"Inspector Liu has arrived. What about the person from yesterday?"
Looking at the man who arrived alone, his face still incredibly pale, Chu Qing could even clearly see that Liu Lian was still wearing a hospital gown beneath her shirt. It was obvious that Liu Lian, standing before him, had most likely sneaked out of the hospital.
Liu Lian shook her head: "Something came up, Tan Yu is handling it. I'm here today because I want to tell you something."
Chu Qing didn't rush to ask; he still smiled and said: "Come inside to talk."
Following Chu Qing, Liu Lian walked into the guardhouse. Seeing the wooden tablet and the small tombstone on the floor of the guardhouse, Liu Lian's expression turned a little grim. For some reason, she felt a chill in this room, colder than it felt outside the cemetery. This chill involuntarily reminded her of the life-and-death experience she had for the first time last night. Before last night, she had been an unwavering atheist. But the scene that unfolded last night completely shattered Liu Lian's worldview. That terrifying Human Head Lantern, and the figure that appeared when she was on the verge of death...
"King Chujiang?" she murmured to herself. Although her colleagues all believed she was hallucinating after the attack, she remembered that voice with absolute clarity.
Just then, a voice sounded in her ear: "Inspector Liu, you can speak now. There's no tea here, please don't mind."
Looking at the cup of water being handed to her by a finger, Liu Lian subconsciously said, "Thank you." However, she seemed to fall into a daze for a moment. The voice from last night... When she looked up, she saw Chu Qing's exceptionally handsome face.
Her face pale, with a slight flush on her cheeks, Liu Lian snapped back to reality and quickly said, "It's like this: Last night, we investigated overnight and discovered that Xu Wei from the North Mountain Office was attacked, possibly by Huang Hong. Later that night, my colleagues followed the clues to Huang Hong's home..."
As she spoke, Liu Lian seemed to recall something, her pale face turning even uglier, and she involuntarily shivered: "In Huang Hong's refrigerator, we found some skin and decaying meat residue. After DNA analysis, the leftover meat fragments were from as many as eight people, and the ones who had been hidden the longest were Huang Hong's spouse and child..."
Chu Qing frowned slightly. "Has this woman been affected to this extent? This eerie Era of Terror is like this. Some people struggle to survive, some rise against the odds, and some, however, transform from humans into ghosts, or even into something more terrifying than the abnormalities..."
"The preliminary forensic report indicates that eight people have died, and their deaths all occurred within the last seven days!"
Chu Qing nodded: "It seems my guess was correct. In that case, have you made an arrest?"
Liu Lian frowned: "I was also attacked last night, so I didn't participate in the operation. However, according to my colleagues, during the entire search and surveillance, Huang Hong's whereabouts could not be found! Therefore, I've come this time mainly to caution you, Mr. Chu. As the person who reported the Huang Hong case, and most importantly, because you had a verbal argument with her before reporting it, I have reason to suspect that the criminal's next target might be you."
The man's eyes showed no panic at all; instead, he nodded: "Thank you for the warning, Inspector Liu. I'll be careful!"
"Not just careful! Mr. Chu, if you feel any danger, you must call me or the Inspectorate Bureau as soon as possible!" Liu Lian stared intently at Chu Qing, her expression extremely serious.
"Don't worry, I'll notify you as soon as possible if anything happens. Please be careful too. Since you were attacked, you should rest well."
Hearing Chu Qing's assurance, Liu Lian finally stood up. Then, she did something Chu Qing hadn't expected: she bowed deeply. "I'm sorry, Mr. Chu."
"Hmm? What is it?" This time, Chu Qing was truly perplexed.
"I apologize for suspecting you were the murderer in the Lin Family Massacre Case yesterday!" Liu Lian said loudly.
Chu Qing smiled: "Oh? You don't suspect me today?"
Liu Lian pursed her somewhat pale red lips and nodded: "Yes, something happened last night that exceeded my imagination, making me realize there are many things in this world I don't know. So, Mr. Chu..."
"Stop calling me Mr. Chu, just call me Chu Qing."
"Okay, so Chu Qing, I'd like to ask, when you were at the Second People's Hospital, did you see anything else?" Liu Lian looked at Chu Qing expectantly.
She didn't specify what she was asking about, but Chu Qing shook his head: "No, I didn't see anything. And you don't need to apologize."
Saying this, to Liu Lian's astonishment, the man's face slowly drew closer. The distance between their faces was no more than twenty centimeters at this moment. Chu Qing smiled mischievously, "Maybe I really did kill them?"
Liu Lian opened her mouth and forced a smile: "Chu Qing, are you joking? What did you use to kill them?"
Chu Qing pointed a finger at something next to the counter: "This."
Liu Lian turned her head and was slightly taken aback. It was a small, no more than thirty-centimeter-tall bronze God of Wealth statue. In the statue's hand was a dark copper coin. On the dark copper coin was a piece of snow-white Spirit Money.
Liu Lian chuckled: "I didn't expect a handsome man like you to tell such a cold joke. The three members of the Lin family didn't have any injuries from blunt force trauma. Alright, I have other things to do, I'll be going now."
"I'll walk you out."
Compared to when they entered, the two walked out side by side.
As they walked, Liu Lian asked, "Chu Qing, do you think... there are ghosts in this world?"
As her words fell, it seemed as if the wind picked up in the North Mountain Cemetery.
Chu Qing nodded: "Yes."
"You're not going to say there's one here, are you?"
"Tsk, you found out. There's one following you from behind, but don't worry, with me here, it won't do anything to you."
A smile appeared on Liu Lian's pale face: "You're so annoying, hahaha... ha... ha..."
However, the smile stopped after only three chuckles, gradually turning incredibly stiff. She tilted her head back and stared blankly at the entrance to the North Mountain Cemetery. At the gate, on a tall flagpole, a Big Red Lantern hung high. The howling mountain wind whipped around it, yet the Big Red Lantern remained there, utterly motionless! It was like a monstrous, inverted blood-red head, staring maliciously at her from high above.
Liu Lian's face turned even paler at this moment. She couldn't help but shiver uncontrollably, her teeth chattering rapidly. And just then, a voice sounded near her ear again: "Beautiful?"