Test

"...Officer Han Meng."

The instant Han Meng called out to him, a flicker of guilt flashed through Chen Ling's eyes, but he quickly returned to normal. "What do you need me for?"

"A Fusionist actually dared to slip into the Enforcers... You've got some nerve." Han Meng spoke slowly. "Tell me, what's your purpose?"

The words struck Chen Ling's ears like a crashing thunderbolt!

He found out?!

No... impossible... The one who fought him last night was the Red-Paper Monster. He never saw my face from beginning to end! How could he recognize me at a glance?

"Huh?" Chen Ling's eyes were filled with confusion. "Officer Han Meng... what are you talking about?"

"You still don't understand what I mean?"

"...I don't."

"Where were you last night?"

"Asleep at home."

"And before that?"

"Practicing opera out in the wilderness with my younger brother."

"Your brother was practicing opera. What were you doing there?"

"He's timid, so he wanted me to keep him company."

"What was the piece?"

"Farewell My Concubine."

"What was the final line?"

"...Oh, my!"

"What about the second-to-last line?"

"...In this king's view!"

Han Meng fired off his questions at an astonishing speed, leaving Chen Ling no time to think.

As Chen Ling answered, cold sweat ran down his back. By the final three questions, he had nearly been unable to stop himself from turning around and running.

Chen Ling had never encountered the operas of this world and had no idea what plays existed, so he could only grit his teeth and name the one he knew best from his previous life... He could only gamble that Han Meng knew nothing about opera!

As for the lines, those truly posed no difficulty for Chen Ling. Peking opera performances had been common in the theaters of his previous life, and he had heard Farewell My Concubine no fewer than twenty times. He still remembered clearly the moment at the end when Xiang Yu turned around and discovered that Yu Ji had slit her own throat.

The facts proved that Chen Ling had won his bet.

After asking the final question, Han Meng stared fixedly at Chen Ling, his eyes seeming to pierce straight through his heart... After several seconds of silence, Han Meng finally spoke slowly:

"Oh. Then perhaps I was mistaken."

This bastard really was trying to bluff me!

Looks like that blow to the back of his head last night was too light!

Chen Ling took a deep breath. "Officer Han Meng, if there's nothing else, I'll be heading back."

"Wait." Han Meng stopped Chen Ling. "Which street were you assigned to?"

"...Second District, Ice Spring Street."

"Don't go home first... Go there directly."

"Huh? Didn't you say we had three hours to prepare..."

"That's an order."

Han Meng's simple four words cut off every response Chen Ling could have made.

Chen Ling and Han Meng stared at each other in the frigid wind, their cotton robe and trench coat fluttering separately as the entire world sank into dead silence...

After an unknown amount of time, Chen Ling finally spoke slowly. "I understand..."

"From here to Ice Spring Street in the Second District, it'll take two hours at most. Two hours from now, I'll confirm with them whether you've arrived... Understand?"

Chen Ling gritted his teeth. "My legs are tired from walking. It might take longer."

"I'll get you a rickshaw."

"..."

Han Meng embodied decisiveness to the extreme. He stopped a rickshaw puller right there on the street—the very man who had spoken to Chen Ling on the way over—and directly told him to deliver Chen Ling to Ice Spring Street on time. Han Meng would reimburse the fare.

And so, under Han Meng's watchful gaze, Chen Ling helplessly climbed into the rickshaw and headed straight for the Second District.

Watching Chen Ling leave, Han Meng ground the burnt-out cigarette butt beneath his shoe and gave a cold snort.

"Brother Meng, why are you targeting him?" Jiang Qin walked over, puzzled.

"Don't you find it strange?" Han Meng replied calmly.

"On the night of the Gray Realm Convergence, Li Xiuchun and Chen Tan went to the Mass Grave through the rain, claiming they were there to mourn their son... The next day, the Calamity happened to break into their home, killed the two Enforcers following them, yet spared only those two... And throughout all this, the Chen brothers just happened not to be home, with no alibi whatsoever."

"But they already explained the visit to mourn their son. Years ago, the couple had a child who died young..."

"You've got the wrong focus."

"Huh?"

"The point isn't that they went to mourn their son. It's that before dawn, they braved a torrential rainstorm the Aurora Domain hadn't seen in ten years to mourn him... Do you think a child who died young and whom they had little affection for was worth that?"

"This..." Jiang Qin was rendered speechless.

"The child dying young and Chen Yan practicing opera are both nothing but Chen Ling's one-sided claims. There's no evidence at all." Han Meng patted Jiang Qin on the shoulder. "As Enforcers, we need to see with our own eyes, not listen with our ears."

"...I understand, Brother Meng."

"If you understand, then come with me to 128 Frost Street."

"What are we going there for?"

"Chen Ling has already been sent away by me... All that remains is to question Chen Yan." Han Meng's eyes narrowed slightly.

Knock—knock—knock...

The rhythmic hammering drove the nails bit by bit into the wall.

As the wooden boards were neatly laid over the wall, the large hole was gradually repaired. Chen Yan wiped the sweat from his face, secured the final board in place, then collapsed into a chair, panting.

He turned to look into the living room, where the man in silver-rimmed glasses was curiously examining the boards he had just laid, seemingly lost in thought.

"Couldn't even lend a hand..."

Chen Yan muttered under his breath.

Chen Yan had not actually wanted to let this man into the house, but the man carried a handwritten letter from his older brother. He was a legitimate guest.

Still, why had his brother never mentioned having a friend in Aurora City?

Once Chen Yan had finished, the man slowly rose and walked over to the tightly nailed boards, speaking in surprise:

"How did you manage this...?"

"Repairing a house isn't hard. When we were little, my brother even took me to build a wooden hut... though it was for birds." Chen Yan lifted his head proudly. "I heard you people in Aurora City are all so delicate. You probably don't have skills this good when it comes to fixing houses, right?"

The man was about to say something when a burst of urgent knocking came from the door.

"Enforcers conducting an inquiry! Open the door immediately!!"

The moment he heard those words, Chen Yan's face turned deathly pale.

He had no idea why the Enforcers had suddenly come to his door, but his instincts told him that questioning them at this moment could mean nothing good...

Chen Yan's mind raced, and he said to the man, "You open the door in a moment. Say no one's home."

As soon as the words left his mouth, he immediately hid in the bedroom, concealing himself.

"The Enforcers..." The man frowned slightly. After hesitating for a moment, he still stepped forward and opened the door.

Han Meng and Jiang Qin stood outside.

Seeing an unfamiliar man answer the door, Jiang Qin froze. He glanced again at the house number, then asked in confusion, "Strange... We didn't come to the wrong place?"

Han Meng's pupils contracted slightly when he saw the man.

"Why are you here?"

"I was wondering who it was... So it's you." The man's lips curled upward as he adjusted his silver-rimmed glasses and spoke unhurriedly. "I should have known. The Third District is your territory."

As the two immediately began talking, Jiang Qin leaned close to Han Meng's ear and asked quietly, "Brother Meng, who is he?"

"Aurora City's miracle doctor, Chu Muyun."