Xie Chongyang remained expressionless. “You continue speaking, I am listening.”
“Oh.” The older man pulled his stool closer to them. He set his phone aside to transfer data and struck the pose of someone about to tell a ghost story. “The person next door, have you seen him? I do not know his name, but I have run into him.”
“He looks like he crawled out of a coffin, looking so shady that it makes you feel uncomfortable. Of course, that alone would not make me fixate on him like this.”
“The main thing is, once when I was heading out, I found blood at his doorstep!”
He gestured excitedly. “At first, there was a puddle on the ground that I stepped in. I thought it was urine! Then my foot,” he stammered for a second, then corrected himself, “I mean, well, I took a look, and it was blood.”
Xie Chongyang’s face hardened. “Give me the truth.”
The man looked sheepish. “I kicked his door and left a bloody footprint. It scared me quite a bit, and I almost called the police.”
Xie Chongyang looked quite intimidating when he was serious. “Then why did you not call them in the end?”
“He spoke up and said it was chicken blood.” The man scratched his head. “I told him to open the door, but then he went silent again. I said a few words to him and left.”
“I do not really like dealing with the police anyway, so I just did not report it.”
Xie Chongyang asked while taking notes, “Did you check if it actually was chicken blood?”
The man shook his head. “How would I tell? I cannot distinguish that! He said it was, so I assumed it was. Back then, I thought he did not look like he had the guts to kill anyone.”
“But the thing is, it did not end there.”
He leaned in even closer. “Did you notice when you came up? His place is particularly smelly.”
“A fishy, foul stench.”
“Even though the smell around here is not great, the smell in front of his door is clearly the scent of blood!”
“I could not stand it, so I wanted to ask him if he was not throwing away his trash. After all, I basically never see him go out.”
He could not help but swallow hard. “But that day, it was like a sixth sense, you know? Before I went to knock, I reached out and touched his doorframe. Guess what I felt?”
Xie Chongyang raised an eyebrow. “Do we still have to guess?”
The man said hurriedly, “Blood! In the crack of the doorframe! There was blood that had been dry for who knows how long! It was fishy and foul, and it had turned completely black! Then I looked closely and his entire door, the whole crack of the door, was filled with blood! It was like a ghost talisman!”
Cui Renwang asked, “Did you take a picture?”
The man shook his head vigorously. “I did not even dare to scream. I ran out and stayed in a bathhouse all night!”
“When I came back, I set up a surveillance camera. I wanted to see what he was up to, but I never caught him doing anything strange.”
Xie Chongyang frowned. “I did not smell any fishy stench today.”
Cui Renwang added, “Yes, there was only the smell of mold.”
“There is none?” Disbelieving, the man stood up and opened his door. He quickly rushed to the door of unit 602 and poked around for a bit before turning back sheepishly. “It seems it really is gone today. He could not have known you were coming, could he?”
He leaned in mysteriously. “What did he do, Officer? He is not some kind of psycho serial killer, is he?”
Cui Renwang asked, “What qualifies as a regular serial killer, and what qualifies as a psycho serial killer?”
Xie Chongyang was stunned. “Is that the focus right now?”
“Just asking.” Cui Renwang turned back to the man. “Do you remember when the smell stopped?”
The man shook his head. Cui Renwang had no choice but to ask, “Fine. Then how long ago did you find the blood?”
“It has been there for a month!” On this point, the man was certain. “The more I thought about it, the more uneasy I felt, so I installed the camera. But I never saw him come out to do anything to the door.”
“I think there is something wrong with him, but I did not want trouble, so I did not call the police.”
Xie Chongyang asked, “Why did you not move?”
The man gave a hollow laugh. “If I had the money to move, I would not be living here.”
“The sixth floor, no internet; there is nothing cheaper than this.”
Cui Renwang asked Xie Chongyang, “Do you have anything else to ask?”
“Not for now.” Xie Chongyang looked at the man. “Leave me your contact information. If I need to, I will find you to consult on the situation.”
The man opened his mouth to speak, but Cui Renwang pulled out his phone. “Payment QR code.”
“No problem!” The man immediately changed his tune. “The recordings have finished transferring, and I have sent the courier’s number to both of you! I am available whenever you need me.”
Xie Chongyang was surprised. “Do you not have a job?”
The man rubbed his nose awkwardly. “I do, it is just that there has been no work lately.”
Cui Renwang had already stood up. The man enthusiastically saw them to the door and then could not wait to slam the door shut.
As Xie Chongyang looked back at the door, Cui Renwang had already crouched down by the entrance.
He was observing the traces in the door crack. Xie Chongyang leaned in too, his head almost resting on Cui Renwang’s as he analyzed seriously, “It looks like it was recently cleaned.”
Cui Renwang was silent.
He ducked out from under Xie Chongyang’s head and stood up in front of the door. The peephole was still dark.
Cui Renwang leaned toward the peephole and deliberately said in a low voice, “I know you are home.”
Xie Chongyang looked at him in surprise.
Cui Renwang continued, “Do you think sending it away makes everything okay? You have become entangled in its karma, and it will come back for you.”
Xie Chongyang suddenly covered Cui Renwang’s mouth and asked in shock, “Why are you threatening people?”
Cui Renwang was speechless.
He reached up to pull Xie Chongyang’s fingers away but could not budge them. He had to settle for rolling his eyes and tapping the back of the other man’s hand. Only then did Xie Chongyang loosen his grip.
With the atmosphere ruined by the interruption, Cui Renwang said no more and turned to head downstairs.
Going down six floors was at least easier than coming up.
Xie Chongyang walked behind him, as if his speed were being limited by the person in front.
Cui Renwang sensed that he probably wanted to say something, but he deliberately did not look back or ask. Once this case was over, they likely would not have much contact anyway; there was no need to get too involved.
They returned to the car. Cui Renwang leaned back into the seat and spoke, “Contact the courier. If it was local delivery from a few hours ago, it might not have arrived yet.”
Moreover, it was highly likely that Daoist Zhang and the others were already tracking the courier. Both parties were essentially taking different paths to the same destination.
Additionally, the bloodstains on the door of 602 had likely seeped out from the inside. The person in the room must have drawn some kind of array on the inner side of the door, likely using rooster or black dog blood. However, Cui Renwang was not very familiar with arrays; Old Zhang was the expert there. When Zhang had stopped in front of 602 earlier, he must have been studying the formation.
“Yes.” Xie Chongyang dialed the number, but the line was busy. He held the phone up and asked Cui Renwang, “Are we not going to look for the person in 602 then?”
Cui Renwang said lazily, “People are easier to find than ghosts.”
“What?” The phone indicated a busy signal again. Xie Chongyang redialed and looked at Cui Renwang with a strange expression. “What ghost?”
Cui Renwang tilted his head toward him. “Fine, let me be more detailed.”
“The person in 602 cannot run away. Even if he does, finding him is a job for the police. You guys always have ways to find him.”
“But if a ghost runs away, it is our job to find it, and that is a hassle. So, we chase the ghost first.”
The call still would not go through. Xie Chongyang’s scientific brain could not quite process this prediction. He just asked, “What?”
“Your captain told you to listen to me, so just be a good boy, listen, and do not ask so many questions.” Cui Renwang sighed softly, closed his eyes, and turned his head away. “Is that explanation enough?”
“Oh,” Xie Chongyang responded, sounding a bit disgruntled.
He waited a moment before dialing again. Hearing the busy signal, he spoke up once more. “Do you ever feel like you have any flaws?”
Cui Renwang opened his eyes expressionlessly. “I am covered in flaws. You are being quite polite about it.”
“Well, you do not have that many flaws,” Xie Chongyang comforted him. “At least you are very smart and professional. You found a breakthrough point right away.”
Although he did not yet know how the courier from 602 related to the suicide case, Xie Chongyang’s intuition told him they had grasped something important.
Cui Renwang wondered if he was supposed to say thank you.
“But you cannot keep lying to people.” Xie Chongyang looked earnest. “You promised me you would wait so we could go up together, but then you left on your own. You were acting without authorization! What if the person in 602 was dangerous and violent?”
Cui Renwang felt a bit of a headache coming on. “Our styles of doing things are different.”
“I do not mind lying, and I do not mind using money to solve things. As long as the matter moves forward and the goal is achieved, that is all that matters.”
“But you are a cop. You pursue procedural justice. It is normal that you cannot stand me.”
“It is not that I cannot stand you.” Xie Chongyang knit his brows. “Right now, I am more like,” he pondered his wording before finally saying to him seriously, “I hope you find the righteous path.”
Cui Renwang was silent.
Xie Chongyang stared at him. “In my heart, you are capable and smart, but your words have very low credibility!”
Cui Renwang opened his mouth to speak but ultimately remained silent. He tilted his head slightly and replied with a lazy, somewhat provocative tone, “So what?”
Xie Chongyang’s brow furrowed deeper, and he stared at him with a complex expression. “You really are a traveling con artist, are you not?”
Cui Renwang asked about the business at hand. “Still cannot get through?”
“No.” Xie Chongyang looked down. “I am checking the phone number for the courier company in this district. The company might know which part of Fengcheng he is in right now.”
Cui Renwang thought for a moment and pulled out his phone to message Daoist Zhang, “Share your location with me when it is convenient.”
At this time, in the Guishan area on the outskirts of Fengcheng.
Halfway up Guishan, it was very secluded. The trees grew exceptionally lush, almost blocking out the sunlight, making it dark even during the day. Many detached villas with courtyards were built along the mountain; a few were private residences, but most were guesthouses that only saw crowds during the tourist season.
The courier who had picked up the package from unit 602 stopped his vehicle. With his phone in one hand and the courier box in the other, he habitually swiped away an incoming call. Humming a little tune, he checked the map and walked toward the delivery address.
Just then, several messages popped up at the top of his screen. As the courier was about to tap them, the box in his hand suddenly made a noise.
“Whoa!” The courier jumped, nearly dropping it before catching it just in time.
He cursed under his breath. “Are these not just daily necessities? This is not alive, is it?”
The box did not even have air holes. He worried it might be a kitten or a puppy. Seeing his destination was right there, he hurried over and rang the doorbell.
While waiting for the owner to open the door, he gently shook the package, trying to figure out what was inside.
No one answered. He had no choice but to swipe away the persistent incoming call again and dial the recipient’s number.
“Hello?”
A raspy male voice answered.
The courier spoke with full energy. “Hey, your delivery is here! Is no one home?”
“Yes,” the man’s voice was low and muffled. “Just leave it at the door.”
“Uh,” the courier hesitated but said anyway, “But what is in here? It seemed to move just now. It is not alive, is it? When the sender shipped it, they said it was daily necessities. If it is a living creature, that is against regulations.”
The man seemed to think for a moment. He chuckled and said, “I do not know what is inside either.”
“It is a gift from someone else.”
“If you are so curious, why do not you open it for me?”
“What?” The courier scratched his head. “Are you sure? I guess that works. I will take a video for you.”
“It is fine,” the man laughed softly. “Just open it.”
The courier used his key to casually slit one corner of the packing tape, intending to check the contents from the side.
He leaned in to look; inside was a carved wooden box that looked like a small coffin, with yellow talisman paper seals stuck on all four sides. Under his gaze, the lid vibrated with a click, as if something were pushing it from the inside.