Translated by: TaffyGirl13
Chapter Six
They chose a restaurant near home.
It was a bit late by the time Yu finished school. Yu Yin also purposely made a trip to pass by that building on the way back, with nothing appearing to be unusual. By the time they arrived at the restaurant, it was a bit past seven.
This was around the time most people were getting their checks and leaving, so there were not many customers inside.
They recognised the server, who helped them choose a table in the corner next to the window. It also had a small screen to block other people’s gazes.
As Xiao Yu watched the food get served and started eating, Yu Yin was still evaluating the student from another school, contemplating whether or not to question the other any further.
He was also assessing the possibility of visiting Yu’s original house, although he was not sure if there was anything to be discovered there…
A light knocking sound came from the table, interrupting Yu Yin’s thoughts. He finally noticed the cellphone he had previously purchased was placed in front of him, the entered text reading: “What are you thinking about?”
When Yu Yin read this question, he lowered his head to discover that he had barely taken a few bites of his own dinner, but the other person had already started eating dessert.
“Eh, just some stuff.” Yu Yin did not have much of an appetite. He quickly swallowed some mouthfuls of food before lifting his head to say, “Could I ask you something?”
Xiao Yu took off his glasses, head cocked to one side as he looked at Yu Yin before slowly nodding.
Yu Yin took the two photos out from his backpack and placed them on the table, directly asking, “Were you the one that took the packet of incense in this picture?”
Yu looked down at the photos on the table and shook his head.
Because his response was so calm, Yu Yin momentarily did feel that it was probably not him. But he had thought it over for a long time before this and had discovered that he was not as certain as before. “I just remembered that there was a time when only I went upstairs to chase after Uncle because you weren’t feeling well and stayed on the fourth floor to rest. Do you really swear that you did not go back?”
After meeting with Li Zi Hong and Yan Si, he had been racking his brains trying to figure out if he was overlooking something. Thus, he finally recalled that he had not always been together with Yu. He then thought back to the matter that day when his family’s spiritual block had run upstairs to chase after the ghost. Xiao Yu had told him to catch up first, so Yu had only joined them afterwards. He had definitely had the time to go back and do something. And nobody else would have possibly entered the fourth floor again, especially not to take a single packet of incense.
He was waiting, waiting for Xiao Yu to re-answer the question.
Time trickled by slowly. Just as Yu Yin was about to lose his patience from waiting, Xiao Yu finally took out the notebook from his backpack. He flipped to a blank page and wrote: “And what of it?”
“Do you not know how serious taking something from a haunted house is?!” Seeing that Yu’s expression was still as indifferent as usual, Yu Yin unconsciously raised his voice. “That might be evidence!” He should at least have some sense of self-reflection!
“I have my reasons. That thing is extremely important to me. You would not understand.” Xiao Yu quickly wrote the messy words on the notebook and raised his head to look at Yu Yin.
“If you don’t say anything, how would anyone understand? All I know is that you really did take the incense. Li-dàgē privately told me since he was afraid of giving rise to unnecessary trouble, yet you’re still here acting like it doesn’t matter. If that thing really is evidence related to the case, do you have any idea how serious this matter is?!” Yu Yin slammed a hand on the table, feeling extremely upset. Aside from being resisted against, he also felt as if this person whom he had regarded as his own brother, was still actually seeing him as an insignificant person just living in the same household.
If Xiao Yu cared about them, he would not have stayed silent.
The violet eyes locked onto him. Xiao Yu bit his lip and hesitated for a few seconds before writing down some black-inked words on the notebook. “I can tell you that it is definitely a piece of evidence. However, I had to take it away. When the time comes, I will tell you, I promise.”
Yu Yin bitterly chuckled, “Forget it. Since you don’t think I’m trustworthy, might as well not tell me anything at all. The incense has already been taken by you, so even if it was evidence, it can’t be used anymore. Since I know you took it, I’ll go inform Li-Dàgē and see if I can request for him to not look into it any further.” Yu Yin paused briefly before standing up. He was starting to get sick of the stifling air here. “I don’t know what you’re up to. I heard that you were like this in your past home and school, so I have no idea why you’re pretending to be some good kid at my home. Have you always been like that?”
Xiao Yu blankly stared at him before slowly writing some words down on the notebook. “You investigated me?”
“I became acquainted with one of your classmates from your previous high school that knew you.”
“Why did you go looking for him!” The words were written so heavily that the notebook paper nearly ripped through. “Why are you meddling so much?”
“I thought I was your brother! You don’t know how much Dad, Uncle, and I all worry about you. Each one of us is always afraid something will happen to you because of your family matter. But it turns out that you never thought that way at all!” Yu Yin suppressed his urge to slam the table, having noticed that the nearby customers eating dinner had started to turn their gazes onto them because of the commotion. As a result, he restrained his fluctuating emotions. “Now I’m really starting to find you a bit terrifying. I don’t understand any of the thoughts that run through your head.”
Yu Yin hadn’t expected to be called meddlesome. When he saw the words on the notebook, he felt as if all his worry in the past had been for nothing.
Xiao Yu tightly clutched the pen in his hand, but did not respond.
When Yu Yin saw Xiao Yu was still as unperturbed as before, with a practically unwavering expression, Yu Yin grimly laughed to himself. He originally had thought that after such a conversation, the other person would at least throw a fit or something, but he still had no reaction at all. It was as if Yu Yin was running a one-man show or something. “Forget it. You probably find me incomprehensible as well. I’m just a meddlesome idiot anyways, different from a genius like you. I don’t know why you took that incense, nor do I want to know anymore. It’s up to you.”
Yu Yin took out a five hundred yuan bill from his wallet. But after thinking about it a bit, he put it back and directly tossed a thousand yuan bill onto the table instead. “I’m heading home first. You can do whatever you want, just don’t run too far. There should at least be enough money for you to take a cab home.”
Yu Yin picked up his jacket and backpack, and fueled by his sudden anger, whipped around and walked straight out.
But by the time he had gone down the stairs to leave the restaurant and arrived by his motorbike, his anger had mostly faded. He quickly grew aware that the words he had said just now had been a bit over the top. It was probably because Xiao Yu’s attitude had hurt him…suddenly realising that the other person actually did not care about him nor really care about their brotherly relationship from playing house together really made him feel extremely uncomfortable in a part of his heart.
In the beginning, didn’t he hate the sudden appearance of a younger brother anyways?
Why mind it so much then?
From where he stood outside the restaurant, Yu Yin could easily see the spot next to the window that they had been sitting at when he looked up. He could even clearly see Xiao Yu’s figure still there.
He wasn’t certain, but it seemed as if Xiao Yu was trembling slightly.
Probably trembling after being shouted at?
“Screw him. I’ve only given him a lesson.” It also counts as a warning to not pull this kind of thing again.
Yu Yin had truly resolved to ignore him this time. He believed that this extreme move was the only thing that would have any effect. Maybe Xiao Yu would finally moderate himself more after this.
When Yu Yin raised his head to look up again, he saw a black, humanoid shadow next to the window, perhaps because of the room’s lighting. It completely obscured his vision, concealing Yu’s figure.
It’s probably the server?
Yu Yin did not think much of it. Having decided that he would not care about any of this anymore, Yu Yin started his motorbike.
When in a bad mood, getting a good night’s sleep was the best option.
***
Yu Yin slept until past ten the next morning.
The instant he got out of bed, he knew that he had already missed everyone else. When he grabbed his backpack from the living room, he saw the already cold breakfast on the table. The entire house was quiet; not a single person was there.
Actually, this happened a lot. He would often miss his other family members, since everyone’s daily schedules were different. He was already used to it anyways.
Yu Yin scratched his head as he checked the time. It looked as if he had already missed his morning class today. He could only go to his field work class in the afternoon. He would have to calculate his attendance rate later; if he failed because he had skipped too much, his uncle would murder him.
While Yu Yin was thinking this, he heard a rustling noise from behind him.
When he turned around, nothing was there.
Typically speaking, if there was something strange going on, he would hear the sound a second time. But after waiting for a bit, nothing happened. Thus, he directly assumed it to be his imagination.
As he sat down in the living room, Yu Yin thought back to his fight with Yu yesterday…Alright, it was obviously just me flipping out by myself. Honestly, Yu Yin had really been a bit too much. He should calmly ask for the reason…but he could not guarantee he wouldn’t be infuriated by the other person’s nonchalant attitude if he asked the question again tonight.
The more Yu Yin thought about it, the more he felt that it would be best to wait another few days before talking it over again. He had just lectured the other person so much yesterday; asking again today would be pretty awkward.
When Yu Yin finished his train of thought and was about to head off to school, he suddenly discovered a letter on the living room table that had been there for who knew how long. It seemed a bit like the letters that his uncle often got, but there was no signature on it, nor was it sealed. Out of curiosity, he opened it to take a look, but there was no letter inside. All that was there was a bit of dried up dirt and a few blades of grass for no evident reason.
It’s probably another prank letter?
Yu Yin put it back and picked up his bag to head out.
***
By the time Yu Yin arrived at school, it was already lunchtime.
“Ah Yin, your fair-weather friend left a message for you.”
Yu Yin had only managed to step one foot into the classroom before that eyesore of a woman appeared to wave a piece of paper in front of him.
“Why not just call my cellphone?” Yu Yin grabbed the paper. Then, he remembered that he had shut off his phone last night to prevent random things from coming to disturb his depressed sleep last night.
Li Lin Yue flashed a beautiful smile at him. “That’s only possible if your cellphone works.”
Since the people that knew them for some time all knew that the two of them were old friends, she would occasionally act as a messenger before demanding for a price in return.
“Alright, thanks.” When he opened the letter, he saw Ah Fang’s handwriting. The contents were mostly regarding their negotiations with the kids from across the street tonight. But there likely would not be any problems, since Yi Tai had arranged for more people to watch nearby, and there was no need to worry. If something really happened, they would contact Yu Yin.
When Yu Yin saw the letter, he immediately knew it must have been Yi Tai that had asked Ah Fang to write it. Since everyone knew his dad and uncle were cops, he had purposely asked for Yu Yin to not get too involved. When Yu Yin flipped the paper around, he saw a faint phone number written there. It seemed as if someone had written it with pencil before erasing it. However, it wasn’t Ah Fang’s handwriting.
After Yu Yin finished examining the letter, he contemplated it for a moment.
“I heard that your fair-weathered friend had a pretty murderous aura today~” Li Lin Yue lightly commented as if casually chatting. She sat down at the desk next to Yu Yin.
Since it was after class hours, the entire classroom was extremely noisy, so nobody could possibly listen to what they were saying.
“Yi Tai wants to negotiate with the people across. Contact the person on this paper and see if you can come up with anything.” Yu Yin tossed the paper back at her. He figured that if Yi Tai had given this number to him, there naturally must be a reason why he did not want anyone to notice it.
“Oh, you have to remember to treat me to a meal then~” Li Lin Yu stowed the paper away and bent over to blow him a kiss before darting away in laughter.
The instant she walked out of the room, a male approached her. Yu Yin let out a sigh.
Just as he was thinking of how he should go over to see the situation tonight, an unusual sound came from belong his desk. Before he had even figured out what was going on, a crack rang out from underneath, and the table split completely in half.
And in that instant, Yu Yin saw half a white face disappear below.
It had vanished in the blink of an eye, so it was impossible to discern its identity. However, he was certain that it was not the girl that had previously come looking for him.
The people around him seemed to notice that his table had split open, and cries of shock echoed throughout the room. Some of his classmates were commenting on how the school had been skimping on materials, while the ones that were closer to Yu Yin began to mock him for being too fat, causing the table to collapse.
As Yu Yin shot out a few responses, he stood up.
The two cleanly split halves of the desk had fallen to the ground with absolutely no trace of collapse under pressure or being physically broken. It was so sudden that he had not sensed it coming at all.
It was somewhat fishy.
“Help me tell the teacher I’m taking today off.” Yu Yin stood up and ran outside with his backpack slung around his shoulder.
After rushing outside the classroom, he did not know where to go, nor what he was looking for. Finally, he ended up standing outside the library.
Because it was afternoon, there were many students walking in and out. The other side of the library’s glass windows was filled with students.
For some reason, Yu Yin felt there was something wrong with this place.
He knew that the girl who was always crying was the dead body that his dad’s group had found, and he also knew that she was the fourth missing person.
But what relationship did she have with his university?
Why had she appeared in this place? Why come looking for him?
The reflection of the students in the glass abruptly fogged up, as if covered by steam, blurring their figures. As if someone had pressed the slow-down button on a video player, the people walking in and out suddenly seemed to halve in speed, the black shadows slowing to a crawl as they walked back and forth.
Yu Yin suddenly felt his entire back grow cold. It was clearly afternoon, when there were the most students, yet he suddenly could not hear the clamour. Chills rose up through his body starting from his feet. It felt as if ice had been dumped over him, and he was unable to keep himself from shivering from the cold.
And then he finally noticed that all the silhouettes reflected in the glass were nearly identical in size.
There was no difference in heights or weights. It was like those old shadow plays, where the shriveled up figures were slowly being dragged around behind the glass window.
The world reflected by the glass had no color. It was all black and white.
This was not his school. This was not a world he should be able to see.
In that second, Yu Yin really wanted to break into a run and flee. However, he could not move at all. He had never seen such a scene in the past when he had witnessed strange things, but his instinct told him that it was not a place a human should be entering.
There was an ice-cold, grey mist that enshrouded this world. It nearly covered up his feet entirely.
Then he saw it. That girl missing half her head stood behind him. Her limbs were all broken and twisted at odd angles, and her long black hair was knotted together, messily pouring over her back.
The girls slowly raised her hand and pointed at the library.
“What are you doing!”
Yu Yin, who had been half-dazed, jumped in fright from the sudden shout. When he returned to his senses, he discovered that the glass in front of him had already returned to its usual state. The reflections only contained the figures of normal students, and there was nothing strange to be seen.
When he turned around, he saw someone that should not be in this area of the school.
“Oho, if it isn’t Ah Yu’s brother.” Fang Yi Xun stood behind him with a book in her hand. She looked at him in surprise and said, “I didn’t think university students had so much free time to wander around by themselves.”
Yun Yin let out a bated breath. He realised that he had broken out into a cold sweat, and his limbs had been so tensed that they were starting to hurt. “What did you run over to the university for? You’re crossing your boundaries.”
“I came to return a book that I borrowed from the library. It’s nearly overdue, so I found time in the afternoon to run over and return it.” Fang Yi Xun looked down at the book she was holding and raised and eyebrow. “I called out to several times just now, you know. I hadn’t thought that you had the habit of sleeping while standing.”
“Couldn’t be bothered to speak to you.”
Yu Yin clenched his fists. He could still feel the abnormally ice-cold atmosphere from earlier. If Fang Yi Xun had not called out to him, what would he have seen just now? And that strange scene was…?
“Hmph, people need to read more books to get smarter. Just standing in front of the library won’t improve your intelligence.” Fang Yi Xun shrugged and walked forward to pull the library door open.
A thought suddenly popped up in Yu Yin’s mind. He grabbed her to stop her advance. “Wait, why are you able to borrow books from our library?” If he wasn’t mistaken, wasn’t she part of the high school branch?
“You didn’t know? Your school allows for those outside the school to borrow books. All you need to do is set up an ID. Plus, since our school has a relationship with your school, we can just use our student IDs to borrow books…judging from your question, it’s obvious that you’re so uncultured that you don’t even know how your school’s library works,” Fang Yi Xun very candidly replied while swatting his hand away.
When Yu Yin heard her response, he finally remembered that there was such a policy.
Lending books outside was not odd; many schools did the same. Of course, it went without saying that since the university and the high school across actually belonged to the same business, the two schools could definitely share facilities.
So what had she wanted to tell him?
“Student Yu, what a coincidence—”
Just when Yu Yin seemed on the verge of grasping something, another person called out to him, and the fleeting thought instantly vanished into a black hole inside his mind.
“I’m not going to play around with you any longer. I’ll be leaving first, bye.” Fang Yi Xun waved her hand and without paying him any mind, walked straight into the library.
Yu Yin could only sigh, as he had no time to even respond. He turned around to face the other person that had just called out to him.
It was the Āyí from the health office across.
“Zhang-Āyí.” Yu Yin nodded, even more surprised to see her on this side. “Did you also come to borrow books?” There are way too many coincidences today.
The woman shook her head and warmly smiled. “No, I came to help a teacher from our side return a borrowed book. His student was secretly reading in class, so it was confiscated. I’m here to run the errand of helping him return it.”
Yu Yin glanced over to see that she was indeed holding two books. However, they were covered by a bag, so he could not tell what kind of books they were.
“Students these days have no sense of responsibility. Acting as if their books being confiscated is unimportant, and it’s bad if we keep them for too long, so it’s now even our responsibility to return them.” Zhang Mei Ning complained a bit before nodded at him and saying, “Next time you are free, come by my house for some tea again. See you next time.”
“Good-bye.”
***
Time actually passed by really quickly that day.
Yu Xia had only taken a nap, but by the time he was woken up, it was already past six. After Kai Lun woke him up, he put away his computer into his laptop bag.
“It’s about time. You’re OK, right?”
Yu Xia shook his head and gestured he was fine before standing up.
They were the only two in the house left. Yin Yin had received a phone call earlier before running off and disappearing. The others had never come back after leaving. The house was peaceful, with virtually no noises to be heard.
Kai Lun shot him a glance. “If you discover something isn’t right later, don’t bother butting heads.”
Yu Xia snorted with an expression of disapproval.
Kai Lun ignored his attitude. After zipping up his laptop bag, he led the way to the designated location.
Because it was evening, dusk and night were gradually interchanging. Once the sky darkened, the surroundings quickly turned black. Only a few stars were still shining.
There was a large area of privately-owned land behind the university, surrounded by an iron netted fence. Since there typically were not people passing through, the weeds had grown all over the place. Occasionally, one could see someone’s cow lying off on one end, or a swarm of mosquitoes and the like.
This was a place that even students would not want stay around much.
Kai Lun, who was walking in front, tossed a container of mosquito repellent over to Yu Xia.
Five minutes later, Yu Xia finally saw the person that went by Big Camel.
Judging from appearance, he seemed to be around seventeen or eighteen years old, or maybe even a bit older. He gave off a dark feeling. The scar on his left side and his sinister gaze was enough for Yu Xia to suspect that this child had a very complicated background.
Although he was not part of the juvenile crimes group, he had seen plenty of children like this.
Typically, the first impression was that…they were almost beyond saving.
While Yu Xia was evaluating the other person, Big Camel was also staring at the newly joined stranger in front of him. He Wang Hong immediately walked over to him from the side. “Ah Xia, this is our boss.”
Yu Xia looked at the other person and sneered, “Show me some of your skills then.”
Kai Lun immediately gave him a subtle nudge from the side. However, Yu Xia did not pay it any mind. He had grown numb to these kinds of people ages ago. Besides, the ones he normally dealt with were much older, there was no way he would be afraid here.
Big Camel met his gaze with a hint of sorrow. “You’ll see them very soon.”
Kai Lun pressed down on Yu Xia’s shoulder and looked around. “It seems like we came too early. It’s possible the people over at the university might not actually come until seven…university students like being late. Speaking of which, where are Yin Yin and An He?”
He glanced around, but only the four of them were here, along with some people that typically helped Big Camel run errands.
“Yin Yin went to deal with that girl, she’ll join us later. An He went to hide with someone else nearby,” He Wang Hong said.
“The glasses-wearing one?” Big Camel unexpectedly asked while looking over at the person handling the situation.
“Ah…” He Wang Hong gulped as he guiltily glanced at Yu Xia. “I told him to hide nearby and watch. It’s not like he has any place to act anyways. But I told him where to meet, and if he didn’t show, he would be dead meat.”
Because Yu Xia had seen the other’s look, he immediately sensed something fishy. “Who are you guys talking about!” He rudely blurted out in question and grabbed onto the back of He Wang Hong’s neck.
“Eh…you’ll know in a bit.” He Wang Hong was a bit ashamed, but he still swatted Yu Xia’s hand away. “Stop being so fucking naggy!”
Kai Lun surveyed them and asked suspiciously, “Big Camel, who else did you find?”
“Shut up,” Big Camel coldly uttered before looking out towards the group of people walking in from outside.
The other party had a dozen or so people. The entire group was moving towards them. All of them were males, and Yu Xia could instantly tell that they were university students. Compared to the high school students, they had a heavier air of dominance.
The person standing in front seemed to be an extremely normal university student, aside from the single earring he wore. His uniform was relatively neat, his hair was not dyed at all. If anything, he would be described as fresh and clean. At first glance, his appearance was the same as any average student’s.
The head of the university branch?
Yu Xia had originally expected to see a hideous mess of a person, so he was a bit surprised. He had heard of Ah Yin mention this person at his school before, but Yu Xia had not imagined it to be this kind of fellow.
He had assumed he would see something more or less like Big Camel.
“Yi Tai, these brats are the ones that have been bothering us,” the male university student next to Yi Tai said.
The other, relaxed university student did not pay him any mind. He simply looked around before smiling. “I recall that we were simply supposed to discuss you crossing our boundaries. I don’t think there was any need to ask a bunch of people to come fight. If you do that, it makes me feel as if you did not come here to negotiate, but to compete.”
“Fuck you, we’re precisely here to compete!” He Wang Hong shouted directly at the other person.
Big Camel coldly surveyed the group of university students and lit a cigarette. The red flame seemed particularly dazzling in the night. “You brought fifteen people, so you must also be prepared to compete.”
The student named Yi Tai crossed his arms to shoot a meaningful glance at the person next to him before facing forwards again. “No, I did not bring as many people as you did. Most of them followed me here themselves. After hearing that you beat up Furry Dog so badly that he was hospitalised, and then ganged up on several of his people, how do you think my friends could be at ease letting me come here alone?”
Yu Xia furrowed his brows at these words.
This child had definitely studied before, and the way he presented himself did not really seem like someone that would meddle with such matters…Why does Ah Yin have all these random and strange friends?
But he knew those words were true. Subtracting out the few people Big Camel had brought to surround the empty lot, Yu Xia could see a bunch of his followers nearby. By his rough calculations, there were more of them than the university students.
How did that brat Big Camel get so many people?
“I undoubtedly came here today to negotiate. Tell your people to keep their boundaries straight, and don’t sell things over the lines. My territory will not have dirty things crossing over. I can turn a blind eye to everything else.” Yi Tai still had a smile on his face, but his voice had turned ice-cold.
Then, Big Camel laughed.
“In your dreams.” He flicked the cigarette in his hand, and the burning cigarette landed in the grass. “The university’s territory is mine now.”
Just as Yi Tai furrowed his brows, a number of high school students appeared around them. But upon closer look, Yu Xia noticed there were people among them that were not high school students.
They were from outside the school, and there were even adults mixed in.
These people had all come with weapons. Several of them were holding wooden cudgels, baseball bats, and some had even picked up rocks from the ground. It seemed like they had not planned to negotiate from the beginning.
“Big Camel, aren’t you going too far?” Kai Lun voiced his disapproval as he focused on the adults.
“Shut your mouth.” Big Camel glared at him before focusing on the fifteen university students that were gradually being surrounded. “Don’t worry, Furry Dog is waiting for you guys at the hospital.”
Those words were like a command. The people raised their weapons and began to charge at the group of university students.
And Yu Xia quickly understood why that very cool-looking student was the leader.
The people he had brought were pretty good at fighting, but the student named Yi Tai was even more skilled. It seemed like he would not lose even if he faced off the adults that Big Camel had brought from outside the school.
He Wang Hong pushed at Yu Xia from the side. “Ah Xia, hurry and go show what you’re made of!”
Yu Xia glanced at him as he began to contemplate how to make a move without breaking his act.
“Take this.” He Wang Hong stuffed something cold into Yu Xia’s hands. He was evidently starting to grow excited as he urged Yu Xia, “Get rid of the leader, and you can join us.”
Yu Xia opened his palm to see a butterfly blade.
The empty lot immediately broke out into rough and tumble.
“Go on and show him!”
***
He was just a spectator.
“A dogfight,” Fang Yi Xun indifferently criticised as she watched the people break out into a fight on the empty lot from where she was standing off to the side.
Shaodi Yu did not agree or disagree. He simply stood from above to watch the meaningless brawl without any comment or response.
“Did you ask me to come to this mosquito-infested place just to watch some students scuffling?” A tall male standing with them asked Fang Yi Xun with a smile that did not reach his eyes
“Oho, of course not.” Fang Yi Xun raised her head to reveal an adorable smile. “I figured that since you were coming to look for us anyways, we could all talk while watching the show. Not bad, right, Cousin?”
With an unflattered expression, Teng Qi looked at the boy and girl standing before him that had called him out here. “I believe it would have been more worthwhile if you had arranged to meet up with me at a restaurant and tried to eat my money away again,” he said as he patted away the bugs flying around his suit. He then turned to look at Xiao Yu. “However, I am quite surprised that someone from the Shaodi family would be able to remain so calm upon seeing us.”
Xiao Yu coldly looked at him. He had never directly faced this person before, having only heard of him during the incident. Yu did not express anything, as he had no particular desire to talk with Teng Qi.
There was no need. At the moment, it was still unnecessary.
“So why were you so urgently looking for us?” Fang Yi Xun crossed her arms as she focused at her relative that had come looking for them first. “Did you get any news regarding the matter we requested you to look into?”
Teng Qi nodded. “Moreover, I want you two young ones to immediately withdraw. The rest of the work is for adults to do.”
“Hey! That’s not fair. Ah Yu and I searched all over the place to find the whereabouts of that incense, and barely managed to discover there might be people with it near the school. There’s no way we can just stop getting involved now.” Fang Yi Xun formed an X with her hands to indicate it was impossible.
“I have already requested for an acquaintance to continue pursuing the incense and the cigarettes Those two things were both used by people for a period of time. Shaodi Yu, you should have definitely come into contact with them before.” Teng Qi stopped to try gauging the boy in front of him, but he could not read anything. “Do you remember the electronic game centre that Officer Yu seized before?”
Yu narrowed his eyes in suspicion. He then wrote down some words onto his notebook. “Before…the place where a girl was raped and killed?”
Yu obviously remembered it. He and Yu Yin had found the body together, and had then encountered the leopard cat.
He then immediately recalled that Yu Yin had once mentioned that the centre’s air conditioning had something in it that people would unconsciously become addicted to, which caused them to repeatedly come back. Actually, quite a few centres used this kind of trick.
As Teng Qi studied the minute shifts in Yu’s expression, he more or less figured out the other person’s thoughts. “That game centre had received goods similar to the cigarettes before. However, they did not have incense. They put some material into the air conditioning unit. Its composition is similar to the thing you two are currently investigating.”
“Then let’s just go research the owner of that game centre—” Fang Yi Xun impatiently stated.
“That is why I asked for you two to not get involved. His son and Yu Yin had an episode before, and the son is still lying in the hospital, yet to regain consciousness. If you make any move, the other party will notice something is wrong. That brat simply ran the game centre without knowing anything, but his father was not the same. If you two really did go in, you would lose your lives for sure. So do not meddle with this any further.”
“I don’t care. Aside from Ah Yu’s family, many people have taken that incense. Your mom was only murdered by Ah Yu’s dad because of it. I won’t ever be able to see her again either. Exactly how many more people are about to become like us?” Fang Yi Xun angrily spilled out these words in a shaking voice as she tightly clenched her hands into fist. “It was super hard for us to find out that Big Camel’s people were selling the incense in the school. My senior wanted to help me, and tried to infiltrate them, but instead ended up getting into trouble. Shaodi Yu and I spent a lot of time going around questioning people. And you’ve always wanted to look into this matter ever since returning to the country. So why do we have to withdraw? I promise I won’t go looking for that guy from the electronic game centre, but you have to at least make sure you tell me everything.”
Teng Qi let out a sigh as he looked at the emotionally upset girl in front of him. He rubbed her head before turning to focus on Xiao Yu, who stepped back. “Did you hear that?”
Xiao Yu’s eyes were widened in disbelief as he stared at the blue-eyed person before him. He then shakily wrote some words on his notebook. “You are the child of…the family my father killed?”
He had never seen this person before and had always assumed that everyone in his father’s friend’s family had been murdered that day. Moreover, he had secretly flipped through the police case file before; that family did not have the name Teng.
Teng Qi coldly chuckled. “No, but she was indeed my mother. My mother remarried, so I was raised by my relatives overseas. Only recently did I return here to take over some work business.”
“Āyí’s family, meaning my mom’s side of the family, goes by the name Teng. But when she remarried, she changed to her husband’s surname, becoming Lin Teng Yun.” Fang Yi Xun suppressed her anger and slowly said, “I loved my Āyí the most. She was very close with my mom, but she was murdered. The Teng family and the Shaodi family had been good friends since long ago, yet now they have become enemies. My dad didn’t understand anything about this matter, which was how he ended up using that incense to cause so many people to die.”
Xiao Yu shook his head stared at the two members of the Teng family in front of him and shook his head. He slowly wrote down in his notebook: “He never treated me as part of his family.”
When Teng Qi read these words, he asked doubtfully, “…From your eyes, it seems you have the criteria of the Shaodi family bloodline. Why would you say that?”
“I do not know either.”
Teng Qi studied the boy in front of him, but he also knew that questioning this would not get any results. Moreover, the boy did not seem to want to speak about it any further, so Teng Qi did not pursue the topic.
The noisy uproar from the empty lot re-attracted their attention.
“I think it would still be best to call the police. If this continues, the result may be fatal.” As Teng Qi watched the children out in the empty lot start grabbing blades and stones, he dialed the emergency number. At the same time, he had come to an odd realisation that one of the people among the high school students seemed pretty familiar. However, Teng Qi did not know any high school students. Perhaps it is just someone with a resemblance.
Tonight’s objective had more or less been accomplished. Xiao Yu coldly watched the person who had told him to come, He Wang Hong, as well as the other followers of Big Camel, carry a sense of excitement. With delighted expressions on their faces, they surrounded a university student only a few years older than them and began to launch their attack.
The people in frenzy from the fighting were loudly hooting.
Yu saw He Wang Hong force the blade into Yu Xia’s hands.
~Taffy Translations~ 
Ah, so the bag the girl brought before must’ve contained the incense Yu had stole 🤔
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