Chapter Sixteen: The Vengeful Spirit Seeks Retribution

"Behind you..." Zhu Wolong pointed behind Bao Yao, his eyes wide in shock.

"It's nothing, just a haunting..." Bao Yao acted as if it was nothing out of the ordinary. "Let's eat, Mr. Zhu."

Zhu Wolong kept seeing ghostly shadows and was too frightened to eat. Suddenly, a gust of wind blew and extinguished the candle.

Zhu Wolong felt someone touch his head from behind. He spun around abruptly. "Who is it?"

He saw no one there. When he turned back, he found that although Bao Yao's body was facing him, her face had turned into the back of her head. He screamed in terror.

"Ah! Ah!"

In a panic, Zhu Wolong grabbed the lighter on the table and, with trembling hands, relit the candle. When he looked up, Bao Yao's face had returned to normal.

"Miss Bao, this place feels a bit odd. How about we eat somewhere else?" Zhu Wolong said, his nerves frayed.

Bao Yao spoke with a blank expression, but the voice was that of a man. "Isn't it nice right here?"

Zhu Wolong saw Bao Yao move her lips, but the sound was undoubtedly a man's voice. He fell to the ground in fright.

"What's wrong with you?" Bao Yao asked, still in a man's voice.

Zhu Wolong, trembling, climbed to his feet. "Miss Bao, I'll be going now. Let's meet another day." With that, he stumbled out the door.

"Finally, he's gone." Bao Yao let out a sigh of relief.

From behind Bao Yao, Lu Hehuan stepped out. "Xiao Yao, that guy will never dare ask you to dinner at the police station again."

Ying Xi slipped out from behind Zhu Wolong's chair as well. "Really, you two forced me onto a pirate ship! I'm warning you, don't let Chief Bao find out about tonight, or I'm doomed."

Lu Hehuan and Xiao Yao burst into laughter.

Seeing the untouched candlelit dinner, Ying Xi beckoned them, "Don't let it go to waste, let's eat."

Suddenly, the door burst open, and Bao Kang entered with Zhu Wolong in tow. Bao Yao and Lu Hehuan were startled—Zhu Wolong had doubled back and even brought Bao Kang with him.

"I saw Mr. Zhu leave in a panic and knew something was up. Sure enough!" Bao Kang was furious.

"So it was you two conspiring to fool me!" Zhu Wolong finally understood.

"Don't be angry, Mr. Zhu. I promise I'll punish them properly!" Bao Kang vowed to get justice for Zhu Wolong.

"Brother, it was my idea. I asked them to help me. If you must punish someone, punish me!" Bao Yao stepped forward, afraid to implicate Lu Hehuan.

"You foolish girl, you just don't appreciate what's good for you!" Bao Kang was exasperated.

"Exactly, I don't appreciate it. So stop forcing me to meet wealthy men in the future!" Bao Yao said, storming off in a huff.

Bao Kang gave Zhu Wolong a look, and Zhu Wolong hurried after her. "Miss Bao, wait for me..."

Bao Kang's face twisted with anger as he turned to Lu Hehuan and Ying Xi, looking even scarier than a ghost.

"Chief Bao, they forced me!" Ying Xi tried to shirk responsibility.

Bao Kang ignored Ying Xi and glared at Lu Hehuan. "Lu Hehuan! For disturbing the order at the station, you are to clean the entire police station tonight!"

Lu Hehuan glanced at Ying Xi, puzzled why Bao Kang wasn't punishing him as well. Ying Xi, worried about being dragged into it, quickly looked away.

Early the next morning, Lu Hehuan was still cleaning the station's corridor windows when Ying Xi walked by, yawning.

"Did you sneak off and tell last night?" Lu Hehuan seized the chance to question him in a low voice.

"Of course..." Ying Xi feigned innocence but couldn't hide his guilt. "No, I didn't."

"Then why did Chief Bao punish only me and not you?" Lu Hehuan eyed him suspiciously.

Ying Xi stroked his mustache and sized up Lu Hehuan. "Maybe it's because your face is just annoying."

Lu Hehuan lunged to throttle him, but Ying Xi quickly caught his hands.

"Enough, I have to close a case. Chief Bao just pushed me to wrap up the Chen Xiue suicide."

"We can't close it—it's not a suicide." The moment Lu Hehuan heard the case was about to close, he became anxious.

"Any evidence?" Ying Xi spread his hands with a sly grin.

Lu Hehuan tossed the rag at Ying Xi. "I'll go find it right now."

He was about to leave when Ying Xi grabbed him.

"Don't waste your time and manpower. Everything points to suicide—it's a suicide case."

"I'm going to ask Xiao Yao if there's anything new in the autopsy." Lu Hehuan ignored his advice and ran toward the morgue.

"Lu Hehuan, stop making trouble. Isn't a suicide case easy enough?" Ying Xi called after him.

Bao Yao was on duty in the police morgue, reviewing the autopsy report, hoping for new findings. Just then, Lu Hehuan and Ying Xi rushed in.

"Xiao Yao, is the Chen Xiue autopsy report ready?" Lu Hehuan asked urgently.

Before Bao Yao could answer, voices echoed from the corridor. It was Liu Rushuang and Bai Yulou.

"Someone's dead again in Locust Blossom Lane!" Liu Rushuang shouted, and Bai Yulou echoed, "The second one!"

Lu Hehuan and the others rushed out.

Led by Liu Rushuang and Bai Yulou, they arrived at the scene in Locust Blossom Lane. The deceased, Liang Fang, lay face down in the alley, with a few locust flower petals scattered beside her. Sister Hao and some residents stood around watching.

On both sides of the alley stood old three-story homes. Bai Yulou pointed to a third-story window. "That’s Liang Fang’s place."

"She must have fallen from that window," speculated Liu Rushuang.

"No, she probably jumped," Ying Xi corrected.

Bao Yao squatted to examine the corpse. Lu Hehuan frowned, looked at the window, then carefully surveyed the surroundings. He crouched by the petals, recalling that Chen Xiue's body had also been found with locust flower petals. His brow furrowed. "There are locust petals here too..."

Liu Rushuang and Bai Yulou stood behind Ying Xi. He turned to them. "Did you discover the body?"

"It was Sister Hao who found her and then told Bai Yulou, who told me, and I told you." Ying Xi turned to Sister Hao, who nervously opened her mouth.

"I was out buying groceries this morning and saw her lying there."

"Why didn’t you report it?"

Sister Hao glanced at Ying Xi and, summoning her courage, replied, "I was scared, scared it would be like last time..."

Ying Xi remembered she was once wrongly suspected as the murderer and shot her a glare. Sister Hao lowered her head.

"You knew this woman, right?" Ying Xi pressed.

Sister Hao nodded. "Her name is Liang Fang, in her thirties. Her husband died a year ago. No children, she lived alone."

"Another widow," muttered Ying Xi, now convinced that trouble always found widows. One case was still unsolved; now there was a new one.

Bao Yao finished her preliminary inspection and looked at Lu Hehuan. "The deceased suffered a blow to the head and had fractured ribs. Initial judgment: death by falling. Time of death, about nine last night."

"Again, around nine..." Lu Hehuan murmured, glancing up at the window. "Let's go up for a look."

Inside Liang Fang’s home, they found a wine jug on the table. Lu Hehuan opened it and saw it was full, sniffed it, "Rice wine."

He walked to the window and saw more locust petals on the floor, beside which were women’s footprints leading to the window. He picked up Liang Fang’s shoes at the door and compared them to the prints. "They match."

Examining the window, he pinched a fiber from the dead woman's clothes. "Same color and fabric as her clothing... She must have fallen from here."

Ying Xi, following behind, clapped his hands. "No clues left at the scene. It’s definitely suicide. Let’s wrap up the case."

"No, we can’t close it. Two deaths in Locust Blossom Lane are too suspicious. And according to Sister Hao, this victim is also a widow, living alone, just like the last. It’s likely the killer is targeting widows." Lu Hehuan eyed Ying Xi sharply.

"You're overthinking it. Everyone knows widows have it rough. I think Liang Fang, like Chen Xiue, lost her husband, had no children, lost hope, so she killed herself..." Ying Xi, annoyed with Lu Hehuan, started making things up. He looked to the other officers. "Am I right?"

They exchanged uneasy glances but said nothing. Ying Xi turned to Bao Yao, who also kept silent.

He thought a moment, then asked Liu Rushuang, "What do you think?"

"You’re so wise, Brother Xi. These two widows must have killed themselves," Liu Rushuang flattered, then glanced at Lu Hehuan. "Stop being so suspicious."

Lu Hehuan ignored her and asked Bao Yao, "Xiao Yao, did you find anything unusual?"

Bao Yao shook her head helplessly. "Nothing for now, but I’ll keep investigating and I’m sure we’ll find clues."

"If Xiao Yao’s the police station’s coroner, she’s really just Lu Hehuan’s personal coroner." Ying Xi sneered at their rapport.

Lu Hehuan ignored him, frowning as he turned to leave.

Ying Xi glared at Lu Hehuan and called the officers, "Pay him no mind. Prepare to close the case."

The officer nodded.

Lu Hehuan went next door and knocked. A woman opened up after a moment.

"Who are you looking for?" she asked brusquely, her expression wary at the sight of the uniform.

"I’m Detective Lu Hehuan from the Old Zha Police Station. I’d like to ask you about Liang Fang."

Her demeanor softened. "That widow? Her husband died a year ago."

"How did he die?"

"Consumption, they say. But I think he was probably angered to death—she was addicted to booze, drank every day. What man could stand that?"

Lu Hehuan remembered the full jug of wine in Liang Fang’s home.

"Did she have any enemies?"

"No, except for her drinking, she kept to herself."

"Thank you."

After taking his leave, he returned to the station, where Ying Xi was closing the case file.

"Detective Ying, we can’t close it—there’s a problem," Lu Hehuan pressed his hand on the file.

"The file’s nearly done—what’s your problem?" Ying Xi brushed him off.

"The neighbor said Liang Fang was addicted to alcohol, but the day she died, her jug was untouched. That makes no sense."

"Who feels like drinking before suicide? Besides, suicide itself makes no sense, so stop obsessing over this case." Ying Xi grew irritated, thinking Lu Hehuan was getting paranoid.

"Detective Ying, this is a serial murder case—we can’t be careless!"

"Serial murder? It’s just coincidence! Sure, both Chen Xiue and Liang Fang were widows, but that’s why they empathized with each other and both chose suicide!" Ying Xi continued to argue.

Just then, Liu Rushuang and Bai Yulou burst in.

"It wasn’t suicide—it wasn’t suicide... it was a ghost!" Bai Yulou declared solemnly.

"Don’t add to the commotion," Ying Xi scolded.

Bai Yulou shrank back as Liu Rushuang stepped forward.

"Brother Xi, the word’s all over town—it’s the vengeful ghost of the dancer Jin Lu claiming lives."

"A vengeful ghost?" Ying Xi was half-convinced.

Liu Rushuang nodded. "Jin Lu loved locust flowers in life; both victims were found with locust petals, and both died around nine at night—the same time Jin Lu was killed!"

Ying Xi stroked his mustache in thought. "Makes sense..."

"Nonsense! That’s likely a rumor spread by the killer to cover their tracks," Lu Hehuan insisted.

Ying Xi rolled his eyes. "Rumor or not, this is serious. I need to report to Chief Bao."

He hurried out. Liu Rushuang tried to follow, but Lu Hehuan stopped her.

"Miss Liu, could you help me find out who started this rumor?" Lu Hehuan sensed a connection between the rumor-monger and the killer.

"Why should I help you? You still haven’t kept your promise to set me up with Brother Xi," she retorted.

"Help me this time and I’ll fulfill my promise."

"Keep the promise first, or forget it."

Seeing she wouldn’t back down, Lu Hehuan agreed through gritted teeth. "Fine, the matchmaking will happen tonight."

Liu Rushuang grinned, while Bai Yulou glared at Lu Hehuan.

As the city lights came on, Ying Xi followed Lu Hehuan into a riverside Western restaurant. He looked around at the lavish decor, realizing Lu Hehuan had gone to great expense.

"Why are you treating me to dinner? Is this a weasel paying New Year’s respects to a chicken?" Ying Xi was suspicious. His rival Lu Hehuan suddenly insisting on dinner was strange.

"Even if I’m a weasel, you’re not exactly a chicken waiting to be eaten, Detective," Lu Hehuan replied.

"Fair enough."

Settled upstairs, they found Liu Rushuang waving excitedly from a corner.

"Brother Xi! What a coincidence, running into you here," she said, feigning surprise.

"Quite a coincidence. How come I run into you everywhere?" Ying Xi grumbled, thinking his luck was rotten.

Liu Rushuang signaled to Lu Hehuan, who quickly chimed in. "Since we’ve met, let’s eat together."

"Great!" Liu Rushuang agreed eagerly.

Ying Xi reluctantly joined her at the table and saw it laden with dishes. He stared in disbelief. "You expecting your whole family?"

"I’m eating alone."

He shook his head, unable to understand the extravagance of the wealthy. "The world of the rich is beyond me."

"It’s not extravagant if we all eat together," Liu Rushuang exclaimed. "Waiter, bring the wine!"

Soon, the waiter brought out vodka, pre-arranged by Lu Hehuan.

"What’s this?" Ying Xi examined the bottle.

"Foreign liquor," Liu Rushuang explained.

"Vodka," Lu Hehuan added.

"Such a snob for Western stuff!" Ying Xi muttered, but his eyes never left the bottle.

"Detective Ying, want a taste?" Lu Hehuan offered.

"Sure, everyone should try some."

Ying Xi grabbed the bottle and poured their glasses full. "Cheers," Liu Rushuang toasted boldly.

Lu Hehuan took a sip, but Liu Rushuang and Ying Xi downed theirs, the fiery liquor bringing tears to their eyes.

"Why is it so strong?" Liu Rushuang whispered to Lu Hehuan.

"I told you it was hard liquor," he replied quietly.

Ying Xi, suspecting they were plotting something, cleared his throat. The two sobered up and stopped whispering.

Ying Xi grinned, picked up Lu Hehuan’s glass, and challenged, "You have to finish it, too. Don’t be a coward—drink!"

Left with no choice, Lu Hehuan downed the glass.

Under Ying Xi’s relentless toasting, both Liu Rushuang and Lu Hehuan soon turned red-faced and bleary-eyed.

Ying Xi squinted, burped, and pointed at them, slurring, "Drink... keep drinking... come on..."

They drained their glasses and collapsed, drunk.

"Trying to get me drunk? Not so easy," Ying Xi muttered, now perfectly sober as he looked at the two slumped over the table, a smug smile on his face.

He had seen through their scheme and simply played along, outdrinking them both.

It was late when a waiter came to tell them the restaurant was closing.

"Sir, sorry, we’re closing up."

"Got it, we’ll leave soon."

Ying Xi dismissed the waiter and fretted over the two unconscious companions. "How am I supposed to get you two home?"

He paced, then spotted Bai Yulou waiting outside. Relieved, he thought, "Thank goodness for this lovesick fool..."

He helped Lu Hehuan to the door. Bai Yulou, seeing him, looked expectantly for Liu Rushuang.

"Don’t bother. I can only get one downstairs. Your Sister Shuang is still passed out up there. Go fetch her," Ying Xi instructed.

Bai Yulou dashed inside in a panic.

Ying Xi, finding it too slow to walk with Lu Hehuan, simply picked him up and carried him toward the police dormitory.

With a kick, he burst through the dorm door, carrying Lu Hehuan inside. Though he’d drunk plenty himself, as soon as he set Lu Hehuan down, the alcohol hit him hard. He burped and collapsed beside Lu Hehuan, falling asleep instantly.

In his drunken sleep, Lu Hehuan hugged Ying Xi, murmuring "Ling Yan..." as he unconsciously thought of her.

Ying Xi, snoring away, let Lu Hehuan hold him and nuzzled into his arms, as if he were Ling Yan herself.