The Twenty-Third Chapter

After hanging up the phone, Liu Mumu, who had divined an ominous hexagram, had a bad feeling.

Normally, when she divined an auspicious hexagram, there was a 50% chance she was wrong today. When she divined an inauspicious hexagram, there was a 99% chance it would come true.

An hour later, her premonition came true.

She was escorted from her home to the police station in a police car.

Although the officers didn't look fierce and didn't lay a hand on her, they were tall and strong, and they walked with her in the middle, making it seem like she was about to escape at any moment.

Even if she wanted to run, she couldn't outrun them.

Liu Mumu was very confused. Who could be as unlucky as her to face imprisonment twice in one week?

Last time, she happened to stumble upon Zhan Hongye's death scene. What was the reason this time?

Upon arriving at the police station, she was directly put into an interrogation room. The person interrogating her this time was still Fang Chuan.

Captain Fang acted as if he didn't remember their past acquaintance from fortune-telling. His stern face was like the Door Gods pasted on doors during Chinese New Year, both square and fierce.

"As far as we know, your relationship with Zhan Ni was very good," Fang Chuan said, glancing at her.

"I think our relationship was quite ordinary," Liu Mumu replied cautiously. In fact, from now on, she would definitely keep her distance from Zhan Ni.

"Is that so? Your chat logs say otherwise," Fang Chuan said, flipping through the file in front of him. "We found your chat records on Zhan Ni's phone. They involve some financial transactions, as well as topics like sacrifice and rituals. Do you have anything to say about this matter?"

Liu Mumu frowned. "If you had read our conversation in full, you would know that she said she was in some trouble and her body was acting strangely. She came to me for help. We were high school classmates, so of course, I would help her. I divined a hexagram for her and charged her ten thousand yuan. That's all."

Fang Chuan was not easily convinced. He said coldly, "You didn't just divine her fate, did you? You also taught her how to use that vase that could harm people?"

"I didn't!" Liu Mumu's eyes widened. Such an accusation was too much!

Fang Chuan remained unmoved and continued, "An hour ago, you called the police saying your friend Zhan Ni was trying to jump off a building. The last call she made before preparing to commit suicide was to you. What did you talk about? Why did she call you?"

Liu Mumu didn't really want to answer him, but for the sake of her innocence, she endured it.

"I don't know why she called me. She said she hated me and blamed me for refusing to tell her fortune anymore. She said she would inherit her father and brother's inheritance and become very rich. I thought something was wrong with her, so I went along with her words and talked about her future destiny to stall for time and wait for someone to help."

"Is that all?" Fang Chuan seemed unconvinced.

"That's all. Also, I know Zhan Ni was rescued. If you don't believe me, you can ask her."

Liu Mumu never expected her trouble to stem from messages they had exchanged in the past. Those contents were clearly normal.

She was curious, what were they trying to investigate?

Fang Chuan closed the folder and said to her, "When Zhan Ni was rescued, she fell and hit the back of her head. She's still in a coma."

Liu Mumu tried to use an example to prove her innocence. "After I hung up her call, I still called the police. If I were a bad guy, why would I call the police?"

"Oh, that could be your way of clearing your name," Fang Chuan said expressionlessly.

"I would never use such a stupid method to clear my name!" Who did he think she was?

"Well, who knows?" Fang Chuan could indeed be very annoying at times.

"In short, this matter has nothing to do with me," Liu Mumu said, slapping the table, then retracting her hand. It hurt a little.

"We hope so, but until Zhan Ni wakes up, you'll likely need to stay here to cooperate with the investigation."

"You're being unreasonable!" Liu Mumu was about to explode with anger at his absurdity. "I want to see your consultant. I don't want to talk to a stupid square-faced human like you."

Did he mean himself when he said "square-faced human"?

Fang Chuan touched his face, thinking his facial contours were very masculine. She really had no taste.

He shrugged, put away the documents, and got up to leave.

He wasn't deliberately targeting Liu Mumu; this was just a normal investigation process. However, this girl probably wouldn't think so.

Zhan Ni's suicide attempt was highly suspicious. Regardless of the motive for murder, the fratricide was already shocking enough. Why would she choose to commit suicide after acting?

The news that Zhan Huitian was not dead was still being suppressed. The time she chose to commit suicide was only a few minutes apart from the time she cursed her own brother.

Zhan Ni was unaware of the existence of their special department. If the siblings had a deep-seated feud, after killing someone through such a covert method, she wouldn't have to worry about being found out at all. There would be no need for her to commit suicide.

From her phone's call records, the person she contacted most frequently was Liu Mumu. It couldn't be blamed that they were targeting her.

Fang Chuan walked out of the interrogation room and said to Yan Xiu, who was standing outside, "I don't think she's the mastermind behind this. The Zhan family case is getting deeper and deeper.

It's a pity that both the brother and sister are currently unconscious. We probably won't get any clues in the short term. Liu Mumu might know some details we don't. Why don't you try to probe her?"

Yan Xiu tilted his head and glanced at Liu Mumu, who was huddled in a chair inside the interrogation room. "Why do you think she'll tell me?"

Fang Chuan made a gesture of encouragement. "After all, you're the future boyfriend the girl has identified. Believe in yourself."

Yan Xiu looked at Fang Chuan calmly, his handsome face expressionless.

Fang Chuan grinned, feeling no guilt for selling out his colleague. "I'll wait for your good news."

Liu Mumu waited for a while, then the interrogation room door opened, and Yan Xiu came in.

Today, he was wearing a dark blue suit, his tie loosened, and the top two buttons of his collar were undone. Unfortunately, Liu Mumu was in no mood to appreciate it.

The surveillance in the interrogation room was turned off. Yan Xiu sat elegantly opposite Liu Mumu, who looked like a pufferfish about to inflate with anger.

After a moment of preparation, Liu Mumu said with great grievance, "I didn't do it."

Yan Xiu nodded. "I believe you, but we have to follow procedure. Based on the existing evidence, you are very suspicious."

"What makes me suspicious?" she asked, displeased.

Yan Xiu sized her up and replied, "Everything."

So his earlier claim of trusting her was just him playing with her feelings. What a scumbag!

"...What exactly are you looking for?" Silence wouldn't solve anything, so Liu Mumu took the initiative to speak.

"The person who provided Zhan Hongye with a witchcraft tool, or the person who helped Zhan Huitian murder Zhan Hongye, or perhaps the person who enticed Zhan Ni to kill Zhan Huitian. We're not sure how many people are involved."

Liu Mumu was dumbfounded, unsure which piece of news shocked her the most.

"So when Zhan Ni called me just now, did she really kill her brother? With that vase?"

"Yes."

"It wasn't me who taught her. I absolutely didn't tell her how to use the vase. However..." Liu Mumu hesitated. "I only told her not to casually give her birthdate and time to others. Could she have figured out how to use the vase herself?"

"Perhaps."

"But why did she commit suicide?" Liu Mumu's fortune-telling was rarely this accurate. She had a feeling something was wrong with Zhan Ni just now, perhaps her potential was triggered. The first thing she saw was Zhan Ni standing on the rooftop.

She clearly intended to jump.

"Maybe someone controlled her?" Liu Mumu continued guessing without waiting for Yan Xiu's reply. "She discovered she was manipulated into killing someone and couldn't handle the shock, so she wanted to commit suicide? That doesn't seem right."

Liu Mumu immediately dismissed the guess. "When she called me, her emotions were relatively stable. She didn't seem remorseful about killing anyone. She was already planning to commit suicide then."

"You think someone manipulated her?" Yan Xiu listened intently. This was a possibility they hadn't considered.

But Liu Mumu's suggestion made him quickly recall Zhan Hongye's death. He had walked into Binjiang Building himself before he died, which was also suspected to be manipulation.

"Probably..." Liu Mumu said hesitantly. "Although I don't want to speak ill of her, from when I told her fortunes to when she saw her father trying to sacrifice her, I clearly told her the solution: smash the vase, and it would be over once and for all."

"Good idea. Who taught you that?" Yan Xiu interjected with interest.

This girl knew quite a lot. Witchcraft tools weren't very common; they hadn't been used in years and were relics from decades ago.

Liu Mumu rolled her eyes. "I'm not telling you."

Yan Xiu smiled and continued, "She didn't agree to destroy the vase?"

"Right. After that, Zhan Hongye died suddenly, and the person threatening her was gone, so I didn't pay it any more attention. However, I think she probably didn't want Zhan Hongye to have a bad impression of her, even though he wanted to harm her."

"She was greedy for the life Zhan Hongye provided her, so she disregarded her own safety to stay with the Zhan family. Someone so greedy for wealth and status probably isn't that fragile," Yan Xiu stated incisively.

"Perhaps, and then on the day of Zhan Hongye's funeral, we heard the lawyer talking to someone about Zhan Hongye consulting about changing his will.

You know his inheritance all went to his son, right? Zhan Ni got nothing. She must have been devastated when she heard that."

"Inheritance..."

Yan Xiu nodded. "Missing out on a huge inheritance is a strong motive for murder. The remaining question is, Zhan Huitian used the vase to curse Zhan Hongye to death. How did the vase end up in Zhan Ni's hands? Did she tell you?"

Liu Mumu shook her head. "No. Maybe she stole it? Have you considered that when the vase was in Zhan Huitian's hands, he might have also wanted to use Zhan Ni as a sacrifice? Zhan Ni discovered this, so she decided to kill her brother instead?"

Liu Mumu didn't want to think of Zhan Ni as that crazy, but with the lure of inheritance, it was hard to say what choice she would make. Moreover, if Zhan Huitian had killed his own father, he might not have spared Zhan Ni.

"The fact is, Zhan Huitian didn't sacrifice her. Instead, Zhan Ni sacrificed herself," Yan Xiu said. "When we found her, she had wounds on her hands and traces of sacrifice on her body. She performed a second sacrifice on the witchcraft tool.

First sacrifice, then murder. She didn't miss a single step in the entire process. If you didn't tell her, then who did?"

After Yan Xiu finished speaking, they both fell silent.

They both realized that Zhan Ni's actions had some illogical inconsistencies.

If someone else was involved, someone who told Zhan Ni things she shouldn't have known, or did something to her, then her choosing to commit suicide after cursing Zhan Huitian would make sense.

And her contacting Liu Mumu while committing suicide might have just been an instinctive attempt at self-preservation.

The police suspected Liu Mumu, but Liu Mumu was certain it wasn't her.

If it wasn't her, then there had to be someone else.

"Don't you have any suspects?" she asked.

Yan Xiu looked at her.

"Besides me."

"Yes, dozens. We're still ruling them out one by one." Yan Xiu sounded a bit helpless.

In fact, they had suspected before that Zhan Hongye had a considerable organization behind him. Initially, they might have been cooperating, but recently they chose a new partner, Zhan Huitian, and thus abandoned Zhan Hongye.

However, Zhan Huitian's curse and Zhan Ni's suicide made things much more complicated.

Clearly, the people behind the scenes wanted to end the cooperation and eliminate the entire Zhan family for some reason.

Zhan Hongye's social circle was too vast. Excluding ordinary people, dozens remained, all masters he had been on good terms with.

Even after removing the con artists, there were still over twenty people.

A whole twenty-something individuals, plus those he had recent financial dealings with, or those he personally visited days ago – any one of them was suspicious.

And the phone, which could most likely hide secrets, Zhan Hongye's phone was never found. Zhan Huitian's phone showed no abnormalities. Zhan Ni's phone contact list happened to include Liu Mumu, and their chat history involved the case.

Liu Mumu's round almond eyes flickered, and she suddenly asked Yan Xiu, "As long as you find the mastermind, will you let me go?"

"Of course."

"Cooperate with the police investigation and provide you with important clues. Is there no bonus?"

Yan Xiu raised an eyebrow. "There can be."

"And you have to make that Square Face apologize to me for a whole day." She held up one finger.

"No problem." Yan Xiu's lips curved into a very attractive arc. After all, as long as the case was solved, Fang Chuan wouldn't mind apologizing for a whole day.

Finally, Liu Mumu's eyes sparkled as she looked at him. "And add me as a friend."

Yan Xiu was silent for a moment. She was truly persistent.

"Okay," he replied with a hint of helplessness.

"You go out first and let me be alone for a while. Come back in five minutes."

Yan Xiu didn't refuse. He got up and left.

Five minutes later, the door opened, and Liu Mumu said to the two people outside, "Ning Yuan is the person you're looking for. He's at the high-speed rail station right now and plans to leave Qing City at twelve."

Fang Chuan squeezed his head in. "We investigated Ning Yuan. He's just an ordinary fortune teller, suspected of being a liar, and he has a criminal record. He once got into trouble while fortune-telling and was taken to the detention center for over ten days. Zhan Hongye was the one who got him out."

They paid attention to Ning Yuan because he had recently dined with Dong Zhenghao in Qing City and helped Zhan Hongye trick the other party into revealing his birthdate and time.

However, he frequently took on such fortune-telling jobs, not just once or twice. During his stay in Qing City, he had attended at least five such dinners. He might have just been used by Zhan Hongye, and it was impossible to conclude that he was involved in this matter based on this alone.

But Liu Mumu spoke with such certainty that he decided to believe her. After all, she was someone who could even predict the breakdown of his in-game marriage, which was quite awe-inspiring.

Ning Yuan was at the high-speed rail station and might leave at any moment. He hurried to arrange personnel. Regardless of whether the case was related to him or not, they would know once they brought him in.

Master Ning was not wearing his Zhongshan suit today. He wore an ordinary black tracksuit and a baseball cap. His beard was shaved off, making him look more than ten years younger.

He was inconspicuous among the crowd of travelers.

He had a Bluetooth headset in his ear, looking down at his phone, and occasionally glancing up at the display screen above the ticket gate.

The station's massive display screen continuously showed arriving high-speed rail information.

The waiting room was bustling with people, and several railway police officers were patrolling back and forth.

When two police officers walked past him, he showed no reaction. At this moment, the train he was supposed to take was announced for boarding. The waiting passengers rushed towards the ticket gate, and he also stood up, following the crowd at a leisurely pace.

Suddenly, someone tapped his shoulder from behind.

Ning Yuan's muscles instantly tensed. He turned his head and saw the two railway police officers who had just walked past.

"Excuse me, sir, please show your identification."

Ning Yuan hesitated slightly and took out his ID card from his pocket, handing it over. He asked, "Is there a problem?"

"Just a routine check." The railway police officer looked down at the photo on the ID card and then up at the person opposite him. "Ning Yuan?"

"Yes."

"Someone has reported you for spreading feudal superstition and using it for fraud. Please come with us."

After the police officer finished speaking, the first person Ning Yuan thought of was Liu Mumu.

Liu Mumu, far away at the police station: She was innocent.

Ning Yuan subconsciously looked left and right. The police officers who had been scattered around nearby had all converged. Escaping was not an option.

Perhaps things weren't as bad as he thought. If it was just fraud, the problem shouldn't be too big.

Despite thinking this, he showed no outward change in expression. Instead, he kept exclaiming his innocence, "Comrade Police, you must have the wrong person. I absolutely did not commit fraud."

The police didn't give him any extra opportunity to speak. Several officers escorted him away quickly.

Outside the waiting room, Fang Chuan and his team were already waiting.

To avoid causing panic, they didn't go in to arrest him directly but had notified the railway police to cooperate.

After all, one couldn't carry dangerous goods or controlled knives on a high-speed rail. Even if Ning Yuan chose to resist fiercely, he would easily be subdued. This was not difficult for the railway police, and they were happy to help.

When Ning Yuan saw the specialized handcuffs Fang Chuan produced, his expression finally changed. Unfortunately, he had no chance to regret it. He was immediately handcuffed, hooded, and escorted out.

Fang Chuan had originally planned to interrogate Ning Yuan immediately after bringing him back. Even if Ning Yuan refused to say anything, within forty-eight hours, Zhan Huitian would wake up.

He believed that after nearly dying once, he would be very willing to cooperate with the police and identify the mastermind.

However, before any of this could be implemented, Fang Chuan had just returned to his office when he was stopped by the two subordinates he had left to watch Liu Mumu.

Before leaving, because Liu Mumu had provided a potentially very useful clue, Fang Chuan had specifically ordered her to be brought out of the interrogation room and sent to Consultant Yan's private office to rest. While it was called rest, it was essentially a form of confinement.

But this at least showed his attitude: it was best not to offend a capable diviner too severely.

Two police officers were also specifically assigned to guard her outside the door.

Upon their return, the two subordinates told Fang Chuan that Liu Mumu had not attempted to escape or anything similar. She hadn't even gone to the bathroom. However... ever since she entered the office, strange noises had been coming from inside.

Consultant Yan had been called to the director's office and hadn't returned. Every time they heard a noise and asked about it, Liu Mumu responded, and it didn't seem like anything major had happened.

Fang Chuan twisted the doorknob. The door was locked from the inside.

He pressed his ear to the door and called out, "Liu Mumu?"

There was no response from inside.

He thought for a moment and sent a message to Yan Xiu, asking him to come back to open the door.

Fang Chuan regretted it. He shouldn't have put the girl in Yan Xiu's office for convenience earlier. The ornaments in this guy's office were said to be very expensive. What if the girl, unhappy about being brought there, went on a destructive rampage inside?

A few minutes later, Yan Xiu returned and saw a group of people standing outside his office. He asked in confusion, "What's wrong?"

Fang Chuan stepped forward, his heart pounding. "Ahem, I asked Liu Mumu to stay in your office earlier."

"Mm," Yan Xiu nodded. He had agreed to it.

"They just said they heard strange noises from inside."

Yan Xiu took out his key and opened the door. As soon as he pushed it open a crack, something flew out and smashed at his feet. It was a globe, as if struck by a shattering spell.

When the office door was fully opened, the scene inside made it look like a typhoon had just passed through the office.

How was this even possible? Everyone at the door had question marks filling their heads.

Consultant Yan's expensive artworks and ornaments were all lying on the ground, broken and dismembered. And the light on the ceiling, why did it explode? Did Liu Mumu jump up and hit it with her head?

"Liu Mumu?" Yan Xiu's face remained calm as he called her name.

"Here," Liu Mumu's fair arm emerged from under the wooden desk.

There were two scratches on her arm, already bleeding, very noticeable.

"What are you doing?" Fang Chuan asked tentatively.

Liu Mumu's head also popped out. Before she could speak, one leg of the desk she was hiding under suddenly snapped with a crack. The tabletop tilted, and if the girl hadn't scrambled out quickly, it would have nearly crushed her.

Fang Chuan turned to Yan Xiu. "I remember this desk of yours is quite expensive. You weren't tricked, were you?"

Yan Xiu: ...

Consultant Yan was stumped and began to doubt himself.