When gambling, time always seemed to pass quickly. Minutes and seconds slipped away, and before long, it was around eleven o'clock at night. Sun Fatty and Li Qimu were preparing to call it a night. Just then, Martinez suddenly burst into the casino with two police officers. After searching for a while, he headed straight toward us.
Seeing us, Agent Martinez's first question was, "You've been inside the hotel all along, haven't gone out at all?"
Sun Fatty looked at him and said, "No need to be polite, just say it—what happened this time?" Martinez had more to say, but glancing at the bustling scene around him, he swallowed the words. Only after leading us back to the suite did he finally explain the situation.
After the church massacre earlier that afternoon, they had transported Father Anthony's corpse away and examined the scene again, eventually assigning two police officers to guard it. Then, just past nine p.m., the police department suddenly received a distress call from the two officers. The radio signal was poor, and only fragmented cries for help and pleas for God's protection were heard. When a large police team arrived, they found two desiccated corpses lying in front of the church…
Martinez showed us photos of the dried corpses, which were almost identical to Father Anthony from the afternoon—except that the priest's robes had been replaced by police uniforms.
The area around the church had now been cordoned off. Fortunately, because the location was on the edge of the desert, the news had not yet leaked out. The investigating officers pulled surveillance footage from the gas station next to the church. Five minutes before the incident, one of the black officers was seen buying two cups of coffee and sandwiches at the convenience store. At that time, there was no suspicious expression on his face. While paying, he even exchanged phone numbers with the clerk. Unexpectedly, five minutes later, this officer and his colleague both ended their lives in a terrifying manner.
Martinez and He Yiyang also questioned the gas station clerk, who reported hearing no unusual sounds coming from the direction of the church at the time of the incident. Evidence at the scene showed that both guarding officers had fired their guns, but the clerk heard no gunshots. The officer who bought coffee had emptied an entire magazine. Strangely, only spent shell casings were found at the scene—the bullets themselves had completely disappeared.
The pressure from the Department of Homeland Security leadership was becoming unbearable for Agents Martinez and He Yiyang. Nearly every investigative lead had been blocked, and only then did they reluctantly decide to "release" the few of us confined in Caesar Palace Hotel.
After explaining the case, Martinez continued, "I hope to receive the help of gentlemen and ladies here. After all, it seems that this case is somehow connected to you all. I'm sure you want the murderer to be brought to justice as soon as possible, right?"
After Martinez finished speaking, almost everyone in the room, except Xiao Jintong, turned their eyes toward Huang Ran. Huang Ran showed no sign of embarrassment; he nodded and said, "Helping your American agencies isn't the first time for me. But there's a technical problem now: We are under a restraining order, prohibited from leaving the hotel premises for three days. You can't expect me to solve this case just by looking at a few photos and videos you took, right?"
"There's already an agent working on that," Martinez said as Huang Ran relaxed slightly. "Agent He Yiyang has personally contacted the district court to apply for lifting the restraining order." Just as Martinez finished speaking, He Yiyang, who had gone to the district court, suddenly pushed the door open and came in, looking somewhat embarrassed. She wanted to pull Martinez aside. Sun Fatty then turned to Huang Ran and said something in English with a grin. Although I didn't understand a word, from Sun Fatty's expression, it was clear he was addressing He Yiyang.
After Sun Fatty finished speaking, He Yiyang's expression grew even more embarrassed. She whispered a few words into Martinez's ear. Agent Martinez sighed heavily and, with a tone full of helplessness, said in Chinese, "Looks like our plan has shifted a bit. The judge who signed the restraining order this afternoon refused to lift it. There's nothing we can do—this is America; the law is the law. No one is above it." He had said almost the exact same words earlier that afternoon, but now the words tasted bitter, like eating an unripe orange.
After the two agents left, the rest of us exchanged glances. Xiao Jintong was the first to speak. He had somewhat understood the situation when he came to the police station to vouch for us earlier. Now, hearing Martinez's explanation, Xiao Jintong leaned close to Sun Fatty and me, quietly murmuring, "Is this something I shouldn't get involved in? Maybe I should stay out of it for now?"
Sun Fatty looked at him with a half-smile and said, "Suit yourself. Your name's not on the restraining order anyway."
With that, Xiao Jintong politely declined further involvement and left the room. After a brief silence, Sun Fatty looked at Li Qimu and said, "Not to pick on you, Little Wuzi"—Li Qimu's nickname—"but how safe is the place where you hid your grandfather's relics? I just don't want us working so hard for nothing and those Homeland Security guys getting the goods."
Li Qimu glanced at Sun Fatty and replied, "Little Wu is just Little Wu, don't add on nicknames. Don't worry, the stuff won't get lost. Unless they tear the whole church down, they won't get to it."
At that moment, Meng Qiqi finally lost patience. She shot Sun Fatty a sharp look and said, "Is your world just the Heavenly Principle Scroll? Three people are dead, and nobody's worried about what actually happened?" Then she glared at Huang Ran and asked, "Huang Fatty, you must know something about this, right?"
Huang Ran smiled faintly. "I only know a little." He glanced at Li Qimu and continued, "Qimu brother, I guess before your grandfather Li Jianghe passed away, besides telling you where the relics were hidden, he must have also said that the relics absolutely cannot be taken out of the church, right?" At these words, everyone in the room looked at Li Qimu.
Li Qimu blinked and stammered, "He… he did say that, but I never took those things out of the church! The relics have always stayed inside. Otherwise, why would I have brought you all there?"
"Really?" Huang Ran pulled out his phone and showed Li Qimu a photo. "Then where did you take this picture? It's so detailed, you must have used professional photography equipment, right? Don't tell me those devices are yours. Qimu brother, I checked your background. As of the end of last month, you owe over twenty-seven thousand dollars on five credit cards, with eleven thousand due this month. And you're probably also in debt to some high-interest lenders for much more. The interest alone would cover more than ten sets of photography gear."
After Huang Ran finished, Li Qimu lowered his head and said nothing more. Huang Ran looked at him and added, "Let me make a guess—correct me if I'm wrong." He paused, seeing no objection from Li Qimu, while Sun Fatty watched with a sly smile. Huang Ran returned the smile and continued, "When Jin Beihai wanted photos, you probably took those relics out of the church, had them professionally photographed, and then returned and hid them again. But you didn't know that before dying, Li Jianghe placed a restriction on those items—just like our current situation. If the relics leave the church, big trouble happens. You unintentionally released a specially-guarding Arcanobeast spirit."
At this point Huang Ran turned to Sun Fatty and said, "Director Sun, do you think I'm right?"
Sun Fatty chuckled, "I wouldn't know. But, Old Huang, you don't usually talk this bluntly. Are you really giving up on the Heavenly Principle Scroll?"
Huang Ran smiled and said, "I've said it before—knowing the Bureau is involved, the Commission just wants some fun. I dare not hope for the Heavenly Principle Scroll, but Director Sun, you could at least let me have a few of Li Jianghe's other relics, right?"
Before Sun Fatty could answer, Miss Meng cut in, "What kind of rhythm is this? Can you two explain the church situation first before talking about the Heavenly Principle Scroll?"
Huang Ran glanced at the night outside the window, and his smile faded slightly. "This kind of restriction technique dates back to the end of the Sui dynasty. It's not rare. Our Religious Affairs Commission has also used similar seals, but each family has its own methods. I don't know how advanced this one is. Also, you saw how the priest died—only cold Yin energy, no sign of Arcanobeast corruption. This isn't something ordinary Arcanobeasts can do; looks like Li Jianghe spent big money on this. If it was truly a transcendent Arcanobeast, none of us could handle it. The moment Li Jianghe's relics left the church, that spirit would kill anyone it deems a threat. The priest and two policemen must have done something to make the spirit sense their greed, so they were unlucky to die by its hands. As for you, Qimu brother, you probably survived because of your blood relation to Li Jianghe."
Huang Ran was about to continue when Sun Fatty scratched his head and asked, "Wait, you keep saying 'Arcanobeast spirit,' but what exactly is an Arcanobeast spirit?"
Though Sun Fatty often found the Bureau's work confusing, as deputy director he usually asked me privately, rarely openly questioning experts like this.
Before I could answer, Li Qimu, who had been silent, suddenly spoke: "It's a corrupted soul. According to American terms, it would be called an evil spirit or something similar. Some souls that can't reincarnate for a long time become corrupted through chance and become half-demon, half-ghost Arcanobeast spirits."
He then looked at Huang Ran and added, "Even if I'm a good-for-nothing, at least I know some of this. When my old man was alive, I memorized a lot of such scriptures. If I wasn't born with muddled Sixth Sense and unable to open the Heavenly Eye, I wouldn't be in such a state now."
Huang Ran looked at Li Qimu and thought of Li Jianghe. He shook his head, about to say more but swallowed the words. Sun Fatty smiled oddly at Li Qimu and said, "Not to brag, but recently I've learned about some cases of people opening the Heavenly Eye after birth. Maybe we can study that together sometime?"
Li Qimu's eyes brightened for a moment but quickly dimmed again. "It's not that easy. Forget it, I've accepted my fate after all these years." Sun Fatty just smiled and said nothing.
When their conversation seemed to reach a pause, I interrupted: "So what do we do now? Just wait for something else to happen at the church?"
Huang Ran explained, "It should be fine for now. No matter what, Arcanobeast spirits are still souls. When there are too many living people gathered, the Yang energy is too strong; the spirit won't dare show itself. After such a big incident today, the police should have filled the church by now, right?"
Just as he finished speaking, the door to the room opened again. Xiao Jintong rushed in, phone in hand, panic written all over his face. He ran straight to Sun Fatty and said, "Martinez's call—there's another death inside the church…"