The Eighteenth Chapter

Fang Chuan and his team found nothing; Zhan Hongye wasn't at home or his company. He had been out of contact with his family since last night.

No one in the Zhan family found this strange, as it happened occasionally. It wasn't until the police arrived that Zhan Hongye's wife, Jiang Jia, became flustered.

She tried calling Zhan Hongye several times without success. She then called Zhan Huitian and Zhan Ni back, but neither could provide any more clues.

According to Jiang Jia's recollection, Zhan Hongye left the banquet halfway through last night due to an urgent matter and returned home alone. They hadn't been in contact since.

Zhan Ni, who had been at home feeling unwell, claimed she was asleep at the time and didn't know if her father had returned.

Finally, Zhan Hongye's whereabouts were traced through surveillance footage.

He had indeed returned home but left again shortly after in his car.

The surveillance video clearly showed two cars following him for a stretch after he left home.

By 4 PM, the transportation system had no record of Zhan Hongye booking any tickets. His properties were searched, but he was still nowhere to be found.

His phone remained switched off, making it impossible to locate him. The two cars that had followed him were still under investigation.

"Did this Zhan Hongye get wind of something and flee, or did something happen to him?"

Fang Chuan frowned as he watched the surveillance footage.

The Special Case Investigation Section had limited manpower. Half were dispatched for investigations, while the rest remained to monitor the surveillance feeds.

Even Yan Xiu was roped in by Fang Chuan.

The prolonged, inefficient, and tedious work was starting to make the usually aloof and composed Consultant Yan impatient. His suit jacket was casually draped over the back of his chair, his shirt sleeves rolled up to reveal the smooth musculature of his forearms and an expensive watch on his wrist.

Hearing Fang Chuan's question, he wearily pinched the bridge of his nose. "Give me Zhan Hongye's birthdate. I'll have someone check his status."

Without a specific time of birth, the results wouldn't be very accurate, but it was better than guessing here.

Fang Chuan quickly sent Yan Xiu a screenshot of Zhan Hongye's ID card, and Yan Xiu forwarded it to someone.

Soon, feedback came back.

Diviner Su: The birthdate doesn't match the person. The Bazi is fake, useless.

Yan Xiu extinguished his phone and sighed. "He changed his birthday. I can't calculate it."

"Did this old fox anticipate this day?" Fang Chuan couldn't hide his frustration, hands on his hips, pacing the office.

"Whether he anticipated it or not, the person who gave him the item definitely did."

Where did an ordinary person like Zhan Hongye get a witchcraft tool? It was even less likely he knew how to use it. It must have been given to him by someone else.

For someone whose birthdate was altered, it was difficult to deduce information related to him or the person behind him through metaphysical means without seeing him in person. In a sense, he was a very safe choice.

"Captain, we've identified the driver of one of the cars that followed Zhan Hongye," a police officer rushed in.

Fang Chuan's eyes lit up. "Who is it?"

"A small-time hoodlum named Zhou Qiang. We've brought him to the interrogation room."

Interrogating Zhou Qiang was quick. For a hoodlum who took money to do things and treated police stations like his second home, loyalty to an employer was nonexistent.

The money had already been spent; he would betray his employer.

He also revealed the person who hired them: Boss Dong.

Zhou Qiang answered Fang Chuan's questions without hesitation.

Fang Chuan: "What did he ask you to do?"

Zhou Qiang replied: "Boss Dong asked us to teach someone a lesson. We followed that person's car last night until we reached the old town. When he parked, we seized the opportunity and beat him up when no one was around."

"Do you know who you beat up?"

"Yes," Zhou Qiang said readily. "A rich boss surnamed Zhan."

"You knew who he was and still dared to hit him? Weren't you afraid of retaliation?"

"Hey, what's there to be afraid of? It was just a beating, and he didn't get a good look at our faces. We'll take his business again if he needs someone taught a lesson next time." Zhou Qiang didn't take it seriously. How could he make money if he was always hesitant?

"What, did he report it? Are you police officers so free lately that you're investigating something like this?" Zhou Qiang had some experience; he wouldn't be this compliant if it were ordinary patrol officers arresting him.

He found it strange. Although they had been a bit rough last night, it shouldn't have caused major problems. He was a professional at this.

"He didn't report it. He's missing."

Zhou Qiang blinked and quickly raised his hands, swearing. "Officers, this has nothing to do with us. We're very professional and guarantee that none of his parts were damaged, nor was he knocked unconscious. We didn't touch anything on him. He could have called 120 himself without any problem."

"Whether it has anything to do with you or not, we'll find out after an investigation."

From Zhou Qiang, they learned the location where Zhan Hongye was last seen. Fang Chuan and his team went there and found Zhan Hongye's car by the roadside. A small amount of bloodstain remained on the ground at the entrance of the alley where Zhan Hongye was beaten last night, presumably his. However, there were no further clues.

The surveillance coverage in the old town wasn't extensive, and this particular area happened to be a no-surveillance zone, so nothing could be found.

With the clues dead-ended, Fang Chuan and Yan Xiu discussed and decided to bring Boss Dong, who was still traveling on the high-speed rail, back for questioning.

By the time Dong Zhenghao was brought back to Qing City, it was already 2 AM.

Thanks to the developed railway system, he was already two provinces away from Qing City. It only took about four hours from being located by the railway police to being sent back to the city.

Boss Dong, who was over fifty, was kept in the interrogation room from midnight until the next morning, appearing dazed.

Meanwhile, his eldest daughter, having just survived a critical 48-hour period, was happily singing at the top of her lungs.

Genetics always fail to pass on when they should. For example, Boss Dong was never beaten when he hogged the mic at KTV, because he sang in tune. Yet his daughter can't hit a single note.

Liu Mumu's distorted singing woke the other residents of the villa. Dong Yue rubbed her eyes and went downstairs, while Dong Qi's room, with its door ajar, echoed with clear curses. After a while, he slammed the door shut, presumably intending to curse in private.

"Xiao Yue, want a reading?" Liu Mumu finally stopped, having howled so loud even the neighborhood birds were scared away.

Dong Yue nodded. Her older sister hadn't left her room for two days and hadn't given a reading, so she was a bit unaccustomed to it.

Shaking coins and tossing them out, Liu Mumu looked at the result: "Hmm... something good is going to happen today."

"What good thing?"

"I don't know. What do you think counts as a good thing?" Liu Mumu asked back irresponsibly.

Dong Yue thought for a moment: "Dad coming home?"

Liu Mumu pouted, looking disgusted.

Next, it was her turn to divine for herself. The first reading made her eyes widen in surprise. She shook the coins three times in a row, and each result was the same. Liu Mumu's expression shifted from shock to delight.

It was like a pie falling from the sky, too sudden, and she hadn't even prepared how to catch it.

The Hongluan Star was active today!

She had persistently divined for a full five years. Had she finally found a boyfriend today?

Liu Mumu dug out her long-dormant divination knowledge. Comparing it with the notebook her grandfather had given her, she calculated, finally setting the meeting time for ten in the morning.

After eating the lovingly prepared breakfast made by her younger sister, and telling her to wait at home obediently while her older sister brought back a brother-in-law, Liu Mumu left home an hour and a half early.

It didn't matter if she had no destination; she could divine her way there.

Standing below Binjiang Building, only a half-hour's walk from her home, Liu Mumu was satisfied, remarking that the life of a diviner was so dull and boring, it didn't even give her a chance to get lost.

The divination consistently pointed her to the twenty-third floor. She arrived an hour early and, as expected, saw not a soul in the long corridor.

Standing by the elevator for a while, she felt she couldn't be so impulsive.

What if the Hongluan Star was acting erratically today? Even if it wasn't, what if the person didn't meet her aesthetic standards?

She decided to hide behind the fire door, intending to observe first. If the quality wasn't up to par, she would quietly withdraw, pretend nothing happened, and wait for heaven's next assignment.

Having made up her mind, she stayed in the stairwell, sitting on the steps and playing Eliminate Squares on her phone. There was still an hour until ten. Even when the corridor just beyond the door suddenly became noisy, it didn't interrupt her rhythm.

At 9:30 AM, Qing City Bureau received a report of a suspected homicide in a daily rental apartment on the twenty-third floor of Binjiang Building. The landlord informed them that the apartment had been long-term rented to a man named Zhan Hongye.

The case was transferred to Fang Chuan, who, along with Yan Xiu and his subordinates, boarded a police car bound for Binjiang Building.

The door to Room 2307 of Binjiang Building was tightly shut. After the landlord reported it, no one dared to open it until the police arrived and secured the scene.

Black-red blood seeped from under the door. If someone was inside, the amount of bleeding was clearly significant.

At Fang Chuan's command, the trembling landlord opened the door. The scene inside was shocking.

The landlord fainted after just one glance. Even Fang Chuan, who had seen all sorts of strange deaths, couldn't help but frown.

On the floor by the door lay a human shape, referred to as a shape because it wasn't a complete individual, merely maintaining the form of a person.

His body was cut into many pieces, stacked together like building blocks.

The blood was flowing from the deceased, a large pool of it. If it hadn't seeped out under the door, it might have taken a long time to be discovered.

Fang Chuan stepped forward to confirm. Bruises from being beaten were visible on the deceased's face and exposed skin. One eye socket was black and blue, and his face was swollen. However, it was undoubtedly Zhan Hongye himself.

"Seal off the entire building, pull up the surveillance footage, and see when he arrived. Who brought him here?"

Non-essential personnel were escorted downstairs for statements, while officers from the Special Case Investigation Section methodically got to work.

After putting on shoe covers, Fang Chuan and Yan Xiu also entered the scene.

Yan Xiu squatted by Zhan Hongye's body for a while. He took out a pen from his pocket and poked at the cuts on the corpse.

The pen immediately emitted crackling sounds of electricity.

"Unnatural death?" Fang Chuan asked in a low voice.

"Mm." Yan Xiu handed the pen to Fang Chuan. Fang Chuan unscrewed the pen cap. Inside wasn't a pen, but a small sword, the length of a finger.

The sword was inscribed with many talismans. When the tip touched the corpse, the wound immediately turned charred.

"His death is very similar to Qin Kai's. However, Qin Kai's body only had lacerations, not to the extent of being completely cut apart. So, was he backlashed by his own witchcraft tool?" Fang Chuan asked.

"Not necessarily. It's possible someone took his witchcraft tool and used it to curse him instead."

"But this time the power seems greater than before. Or did he sacrifice someone else? Yet his two children are fine."

Yan Xiu stood up. "During the sacrifice process, it's difficult to tell from the outside if there's anything unusual about the sacrifice."

Perhaps Zhan Hongye had indeed considered harming his children, and even started to act on it. However, they were police officers. Even with special investigation methods for special cases, they couldn't force the deceased's children to be examined.

"Captain, we've checked the surveillance from last night to this morning. Zhan Hongye entered the building on his own. He went into Room 2307 and never came out. No one entered or left," reported the officer who had checked the surveillance in the monitoring room.

"What about others? Any suspicious targets?"

The officer hurried to say, "One person is rather strange. About an hour ago, a girl went up to the twenty-third floor alone. We haven't seen any surveillance footage of her leaving. She might still be in this building."

"Block all entrances and exits of this building. Search from the bottom up. I don't believe we won't find her!" Fang Chuan was somewhat agitated at the prospect of a suspect finally appearing.

Seeing Yan Xiu about to leave, Fang Chuan quickly took a pair of handcuffs from his pocket and handed them over. Unlike ordinary handcuffs, these had some black lines on them, specifically designed to control special criminal suspects. They were a special issue for their department and not easily opened.

"Consultant Yan, if you have nothing else, why not help me find someone?" Fang Chuan pushed the handcuffs forward.

According to regulations, consultants only needed to provide case-solving ideas and weren't required to participate in arrests. But their department was short-handed, so no idle person could be spared.

Being a captain these days required a thicker skin than others.

Yan Xiu glanced at him and took the handcuffs. The silver-black metal rings dangled from his fingers, swaying gently with his movements.

Without much thought, he walked directly towards the fire door at the other end of the corridor.

At exactly ten in the morning, Liu Mumu turned off her phone screen, patted the dust off her clothes, and pushed the fire door open a crack. She poked her head out to peek, like a startled little rabbit peeking out of its burrow.

It seemed quite lively on this floor just now, but now there was hardly any sound.

In her sight, only the man walking towards her remained.

He was dressed in a gray-blue suit, with two silver metal rings hooked on his fingers. His thumb slowly rubbed the rings as he walked towards her at an unhurried pace.

It was a subtle movement, yet Liu Mumu's cheeks flushed. Her gaze shifted from the metal rings in his hand to his face.

The man's indifferent expression couldn't hide his handsome and outstanding features. His deep black eyes were like a man-eating abyss, making it impossible to look away. Below his high nose were slightly thin lips, naturally curved at the corners, cool and sexy.

Liu Mumu froze for a second, then used the second second to unilaterally decide that this man was her future boyfriend!

Then, the man stood before her, his black eyes slightly lowered, meeting her gaze.

She heard his deep, magnetic voice say, "City Bureau investigation, you need to come with me."

He slightly raised his hand. Where were the metal rings? They were clearly handcuffs!

Liu Mumu blinked her round eyes. How was this different from what she had calculated?

It was... quite sudden.

Torn between calling him "boyfriend" and "police uncle," Liu Mumu decisively surrendered: "Police uncle, I, I didn't do anything!"

Police uncle?

He looked at the girl in front of him, who only reached his chest. She wore overalls and a white T-shirt, with a hastily tied bun hairstyle secured by a chubby cloud hair tie, which was overly childish.

For a moment, he found it hard to judge whether this young girl calling him "Uncle" was trying to take advantage of him.

After a thorough look, Yan Xiu's eyebrows twitched, and he grudgingly accepted the title.

"There was a murder case on the twenty-third floor. You'll likely need to come back to the police station to explain. What are you doing here?"

Liu Mumu: ...

She hadn't done anything, she just unilaterally wanted to meet her future boyfriend!

She felt this answer was perfectly logical. The question was, would the police uncle believe it?