Inside a hotel suite in the center of Fengcheng, the air conditioning was set high. In the slightly dry room, the faint scent of agarwood drifted from an incense burner on the coffee table.
Cui Renwang was curled up on the sofa under a blanket, his brow slightly furrowed even in sleep.
The default ringtone of his phone broke the silence of the room. Struggling, Cui Renwang stretched out a hand and fumbled around until he grabbed the device.
He sighed softly from beneath the blanket; every time he woke from a dream, he felt out of sorts.
The ancients jokingly referred to sleep as a “little death,” but for Cui Renwang, it did not feel like much of a joke.
When he first met Old Zhang, he was nearly mistaken for a fierce ghost capable of walking in the sun. In his dreams, the boundary between life and death became even more blurred. Old Zhang used to say that when he slept, his soul probably wandered off to the Underworld to scout out the living arrangements in advance.
Every time he opened his eyes, it truly felt as if a lifetime had passed.
Cui Renwang pressed his temples and placed the phone to his ear with his eyes closed. “Hello.”
If it was a marketing call, he would hang up immediately.
“Hello!” The vibrant voice on the other end formed a sharp contrast to his own. Xie Chongyang called out to him, “Little Cui, you are not still sleeping, are you?”
Cui Renwang slowly opened his eyes and looked at the phone. There was no contact name. He wondered when this man had obtained his number.
And “Little Cui”; he likely picked up that nickname from Old Zhang.
Cui Renwang gave a perfunctory response. “Yes.”
“It is already two in the afternoon!” Xie Chongyang was shocked. “You slept until now?”
Cui Renwang did not intend to share his sleep schedule and cut straight to the point. “Is there progress?”
“Oh, yes.” Xie Chongyang sounded like he was walking. “The courier woke up. He said he called the recipient when he delivered the package, and the person on the phone guided him to open the box. I suspect the box contained more than just ashes; there might have been hallucinogenic components that caused his condition. The technical department is analyzing it now.”
“Also, we tracked the recipient information and the Guishan villa address. However, the opponent was very alert and left no clues for us to follow.”
Cui Renwang was not particularly surprised, but he asked, “Were the phone and address unrelated to him?”
“Yes. The homeowner is away on vacation and was easily contacted; they have been cleared of suspicion. The phone number was purchased, and the registered owner is an eighty-year-old woman.” Xie Chongyang clicked his tongue. “Truly cunning.”
“Additionally, the suspect from 602 has been formally interrogated. A lot of cult ritual tools were seized from his home, along with chicken blood residue in the freezer. There is also plenty of evidence on his computer that the technical department is organizing.”
“The team has finished the first round of questioning. The captain said you all can come over now.”
“I see.” Cui Renwang huddled deeper into the blanket and closed his eyes, speaking softly. “I understand.”
“Hey!”
Xie Chongyang suddenly raised his voice, causing Cui Renwang to startle and open his eyes. He stared wordlessly at the phone.
Cui Renwang asked, “What are you doing?”
“I felt like you were about to fall asleep again,” Xie Chongyang reminded him. “Hurry up and get here! Still sleepy at this hour, what time did you go to bed? How long until you arrive?”
“Half an hour.” Cui Renwang hung up the phone.
He sighed, sat up from the sofa, sent a message to the group chat to notify Xiao Tao and Old Zhang, and entered the bathroom.
Half an hour later, Cui Renwang appeared at the entrance of the Public Security Bureau.
According to his messages, Old Zhang and Xiao Tao had already arrived. Xie Chongyang had sent several texts that he had not replied to, so he intended to send a “here” emoji now.
Before he could send it, Xie Chongyang ran up to him. Before Cui Renwang could react, Xie Chongyang breached his personal space and pressed something warm against his face.
Cui Renwang was startled.
He widened his eyes, but before he could take a step back, Xie Chongyang grabbed his hand and made him hold a bag of buns. “You are quite punctual. I bought some buns for you; eat them while they are hot.”
He turned around to lead the way. “I guessed you definitely would not eat on your own.”
The memory of Cui Renwang having three cups of milk tea as a meal yesterday was still fresh in his mind.
Cui Renwang looked at the warm buns in his hand, then at the man’s back. He wiped his face expressionlessly, wondering if any oil had been smeared on him.
Xie Chongyang continued, “Old Zhang arrived first and is questioning Luo Feng in the interrogation room. Luo Feng is the resident of unit 602.”
“The Director and the Captain are both listening in. There are too many people there, and Old Zhang said you probably would not want to squeeze in. He asked me to take you to an empty room to wait. I will show you the transcript later, and I will stay out here with you.”
“Okay,” Cui Renwang replied. He indeed had no intention of joining the crowd. He asked, “What is the filling?”
The bag contained about seven or eight buns; he was not sure if Xie Chongyang thought this was his standard portion for a meal.
“All sorts,” Xie Chongyang looked back. “Red bean, meat, vegetable; sweet, salty, meat, and vegetarian, we have them all!”
Cui Renwang followed him into an empty room and sat down. “Which one is red bean?”
“Can you not tell from the outside?” Xie Chongyang said casually. “Then break them open to check. If you do not eat them, give them to me.”
Cui Renwang raised an eyebrow. “You did not eat?”
“I did, but I can eat a few more buns.” Xie Chongyang looked up. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
Cui Renwang looked him up and down and nodded slightly. “Well, you are big enough that the food does not go to waste.”
Xie Chongyang wondered if he was being insulted.
Cui Renwang added, “Thank you. I will transfer the money for the buns to you.”
“No need.” Xie Chongyang guessed what he was going to say and cut him off. “If you pay, it looks like a bribe, but if I treat you, it is just police and citizens are one family.”
He wore a bright smile as he stared at him. “Go ahead and eat.” He seemed to feel quite a sense of accomplishment.
Cui Renwang broke one open; it was meat. He glanced at Xie Chongyang, who had already instinctively held out his hand.
Cui Renwang curled his lips slightly and placed the open meat bun in the man’s palm. “Help me find a red bean one.”
“Okay.” Xie Chongyang, with a bun in his mouth, broke another one open. “This is it! Here.”
“Good luck.” Cui Renwang remarked. He took the bun and bit into it slowly, chewing for a long time without swallowing.
After finishing his own bun, Xie Chongyang noticed Cui Renwang had only taken one bite. Observing his expression, he asked, “Are you choking?”
Cui Renwang remained silent for a moment before nodding with a stiff face.
“I will pour you some water.” Xie Chongyang could not help but laugh. As he was about to get up, Cui Renwang raised a hand and finally managed to swallow that bite of the bun, which had not even reached the filling.
“No need,” Cui Renwang said as he closed his eyes. “I will order a milk tea.”
“Again?” Xie Chongyang had a complex expression. “Do you not like drinking plain water?”
Cui Renwang looked away.
“Like a child. Wait a moment.” Xie Chongyang turned around. “I think the forensic team has some cola; I will find a bottle for you.”
A moment later, he returned carrying AD Calcium Milk, cola, instant soy milk, and even a cup of instant noodles, placing them all in front of Cui Renwang.
“This Calcium Milk belongs to Qian Song’s daughter. He brags about it all day, so I confiscated it!” Xie Chongyang laughed as he handed it over. “I just cannot find a straw. Soy milk seems more appropriate for breakfast, but noodle soup works too, right? It is already afternoon, so why not just eat more? It is spicy flavor; can you handle it?”
Cui Renwang felt like he was at a picnic rather than a police station. He shook his head and only took the bottle of Calcium Milk.
Cui Renwang asked, “Are you not going to listen in?”
“Too many people. I will not squeeze in. Since we caught the person, there is no need to be in such a hurry.” Xie Chongyang said seriously, “Besides, Old Zhang entrusted you to me. He told me to take good care of you and not leave you here alone.”
Cui Renwang wondered what Old Zhang was planning.
He had originally thought the red bean bun was too dry, but after swallowing it, the warm food in his stomach actually made him feel much better. Having a bit of an appetite, he took another one and broke it open; it was red bean again.
Xie Chongyang was waiting for him to eat it. Seeing him hesitate, he asked, “Is the red bean not good?”
“I want to try a vegetable one.” Before Cui Renwang could finish his sentence, Xie Chongyang had already reached out.
He broke another one for Cui Renwang. “Here, this is it.”
Cui Renwang blinked softly, exchanged buns with him, and just then Old Zhang pushed the door open. “Hey, Xiao Xie, you,”
He saw the scene inside the room and a kind smile instantly appeared on his face. “Oh, sharing food! You two get along so well.”
Cui Renwang asked, “Is the questioning finished?”
“Yes.” Old Zhang approached. “Is there any for me?”
“Eat as much as you like.” Xie Chongyang shared generously and asked with concern, “Did he confess?”
“Yes. Xiao Tao is with the sketch artist comparing similar faces in the criminal database and won’t be back for a while, so let us talk first.” Old Zhang sat down with a bun and opened the can of cola. “We moved quickly this time and finally caught Luo Feng, our breakthrough point.”
“That kid would not say much to the police, but I talked to him for a bit, and guess what? He tried to proselytize to me.”
Old Zhang pointed at himself proudly. “I just followed along with what he was saying and got everything out of him.”
Xie Chongyang was very interested. “We have confirmed Xiao Zijie’s social connections; he and Luo Feng should be strangers.”
“Yes, exactly.” Old Zhang nodded. “But just because Xiao Zijie did not know Luo Feng does not mean Luo Feng did not know Xiao Zijie.”
“Luo Feng had a video saved on his phone featuring Xiao Zijie. It was actually a boring program about a bar owner inviting his wealthy second-generation friends to drink and talk about their lives. They were all idle people with a bit of money in Fengcheng; they could not find any truly powerful figures. They could not compare to our Young Master Cui at all.”
Old Zhang winked at Cui Renwang and received a cold glare in return.
Old Zhang grinned. “In short, it was not a serious show. It was small-scale with very low views, mostly just people from their circle supporting each other. It was essentially an advertisement for the bar.”
“Xiao Zijie’s segment was about him bragging about how he recently made a lot of money and how lucky he was.”
“Actually, he just got lucky. A supplier for the M Group in Fengcheng was caught faking products. The M Group needed a batch of goods urgently, and the procurement department desperately found the factory owned by Xiao Zijie’s family. He took the urgent order and connected with the M Group, and his business flourished from then on.”
“Luo Feng saw that video and learned about Xiao Zijie.”
Xie Chongyang asked curiously, “Was he after the money? But Luo Feng has no connection to Xiao Zijie. Even if Xiao Zijie passed away, the property could not go to Luo Feng. He did not leave a will either.”
Old Zhang raised an eyebrow. “Remember those statues found in his house?”
“I remember. Most were statues of goddesses holding cornucopias, rudders, or spindles.” Xie Chongyang nodded. “He bought most of them online; they were basically Goddess of Destiny statues. However, the faces of every statue were ground flat and smeared with chicken blood.”
“Yes, that is their faith: Destiny.” Old Zhang gestured. “According to Luo Feng, they believe in Destiny itself. That deity has no unique name because the appearances of all destiny gods are manifestations of it. Whether it is Norse mythology, Greek mythology, or Indian religions, all destiny gods eventually return to the concept of Destiny itself.”
“Therefore, erasing the faces of the avatars and washing them with blood signifies that the statue is no longer a specific deity from mythology but has returned to the Destiny they believe in.”
“Their doctrine claims that the world is inherently unfair and that everyone’s destiny is fixed. What is good is good, and what is bad is bad.”
“So, in the fixed river of destiny, how can a poor boy change his fate and become a billionaire?”