Chapter 21: The Evil Spirit in the Clay Statue

Soon, the waiter came over with our dishes. Since Little Yuan and Little Fang were both present, I asked for an extra set of bowls and chopsticks—just one more, as it was meant for the ghosts.

“Thank you, Sir!” Seeing that I had even prepared tableware for them, Little Yuan and Little Fang were deeply grateful.

“Go ahead and eat,” I replied.

Knowing who I was talking to, He Yanran picked up her chopsticks as well. After tasting a dish, she served some onto my plate and said, “Xiao Bei, this tastes pretty good. You should try it!”

I nodded, giving her some in return. “You eat too.”

Seeing me serve her food, He Yanran seemed pleased; a smile crept onto her face unconsciously.

I hadn’t expected such a small gesture from me would make her so happy. So, I served her more and said, “Eat a bit more. You must be hungry after waiting so long for me.”

“It’s not that bad,” she replied shyly, her head lowered.

After the meal, since Lin Chuan still hadn’t arrived, I turned to He Yanran. “I want to stay in town for a couple of days. Is that alright?”

“Of course! If you wanted me to leave first, I wouldn’t agree anyway,” she said.

“Alright, then let’s find a hotel to stay in a bit later.”

She nodded. “But isn’t there a hotel right next door?” she asked, glancing at me.

“We’re not staying there. I don’t like it,” I said, getting up to pay the bill.

Although the place next door was considered the best hotel in our town, after what happened with Fang Xiaolong, it probably wouldn’t be open for a few days. Besides, I didn’t want to stay there either. Just thinking of Fang Xiaolong’s corpse lying there earlier made me uneasy.

More importantly, I didn’t want He Yanran to be frightened. She probably knew why I wanted to stay, but I didn’t want her to worry.

After paying, I led He Yanran and the two little ghosts out in search of another hotel. Unfortunately, because of the incident at the other hotel, there was only a single room left at the one we found.

When I heard there was only one single room, I looked at He Yanran. “Shall we try somewhere else?”

She nodded, but just then, the hotel owner said, “Our town is small—only three hotels. One’s closed because of the incident, so it’s just us and the one by the station, and I bet that one’s already full.”

“Then—”

“We’ll take this room, please!” He Yanran cut in before I could finish.

Her sudden decision surprised me, but glancing back, I saw someone else entering. She must have noticed too and wanted to secure the last room before someone else did.

Her quick thinking was rather endearing, and I couldn’t help but smile. But how were the two of us supposed to sleep in one room? Would we really have to share a bed? I was a bit nervous…

“I’ll need your IDs, please,” the owner said.

“Alright,” I replied, fishing my ID out from my bag and handing it over. He Yanran did the same.

Once we’d registered and paid, I took the key and we headed upstairs. In the room, I dropped my luggage and was about to sit on the bed to rest a while, but as soon as I sat down, an awkward tension filled the air.

Although He Yanran and I had grown up together, we’d never been alone in a room like this, so it felt especially awkward.

“Um, let’s watch some TV,” I suggested, turning it on.

“Okay,” she replied, pulling out her phone and staring at it, clearly at a loss for what to do.

Seeing that she was too embarrassed to sit down, I stood up. “Want to take a nap? I’ll go out for a bit.”

“No, you can sleep if you want. I’ll be fine,” she said, still avoiding my gaze.

Knowing she was shy, I reassured her, “I actually have something to do outside. If you’re tired, just rest or watch TV. I’ll come get you later for dinner.”

“Will you be gone long?” she asked.

“Shouldn’t be too long.”

“Then I’ll come with you,” she said, looking at me earnestly.

I shook my head. “You’d better stay here. What I have to do isn’t something a girl should see.”

“Alright. Come back soon, okay? I don’t want to be alone here,” she said, her head down, sounding a little scared.

She was probably still unnerved by the murder at the hotel next door, which made staying alone in a hotel room unsettling.

I promised, “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

With that, I grabbed my backpack—inside were the Underworld Agent’s badge and manual, as well as the box for Jue Ling. I figured I might need them at Fang Xiaolong’s house.

“I’m heading out. Call me if you need anything.” I took the two little ghosts with me and left.

Outside, I messaged Lin Chuan, asking when we’d go to Fang Xiaolong’s house.

He didn’t reply right away but called me as I arrived at the scene of the incident, telling me to wait there—he was on his way.

When he arrived, I got into his car and asked, “Did your superiors agree to let me come with you?”

“Of course. I told them it was thanks to you that we solved the Zhao Xue case. They even said they’d like to meet you someday!” Lin Chuan replied as he drove.

I smiled. “Actually, I’m just here because of my own assignment.”

“Well, since we’re both on a mission, we should work together more often,” he said, glancing at me and smiling.

That was fine, I thought, but I wouldn’t be in this town much longer, so there probably wouldn’t be many opportunities for collaboration.

So I told him directly, “Lin, I’ll probably be in Nanjing most of the time from now on. I won’t be back often.”

“Nanjing? You’re going to Nanjing?” he asked in surprise.

I nodded. “Yeah, why?”

“I’m from Nanjing myself! I was stationed here when I was in the army, then became a detective here for various reasons. I was transferred to this town six months ago, but I’ve already been reassigned back to Nanjing and have applied for a position at the Nanjing Detective Bureau. I’m just here to wrap things up,” he explained, sounding rather pleased.

I hadn’t realized he was from Nanjing. Perhaps it was because he’d been here for years and lost his accent; I hadn’t picked up on it.

“Zhang Xiaobei, isn’t this fate? I was just thinking of suggesting you consider Nanjing for your future, and here you are, already planning to move there!” Lin Chuan sounded genuinely excited.

I just smiled. “Yeah, but Nanjing’s a big city. Why’d you come out here?”

“To be honest, the exams are easier here, and I was already stationed in the area,” he replied.

I nodded. He was right; it’s easier to get a position in a smaller place.

“So when will you be heading back to Nanjing?” I asked.

“In about a month or so, after I’ve finished up here.”

“Alright, I’ll head over first. When you get there, don’t forget to treat me to a meal.” I joked.

“No problem!” he agreed cheerfully.

We both laughed. Then I remembered hearing about a death at the old psychiatric hospital in town while on the way earlier and asked him, “By the way, Lin, isn’t there an old psychiatric hospital in town?”

At my question, Lin Chuan glanced at me. “Is that part of your assignment too?”

“Not at the moment—just curious. I heard someone died there today.”

“Yeah, strange things happen there all the time, but every death leaves no evidence of foul play. We can’t exactly prove the existence of ghosts, so we always have to list the cause as an accident.”

He sounded resigned. In today’s society, most people would never believe such things.

“And the autopsies never find anything—sometimes people fall to their deaths, sometimes they hang themselves, and sometimes they’re scared to death. Every time something happens there, our team feels unlucky for days,” Lin Chuan said, shaking his head at the thought.

It seemed the place really was unusual. Still, with my current abilities, it was best not to go there alone.

“Hey, since you can talk to ghosts, maybe you could help,” Lin Chuan said, sounding hopeful.

I gave a wry smile. “Not yet. When the time is right, I’ll go.”

“Alright. I don’t know much about your rules, but when the time comes, let me know. I’d like to see what’s really going on there,” he said, curious.

I nodded in agreement.

After a while, we finally reached Fang Xiaolong’s house on the outskirts of town. Just as Little Yuan had said, the door was covered with spray paint and crude graffiti.

Since Lin Chuan and I had come separately from his other colleagues, the door was just ajar—others had already arrived.

“Seems he angered someone powerful,” Lin Chuan said, eyeing the door.

I didn’t respond, because I sensed a powerful ghostly presence inside.

Little Yuan and Little Fang sensed it too; they refused to go in and stood outside.

Little Yuan even said, “Sir, be careful. That evil spirit seems to have awakened. We’re no match for it.”

“Stay outside,” I whispered to them, then entered with Lin Chuan.

Sure enough, on a cabinet facing the window in the living room, there was a black clay figurine. It wasn’t large, but it exuded an intense ghostly aura.

Without waiting for Lin Chuan to speak, I walked over to examine it.

The figurine’s face was hideous, and from its features, one could tell it had been a wicked person in life.