Proofreader & Editor: Howard Wong
“Really? My apologies, I didn’t realize you were a Taoist priest!”
I couldn’t tell if Yang Rong was being sincere or sarcastic.
After a pause, Yang Rong put away her smile and said, “In that case, show me some of your magic!”
I asked, “If I succeed, does that prove everything I’ve said is true?”
“Of course!”
Yang Rong replied without hesitation.
“Alright!”
I thought for a moment and said, “Could you trouble yourself to find me nine copper coins?”
“What for?” Yang Rong asked.
“I can’t perform any powerful spells, but casting a simple divination should be no problem!” I replied.
Upon hearing this, Yang Rong immediately turned and left.
When she returned, she was holding a bowl filled with ancient coins: “These were confiscated at the antique market last time. They say some are real and some are fake; you pick!”
I randomly selected nine coins.
Holding the coins in both hands, I shook them theatrically while chanting under my breath, “Wo tuo ni ma nei ku…(TL: A spell of incantation with no practical meaning)” After finishing, I scattered the coins across the table.
“Is the divination complete?”
Yang Rong looked on with curiosity.
“It’s done!”
I looked at Yang Rong and said, “Officer Yang, if I’m not mistaken, you’re wearing a set of pink lace underwear today, aren’t you?“
“Huh?”
At my words, Yang Rong’s face flushed red with a mix of shyness and anger, and she retorted indignantly, “You can divine that?”
“I’m still a novice; I can only divine things about people or events right in front of me! Just tell me if I’m right or not!”
“That doesn’t count!” Yang Rong stubbornly said. “Even a guess has a certain probability of being correct! After all, women’s underwear comes in only a few styles and colors!”
“Hehe!”
I said, “Then turn around, and I’ll cast another divination!”
“Fine!”
Yang Rong turned around somewhat awkwardly.
I tossed the coins again and, looking at Yang Rong’s back, said, “You have a birthmark the size of a fingernail on your left buttock! That’s not something people can usually guess, right?”
“Eh?”
Surprised by my words, Yang Rong turned to look at me and asked, “What else did you divine?”
I looked her up and down and said, “Come closer, and I’ll tell you!”
Yang Rong stepped forward and leaned in with her ear.
Whispering into her ear, I said, “Officer Yang, you’re on your period today, right? If I’m not… if I haven’t divined incorrectly, you should be using ‘Space 7’ products!（TL: A sanitary napkin brand in China）”
Now Yang Rong’s ears turned red as she fidgeted and complained, “Why do you only divine such messy things!”
“I’m still learning; this is as far as I can go for now!”
“Alright then!”
Yang Rong said somberly, “It seems not everything you said was a lie.”
“It’s all true!”
I asserted confidently.
Seeing Yang Rong silent, I timidly asked, “So… can I go now?”
After a moment’s consideration, Yang Rong unlocked my handcuffs: “You can go, but you can’t leave Green Vine City until you’re completely cleared of suspicion!”
“No problem!”
I moved my wrists around and stretched lazily.
Freedom felt so good!
“And another thing!”
Yang Rong added, “After you leave, you’ll need to assist me with something!”
“Is it about capturing Blackie?”
“You’re indeed a college student!”
Yang Rong praised and continued, “Even if you two were really acting as agents of heaven, we still need to follow protocol and bring Xu Hui in for questioning! Plus, his assault on a police officer can’t just be overlooked!”
“Assault on a police officer?”
I laughed, “Under those circumstances, it was at most an emergency avoidance! Now we’re in the era of everyone being on TikTok; we’re all Zhang San [1]”
“Whether it’s assault or not isn’t for you to decide; we’ll conclude after the interrogation!”
Yang Rong gave me a displeased look.
Yang Rong escorted me to the parking lot and returned my car keys.
I picked up my phone and made a call: “This is my number. Notify me immediately if there’s any news about Xu Hui!”
“Yes, ma’am!”
I got into the taxi and waved at Yang Rong.
“Anything else?”
Yang Rong leaned in.
“Ma’am, you’re too generous! After my meticulous calculations, I believe one of the hooks on the back of your bra has snapped. You should fix it soon!”
“Get lost!”
Yang Rong’s eyes widened, but she didn’t say much else.
After all, my “divination” was very accurate!
Yang Rong stood by the roadside, watching me leave, her gaze somewhat bewildered.
Clearly, the complexity of this case far exceeded her expectations…
***
Returning to my rented room, I took a thorough shower to dispel the bad luck.
When I woke up, it was already noon.
Technology and hard work are indeed miraculous, successfully securing my freedom!
But the side effects of this thing are too severe!
After waking up, everything before my eyes was a blur; I couldn’t see anything clearly!
I bought a bottle of eye drops from the pharmacy, but they didn’t seem to help.
Suddenly, I remembered Blackie mentioning a place called Old Zhou’s Herbal Shop.
He said if anything happened, I could go there and find someone named Old Zhou!
Maybe he could cure my eyes.
And perhaps, I could find out Blackie’s whereabouts!
I didn’t dare to drive myself, so I hailed a taxi at the entrance of the complex: “Driver, to Fuqian Street, Old Zhou’s Herbal Shop.”
The car drove for a while.
After passing two streets, a familiar voice came from beside me: “Bro Yuan, it’s me!”
“Blackie?”
Hearing this voice, I was quite surprised.
I rubbed my eyes hard, trying to confirm the identity of the person, but the more I rubbed, the blurrier my vision became.
“Don’t move around!”
Blackie said, “There are cops tailing us, be careful not to give us away!”
“You still have the face to see me!”
Thinking about last night’s events, I was fuming!
This guy was too selfish!
At the critical moment, he completely disregarded brotherhood!
Blackie sighed and said, “Bro Yuan, I had no choice! There was only one invisibility talisman, and you saw the situation; I had to save myself! If both of us were caught, the police would see through us once they started questioning!”
I snorted coldly, not responding.
Blackie continued, “If only one person is caught, there won’t be any inconsistencies in the testimony! So, you’re out now, aren’t you?”
Angry as I was, I knew deep down that Blackie had a point.
After calming down a bit, I asked, “So what’s your purpose in coming here now?”
Blackie said, “The heat is on lately, and it’s not safe for me to show my face. The task of capturing the female ghost has to be handed over to you!”
As he spoke, a piece of paper suddenly appeared in my hand.
Blackie said, “This is the ghost-suppressing talisman. After the job is done, I’ll take three and you’ll take seven, how about that?”
Seventy percent, that’s seven million!
I secured the talisman paper: “I can’t guarantee that I’ll definitely succeed!”
“I understand that!”
Blackie said, “But we’ve got to try!”
I said, “Actually, you could turn yourself in now, and it would be fine as long as you follow my instructions for the testimony!”
“No way!”
Blackie hesitated and then said, “I’m… actually involved in another case. If it comes out during the investigation, it’ll be troublesome!”
I asked curiously, “What case?”
Blackie didn’t answer.
At the same time, the car stopped.
“To the right is Old Zhou’s Herbal Shop. Mention my name and you’ll get a 10% discount on the medicine!”
“If you catch the female ghost, drive along Jiangnan Road to the riverside at noon the day after tomorrow, and someone will approach you to make contact!”
1. Zhang San: 法外狂徒张三 In English is “Outlaw Maniac Zhang San”. This phrase is a meme originating from Chinese internet culture, often used to depict an extreme or absurd character. Initially, the name appeared as a fictional representation of an extreme criminal, but over time, it evolved into an internet meme used to humorously or satirically describe someone whose actions are excessively aggressive or unreasonable.