, maniacal laughter! After laughing, she seemed 　　to respond to herself, "What? Good question...I don't even know what I am! For me 　　, all I need to know is who I am!" 　　I gritted my teeth, staring at her back, and realizing she clearly didn't want us to see her face, I had a sudden inspiration 　　and said, "You're very arrogant! You seem very powerful...but you don't have the guts to face us, do you?" 　　Whether I had the ability to confront her was another matter. Right now, all I knew was that she was a woman, but I 　　didn't even know what she looked like! I was somewhat unwilling to give up, so I thought of using reverse psychology to get her to turn around. For me, I 　　desperately wanted to see this mysterious woman's true appearance. I instinctively suspected that the woman before me 　　might have some connection to what had happened in my family in the past. The specific reason is that her goal is the same as Liao Xiaoqian's: 　　the jewelry and keepsakes left to me by my grandmother and mother. 　　Liao Xiaoqian probably wanted those things for money. But the mysterious woman before me certainly wasn't, for a 　　simple reason. Judging from the skills she's displaying right now, I believe she could easily rob any shop or even a bank 　　. If she wanted money, why would she be eyeing these few pieces of jewelry left by my grandmother and mother? These pieces of jewelry 　　are certainly valuable, but far from being considered expensive. Specialty jewelry stores and gold shops have 　　far more valuable pieces than these. If she really wanted something, she could get much more from those places. 　　Therefore, I'm certain she has other reasons for wanting these pieces of jewelry, and these reasons are likely 　　related to the strange events that happened in my family in the past. 　　Therefore, I'm particularly eager to see her face right now, even though I know my provocation is far too 　　obvious. 　　Hearing my provocative words, the woman let out another silvery laugh! 　　"If it were in the past, I wouldn't mind having a proper talk with you face to face. But now? I really don't 　　dare let you see me like this. Why? Because I'm not foolish enough to be gazing deeply into Honglian's eyes..." 　　The woman said, while taking out other jewelry from her jewelry box in the distance. Right in 　　front of me, she put on both of Grandma's necklaces. Then she took out earrings, tilted her head, and put them 　　on. The whole process was elegant and composed, as if none of us behind her existed... 　　Finally, the woman took out Grandma's ring from the jewelry box, and under my gaze, she deliberately 　　raised her left index finger and slipped the ring on. Then, she actually asked me, "Do you know 　　what it means when a woman wears a ring on her left index finger?" 　　I was stunned, blinking as I unconsciously answered her question. "I remember, it probably means she's 　　single." 　　The woman chuckled and said. "That's an incomplete answer! Because wearing it on the little finger also means..."

"It means you're single. A ring on your index finger accurately means you're single but long for love! You
don't even understand this? No wonder you haven't found a wife yet."
Hearing the woman's words, I felt as if I had been struck by lightning! "This...this woman obviously
knows me very well. But I know nothing about her appearance or background! Who exactly is she?"
Just as I was shocked, the woman took the opportunity to quickly move to Liao Xiaoqian's side. Liao Xiaoqian initially
probably only realized that an outsider had arrived, and she was in a hurry to get back the jewelry box, so she didn't
notice that it was me. After I declared my ownership of the item, she noticed me.
After seeing me clearly, even with her thick skin, she finally didn't say anything more or try to take the box back.
Instead, she just stood aside and observed the situation. She probably thought the mysterious woman would continue talking to me
, but she never expected that the woman would suddenly shift her target to her…
“What are you doing?” By the time I realized what was happening, Liao Xiaoqian had already been trampled underfoot by the mysterious woman once again
!
The woman still had her back to me, and she continued her mocking tone calmly. “And your
taste in women is really questionable. This woman is a whore, a slut. She actually managed to be infatuated with you to death
. If you really marry her, you’ll definitely be cuckolded, and you’ll be so poor you’ll have to beg on the streets!”
“W-what did you say? How-how do you know?” I didn’t know; my expression was
almost blank. I didn’t know how much this woman knew about me. She even
knew everything about Liao Xiaoqian and my past relationship.
Liao Xiaoqian struggled again under the woman’s feet, viciously cursing the mysterious woman.
"Let me go, you damned woman, you bitch, you slut..."
With a "crack," Liao Xiaoqian let out a bloodcurdling scream, the sound particularly
piercing in the darkness.
I knew Liao Xiaoqian was always vulgar in her insults! Her cursing only fueled the mysterious woman's
torment of her. It wasn't until she screamed that I realized what was happening. I had to rush towards
the mysterious woman again, trying to stop her.
The mysterious woman's powerful stomp had clearly broken a bone in Liao Xiaoqian's body.
At this moment, Zhao Yongyi, who had been trying to understand the situation, finally
lunged at the mysterious woman. If the previous kicking and hitting of Liao Xiaoqian was merely a struggle between two women
, the mysterious woman's actions had now caused real harm to Liao Xiaoqian. As a
law enforcement officer, he could no longer stand idly by.
The mysterious woman noticed Zhao Yongyi and me moving, but instead of dodging,
she kicked at Liao Xiaoqian again, this time aiming for her
head.
"Smack..."
Due to the distance, Zhao Yongyi and I couldn't stop her. Liao Xiaoqian's
face twisted and contorted under her foot. The woman let out a laugh that seemed to be one of extreme pleasure and joy. Just before
Zhao Yongyi and I touched her, she leaped into the air.
As she jumped, she stretched her arms out to the sides. A gust of wind, seemingly from nowhere, swept past my ears
, causing her coat to billow out like a paraglider. Using
the wind, she soared higher and higher, leaping over the factory dormitory wall in full view of everyone...
Although I desperately wanted to chase after her, I could
n't bear to leave Liao Xiaoqian behind.
I quickly picked Liao Xiaoqian up. Her once beautiful face was now almost grotesquely contorted
. She struggled to open her mouth, looking at me as she managed to utter a
single, desperate "question." Then her head lolled to the side, and she died…
Early the next morning, after I finished giving my statement, Zhao Yongyi took me to a small restaurant near the Municipal Public Security Bureau for breakfast.
While we ate, Zhao Yongyi said calmly, "I will file a case, but I won't assign anyone
to handle it."
I nodded. "I understand what you mean. That woman yesterday was clearly not human. Even if you police
want to investigate, you probably won't know where to begin. By the way, do you always go out on missions without a gun
?" I was still somewhat resentful that Zhao Yongyi had watched the mysterious woman fly away without firing a shot to stop her yesterday
.
Zhao Yongyi sighed and patted my shoulder. "I really didn't have a gun at that time!
I did bring one when I went to Huaqiao Town, but it was in the police car. When Xiao Liu drove back, he took it
with him to the city bureau. Everyone was arrested. We were just going out for a late-night snack; how could I possibly carry a gun? Besides, I couldn't
let my men face such unknown risks. So, if you want revenge for your ex-girlfriend, you'll have to rely on
yourself. Of course, if you need any assistance from me, I'll do my best to help
you."
I shook my head helplessly, thanked Zhao Yongyi, and then picked up the jewelry box in my hand, playing with it
.
The mysterious woman took all the jewelry from the box, killed Liao Xiaoqian, and disappeared, leaving behind this
sandalwood jewelry box. Although the jewelry inside was gone, this jewelry box
was still a keepsake left by my grandmother. So, I still asked Zhao Yongyi to give it back. After all,
it was physical evidence at the crime scene, and without Zhao Yongyi's intervention, the police wouldn't have let me take it.
Of course, before taking it away, the police examined the jewelry box, attempting to extract the mysterious woman
's fingerprints. However, to their dismay, besides Liao Xiaoqian's incomplete fingerprints, only
my fingerprints and Zhao Yongyi's fingerprints (who had also touched the box) were found. The mysterious woman either had no fingerprints at all,
or she used some method to avoid leaving them on the jewelry box. But either way,
it's not something an ordinary person could do.
Avenge Liao Xiaoqian? I had no such thought whatsoever. Although I still felt
a trace of pity for her tragic death, it was merely a matter of basic humanity. I had no lingering affection or feelings for her anymore,
so why would I avenge her?
My decision to investigate that mysterious woman was primarily driven by the hope of uncovering
the truth behind what happened to my family. Of course, the mysterious woman's arrogant and unbridled behavior also
ignited my anger! From her words, I was certain she knew I possessed the power of the Red Lotus
. Yet, even so, she brazenly trampled Liao Xiaoqian to death right before my eyes. This was nothing short of
a blatant provocation. Moreover, she clearly knew me very well. If I sat idly by and
did nothing, who knew if she would turn on me and replicate Liao Xiaoqian's fate upon me?
I wasn't afraid of death, but knowing that someone in this world could threaten my life at any moment
made it impossible for me to remain as indifferent as before.
After finishing breakfast, Zhao Yongyi parted ways with me and returned to the Municipal Public Security Bureau. I took a deep breath and
walked out of the small restaurant. The distant horizon was ablaze with the glow of the rising sun, exceptionally dazzling. Yet,
a deep fear of this world welled up within me…
Chapter 59
Picking up my phone, I stared repeatedly at the mysterious woman's number. Back at the Public Security Bureau, Zhao
Yongyi and I dialed the number repeatedly, only to receive a voice message that the phone was switched off. Old Zhao
contacted the local mobile operator, but after verification, they confirmed that the number was not local and that
there was no personal information about the number's owner in their system. It seemed
unlikely that we could find the mysterious woman through this number.
Walking down the street, I scrolled through my phone screen with one hand and fiddled with the jewelry box in the other. I
suddenly remembered how Wang Lie had used Lin Meimei's personal belongings to locate her.
"That's right! Maybe Wang Lie can use this jewelry box to find that mysterious woman! And
judging from the mysterious woman's behavior, she's very likely a monster like Lin Meimei who has been corrupted. Wang Lie has always taken it upon himself to slay demons and monsters.
He'll definitely help me get involved in this matter."
Thinking of this, I immediately dialed Wang Lie's number. As soon as he answered, I couldn't wait to ask,
"Where are you? I need to talk to you urgently."
"I'm at the company. Just come over if you need me. By the way, what's the situation with Dongfang Yao and the others at the police station
?"
"They should be fine. It's hard to explain over the phone. I'll be right there." After confirming Wang Lie's location, I
immediately hung up the phone, hailed a taxi on the street, and followed him to Xinglong Company.
The female employee in charge of reception and consultation at the company had obviously received instructions from Wang Lie. After I introduced myself,
she immediately led me to Wang Lie's office.
After the female employee left, I didn't say anything and directly handed the jewelry box to Wang Lie. Wang Lie seemed puzzled by my
actions, but still took the jewelry box. After examining it closely, he suddenly raised an eyebrow, revealing
a cautious expression. Immediately afterward, I saw a faint white aura rise from Wang Lie's hand,
completely enveloping the jewelry box. The white aura swirled around the box for a moment before disappearing.
Wang Lie frowned and said, "Very weak, but definitely demonic energy! Where did you get this box?
And how can there be a trace of demonic energy on it?"
"Can this demonic energy be used to locate its owner?" I quickly asked.
"Too little. Using this residual demonic energy to locate the owner using the Ten Directions Tracking Array is far too little."
Wang Lie shook his head.
Although I had anticipated this possible outcome, I
still felt extremely disappointed after Wang Lie gave me a definite answer. I sighed and sat down on the sofa in his office, then
explained the origin of the box and my experiences after returning from Huaqiao Town last night. To deal with that mysterious
woman, I would most likely need Wang Lie's assistance, so I didn't hide anything from him, even
frankly explaining my relationship with Liao Xiaoqian.
Wang Lie made me a cup of tea and sat down opposite me, calmly listening to my story.
After I finished, he first inquired about Dongfang Yao and the others, as well as the case of the corpse theft in Liziping.
"As you instructed. Dongfang Yao and his gang admitted to digging up graves and stealing corpses, and then insisted that
the purpose of stealing the corpses was to sell them to medical research institutions for profit. So the police have already
classified the case! And this kind of crime of stealing corpses won't get you a heavy sentence. Director Zhao also confided in me; he only hopes
that the case can be solved and the people who stole the corpses will receive the punishment they deserve. He doesn't want to get too involved in anything else. So,
the matter in Zhoujia Village should be considered resolved. As you expected, that old man had already dealt with people in your line of work
, so after discovering yesterday that the woman was clearly not human, he didn't intend to have the police continue the investigation at all
. Instead, he kicked the torch directly to my side, leaving me to handle it myself!"
After listening to my explanation, Wang Lie nodded. "It's good that the Zhoujia Village matter is resolved. After all,
it's been tough for us to be constantly watched by the police. Your judgment is probably correct;
the woman who killed Liao Xiaoqian yesterday is clearly a demon. To dare kill someone in front of so many of you proves
this female demon is extremely arrogant. If she continues, many innocent people will likely lose their lives."
"Her next target is very likely me..." I picked up my cup and took a sip of tea.
Hearing this, Wang Lie looked surprised. "How so?"
"She not only investigated my affairs thoroughly, but also hired those idiot detectives to follow
me. Isn't that obvious?"
Wang Lie paused, then shook his head, denying my statement. "Not necessarily! In my opinion, her investigation of you
or hiring someone to follow you is indeed suspicious! But to say she wants to kill you, I don't think she has the guts! As for
the reason, let me be frank: from ancient times to the present, no matter how powerful a demon is, no one has dared to challenge Honglian."
"Yes!" I frowned and looked at Wang Lie when I heard him mention the word "Red Lotus." "You're finally
willing to tell me about this?"
"It seems you already knew! Dongfang Yao told you, didn't he?" Wang Lie took out a cigarette and handed it to
me.
I took the cigarette, remembering Ye Tong's request for me to keep it a secret, so I concealed the
fact that Ye Tong had initially mentioned it to me, and instead followed Wang Lie's line of reasoning, confirming his deduction. "That's right,
after you left yesterday, I talked to him for a while. Now I want a reasonable explanation from you: why didn't you
tell me about this beforehand? It's made me suspicious lately, always wondering if there's something wrong with my body!"
"It's not that we didn't want to tell you, but for two reasons, Han Zhe and I thought it
was more appropriate to keep things as they are for now. The first reason is that people with special abilities are particularly wary of forcibly
activating their abilities. Han Zhe and I are doing this for your own good, which is why we've kept
the fact that you might have a special ability from you. Discovering and realizing one's own special ability is best left to the ability holder to feel and explore on their own.
This process can't be rushed; rushing it can at least harm your mind and body, and at worst, lead to qi deviation. Such
cases have been quite common in the past! As for the second reason, although Han Zhe and I speculated that you probably have some kind of
special ability, we couldn't be sure what kind of special ability you have. It wasn't until we stopped Dongfang Yao
and the others that I was able to confirm that you probably have the Red Lotus's ability!" Wang Lie
explained to me with an apologetic expression and a sincere attitude.
Ye Tong had previously told me his speculation about why Wang Lie and Han Zhe had kept it from me, and Wang Lie's explanation now
further confirmed Ye Tong's statement. Now that I was certain Wang Lie and Han Zhe were acting in my best interest, I naturally couldn't blame
Wang Lie. Instead, I took this opportunity to ask him for more information about my "Red Lotus" ability
. Wang Lie gave me the exact same answer as Dongfang Yao. Finally, he 　　explained
why he had only now confirmed that I was the Red Lotus.
"Because the Crimson Lotus ability is extremely rare, and the Dongfang siblings
are only considered novice in our line of work, I couldn't immediately believe their speculation. So it wasn't until I returned and
examined Dongfang Ying's injuries that I truly confirmed this. Originally, if you possessed other abilities
, I planned to continue hiding it from you with Han Zhe. But considering you probably learned some information from Dongfang Yao yesterday
, and also because of the special nature of the Crimson Lotus ability, I felt
it was better to tell you now."
"Is the Crimson Lotus that special?" I was somewhat surprised by Wang Lie's solemn expression. Although Dongfang Yao had said
that the Crimson Lotus ability was one of the few special abilities with its own name, and
comparable to Wang Lie's "Two Elements," the unease Wang Lie displayed at this moment still caught my attention!
"I don't know if Dongfang Yao has told you about the ancient saying passed down in our profession.
It's this: 'When the Crimson Lotus appears, demons and ghosts vanish!' Let me put it this way! Among all
the abilities with their own unique titles, the Crimson Lotus you possess is considered the strongest ability for slaying demons and monsters! That's why
there's the saying, 'When the Crimson Lotus appears, demons and ghosts perish.' Of course, you're not the only one with the Crimson Lotus. As far as I know,
there have been at least several exorcists in history who possessed the Crimson Lotus ability. Although the legends are obviously exaggerated, there's no
doubt that the era in which these exorcists existed was almost the period when demons and monsters were the rarest in history.
No demon could survive the flames of the Crimson Lotus! That's why I said the female demon you encountered yesterday probably
didn't want to kill you. That woman..." The demon was clearly highly skilled; she should know
how terrifying the Crimson Lotus was. In my opinion, she'd be avoiding you more than she could manage, let alone dare to kill you. Even if you haven't truly
mastered the power of the Crimson Lotus within you yet, killing you would inevitably trigger a counterattack from the Crimson Lotus within you.
Killing you would mean certain death for her too! Demons are extremely selfish and greedy.
The biggest difference between them and humans is that humans have emotions and will even sacrifice themselves for others when necessary. Demons, on the other hand
, are only driven by their own desires and would never do anything detrimental to themselves. Aside from those
with low intelligence who can't grasp the situation, any demon with a mind like a human would never be
foolish enough to want to kill you! And the female demon you encountered yesterday clearly belonged to the latter category! "
Yet she dared to kill someone right in front of me!" I pointed out this fact!
"She killed someone else, not you. Besides, if she really wanted to kill you,
who else there yesterday, besides you, the Red Lotus, could stand against her? Who could stop her from attacking you?" Wang Lie immediately retorted.
I frowned, lit a cigarette, and took a deep drag. Because what Wang Lie said was true, and
I had no way to refute it.
Seeing my reaction, Wang Lie also took a cigarette, lit it, and took a drag. "Of course,
it's incomprehensible that she arranged for people to follow you and even stole the keepsakes left to you by your grandmother and mother. However, the only
thing I'm certain of is that if she really is a female demon, she would absolutely not dare to target you!
On the contrary, it's your Red Lotus power that's more worrying."
"What do you mean?" I blinked, not understanding what Wang Lie was saying.
"If it were any other ability, you could gradually adapt and master it! But the power of the Crimson Lotus is too domineering
. I'm worried you might lose control and end up burning people to death!" Wang Lie said this with
no hint of joking.
"Is that so?" I asked, a cigarette dangling from my lips, staring blankly at Wang Lie.
"Those exorcists who possessed the Crimson Lotus power almost all experienced something like this before they truly mastered it
! And all Crimson Lotus users share a common trait, which I'm not sure if it's a flaw..."
"What trait?"
"Once the power awakens, those with the Crimson Lotus power become exceptionally lecherous! Historically, those Crimson
Lotus users, while slaying demons and protecting the people, certainly didn't shy away from harming women. The real reason is unknown... "
"However, according to some seniors' speculations, it's probably because the Red Lotus possesses the power of extreme Yang, and even the person who possesses it
finds it difficult to endure. Therefore, if they encounter no demons or monsters to release the power of the Red Lotus fire within them
, they can only release their excess Yang energy by constantly seeking out women!"
"What if the Red Lotus is a woman?"
"No... the power of the Red Lotus cannot appear in a woman's body!" Wang Lie immediately gave
me a definite answer.
"Is that what you're worried about?" I stared at Wang Lie and asked.
"You're right! Let's put aside the matter of burning people to death for now. Our only hope is that you can quickly master and control
the Red Lotus within your own body! My concern is the second point. The Red Lotuses of the past solved their problems
simply by taking in numerous concubines and always having women by their side. They were all wealthy,
accumulating riches through demon-slaying, and could provide as many women as they wanted! But this era is different now
. If you can quickly master your abilities and accept employment, making money shouldn't be a problem. I
have a lot of cases accumulated throughout the year, and I often can't handle them all myself. I
can introduce them to you for those cases. But the key question is, can you, like those Red Lotuses before, openly keep a
large number of women by your side? And do you need these women to be constantly following you around,
immediately satisfying your physical needs whenever you want?" Wang Lie said, looking at me with intense focus.
"Marrying a bunch of wives is obviously impossible, but these days, as long as you have money, keeping a few mistresses
shouldn't be a big deal, right?" I blinked. In my opinion, I really didn't feel that my current physical
needs had changed much from before, but since Wang Lie said it was possible, I offered what
I considered a perfectly normal solution.
"A few? Hehe..." Wang Lie laughed. "No wonder... You're not even aware of
or aware of the true power of the Crimson Lotus within you! Do you know
how many women the least one of the past Crimson Lotuses kept? Over two hundred... It's said that once the Crimson Lotus power activates, one woman simply can't
satisfy the needs of the Crimson Lotus possessor. Often, many women are needed continuously, bit by bit, to eliminate
the overflowing power of the Crimson Lotus. This process requires at least a dozen, even dozens, of women to take turns. If
there aren't enough women, and no one can replace them, it's common for women to be raped to death! Do you think the past Crimson Lotuses
were all lustful maniacs? Did they want so many women themselves? The real reason they kept so many women was actually because they were afraid of
not having enough people and causing deaths while solving their problems! That's why they needed a bunch of women to serve them.
More women, more replacements, that's how they stayed safe..."
"Wait, didn't you also say that you could release the power of the Crimson Lotus within your body by slaying demons and monsters?"
Realizing that what Wang Lie said was almost impossible in today's society, I remembered another method
and quickly shifted the topic to that method.
"Yes, you're not wrong! This method requires you to constantly seek out various
demons and monsters after your abilities are fully awakened, and release the Crimson Lotus power within you by slaying them! However, to tell you the truth,
this idea of yours is probably what the previous Crimson Lotuses thought of! Because of this idea, the past Crimson
Lotuses were extremely enthusiastic about slaying demons and monsters, and for this reason,
almost any demon that dared to appear in human society was wiped out by them! That's why there's the saying, 'When the Crimson Lotus appears, demons and monsters perish!' What
happens after they're all killed? They can only search everywhere, and what if they can't find them? They can't just indiscriminately kill innocent people and release the Crimson Lotus power onto innocent
civilians, can they? So, in the end, the previous Crimson Lotuses could only find a way to raise a group of women
to satisfy their own needs." Wang Lie said calmly, and once again shifted the topic
to the question he had raised.
"If it really comes to the point where there are no more demons to kill, and I myself can't bear the power of the Crimson Lotus,
can't I just commit suicide?" I stared wide-eyed, expressing extreme
dissatisfaction with Wang Lie's constant harping on this issue!
Hearing my resolute statement, Wang Lie paused, and I noticed his pupils even dilated.
Wang Lie stood up and patted my shoulder. "Fine, who can predict the future!
I know you're probably getting impatient with me constantly dwelling on this. But I'm not
joking. Because I am Yin and Yang, I know very well the suffering of those with these special abilities!" He
said, shaking his head, and then sat down again.
"Other exorcists only see the superficial glamour of those of us with special abilities. Who knows
the pressure and pain we bear because of these abilities? Putting myself in their shoes, I understand the
helplessness those former Crimson Lotuses faced. But what they faced is what you will inevitably face in the future. I'm telling you this so you can
be mentally prepared. Also, I understand why you came to me with this jewelry box. You
want me to help you find this female demon and eliminate her. If there's nothing else, I'd
be happy to do my best to help you get rid of this monster. However, I'm afraid I don't have much energy or time to help you investigate
and track this female demon recently."
"What? Do you have other urgent problems to deal with?" I exhaled a smoke ring. Wang Lie is very busy; I can tell that
. In the short two months since I met him, this guy has been almost constantly busy with this and
that. Ye Tong still has time to stroll around the streets and take the zombie girl out to earn extra money, and Han Zhe also has
the leisure to meditate peacefully in the Heavenly Palace. But Wang Lie seemed to be constantly investigating and busy.
"You're right! From the people we caught yesterday, I've finally figured out
some of the recent movements of the group I've been tracking. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, once I get my hands on those three silk paintings from your girlfriend Zhou Jingyi
, I'll soon organize a team to make a trip to the southwest region." Perhaps it was
the smoke from his cigarette, but Wang Lie squinted as he answered my question.
"The people we caught last night? You mean those women?" I asked casually.
"No, it's that guy Luo Zhendong you asked me to take away. Those women are just minor characters;
they know very little. But some of the information Luo Zhendong knows is beyond my expectations." Wang Lie stubbed
out his cigarette in the ashtray.
"Luo Zhendong?" Hearing Wang Lie mention him, I suddenly remembered that I hadn't contacted Lu Zhaohui about Luo Zhendong yet . Thinking of this, I quickly pressed Wang Lie to tell me what 　　unexpected information
he had gotten from Luo Zhendong . 　　"First, it was confirmed from him that Tang Hui's previous guess was correct! Wang Sen's instigation of Mr. 　　Li from Wanmei Group to go down into the Phoenix Mountain prison was indeed for ulterior motives! You see, before, this was just Tang Hui's guess 　　; he had no evidence to prove it. But now Luo Zhendong has confessed everything. Sending Mr. Li and his men down to 　　rob the tomb was actually Wang Sen's plan to have Mr. Li and his men test the waters for him, and Luo Zhendong was 　　his informant. Furthermore, Luo Zhendong also admitted that Li Yong is behind Wang Sen! In other words, 　　Mr. Li's tomb-robbing operation this time can be said to be entirely..." This was orchestrated under the control of the group we've been tracking 　　. Furthermore, Dongfang Yao and Dongfang Ying, along with their dozens of brothers, originally came with the intention 　　of entering the Phoenix Mountain prison. According to Luo Zhendong, Li Yong and his group planned to send Boss Li's men down 　　to scout the area first, to find out the situation inside, before Li Yong led the Dongfang siblings' group to try and enter. 　　However, the danger inside the prison exceeded their expectations, and with the appearance of the Spirit Maiden in Liziping 　　, Li Yong and Wang Sen temporarily changed their plans, first attempting to capture the Dongfang siblings 　　. The Spirit Maiden. As a result, our interference caused them to be directly exposed to our and the police's sight 　　. 　　After Dongfang Ying was injured by you, Dongfang Yao backed out. Li Yong and Wang Sen had no choice but to abandon 　　their original plan with us and let Dongfang Yao and the others take those women to Nanjing to lay 　　low. Furthermore, Luo Zhendong was originally supposed to stay at Wanmei Group as an 　　undercover agent, as arranged by Li Yong and the others. The reason he suddenly ran away and went to Nanjing with Dongfang Yao and the others was because your 　　deceased ex-girlfriend betrayed him! That woman... "People saw you leave from Hualiu Street and guessed you might 　　have seen Luo Zhendong, so they informed Li Yong. 　　Luo Zhendong had already reported to Li Yong and Wang Sen that you were imprisoned with the Wanmei Group people. Li Yong is clever; he quickly realized you might 　　become suspicious of Luo Zhendong because of this and then alert the woman named Lu Zhaohui. That's why he told Luo 　　Zhendong to escape quickly and then come to meet up with Dongfang Yao and the others. However, Li Yong and the others didn't expect you to know 　　me and Ye Tong. They certainly didn't expect us to intercept us below Huaqiao Town." 　　I frowned. "My dead ex-girlfriend? You mean Liao Xiaoqian, who knew about me 　　being imprisoned with Luo Zhendong?" 　　Wang Lie nodded. "You might not know this, but your ex-girlfriend 　　is quite influential in Wang Sen and Li Yong's gang. She even knows more about their affairs than Luo Zhendong does. According to Luo Zhendong 　　, although she hasn't been with Wang Sen's group for long, she's risen through the ranks quickly, 　　becoming some kind of minor leader, like a 'hall leader.' The other six women we arrested yesterday were led by her. 　　Luo Zhendong also told me that before he met you in the cell, he heard about Yan Ping from your ex-girlfriend 　　and knew that she had an ex-boyfriend named Yan Ping who worked and lived in this city." 　　Hearing this, I couldn't help but recall my meeting with Luo Zhendong in the cell and how we got to know each other. Then 　　I frowned. "No wonder he treated me differently from the other tomb raiders! Not only was he 　　friendly when we met, but he also deliberately flattered and fawned over me. It turns out he already knew 　　my name from Liao Xiaoqian. My experiences as a soldier and a reporter must have been told to him by Liao Xiaoqian. He only needed 　　to verify the information he got about me from Qiangzi to match it up easily." 　　Wang Lie continued, unaware of my thoughts. 　　"Luo Zhendong also told me that your ex-girlfriend seems to have turned against you! He said that 　　this woman is a bit perverted in that area, often playing some kind of 'training' game during sex. And 　　every time she plays these games, she makes him say he's Yan Ping! She also said that as long as he calls himself Yan Ping, that woman 　　beats him with extra joy and extreme excitement..." 　　"Stop talking!" I shouted at Wang Lie, my face flushed red. At that moment, 　　the last bit of pity I had for Liao Xiaoqian because of her accidental death vanished! 　　"I treated her so well, doing everything I could to meet all her reasonable and unreasonable demands. 　　Not only did she run off with all my money, but this is how it ended up? Even after leaving me, she's still trying to 　　derive pleasure from fantasizing about abusing me? That bitch… she really is a bitch…" I gasped for breath, my whole body 　　trembling with rage. 　　Wang Lie immediately stopped, looking at me calmly. He sighed before continuing, "I'm sorry, I 　　was just relaying what I heard from Luo Zhendong. I forgot to consider your feelings." 　　I composed myself, shakily shoving the cigarette butt into the ashtray on the coffee table, and 　　said in a trembling voice, "It's alright… I know you didn't mean it! Go on, I think I can handle 　　it." 　　Wang Lie shook his head, hesitated for a moment, and then continued. 　　"Yes, because her status is quite high. So Luo Zhendong didn't hide from her the fact that he met 　　you in the prison cage, and what happened between you two there afterward. So when she discovered you were in the red-light district, 　　she immediately reported it to Li Yong, who then managed to notify Luo Zhendong to evacuate immediately. Furthermore, 　　the most valuable information I got from Luo Zhendong was the true purpose of Wang Sen and his group's attempt to enter the Phoenix Mountain prison cage 　　: one was for the Spirit Maiden, well, now perhaps it's better to call her Xia Jiang. The other was 　　the three silk paintings in the possession of your girlfriend, Zhou Jingyi. Luo Zhendong had tried several times in the prison cage to obtain them from Zhou Jingyi..."

" Where did he steal the silk paintings? But Zhou Jingyi always carried the backpack containing the silk paintings with her, and he just couldn't find
an opportunity.
For those three silk paintings, he even had to stay with you and Zhou Jingyi at that sacrificial pit to
fight against the emerging blood corpse."
"I see. It's not surprising that Qiangzi and Zhou Jingyi risked staying to help me and Mr. Tang
fight against that blood corpse since they came in with me. He stayed because of the three silk paintings Zhou Jingyi was carrying.
That makes sense. If any of us, especially Zhou Jingyi, died,
she might not be able to take those three silk paintings with her. That's why he mustered up the courage to join forces with us to fight the blood corpse! Hmph...
I used to think he was a very loyal person!" I let out a long sigh.
"We finally managed to get those three paintings out for you. But after Zhou Jingyi came out, she just disappeared
. Wang Sen and Li Yong couldn't find her, and since she only contacted you and Lu Zhaohui,
Luo Zhendong couldn't find out anything either. He had to stay in Wanmei Group to continue his undercover work. Now I'm pretty
sure that besides me, the other buyer who wants to buy those three silk paintings is definitely Wang Sen and Li Yong
. Right now, besides me, only they can come up with that much money to buy those three
paintings. But in my opinion, it's not very likely that they'll buy the paintings with money! Have you thought about why they insisted on a
face-to-face transaction?"
After hearing this, I lowered my head and thought for a moment, and quickly understood the key point.
"Those three silk paintings are very valuable. If nothing unexpected happens, the seller will definitely carry them with him. A face-to-face transaction
ensures that what the seller carries is genuine. Then, by killing the seller during the transaction, you can guarantee that
the three silk paintings you receive are genuine and not fakes, and also silence him." I looked up at Wang Lie and stated my
deduction.
"That's pretty much the reason! So, shouldn't you contact Zhou Jingyi again
? Even if you've arranged bodyguards for her, I'm sure they're no
match for Wang Sen and Li Yong's men. Once the transaction is done face-to-face, your girlfriend and her bodyguards will be in grave danger!
You'd better explain this to her clearly. Also, tell her that if she's willing to trade with me,
I can add one million to the four million per painting, making it thirteen million for those three silk paintings.
I think she should be able to accept that price, right?"
After Wang Lie finished speaking, I was about to pick up the phone to contact Zhou Jingyi and warn her of the dangers of trading with them. Unexpectedly
, just as I picked up my phone, I received a text message.
"I'm heading to the transaction now! The two bodyguards you arranged are in position. After the transaction, I'll treat you to
dinner. Celebrate for me too."
Looking at the sender, my expression immediately changed. The text was from Zhou Jingyi…

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