Chapter 120: Junior Sister?
Chapter 120: Junior Sister?
Hong Baohui walked out of the alley. After waiting for two minutes, a taxi stopped in front of her. She got into the taxi, and it drove away.
Li Zian quickly ran out of the alley. He looked left and right but didn’t see any taxis. He could call a ride-hailing car, but by the time it arrived, that taxi would probably be long gone. He stood by the roadside, staring helplessly at the taxi speeding away, feeling only frustration.
This wasn’t like a movie, where one taxi drives off and another immediately arrives, and the protagonist just has to get in and say, ‘Follow that car,’ to solve everything.
Just when Li Zian was at a loss, a Jetta suddenly swerved out of its lane and screeched to a halt beside him. He instinctively looked at the roof, but it didn’t have a “TAXI” sign or any sticker for “Ma Chao Green Travel.” He hadn’t even hailed it, so why did it stop next to him?
Li Zian shifted his gaze to the driver’s seat. At that moment, a head popped out of the driver’s window.
Square-Faced, with that classic creditor expression—who else could it be but Liu Jun?
Li Zian suddenly felt that this face was really friendly.
“Get in!” Liu Jun said, then pulled his head back inside.
Li Zian stepped forward, opened the passenger door, and got in.
Liu Jun engaged the gear, released the clutch, and stepped on the gas. The Jetta surged forward, its engine roaring and the whole body shaking.
This car must be a public vehicle.
Li Zian thought to himself.
Once inside the car, he wasn’t surprised anymore about why Liu Jun had appeared so timely in front of him. This guy wouldn’t just randomly go knock on a widow’s door and talk about a slanty-eyed, pockmarked suspect for no reason. He had done it on purpose to startle the snake, then waited nearby for the snake to come out.
But, this guy didn’t know divination, so how did he know Hong Baohui was related to the murderer?
Should he ask or not?
Li Zian glanced sideways at the Square-Faced man driving, feeling a bit hesitant.
From the perspective of an ordinary citizen, asking about a homicide investigation might not only get him labeled as a suspect but also definitely earn him a stern rebuke.
“I knew you’d come back.” Li Zian didn’t speak, but Liu Jun said something.
“Why?” Li Zian asked curiously.
“I deliberately sent you away, but knowing you, you wouldn’t just accept it. You’d come back. It was you who lit incense under the wall earlier, right?”
Li Zian felt surprised inside, but his face showed no expression. He just listened quietly.
“Sneaking around a widow’s wall is one thing, but you even lit mosquito repellent incense. If you’re so afraid of mosquitoes, why were you crouching by the wall?”
Li Zian: “…”
He had lit the incense to enter the Incense Burning State of the Great Sluggish Cauldron, but since Square-Face said that, he was happy to save the trouble and didn’t even bother to make up a lie.
“Then do you know why I suddenly drove up in front of you?” Liu Jun asked again.
“Why?” Li Zian cooperated.
Square-Face was acting like a super detective in front of him, and out of politeness, he had to play along.
“Our technician intercepted Hong Baohui’s phone call. The person she was talking to sounded very similar to the voice in the audio file you sent me. The person Hong Baohui is going to meet is most likely the murderer who killed Ma Fuquan. Your judgment was right—that Hong Baohui really is connected to the murderer.” As Liu Jun finished speaking, he glanced at Li Zian out of the corner of his eye.
Li Zian sat calmly.
I’ll just quietly watch you show off.
And wait for you to ask the question you really want to ask.
“You said that White-clad Woman led you to Hong Baohui’s home. Is that true?” Liu Jun glanced at Li Zian again out of the corner of his eye.
A bitter smile appeared on Li Zian’s lips. “Why don’t you believe me even now? Don’t forget, I’m the one who helped you find the clue to catch the murderer.”
“I’m starting to suspect that White-clad Woman was actually you in disguise.”
Li Zian: “…”
“Otherwise, if she’s not the murderer, why didn’t she come to me with clues instead of coming to you?” Liu Jun pressed, his sidelong glance feeling like it could pierce through steel.
“Well…” Li Zian hesitated before saying, “Could it be because I’m too handsome?”
Liu Jun’s face immediately showed a strange expression. His hand on the steering wheel shook slightly, giving the impression that he might reach over and strangle Li Zian.
The taxi ahead was waiting at a red light. Liu Jun’s Jetta stopped right behind it.
One was just a regular taxi driver, the other a regular supermarket saleswoman—neither would ever suspect they were being followed. So Liu Jun didn’t bother with any disguise measures.
Li Zian glanced in the rearview mirror and saw a Great Wall brand SUV following behind. It didn’t have any police markings, just an ordinary SUV. But he believed that the people inside were all police officers.
The red light ended. The taxi drove forward. A roadside sign read “Dongtang Village 5KM.”
Liu Jun followed in the Jetta, intentionally slowing down a bit.
“What exactly is your relationship with that White-clad Woman? Could she be your junior sister?” Liu Jun suddenly said another sentence.
Li Zian was slightly stunned.
Junior sister?
He hadn’t even thought of that possibility himself. The divination he did earlier also said, “The one you should pursue, do not pursue.” He had just been thinking whether he should continue looking for the White-clad Woman after catching the murderer. Now Square-Face suddenly asked if the White-clad Woman was his junior sister, which left him speechless.
Ji Da was a Fangshi from the Western Zhou period, a figure from before the common era. Old Ji only left him the Great Sluggish Cauldron—how could he also have left him a junior sister? If that White-clad Woman really was his junior sister, she’d have to be at least two thousand, maybe even three thousand years old. How was that possible?
“Why aren’t you saying anything?” Liu Jun glanced at Li Zian again.
Li Zian smiled. “Officer Liu, I think you should write novels. Web novels are really popular right now. With your way of thinking and imagination, you might even become a top author.”
“So she’s not your junior sister?”
“You said it was me in disguise, so how did she become my junior sister?”
“You’re definitely still hiding something from me.”
Li Zian: “…”
He suddenly felt that the retribution for destroying the Milky Way in his past life wasn’t marrying Yu Meilin, but knowing this Square-Faced guy.
Before he knew it, they arrived at Dongtang Village. The village was full of multi-story small Western-style houses, each one looking quite lavish. However, some of these houses had been demolished, and others were spray-painted with the word “Demolish.” The huge village seemed pitch black, with no lights on in any of the homes.
The taxi entered the village and continued driving along the village road.
Liu Jun had turned off the headlights early and was following slowly behind.
Li Zian looked in the rearview mirror again. The SUV was still following, also with its headlights off.
The taxi stopped in front of the courtyard gate of one small Western-style house. Hong Baohui got out, then stood outside the gate making a phone call.
Liu Jun picked up a walkie-talkie and said, “You two guard both ends of the village road. I’ll take the rear.”
“Copy that. Over.” A male officer’s voice came from the walkie-talkie.
Liu Jun got out of the car with the walkie-talkie.
Li Zian also got out.
Just then, the taxi turned around and headed back.
“Follow me.” Liu Jun quickly hid beside a courtyard wall by the roadside.
Li Zian also hurried over. Just as he stood with his back against the wall, the taxi drove past on the road. He peeked out from behind the wall and saw the courtyard gate of the small Western-style house open. A man came out. But before he could get a good look, Liu Jun pulled him back and took his spot, peeking toward the small Western-style house.
Li Zian didn’t mind. He was half a head taller than Liu Jun, so he rested one hand on the wall and looked over Liu Jun’s head.
The man led Hong Baohui inside the courtyard gate, then closed the door.
Liu Jun straightened up but accidentally bumped Li Zian’s chin. He rubbed the top of his head and said irritably, “What are you crowding in for?”
Li Zian also rubbed his chin. “You brought me along to watch the action, right?”
That’s what he said, but actually he knew that the reason Liu Jun brought him was because Square-Face wanted to investigate that White-clad Woman.
Liu Jun said seriously, “Follow me along the small path to the back of that small Western-style house. But remember, you can’t take any action without my permission, and you have to listen to me.”
Li Zian nodded.
He understood his role clearly—he was just here to watch.
Liu Jun wouldn’t take him inside to arrest someone.
Liu Jun took a few steps back, then sprinted toward the wall. As he got close, he leaped up, one foot pushing off the wall, his hands grabbing the top and using the momentum to pull himself up, swiftly climbing onto the wall.
His skills weren’t bad, but Li Zian felt that using the same method, he could do it much more lightly and gracefully.
Liu Jun stayed on the wall for two seconds, then carefully lowered himself, hands gripping the top, and finally jumped into the courtyard.
Li Zian, standing outside the wall, didn’t even hear the sound of Liu Jun’s feet hitting the ground, so the people upstairs definitely wouldn’t hear it.
As soon as Liu Jun went inside, Li Zian crouched down, took out his second stick of sandalwood incense, and lit it with a lighter. A wisp of blue smoke curled up. He took a deep breath of the smoke.
Boom!
A stream of sandalwood smoke entered his lungs. The Great Sluggish Cauldron awakened, and Li Zian instantly entered the Incense Burning State.
He wasn’t here just to watch.
Liu Jun came to arrest the suspect in Ma Fuquan’s murder, but Li Zian also had things he wanted to figure out.
Was the man who opened the door earlier Huang Bo?
If it was Huang Bo, he might know the secret of those symbols and patterns. And that phone call in Kharosthi Language—was it really him who made it? If so, what did he say…
Men’s curiosity isn’t only about women.