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, Officer Han Meng?"

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

Those words boomed in Chen Ling's ears like thunder!

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 in the wilderness with my younger brother."

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

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

"What piece were you practicing?"

"Farewell My Concubine."

"What was the final line?"

"...Oh, dear!"

"What was 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 react at all.

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

Chen Ling had never encountered the operas of this world and had no idea what plays existed. He could only force himself to 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 did not stump Chen Ling. Peking opera performances had often been held in the Theater in his previous life, and he had heard Farewell My Concubine more than twenty times. He still remembered clearly the final scene, when Xiang Yu turned around and discovered that Yu Ji had cut her own throat.

The facts proved that Chen Ling had gambled correctly.

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

"Oh, then perhaps I was mistaken."

That bastard really was trying to bluff me!

Looks like I didn't hit him hard enough with that club last night!

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

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

"...District Two, Ice Spring Street."

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

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

"This is an order."

Han Meng's simple four words cut off everything Chen Ling had left to say.

Chen Ling and Han Meng looked at each other in the cold wind. Their padded robe and trench coat fluttered separately as the entire world fell into dead silence...

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

"From here to Ice Spring Street in the Second District, it takes two hours at most. In two hours, 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 call you a rickshaw."

"..."

Han Meng embodied the phrase swift and decisive to the extreme. He flagged down a rickshaw puller right there on the street—the very one who had spoken with Chen Ling on the way here—and directly told him to deliver Chen Ling to Ice Spring Street on time. He would reimburse the fare.

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

Watching Chen Ling leave, Han Meng crushed the burned-out cigarette butt beneath his foot and snorted coldly.

"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 the Ash Realm intersected with ours, Li Xiuchun and Chen Tan went through the rain to the mass graveyard, claiming they were there to mourn their son... The next day, the calamity happened to break into their home, killed the two law enforcers tailing them, yet spared only the two of them... And throughout all this, the Chen brothers happened to be away from home, with no alibi."

"But they already explained the memorial for their son. Many years ago, they had a child who died young..."

"You've got the wrong focus."

"Huh?"

"The important thing isn't that they went to mourn their son. It's that before dawn, during the heaviest rain Aurora Domain has seen in ten years, they went to mourn him... Do you think a child who died young, one they had little emotional attachment to, was worth that?"

"This..." Jiang Qin was left speechless.

"The child who died young, and the opera practice—both are Chen Ling's one-sided claims. There's no evidence for either." Han Meng patted Jiang Qin's shoulder. "As Enforcers, we need to see with our own eyes, not listen with our ears."

"...I understand, Brother Meng."

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

"What are we going there for?"

"I've already sent Chen Ling away... All that remains is to interrogate Chen Yan." Han Meng's eyes narrowed slightly.

Tap—tap—tap...

The hammer struck rhythmically, driving the nails little by little into the wall.

As the wooden planks were neatly laid across the wall, the enormous hole was gradually patched up. Chen Yan wiped the sweat from his face, secured the final plank in place, then sat down in a chair, panting heavily.

He turned to look at the living room and saw the man in silver-rimmed glasses curiously examining the planks he had just installed, seemingly lost in thought.

"Couldn't even help a little..."

Chen Yan muttered under his breath.

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

Still, why had he never heard his older brother mention having a friend in Aurora City?

Just after Chen Yan finished the repairs, the man slowly rose to his feet and walked over to the tightly nailed planks, speaking in surprise:

"How did you do this...?"

"Fixing a house isn't difficult. When we were kids, my brother even took me to build a wooden cabin... though it was for birds." Chen Yan raised his head proudly. "I heard people from Aurora City are all rather delicate. You probably aren't this skilled at repairing houses, are you?"

Just as the man was about to say something, a rapid knock sounded at the door.

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

The moment he heard those words, Chen Yan's face went 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 time 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 fell, he immediately hid in the bedroom, concealing himself.

"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 looked again at the house number, then asked in confusion, "That's 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 might be... So it's you." The man's lips curled upward. He pushed up his silver-rimmed glasses and spoke unhurriedly. "I should have known. District Three is your territory."

Seeing the two of them immediately start talking, Jiang Qin leaned close to Han Meng's ear and asked softly, "Brother Meng, who is he?"

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