The ultimate master in the city

Chapter 25 Wang Min

The policewoman and Song Yao exchanged a glance, cautiously approached, looked at the beautiful woman lying on the ground, quickly looked away, and asked, "W-what happened? She...she..."

Zhou Fengchen pointed at the beautiful woman's skin and said, "As expected, she must have died underwater. Her skin, soaked in water, could detach from her body, and that became an instinctive skill for her. Just now, she played the 'golden cicada shedding its shell' trick with me, shedding her skin while her soul escaped!"

The three women, still shaken from their near-death experience, readily believed this absurd claim and exclaimed in terror, "What should we do? Will she come looking for us again?"

Zhou Fengchen remained silent, then took out another yellow paper talisman from his pocket and began making a "spirit-seeking paper crane".

The policewoman coughed and asked again, "Why did she want to kill us? We don't seem to have any grudge against her, do we?"

After saying that, I felt my question was stupid. What reason would a ghost or monster have for killing someone?

"Then we'll have to see how she died and where she died. Sometimes, the killing of ghosts is influenced by the environment, just like snakes. Maybe this is her territory."

Zhou Fengchen glanced at the old lady's house on the first floor, where the door was tightly closed and it was pitch black, and casually threw out a "spirit-seeking paper crane" while chanting an incantation.

The paper crane spun around in place before gently landing on the ground.

Zhou Fengchen shook his head, picked up the paper crane and said, "I can't find it! But it doesn't matter, this beast is severely injured and won't dare to cause trouble for a while."

The three women exchanged glances, unsure of what to say.

Zhou Fengchen found some dry wood nearby, lit it, and then picked up the beautiful woman's skin and burned it.

The four of them then returned to their room on the second floor. Song Yao, realizing what was happening, asked, "Master, do you think she killed Song Xiaofeng?"

"You finally understand." Zhou Fengchen smiled and said, "This ghostly thing can summon souls. Whoever it calls by name and answers, they can't escape death! Song Xiaofeng fell for it."

The three girls turned deathly pale instantly. Seek justice? Investigate? Investigate whom?

"I never imagined there were such terrifying things in the world!"

The policewoman moved closer to Zhou Fengchen, as if that would make her feel safer.

Zhou Fengchen fell silent, pondering how to catch this ghostly thing. Perhaps he would have to rely on the grandmother and granddaughter downstairs; they definitely knew something.

They endured until dawn, then Song Yao and Zhang Bi silently packed their bags, saying they were going to stay at the company and couldn't bear to stay there any longer.

Before leaving, the policewoman thought for a while, gritted her teeth, and said to Zhou Fengchen, "I've applied to take over this case. May I come over tonight to check on things?"

"Sure," Zhou Fengchen said nonchalantly, "as long as you're not afraid of dying."

"With you here, you definitely won't let me get hurt, right? You're so amazing."

The policewoman smiled and extended her hand: "My name is Wang Min."

Zhou Fengchen didn't have the habit of shaking hands with people, so he waved his hand and said, "Zhou Fengchen, Feng as in phoenix, Chen as in the mortal world."

……

When Zhou Fengchen went to work at the small restaurant in the morning, the proprietress had a long face and ignored him all day, making him very embarrassed. Old Li, however, winked and asked, "Does the proprietress have a crush on you?"

"Don't talk nonsense!" Zhou Fengchen said dejectedly, "I've only been working here for four or five days, and we've only known each other for four or five days. Besides, she's so much older than me, how could she possibly be interested in me?"

Old Li said with a sneer, "That's hard to say..."

"Get away from me!" Zhou Fengchen shoved him impatiently.

The restaurant wasn't doing well today, barely managing to get four or five tables of customers. After finishing his early shift, Zhou Fengchen packed up his things early, ready to leave, but was stopped by the proprietress as soon as he entered the lobby.

"Xiao Zhou, I'll take you out for Western food tonight." The proprietress brushed her hair aside, and her smile returned.

"Western food..."

Zhou Fengchen turned around and chuckled, "Boss lady, I've already eaten. Old Li's eggplant and green beans were delicious."

"Are you going or not?" The proprietress gritted her teeth.

Zhou Fengchen recalled the landlady's allure that night, and goosebumps rose all over his body. He opened his mouth to refuse, when a clear voice suddenly rang out from outside: "Zhou Fengchen, I've come to pick you up from get off work."

Zhou Fengchen turned around and was stunned. The proprietress and the old man, Lao Li, who had been watching the commotion, were also taken aback when they saw the newcomer.

Policewoman Wang Min took off her police uniform and changed into a clean and neat overalls outfit. She wore leather boots, her short hair draped over her ears, and with her big eyes and fair skin, she looked like a pretty girl next door.

"Uh!" Zhou Fengchen was puzzled. "How did you find this place?"

"Ha! Don't forget what I do! Finding someone is easy for me." Wang Min chuckled, somewhat smugly, and looked around, saying, "I never expected someone as capable as you to work in a place like this!"

Upon hearing this, the proprietress, like a fighting rooster, angrily retorted, "What's wrong with this place? Is it dirty for you?"

Before the stunned Wang Min could reply, he yelled at Zhou Fengchen, "You little Zhou, no wonder you wouldn't go out to eat with me. Turns out you found a young and pretty one. I never would have guessed that you, an honest country bumpkin, had so many tricks up your sleeve."

Zhou Fengchen stared in disbelief, stammering, "No, no! Boss lady, I, I, she, she..."

"How dare you talk like that?" Wang Min wasn't one to back down either, and retorted angrily, "I'm here to see him, what's it to you? You don't look like his wife, do you? Auntie—"

"Ah!" The proprietress exploded, grabbing her arm to tear it open, leaving Old Li and the other two dumbfounded.

Seeing that things were going wrong, Zhou Fengchen quickly grabbed Wang Min and ran away.

The two ran for half a block before stopping, and Wang Min, supporting his knees, laughed heartily.

"You can still laugh?" Zhou Fengchen was very annoyed, thinking to himself that he hadn't realized this policewoman was this kind of person last night.

"That's fun!" Wang Min patted his chest and said, "It won't cost you your job, will it?"

"I don't know." Zhou Fengchen shook his head, glanced at the morgue next door, and stepped inside.

"What are you doing?" Wang Min asked from behind.

"Buy materials to make talismans."

The methods of Taoist talisman drawing are very complex, but the materials are very simple: peach wood, yellow paper or yellow cloth, and cinnabar or soot ink on the outside.

The shop was well-stocked with all sorts of things. Zhou Fengchen bought two stacks of yellow paper, a box of cinnabar, and a box of tobacco ink, and then took Wang Min back to the neighborhood.

"Song Xiaofeng's autopsy report is out. On the surface, it appears to be self-harm, with no traces of harm caused by outsiders."

On the way, Wang Min said, "I told the captain what happened last night. He's a veteran detective with twenty years of experience. He's encountered a lot of strange things, so he believed me halfway and handed the case over to me."

Zhou Fengchen asked curiously, "How do you plan to handle this kind of case?"

Wang Min said, "Actually, closing the case is secondary, and it's not necessarily about finding the murderer. The important thing is to prevent this kind of thing from happening again."

Zhou Fengchen didn't quite understand, but nodded. When they arrived at the residential area, he pointed to the old lady's house on the first floor, where the lights were still on, and said, "Why don't you... go ask this grandmother and granddaughter? I feel like they definitely know the origin of that female ghost."

"Okay!" Wang Min acted swiftly and immediately ran over to knock on the door.

After knocking more than ten times, the door finally opened. The little girl looked at her with a scrutinizing expression, then glanced at Zhou Fengchen who had followed her, and slammed the door shut again.

"Uh!" Wang Min paused for a moment, then banged on the door again. "Little sister, I have something I want to ask you."

"I don't know!" the girl inside said curtly. "Please don't disturb our lives!"

"Forget it, forget it." Zhou Fengchen pulled Wang Min upstairs. "We won't get any answers."

Even after reaching the third-floor room, Wang Min was still indignant. "Why is this little girl so stubborn at such a young age?"

"My parents passed away early, and I live with my elderly grandmother," Zhou Fengchen replied casually, then went to the bathroom to wash his hands before starting to draw talismans.

Wang Min was speechless for a moment, then thought for a moment and said, "Then how will you find that...ghost?"

Zhou Fengchen neatly trimmed the yellow paper and said, "I'm not planning to look for her. I'll wait until she's recuperating from her injuries and her movements become noticeable. As long as it's within a two-mile radius, I can sense it. If all else fails... I'll use magic to bewitch that little girl."

Wang Min nodded noncommittally, watching Zhou Fengchen make talismans. After watching for a while, he found it tedious and boring, so he wandered around the hall.

Midnight arrived in the blink of an eye. Wang Min yawned incessantly, sitting and standing intermittently. He went to the balcony and looked down, then suddenly whispered, "Zhou Fengchen, come quick, something's happened!"