Chapter 29
Chapter 29
Xie Qingling drove the motorcycle with Dai Xingyu seated behind her. Considering that Xie Qingling could also “see ghosts,” Ling Fang had placed the two in a group and sent them ahead to open the way.
The motorcycle raced along at extraordinary speed.
Its deep, heavy engine growl echoed through the streets. At the same time, the sounds of Dai Xingyu moving behind her occasionally reached Xie Qingling’s ears.
Dai Xingyu clattered away at the keyboard without releasing his laptop even on the road. Indeed, even as a Groom, he lived in a modern information society and could not do without a powerful network and convenient communications equipment.
“Connecting to the resident information database – ”
“Database connection successful. Querying information for you – ”
“Information query successful. Please review.”
Before long, Dai Xingyu’s voice reached them both from behind Xie Qingling and through their earpieces.
“Director, I found it,” Dai Xingyu said. “Yang Zhenhua is his parents’ only son. After getting married, he moved out and began living with his wife. He has a seven-year-old daughter. The family of three currently lives in Xingfu Residential Complex, Qinghua District.”
“His other social relationships are relatively simple. Because he’s a workaholic, he hasn’t contacted his old friends in years. The people he usually interacts with are most likely employees and clients of his law firm, but none of those relationships are close.”
After hearing this, Ling Fang said, “Then focus the investigation on his wife and daughter, as well as the people in Xingfu Residential Complex who interact with Yang Zhenhua in their daily lives. We can decide what to do about his parents after dealing with Yang Zhenhua. For now, go to his home and determine the number of Painted-Skin Ghosts. Everyone else will remain on standby.”
“Understood.”
Five minutes later, Xie Qingling and Dai Xingyu arrived at the entrance to Xingfu Residential Complex.
Qinghua District was one of Future City’s more prosperous areas, with extremely high housing prices. Xingfu Residential Complex was an upscale development within it, and its security was exceptionally strict.
The moment Xie Qingling and Dai Xingyu appeared, they attracted the attention of the security guard at the entrance.
The guard barked, “Why are you sneaking around? Who are you? We don’t accept walk-in visitors here! You need an appointment and registration to enter!”
Dai Xingyu was already highly experienced in handling such situations.
He took out a small booklet and flashed it in front of the guard, a smile on his baby face. “We’re handling a case, sir.”
As he spoke, he offered the guard a cigarette.
The guard’s imposing manner immediately weakened. His hand trembled slightly as he accepted the cigarette. “A… A case? What kind of case?”
“That’s confidential, sir.”
Once their identities were confirmed, Dai Xingyu and Xie Qingling entered the complex without registering.
The complex was quiet. Only a few elderly people could be seen supporting one another as they walked, presenting a scene of peaceful, uneventful life. Children were relatively rare. Occasionally, noisy shouts rang out, but they were quickly scolded into silence.
That saved them a considerable amount of effort. With no one around, they did not need to think of ways to remain discreet.
Xie Qingling looked at Dai Xingyu. “Begin. First, determine how many ghosts are inside the complex.”
Dai Xingyu nodded, pressed his palms together, and chanted softly, “Spirits of heaven and earth, seal of yin and yang. Ghosts and demons, reveal your true forms at once.”
In that instant, Xie Qingling felt the air around her grow viscous.
As Dai Xingyu’s search expanded, the seconds ticked past.
Several minutes later, Dai Xingyu opened his eyes, beads of sweat as large as soybeans sliding down his temples.
He shook his head. “Nothing… I can’t find them.”
The failure of his talent as a Groom left Dai Xingyu somewhat panicked.
He chanted again, “Spirits of heaven and earth, seal of yin and yang. Ghosts and demons, reveal your true forms at once.”
Dai Xingyu once more activated his talent as a Groom and searched the entirety of Xingfu Residential Complex.
This time, however, he opened his eyes with the same disappointed expression. “No. I still can’t find them. I… I can’t detect their presence.”
After hearing this, Xie Qingling analyzed the situation. “There are only two possible reasons you can’t find it. Either it isn’t inside the complex, or the Painted-Skin Ghost’s abilities specialize in disguise. Perhaps you should treat it as a ‘human,’ not a ghost.”
Dai Xingyu murmured, “Finding a ghost is easy. It’s like spotting a black dot on a blank sheet of paper. But finding a ‘human’ among a crowd is like finding a single tree in a forest. With so many people, checking them one by one would be extremely difficult.”
Perhaps Xie Qingling could wander around and rely on her ability to trigger a warning.
But that method was far too inefficient, and Xingfu Residential Complex was too large.
There simply was not enough time.
After thinking, Xie Qingling asked, “Besides sensing ghosts, can you sense dead bodies?”
“I can.”
Xie Qingling said, “Then change your approach. Don’t try to determine the number of ghosts first. Determine the number of victims.”
“You mean…”
“If they kill someone, they still have to dispose of or hide the body, don’t they? Surveillance is everywhere in modern society. Everything leaves a trace. I refuse to believe they haven’t exposed a single flaw.” Certainty filled Xie Qingling’s eyes. “If they want to live in human society under a perfect disguise, then they must also be constrained by certain rules. Otherwise, it wouldn’t count as a disguise. After all, they want to be human.”
Unlike other ghosts and monsters that cared only about hunting and feeding, Painted-Skin Ghosts did not seek merely to fill their stomachs. They longed to possess perfect painted skins so they could disguise themselves and live within human society.
The Painted-Skin Ghost had probably appeared some time ago, yet nothing unusual had happened throughout that period. This could only mean its disguise was extraordinarily good.
Disguising itself to this extent took more than simply wearing a human skin.
The ghosts must also have studied the many rules of human society to some degree, all to make themselves look like genuine “people.”
The countless rules and restrictions of human society constrained every person within it – as well as those ghosts that wanted to become human.
Dai Xingyu instantly understood.
He stared at Xie Qingling for several moments. A peculiar feeling suddenly filled him, accompanied by belated relief.
At first, when Dai Xingyu learned that Xie Qingling’s talent overlapped to some extent with a Groom’s, he had been worried.
But after accompanying Xie Qingling on an operation, Dai Xingyu discovered that their roles did not conflict at all.
Watching how decisive she was when issuing orders, Dai Xingyu privately thought that the person who should be worried about losing his job was probably the Director…
Dai Xingyu collected his thoughts and removed a porcelain incense tray from the silver case.
He inserted a short piece of incense, then lit it.
Thick white smoke immediately poured out. Unlike ordinary smoke, however, which rose upward, this dense white smoke flowed down.
Like a waterfall, the curling smoke cascaded toward the ground.
Xie Qingling looked at it in surprise. “What kind of incense is that?”
“Backflow incense. It’s used exclusively as an offering for the dead.”
Dai Xingyu closed his eyes and murmured, “Backflowing incense offerings, partake of what I offer. I awaken your awareness; heed my command.”
Roughly three minutes later, Dai Xingyu opened his eyes.
This time, confusion no longer filled them. “I found them.”
“There are two victims. Both bodies are hidden in a basement storage room.”
Xie Qingling nodded. “Let’s take a look.”
The two arrived at the property management office of Xingfu Residential Complex.
A young woman on duty sat inside. The moment she saw Xie Qingling and Dai Xingyu, she asked, “Hello. Are you owners or tenants? Is there anything I can help you with?”
The pair’s clothing looked unusual, and their presence was far too imposing.
The property manager felt somewhat intimidated.
Working at Xingfu Residential Complex, she normally dealt with smartly dressed, well-groomed men and women. The sight of Xie Qingling and Dai Xingyu dressed entirely in black, with various straps crossing their bodies and cases bearing strange symbols in their hands, made her assume they were dressed in some alternative subculture style…
Dai Xingyu immediately smiled.
His baby face looked gentle and harmless.
He said, “Miss, there’s no need to be nervous. We’re here on a case.”
He flashed the small booklet in front of the property manager again.
But the property manager clearly lacked the security guard’s composure. The moment she imagined a terrifying case occurring inside the complex, her face turned deathly pale.
Trembling, she picked up the telephone and tried to contact the building manager, but Xie Qingling pressed down on her hand.
Xie Qingling’s expression was calm and even somewhat cold, nothing like Dai Xingyu’s gentle harmlessness.
She said, “We need you to open the basement storage room belonging to Unit 1303.”
The property manager looked ready to cry. Trembling, she said, “Property management can’t forcibly open an owner’s storage room. I need to contact the owner first before I can – ”
“Help us out, miss.” Dai Xingyu waved the small booklet at her again. “You don’t want to make our job difficult, do you? We don’t want to make things difficult for you either.”
After hesitating for a while and weighing her options, the property manager agreed to their request. “All right.”
She took a ring of keys from a drawer, then led Xie Qingling and Dai Xingyu into the elevator and down to level B2.
Level B2 was the underground parking garage. Rows of small rooms with tightly closed doors lined the side of the garage. These were the owners’ basement storage rooms.
Basement storage rooms were generally used for items that rarely saw use and might not be opened for years. Because they were underground, permanently deprived of sunlight and prone to accumulating moisture, the area around them always reeked powerfully of mold.
This time, however, as the property manager approached the storage room, she discovered that the unpleasant odor was far stronger than ever before. Mixed with the mustiness of objects long deprived of sunlight was another revolting, rotten stench.
It smelled as though something inside had been decaying without being removed…
Remembering the mysterious identities of the two people behind her, the property manager formed a terrible suspicion. Her face instantly turned as white as paper, and her steps became unsteady with nerves.
After finally reaching the door of Unit 1303’s storage room, she took out a key and inhaled deeply. She turned it, and with a click, the door opened.
The rotten stench behind the door immediately intensified.
A dark, indistinct mass seemed to topple toward the entrance.
The property manager, already as skittish as a frightened bird, was about to scream when a pair of hands suddenly covered her eyes. Her vision plunged into darkness, and she could no longer see anything.
It was the tall young woman with the cold expression.
She covered the property manager’s eyes with one hand and spoke coldly beside her ear. “Don’t look.”
At the same time, the sound of the baby-faced man retching reached her ears.