Chapter 4 – The Appearance of an Old Friend

Editor: mako

Proofreader: kllua

With his back soaked with sweat, Huo ZhenYe turned subconsciously and pointed the gun muzzle at the door.

Bai Zhun glanced at him. Although he was useless, he was quite brave, as he did not even shout for help.

Not taking the gun seriously, Bai Zhun then bypassed the muzzle and entered the room. As he lowered his head and examined the marks on the floor created by the female ghost’s nails, he frowned slightly.

It seemed that this female ghost could escape from the binding?

Opening his mouth, Bai Zhun’s voice penetrated the darkness. As the whole room was lit, Huo ZhenYe suddenly regained his composure and lowered his gun. He was in his room, and it was not a dream, nor was it a person who had wanted to harm him.

He had truly seen a ghost.

Jin DanGui also only escaped because she was aware that Bai Zhun was behind the door.

Huo ZhenYe asked him in a different tone, “Who are you?”

Bai Zhun did not pay him any attention. His wheelchair rolled to the window, and he spotted several nail scratch marks on the window frame. Jin DanGui had stuck to the wall and climbed out, escaping quite some time ago.

The wisp of smoke originally around Huo ZhenYe’s shoulder had also immediately dispersed and drifted into the night sky along with the wind.

Bai Zhun picked up the paper wooden cangue from the ground. The wooden cangue and shackles were originally a pair. The shackles had worked while the wooden cangue had gotten wet with Huo ZhenYe’s sweat, making it useless.

Rubbing it between his fingers, the paper wooden cangue turned into paper ash.

With the room engulfed in resentment and Jin DanGui being able to escape using her hands while her feet were bound, she was already no longer a normal ghost.

She had already been dead for three nights. When it reached the seventh day¹Here the author used “头七回魂” which refers to the return of one’s spirit on the seventh day of someone death (usually occur around 9 p.m. to 1 a.m.)., her ghostly power would surge, and she would become something that a simple shackle would not be able to catch anymore.

As Huo ZhenYe glanced at the traces left on the floor and the ten small holes in the cabinet, he knew that he had just escaped death. Nonetheless, instead of rejoicing, he found it preposterous. “Why did she look for me?”

It was here that Bai Zhun was certain that Huo ZhenYe was not the one who committed the murder and felt relieved. Right after that, he wondered why he had become so hung up over this matter, as it did not concern him at all.

From the situation, it appeared that even Jin DanGui herself did not know who had killed her. Because she had died in Huo ZhenYe’s room, she had just assumed that the murderer was him and came to avenge herself – to kill him and take his eyes.

Since she could not kill Huo ZhenYe, she would go find Big Liu next.

Bai Zhun’s eyebrows knitted together. This was really too annoying.

Huo ZhenYe muttered to himself for a moment before stepping forward. “If you tell me who you are and where we met, I will have a way to send Big Liu a paper shackle too.”

Bai Zhun gave him a side glance. “That thing can no longer capture her. If we still cannot catch Jin DanGui in the next three days, both you and Big Liu will not have a good end.”

“We have indeed met before.”

Apparently, Huo ZhenYe had been testing Bai Zhun through his words, and the other person was unaware of it. Bai Zhun then pressed his lips together and turned to leave.

Seeing his wheelchair turning without him making any movements, Huo ZhenYe hurriedly followed him. “Are you the Yin and Yang Mister²As there is no direct translation term for “阴阳先生”, I kept the literal translation and translate it to “Yin and Yang Mister” – someone who is responsible for matters regarding the Taoist ideas of Yin and Yang. ?”

Bai Zhun did not turn back, but his soft chuckle seemed to ring beside Huo ZhenYe’s ear.

As soon as they left the room, they met Policeman Chen San, who was in the room next door. Hearing movements, he came over unhurriedly and looked at Huo ZhenYe first before turning his gaze to Bai Zhun. After his initial expression of surprise, he proceeded to scrutinize Bai Zhun.

This man in a wheelchair was really too beautiful.

For such a beautiful man to be in Huo ZhenYe’s room in the middle of the night and to hear big movements from his room, it seemed like Seventh Young Master Huo enjoyed both males and females, even choosing such a beauty.

As Chen San thought so, a frivolous expression was reflected on his face. Taking a closer look, he also realized that Bai Zhun was more stunning than he thought from his first glance. If a person were such an obedient beauty, it would not have mattered if the person was a man or not.

When Ah Xiu arrived to push Bai Zhun’s wheelchair, Chen San’s eyes almost fell out of his face once more. Looking at the brother and sister pair, he still found the brother more appetizing.

With a cold sneer on his lips, Bai Zhun brushed past him and shook out something from his sleeves that ended up sticking to Chen San’s heel.

With sharp eyes, Huo ZhenYe saw that it was a paperman.

Huo ZhenYe was also clearly aware of what Chen San was thinking, but he said nothing to inform him of what happened. He wanted to see what this piece of white paper would do.

Despite Bai Zhun’s unwillingness to tell him, Huo ZhenYe would not give up on his inquiry, as it felt like an important matter. However, as if there was a gate blocking his memory, he could not discover anything no matter how hard he tried to recall.

After Bai Zhun left his sight, he said to Chen San, “Let us go to the precinct.”

Chen San rejoiced. “Seventh Young Master has accepted this situation?”

Merely by identifying Big Liu as the culprit who committed the murder, this matter would have been resolved, so what was the use of being adamant? If it were not for the reporters outside chasing the case tightly, Big Liu would have been nailed as the “murderer”.

Thinking that this young master had finally accepted the situation, Chen San had a smile on his face and was ready to go back to take credit. “Kindly wait a moment, I will arrange for a car immediately.”

Huo ZhenYe had also planned to wait three days. There was already enough news being reported, and it was time for this to end.

As dawn broke, Huo ZhenYe walked out the main door of Astor House. As the reporters were unable to catch a glimpse of him even after waiting for three days at the hotel’s entrance, they had switched to surrounding the precinct for the latest news instead.

While Chen San was walking in front of him, Huo ZhenYe glanced at his heel from time to time. As the man walked, he turned to smile at him. “Chief Song is waiting for you.”

Suddenly, Chen San’s foot slipped, and he fell, rolling down the stairs to the ground.

The remaining policemen quickly helped him up, but Chen San did not stop his cries. When he rolled down, crisp sounds could be heard, and his bones must have broken in the process.

“Take him to the hospital.” After saying that, Huo ZhenYe entered the car. At that time, he had seen the thin paperman standing up and raising Chen San’s heel when he was about to step down the steps.

When Huo ZhenYe arrived at the police station, the sky was already bright, and as soon as he got off, he was recognized by the reporters. When one of them shouted, the rest rushed in and surrounded him.

“Regarding the murder of Jin DanGui, is there anything else you want to say?”

“Are you the murderer? Do you have any new evidence to come to the police station today?”

“Were you really drunk when the murder happened?”

Even though tabloid reporters could not enter the police station, they had their own ways to obtain some insider information.

More importantly, due to the death of Jin DanGui, newspaper sales have increased. This resulted in the front-page headlines being all about the murder after the world of flowers’ selection.

So, when they saw Huo ZhenYe, they were all dying to see if they could obtain information and put out some new news. If he turned out to be the real murderer, the sales volume would increase again; if he was not, they could still write about some romantic affairs that people would be willing to read about.

Remaining silent, Huo ZhenYe entered the police station’s main door.

Song JingNan, the chief, arrived to personally invite him up to his office. Looking solemn and respectful while he was outside, he smiled immediately after the door was closed. “Young Master Huo, please take a seat.”

Another phone call had come from NanJing again, and it really made things difficult for him. Besides, the settlement at HongKou District³“虹口” (HongKou District) is a real suburb in Shanghai. The Astor House was also located there. was still a foreigner’s territory. With foreigners applying pressure on top and reporters outside, they had to provide an acceptable answer to this matter.

Huo ZhenYe placed his suit jacket on the chair. It has been three days, but Chief Song had not uncovered anything.

He sat down and asked, “Chief Song, what is the progress of the case?”

Song JingNan had some familial relations with the Tao family and an ongoing business relationship with the Huo family. He was very polite to Huo ZhenYe, but it appeared that no progress had been made yet.

Whether it was a murder conducted for revenge or under a fit of passion, they should have checked all the guests who attended the banquet and the remaining 11 beauties of the world of flowers.

However, the guests were wealthy and influential, so they only interrogated a few of the 11 beauties, specifically those without influential backing. Those with support had not even faced an inquiry.

Furthermore, the murder had occurred in the public settlement for the British and Americans. Facing pressure on three sides to find the murderer, Song JingNan had already made plans. Even if Huo ZhenYe did not provide a testimony on Big Liu committing a murder in a fit of passion, Big Liu was still the killer.

“This is a matter that involves many parties, and Young Master Huo should know that it is not easy.”

A corner of Huo ZhenYe’s mouth hooked up. “I know things are difficult for Chief Song, so I made a trip down here. I recalled some details, and I am wondering if you could show me the case file and let me see Big Liu.”

Song JingNan was momentarily stunned, as this young master had constantly been uncooperative previously. When asked, he would say he did not kill the deceased and did not know whether Big Liu committed the murder or not. For him to suddenly agree to cooperate, it really made him feel uncertain.

Even then, Song JingNan had already decided on the conclusion, so he would just go along with this Young Master’s whims.

“Da Tou, bring the case file here and take Big Liu to the interrogation room. Young Master Huo wants to see him.”

Sitting in the interrogation room, Huo ZhenYe opened the case file, and the first photo was of the scene of Jin DanGui’s death. This kind of photo really made him displeased, as it seemed like he could smell the scent of blood again.

He flipped it over and found that anesthetic drugs and alkaloids were detected in the wine bottle in the room. If the murderer could drug the wine in the room, it was unsurprising that he could do the same to his wine glass. No wonder he had become dizzy after only one drink that night.

It was just a pity that the cups at the banquet were handed over to the servers after drinking. With so many people that night, it also meant that there would be hundreds of used glasses. Thus, they would have been cleaned not long after, and the fingerprints would not be retrievable anymore.

Further back, there were also some testimonies from the dancing ladies and servers. There had indeed been too many people going back and forth to keep track of.

However, Huo ZhenYe was seen by many. Perhaps after the coroner released the autopsy report and established the time of death, it could be proven that he was not in the room at that time.

Looking further through the case file, Huo ZhenYe suddenly thought of something and flipped back. He picked up the photo of the crime scene and placed it under the lamp to take a closer look.

The earring case was missing.

He then turned to the report, which detailed that Jin DanGui was wearing a bright red lace nightgown while leaving out the pair of diamond earrings.

At this point in time, Big Liu entered the interrogation room shackled. Having been detained in prison for a few days, he was dispirited and only insisted that he had not killed Jin DanGui. Additionally, his body was smeared with blood, indicating that he had been beaten before this.

Da Tou pressed Big Liu into the chair opposite Huo ZhenYe. “Whatever Young Master Huo asks of you, you must answer honestly!”

When Big Liu raised his eyes, he sent a glare at Huo ZhenYe. Clenching his fists tightly, his eyes were full of hatred. “You killed her! It is you who killed her!”

Huo ZhenYe rubbed his eyebrows. He really had no patience with a blockhead. Pressing down onto the file, he said, “You know very well in your heart that I do not know her at all.”

Otherwise, Jin DanGui would not have had to tip the porter to enter his room.

Big Liu shrunk back into the chair, looking as if the basic instincts that motivated him as a human being had been snatched away.

Da Tou said to Huo ZhenYe, “Young Master Huo, it is of no use. We have been interrogating him for a few days already, and yet he would not say anything. He would just… just shift the blame on you.”

While Huo ZhenYe refused to testify against Big Liu, the other person had turned around and bit him, saying that Huo ZhenYe was definitely the killer.

Huo ZhenYe smiled. Finding it unsurprising, he threw the file on the table. “The earrings you gave Jin DanGui are missing.”

Big Liu raised his head and asked in a startled voice, “Missing?”

From his senior sister’s chest, he had stolen a string of jadeite, but Jin DanGui did not like jade. With her only wanting diamonds, he could only switch it to earrings instead.

Those things in the chest had slowly been accumulated by Third Master Han when he was young. At that time, Third Master Han had followed his master to perform in the palace and received quite an amount of decent things.

Nonetheless, for decades, he did not dare showcase his money and belongings. It was only before his death that he took them out as a dowry for his daughter so that he could ensure her future well-being.

Huo ZhenYe leaned back in his chair, took out a cigarette from his silver cigarette case, and lit it. He slowly took a puff and said, “You stole the dowry your master prepared for his daughter and intended to leave with Jin DanGui, didn’t you?”

Hearing that, Big Liu stared at Huo Zhenye’s face with a trace of fear in his eyes.

“The earrings disappeared into thin air. Who do you think took them?”

Big Liu trembled severely. He had been locked up for several days and continuously beaten until he was unable to sleep for several nights, causing him to start imagining things. So, when he heard that the earrings were gone, he was terrified and asked vaguely, “Who is…is…Master?”

Meanwhile, Da Tou was staring at the scene in bewilderment. How did Young Master Huo know of these things? They had questioned Second Liu and Han Zhu, but they did not mention anything about earrings.

Just when Big Liu finally reacted, and the inquiry could be continued, Chief Song pushed open the door and entered with an ugly expression. He gave Huo ZhenYe a forced smile. “Young Master Huo, you should go back.” Saying that, he then glanced at Da Tou and pointed to Big Liu, who was still in the chair. “Let him go too.”

Huo ZhenYe asked doubtfully, “The case is solved?”

“Another one died.” It was Su ManLi, the October beauty.

Chief Song had a severe expression on his face. Her death was exactly the same as Jin DanGui – both eyes dug out and left to die on the bed.

During this whole time, both Huo ZhenYe and Big Liu were being supervised. With one locked in a cell while the other not leaving Astor House, they were naturally cleared of suspicion after this recent development.

They were not the killer.

• 1
  Here the author used “头七回魂” which refers to the return of one’s spirit on the seventh day of someone death (usually occur around 9 p.m. to 1 a.m.).
• 2
  As there is no direct translation term for “阴阳先生”, I kept the literal translation and translate it to “Yin and Yang Mister” – someone who is responsible for matters regarding the Taoist ideas of Yin and Yang.
• 3
  “虹口” (HongKou District) is a real suburb in Shanghai. The Astor House was also located there.