After placing his order, Cui Renwang found a seat and sat down. He was the type of person who would never stand if he could sit, so Xie Chongyang had no choice but to sit across from him.
The seating in the milk tea shop was small, and the tall, long-legged Xie Chongyang looked somewhat cramped. He cleared his throat lightly. “I cannot really let you treat me.” He said solemnly, “It is a matter of professional conduct.”
Cui Renwang lifted his eyelids slightly. “Then transfer sixteen yuan to me.”
“Alright.” Xie Chongyang decisively pulled out his phone. “Let me add your contact information.” He operated the device quickly, transferred sixteen yuan to Cui Renwang, and flashed a look of relief.
Cui Renwang glanced at his phone screen, his lips curling into a slightly mischievous smirk. He raised his phone, clicked to accept the money, and said with a smile, “Officer Xie, does this mean we now have a financial history?”
Xie Chongyang: “!”
Cui Renwang probably found his expression amusing, as he leaned back against the chair and let out a low laugh. Only then did Xie Chongyang notice that Cui Renwang had “peach blossom eyes.” When he laughed, they were shimmering and watery, making him exceptionally captivating. Feeling a bit embarrassed, Xie Chongyang looked away. “Uh, I”
Fortunately, the milk tea shop called his number, rescuing the awkward officer. He stood up quickly. “I will go get it!”
Cui Renwang did not fight him for it. He checked a message from Old Zhang and was about to send an emoji back when the Taoist Master’s phone began ringing incessantly. He was such an impatient man.
Cui Renwang picked up the call just as Xie Chongyang returned with the milk tea. Without interrupting, Xie Chongyang obediently placed the cup in front of him and even thoughtfully poked the straw in for him.
“Hey, Xiao Cui!” Old Zhang’s voice was frantic. “We have made some progress! While the Yin energy has not dissipated yet, we are chasing the ghost! We discovered the spirit lingered in one place. I have noted the address. You go there!”
“Okay,” Cui Renwang replied. Old Zhang asked again, “Oh, right, have you eaten? Do not forget to eat again!”
Cui Renwang lied without hesitation. “I ate.”
Xie Chongyang, who was currently tasting the new milk tea, let out a “Huh?” and looked up, staring at him in shock.
Old Zhang pressed, “Really? What did you eat?”
Meeting Xie Chongyang’s gaze, Cui Renwang said righteously, “Porridge.” He bit his straw and stared at Xie Chongyang, lightly grinding his teeth as if making a threat. He said, “Sweet porridge.”
Xie Chongyang: “…”
Old Zhang did not suspect a thing and instructed him, “Eat less sugar, kid. I swear, if a vampire bit you, they would get diabetes! Is someone from the police station following you? Find someone who can drive so you do not have to worry about the driver trying to talk to you.”
“Hanging up now!”
Cui Renwang hung up first and let out a long breath. Xie Chongyang whispered, “Why are you lying?”
Cui Renwang did not argue with him. He forwarded the address Old Zhang had sent to Xie Chongyang. “Go here.”
Xie Chongyang confirmed the address: “Fengcheng New Village, Gate 7, Room 602. Who is there?”
“We will know when we get there.” Cui Renwang reminded him, “It is just an investigation.” Since the matter involved ghosts, they likely would not find evidence from a secular perspective, and the police team had no legal reason to make an arrest.
Xie Chongyang nodded. “Then I will report to the Captain.”
Cui Renwang rested his chin on his hand and looked at him. “Do you have to tell him everything?”
“Reporting while on field duty is a basic requirement,” Xie Chongyang said matter-of-factly. “Otherwise, it is considered a lack of discipline and organization!”
Cui Renwang chuckled. “So well-behaved.”
Xie Chongyang had a strange expression. Was that a compliment?
“Let us go.” Seeing that he had finished messaging, Cui Renwang stood up with his milk tea. Xie Chongyang followed behind him, holding the door open and leaning down to talk to him. The distance between the two had naturally become much closer than when they first started.
Fengcheng New Village
Xie Chongyang followed the navigation to the vicinity of Gate 7. Unfortunately, the road conditions here were even worse than at Fuhua Community. After circling twice without finding a proper parking spot, Cui Renwang suggested, “Go find a place to park. I will head down first.”
“Alright,” Xie Chongyang instructed, “then wait for me before we go up together.”
“Mm,” Cui Renwang replied. He watched the car slowly disappear and turned to enter Building 7.
Fengcheng New Village was a typical urban village. Rents were low, the environment was poor, and the old residential buildings had no elevators. They were built exactly to the six-story limit. Generally, the rent for the sixth floor was the cheapest. Anyone living in such a place likely had a difficult financial situation.
The old concrete walls were stained with damp patches. As Cui Renwang passed the iron door on the second floor, he could clearly hear voices inside. The soundproofing here was likely as thin as paper. By the time he slowly climbed to the sixth floor, he was panting with his hands on his knees. He took two deep breaths, enduring the strange musty smell filling his nose, and looked toward the door of Room 602.
It was no wonder Old Zhang was in such a hurry to give chase. In just this short time, the Yin energy here had faded so much it was almost invisible. Any slower and they really would not have caught the trail.
Cui Renwang stood before the door. He looked around but could not find a doorbell, so he shifted his hand and knocked. No one answered from inside, but the peephole on the door went dark, as if someone was pressed against it, looking out.
Cui Renwang: “…”
He knocked again. The two of them seemed to be in a competition of patience, with one standing inside staring at the uninvited guest and the other standing outside knocking rhythmically.
With a thud, the door to 602 did not open, but the door to 601 flew open instead. A shirtless man stepped out and roared, “Stop knocking! Leave the deliveries and takeout at the door! This kid is like a dead man; he never opens the door!”
The newcomer’s tone and gaze were unfriendly. Seeing that Cui Renwang was an unfamiliar face, he sized him up and asked, “What are you doing here?”
Cui Renwang turned his head and said casually, “Debt collector.”
The shirtless man looked suspicious. “Huh? With your physique, you are a debt collector?”
“Courtesy before force,” Cui Renwang said, pulling at his scarf with a weary expression. “I am the courtesy.”
The shirtless man instinctively asked, “And the force?”
Cui Renwang turned his head toward the shadow at the corner of the stairs. Xie Chongyang had caught up shortly after, but he was smart enough not to rush in, waiting at the corner instead. Cui Renwang called out, “Force.”
Xie Chongyang poked his head out, his eyes wide as he pointed at himself. Cui Renwang beckoned with his finger. Xie Chongyang walked up in two or three strides and stood beside him, looking down at the man. “I am here.”
His build was quite intimidating. The aggressive shirtless man immediately became much friendlier. He shot a wary glance at Xie Chongyang and muttered, “Does he owe money?”
Cui Renwang looked up at the door of 601 and nudged Xie Chongyang to look up as well. A round home security camera was mounted there. Xie Chongyang took the hint and said, “Let us see the surveillance.”
The shirtless man bristled. “On what grounds”
He saw the police identification Xie Chongyang held up and immediately lost his spark. His eyes darted between the two of them as he said sheepishly, “I will get my phone. You can come in. Oh, there is no need to change your shoes.”
The two entered the shirtless man’s home. They each sat on a small stool, huddling together to watch the surveillance footage at high speed. The camera the man bought was a cheap model with small storage space, only saving three days of footage, but it was enough.
Cui Renwang said, “Just watch from 11:00 AM today.”
Xie Chongyang raised an eyebrow because that was the time Xiao Zijie committed suicide. Although he did not know why the earlier footage was not needed, he followed the instructions.
The footage fast-forwarded from 11:00. Around 12:00, a thin young man opened the door, placed a delivery box in front of it, and instinctively looked up at the camera. About five minutes later, a young man in a courier uniform arrived at the door of 601, picked up the package from the floor, and left.
Cui Renwang asked, “Do you know which courier company that delivery guy is from?”
The shirtless man, sitting opposite them, looked restless. Hearing the question, he leaned in to look. “He delivers for ‘This-Express’ and ‘That-Express.’ Oh, and he also does the fastest local deliveries. He handles almost this entire area.”
Cui Renwang asked again, “Do you have his contact information?”
The man stole a glance at Xie Chongyang, who was still looking at the later records. “Uh, I did not save it, but I should be able to find it in my phone records.”
“There are more suspicious people.” Xie Chongyang suddenly looked up, pointing at two figures appearing at the corner of the screen. An old man with medium-length grey-white hair and a young girl wearing a mask and hat that only showed her eyes. The two stood on the steps below the corner, gestured toward Room 602, stayed for about a minute, and then left.
Xie Chongyang got excited. “Suspicious, right?”
Cui Renwang: “Not suspicious.” He cleared his throat. “They are my people.”
Xie Chongyang’s eyes widened.
Cui Renwang felt that these two had such weak anti-surveillance skills it was embarrassing. They had not even noticed such a large camera and ended up being filmed as suspicious characters. He cleared his throat and said, “They are the ones who gave us the address.”
“Oh,” Xie Chongyang realized, withdrawing his gaze with some regret. He still said to the shirtless man, “Transfer this video data to me.”
“Uh, I mean, sure.” The man stole a glance at him, looking a bit awkward as he hinted subtly, “I do not have Wi-Fi in this room.”
Xie Chongyang: “Huh?”
The man stiffened his neck and just blurted it out. “I am using my mobile data to let you watch right now. I do not have much for the month, and this video is too big. Will you reimburse the data fee?”
Xie Chongyang: “…”
Cui Renwang: “I will give you a hundred, and then ask you two more questions.”
“Deal!” the man agreed instantly.
Xie Chongyang was shocked. “How can you use money to solve the problem”
Cui Renwang covered his mouth. “Give us the courier’s phone number too.”
The man agreed repeatedly. Cui Renwang let go of his hand and gestured for Xie Chongyang to speak. “Alright, ask your questions.”
Xie Chongyang felt a bit frustrated but refrained from arguing. He first asked the man, “Do you know the resident of 602 next door? Why did you install a camera facing his door?”
The man stammered, “I installed it in front of my own door, how is it facing his”
Xie Chongyang pointed at the video currently being transferred. “Your camera angle captures his front door completely, but your own door only shows the top half. Specifically, the floor near the door where deliveries and takeout are usually placed is a complete blind spot. This does not look like a camera installed to watch your own front door.”
The man: “…”
Cui Renwang added, “It is not illegal.”
Relieved, the man immediately confessed. “I have a bit of a grudge against him. That kid next door, he is a bit, a bit unusual, you know?”