Inside the room, the three tomb robbers did not look old, likely in their early twenties at most. They were thin and dressed in vibrant, tight-fitting shirts and black leggings, clearly looking like members of a gang. Their color scheme matched a traffic light with high saturation, and as the three of them huddled tightly together, it was a sight that actually made one’s eyes ache.
The one in green shrieked “Master” in a pinched voice. The one in red, who was presumably the “Master,” huddled into a useless ball while being shaken back and forth. Meanwhile, the one in yellow had his mouth wide open, doing nothing but wailing. The noise made one’s ears ache just as much as the colors hurt the eyes.
“What is all this noise!” Officer Song, the young policewoman responsible for guarding them, was full of frustration. “Quiet down! All of you, shut your mouths!”
Cui Renwang fully understood her anger. He carefully observed the faces of the Red, Green, and Yellow trio. Their eyes were bloodshot, dark circles hung heavily beneath them, and their expressions were dull. Combined with the lingering Yin energy surrounding them, it was clear they had encountered something supernatural.
The senior officer gave a bitter smile. “These guys have been causing a scene like this ever since they were brought in. This case was reported by nearby residents, and someone filmed a video the moment we responded. The three of them were hugging each other, yelling about ‘Master’ and ‘Young Master,’ and it has already been posted online. People are saying they are possessed, haunted, or have split personalities. You name it.”
“The tomb location was leaked too. A crowd of people rushed there to watch the excitement, and some even started live-streaming. The scene is a total mess. We have sent a lot of people over, but it is hard to manage.” He pointed at the three culprits in the room with a grimace. “We were hoping they would act normal so we could debunk the rumors.”
Actually, the rumors were not entirely wrong; these three were indeed possessed. However, this was a police station after all. Although it was a busy place with a chaotic flow of people, it was not somewhere an ordinary ghost could simply wander in and out of at will.
Cui Renwang looked thoughtful. “Did they keep shouting like this when they first arrived?”
“Huh?” The senior officer was startled, but Officer Song reacted faster. She was a sharp-looking girl with short hair, thick eyebrows, and a thin face. When she was not smiling, she looked somewhat fierce. She said, “When they first came in, they pretended to faint. They only woke up a while later.”
Cui Renwang raised an eyebrow. That probably was not an act. Most likely, the small ghosts possessing them were frightened away by the fierce aura of a modern government office, causing the three men to lose consciousness. As for why they were awake now, Cui Renwang walked to the window and pulled back the curtain. The window faced south, and there was a trash can against the wall outside.
In that place where filth and grime accumulated, three small ghosts were huddled together. There was a shriveled old ghost wearing a skullcap, a female ghost in a flowered jacket with a face as red as blood, and a painted-face ghost missing its front teeth. They were all squeezed into this small spot where the Yin energy was slightly heavier behind the station.
Cui Renwang: “…”
The three ghosts made eye contact with him and simultaneously drifted back a step. However, they were scorched by the sun, letting out “ow ow” cries before squeezing back next to the trash can.
Cui Renwang faced the window and silently mouthed the words, “Do not run.”
“What is it?” Xie Chongyang leaned in curiously. “Is there something outside?”
“Nothing.” Cui Renwang let go of the curtain and said in a low voice, “I think I know what is going on. Let us talk outside.”
Xie Chongyang did not understand, but he followed obediently. His gaze swept over the tomb robbers still huddled in a heap, and he knit his brows slightly.
“We should visit the scene later,” Cui Renwang said as they left the room. He had already spotted the restroom sign to the south, but he deliberately said to the senior officer, “No need to see us out. Oh, I would like to use the restroom.”
After declining the senior officer’s enthusiastic offer to walk them to the door, Cui Renwang pulled Xie Chongyang into the restroom and went straight to the south-facing window. Outside, the three ghosts were still huddled faithfully behind the wall.
Cui Renwang felt his pockets and asked Xie Chongyang, “Do you have any kind of box on you that can hold things? A cigarette pack would work too.”
“I do not smoke.” Xie Chongyang was confused but actively tried to help. “Would a bag work? The bag from the grilled cold noodles is still in the car.”
“That works.” Cui Renwang thought for a moment. Since it was not him who had to stay in it, it would suffice. “Go to the car and get it.”
“Okay!” Xie Chongyang did not ask why; he just turned and ran out.
The senior officer was still standing in the hallway and was surprised to see him come out. “You are”
“Getting paper,” Xie Chongyang found a random excuse. “Stomach ache.”
“There is some in” Before the officer could finish, Xie Chongyang had already dashed away. He certainly looked like he was in a hurry.
The senior officer shook his head with a laugh. Suddenly, the door behind him swung open with a bang. He clutched his heart and gasped, “Oh, Song Jinyun! Do not scare people like that!”
Officer Song asked him, “Who are those two? Why is the City Bureau asking about this case? Is it connected to some major investigation?” Her expression was solemn, and she spoke rapidly like a machine gun.
The senior officer was helpless. “I do not know.”
“You do not know?” Officer Song knit her brows. “You do not know, yet you let them interfere in our case? This is our jurisdiction; it is not the City Bureau’s business. Is it because one of those kids has family connections?”
“Tsk.” The senior officer put on a stern face. “Song, do not talk nonsense! You must have confidence in your own comrades.”
Officer Song stared at him. “If you have confidence, why did you not ask for details? Why did you let them brush you off?”
“I” Seeing Xie Chongyang returning, the senior officer quickly shut his mouth. He watched Xie Chongyang run past with a smile, then turned back to frown at the girl. “That mouth of yours, you should talk less in the future. If I were not the one mentoring you, I would not even bother speaking to you! Do not ask about things you should not know!”
Officer Song looked sullen. “All you know how to do is smooth things over! You should just retire early!” She slammed the door shut, leaving the senior officer fuming.
On the other side, Xie Chongyang trotted into the men’s restroom and handed the plastic bag to Cui Renwang. He glanced around and noticed the window was open.
Cui Renwang shook the plastic bag and looked straight ahead, saying tonelessly, “Get in.”
Xie Chongyang looked at the bag and pointed at himself. “Me?”
“Not you. Be quiet,” Cui Renwang looked at him, “or wait outside the door.”
“No.” Xie Chongyang turned and stood behind Cui Renwang, curious about what he was going to do. “I will not speak.”
After all, Captain Lu and Director Zhao had instructed him to have full confidence in these special consultants and let them do things their own way. Therefore, in the spirit of not understanding but still respecting them, Xie Chongyang watched as Cui Renwang performed a one-man show for the air.
In the perspective that Xie Chongyang could not see, the three small ghosts, under Cui Renwang’s threat, obediently hugged the wall and drifted in through the window in a line. Their resentment was not deep, reaching at most the level of human morning grumpiness. If the tomb robbers had not broken into their grave, they likely would not have come out to harm anyone.
Cui Renwang bundled the three of them up and stuffed them into the plastic bag, tying it shut. Carrying a rounded, air-filled plastic bag, he walked out of the restroom with a natural expression. Xie Chongyang followed behind him, still unable to figure out what he could possibly achieve by carrying out a bag of air from the Chengnan police station restroom.
The two met the senior officer once again. Cui Renwang gave a polite smile and walked past him. Just as the senior officer raised the corners of his mouth to return the smile, the door behind him was pushed open with another bang. The officer was startled and turned back angrily. “Song Jinyun! What now!”
Officer Song’s expression was grave. “The three of them have all fainted! Send them to the hospital quickly!”
Xie Chongyang turned back in surprise, but Cui Renwang grabbed his sleeve and quickened his pace. “Do not look back. Let us go.”
Xie Chongyang obediently sped up. Only when they were back in the car did he ask, “Are we not going to help? Why did they suddenly faint?”
Cui Renwang placed the balloon-like plastic bag at his feet and buckled his seatbelt. “We are not going.”
“Oh,” Xie Chongyang replied, but he could not help asking, “Why?”
Cui Renwang looked at him without much guilt and held up the air-filled bag. “I feel guilty.”
Xie Chongyang started the car. “What do you have to feel guilty about? It is not like they fainted because of you.”
Cui Renwang stared at him. “Is that impossible?”
“Impossible” As Cui Renwang kept looking at him, Xie Chongyang’s confidence wavered, and his eyes slowly widened. “Right?”
A flash of amusement appeared in Cui Renwang’s eyes. Feeling a bit mischievous, he tilted his head and said, “Is it really impossible?”
“I, I have been following you the whole time!” Xie Chongyang’s eyes went wide. “Wait, I did walk away for a bit to get the bag. But there were police at the door and inside the room. How could you make the three of them faint at the same time!”
Cui Renwang made a random hand seal to fool him. “Magic.”
Xie Chongyang: “…”
Cui Renwang could not hold back a laugh. On that usually cold and lifeless face, a bit of lively spirit actually appeared.
“Cui Renwang!” Xie Chongyang realized he had been played and looked at him in exasperation. “You!” Just as Xie Chongyang was about to say something harsh, he realized he had no information on the other man’s weaknesses. In the end, he could only speak indignantly. “I will never believe you again!”
Cui Renwang: “…” It was like a child ending a friendship. He wanted to laugh again.
“Where to next?” Xie Chongyang kept a stiff face, looking at him sideways. “To the scene?”
“No, to the City God Temple.” Cui Renwang stretched, and since he was no longer hiding it, he told the truth. “Those three were possessed by ghosts from the tomb; that is why they said those things.” He lightly kicked the plastic bag. The three ghosts squeezed together inside tried to shrink even smaller, not daring to make a sound. “We are going to deliver these ghosts lingering in the human world to your colleagues underground.”
A loading circle seemed to spin next to Xie Chongyang’s head as he tried his best to translate those words into a meaning he could understand.
Before he could finish processing, Cui Renwang continued, “I caught the three ghosts, but the tomb robbers lost their own souls. I do not know where they were dropped, so they are still unconscious.” Cui Renwang looked out the window. “First, go to the City God Temple to send these three away. Then we will follow the route from the police station to the tomb to look for the souls along the way. We might find them.”
“If that does not work, we will have to get Old Zhang to call their souls back. However, that usually requires their birth dates and times. They are currently unconscious, so confirming their identities might take some time.”
Xie Chongyang’s expression was serious. He did not seem to understand most of it, but he understood this part. “It will not take much time. We can use facial recognition.”
Cui Renwang paused. “Facial recognition? Is the accuracy high?”
Xie Chongyang nodded. “It is high.” He suddenly remembered something. “Oh, you came back from abroad, so you have not seen much of the Skynet system, have you?”
Cui Renwang: “…” Based on his tone, it sounded as if he were treating him like some kind of feudal relic.
Cui Renwang turned his head away, picked up the plastic bag, and asked, “Do you ghosts know where their living souls were lost?”
The plastic bag rustled as the three ghosts shook their heads in unison.
Xie Chongyang glanced over. No matter how he looked at it, it seemed the other man was just playing with a plastic bag while saying strange things to scare him. He lightly tapped his index finger on the steering wheel. Cui Renwang poked the bag and said lazily, “Say whatever you want to say.”
“Do you not think,” Xie Chongyang finally spoke, “those three people are a bit strange?”
Cui Renwang: “I think most people would find them more than just a bit strange. In what way are you referring to?”
“Well,” Xie Chongyang knit his brows and suddenly said, “I do not think they look like a family of three.”
“Why?” Cui Renwang blinked. “Because the child is as old as the father, and the wife is a man?”