To my surprise, just as I was about to enter the Bureau of Paranormal Investigation, I saw Sun Fatty walking out hand-in-hand with Yinbai. His face was glowing with vitality—not a single trace of a hangover. When he saw me, he grinned cheekily and said, "Lazi, I thought you wouldn't be able to crawl out of bed this morning. I was just wondering, if I ran into Po Jun, should I ask for leave on your behalf? Gotta admit, your army background really shows—tough as nails."
I shot him a glare. "Cut the crap, Great Sage. It's not like I don't have a mirror in my dorm—I know exactly what I look like. Right now, I'm basically a walking corpse. You, on the other hand, look like you just came out of a beauty parlor. What did Director Gao feed you, miracle pills?"
"Miracle my ass. It's just that I'm naturally radiant." Sun Fatty grinned wider. "Why the rush? Didn't I tell you—Blind Jin hasn't shown up yet. We're just going out for a stroll to digest a bit. Once he's back, there'll be roast chicken and duck waiting. I'll let you eat till you puke."
While he talked, Yinbai let out a low growl and bared his teeth at Sun Fatty.
Yinbai wasn't your average beast. After what I'd seen during the battle at the Tomb of a Transcendent Beast, I didn't treat him as casually as Sun Fatty did. I kept a respectful distance. Not wanting to linger, I said, "Great Sage, I'm gonna check in with Po Jun. We've got a new Party Secretary now, and he's bound to make a strong first impression. I'd rather not get caught in the crossfire. I'll swing by your office at lunch."
But just as I was about to head in, Sun Fatty stopped me with a strange expression on his face. He gave me a sly smile and said, "What's the rush? That Secretary ran off last night. You'd be wasting your breath if you tried to check in with him now."
"The Secretary ran off? Where to?" I paused, confused. "Come on, Great Sage, spill it. What happened?"
Sun Fatty chuckled, gave me a nudge, and said, "Let's walk and talk. You really think Gao the Old Fox is someone to mess with...?"
And so he told me the story. Turns out, while we were drinking ourselves half-dead last night, things inside the Bureau were anything but peaceful.
Yesterday, Director Gao had assigned Secretary Yang to go over archived case files. After dark, all the Sixth Division investigators and surface-level admin staff left the building. The entire nine-story Bureau was left with just Secretary Yang and his assistant, a guy named Li Bangchun.
No one knew exactly what happened, but early in the morning, Secretary Yang came sprinting out of the building like a madman. He ran nearly two subway stops before being picked up by a police patrol car.
When the officers found him, he looked utterly terrified, clutching one of them with a death grip, foaming at the mouth and screaming, "Ghosts! There are ghosts in there! It's not a myth, they're real!"
At first, the cops thought he was a lunatic. They half-coaxed, half-forced him into the patrol car and brought him to the local station. Yang was right on the edge of a complete mental breakdown. Fortunately, he still had his credentials as a former high-ranking official in the Public Security Bureau. When the officers checked the internal database, they realized this wasn't some nutjob—his profile was still active. Despite his current disheveled state, there was no doubt it was the same man.
That's when the police realized something big had happened. But Yang was too far gone to give them anything useful—he just kept screaming about ghosts. While they were deliberating how to escalate the situation, Director Gao arrived with a team.
Gao flashed his credentials as a deputy minister, which the police confirmed in the internal system. When Yang saw Gao, his face went pale and he immediately went meek and submissive—just like a subordinate meeting his superior.
To any outsider, it looked exactly like a high-ranking official getting chewed out by his boss.
That little police station hosted not one but two senior officials in a single night. The chief and deputy chief were practically sweating bullets. Gao played it cool, explaining that Secretary Yang had simply had too much to drink and started hallucinating, and kindly asked the officers not to make a fuss—after all, they needed to protect the dignity of Party cadres.
Then Gao had a man named Qiu, one of his section chiefs, record the names of everyone in the station before they took Yang away.
After hearing Sun Fatty's retelling, I asked, "So what exactly did Secretary Yang see to freak him out that bad?"
Sun Fatty smirked. "That, you'll have to ask him yourself. Only he and that dumbass assistant of his know what went down. This morning, Director Gao submitted a week-long leave request on his behalf. At this rate, it'll be hard to see Secretary Yang again—if he ever comes back."
Just as Sun Fatty finished recounting Secretary Yang's unfortunate episode, we took Yinbai for another lap around the block. Just as we were about to head back into the Bureau, a black Mercedes pulled up in front of the gate. The car came to a halt, and the first to step out was a middle-aged man so gaunt he looked like a walking skeleton. I found his face familiar but couldn't immediately recall his name. Then he helped a blind man out of the back seat—a man I recognized instantly. It was Blind Jin, whom we had encountered in Hong Kong just before the Spring Festival.
With the help of the emaciated man, Blind Jin entered the Bureau. I turned to Sun Fatty and asked, "That's Blind Jin, right? Who's the guy helping him? He looks familiar."
"Familiar?" Sun Fatty smirked, clearly amused. "That's Ma Xiaolin from Hong Kong. Who'd have thought Yang Xiao's methods were this vicious? It's only been a few days, and Old Ma's nothing but skin and bones."
"Who are you calling vicious?" came a voice from behind. We didn't even need to turn around to know that Yang Xiao was right behind us.
Sun Fatty squinted and turned back with a grin. Looking at the white-haired Yang Xiao, he said, "Not gonna lie, Yang Xiao—you're starting to look more and more like Director Wu. At first glance, I really thought Wu Ren Di himself had returned." Then he lowered his voice and added, "That Ma Xiaolin doesn't look too well. You didn't hit him with some kind of high-level curse, did you?"
"Relax. He won't die—but he won't be enjoying life either." Yang Xiao replied indifferently. "What I used on him is a combination of the Hungry Ghost Incantation and a few minor restraints. Nothing too serious. Once a hungry ghost latches on to him, it'll absorb ninety percent of everything he eats. The more he eats, the more the ghost feeds—and the thinner he becomes. If this goes on long enough and his body weakens further, I can't guarantee he'll survive."
Yang Xiao's tone was calm, as if discussing the weather. "And there's more—nightmares at night, hallucinations during the day. Random vomiting, bloody discharges, sudden loss of speech, muscle spasms, temporary paralysis…"
Before he could finish listing symptoms, both Sun Fatty and I were staring at him wide-eyed. Sun Fatty quickly cut him off. "Enough, enough! Yang Xiao, I get it. You were doing me a favor, trying to get revenge on my behalf. But seriously, you didn't have to go that far. Just make the guy have a few nightmares and spend a couple days on the toilet—that'd be enough."
Yang Xiao snorted. "You think I can just snap my fingers and do whatever I want to people? Honestly, if you'd asked me to kill him outright, or make him suffer worse than death—I could've done it in minutes. Consider this mercy."
His words made my scalp tingle, and the last traces of last night's hangover vanished. Usually, Yang Xiao kept a low profile within the Bureau, almost invisible. It was only now, in this casual exchange, that we got a glimpse of the man who had once turned the entire city of Qilin upside down.
Just then, Sun Fatty's phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID and frowned slightly before picking up. "Director Gao? Yes, he's with me. Alright, we'll come up right away." After hanging up, he looked at Yang Xiao and said, "Told you—time for business." Then he turned to me, "Let's go. Director Gao wants us in his office. Old Ma and Blind Jin are here to file a complaint. Yang Xiao, want to come along? Blind Jin seems a bit nervous around you."
"No thanks. Director Wu already assigned me something," Yang Xiao replied. Then he turned to me. "Shen La, Director Wu wants to speak to you during lunch. He has something for you."
That caught me off guard. "He—Director Wu wants to see me? What for? Is this good or bad?"
Yang Xiao gave a faint smile. "You'll find out when you get there."
Sun Fatty tied Yinbai to a post outside the cafeteria before leading me toward Director Gao's office. As we neared the door, we saw Xiao Heshang swaying down the hallway. Clearly, he had been summoned as well. He didn't seem too concerned though. Upon seeing us, he pointed at Sun Fatty and said, "I heard you two were out feasting on roast lamb last night—with Wuliangye to wash it down. Why the hell didn't you think to call me?"
Sun Fatty grinned and replied, "That was Old Mo from Second Division, Ximen Lian, and Xiong Wanyi footing the bill. If we dragged you into it, that wouldn't be fair, would it? Next time—when Lazi's buying—you're definitely invited."
I wasn't in the mood for banter. I went straight to the point. "Old Xiao, why'd they drag you into this?"
Xiao Heshang chuckled. "I heard Blind Jin's here. Fatty Gao probably wants me and Little Fatty here to hold the line."
He didn't know much either, so I just braced myself and followed them into Director Gao's office.
Inside, Ma Xiaolin and Blind Jin were already seated on the sofa, chatting with Director Gao. When the three of us walked in, Ma Xiaolin immediately jumped up. I thought he was going to pick a fight, but instead, he stepped forward and hugged me, Sun Fatty, and Xiao Heshang in turn.
"Mr. Shen, Mr. Sun, and Master Xiao—I finally realize you're no ordinary folks. Turns out you're all official government specialists. I truly admire you all!"
"Old Ma," Sun Fatty frowned and backed away slightly, "say what you want, but keep your hands to yourself, alright?"
Director Gao gave him a sidelong glance before smiling at Blind Jin. "Let me introduce you—this is our new Deputy Director of the Bureau, Sun Desheng. I've been too busy to handle everything myself. If you have any matters, just bring them directly to him."
Blind Jin smiled faintly. "I must say, I've been out of touch. I had no idea you'd appointed a new deputy. Looks like I really am getting old. Maybe in a few years, when I retire, I'll come join the Bureau and ask you and Deputy Director Sun to find me a light job so I can eat my fill."