Chapter Twenty-One: The Shadow Walks With You

“My friend, how did I end up here?”
Kelly Losetti brushed the dust from his clothes. He remembered entering the factory; the woman he was following had suddenly vanished. When he turned around, he found her standing behind him, staring at him intently. Then, he was attacked.
Li Changqing poured him a cup of hot tea. “After I got your message, I met with your informant, Qu Qing, found the abandoned factory, and saw you unconscious on the ground, so I brought you back.”
Matters concerning Bureau Thirty-Six, for now, could not be revealed to Kelly Losetti.
“Damn, the lead slipped away again,” Kelly said regretfully. “My friend, this case involves something bizarre—if I can crack it, I might finally become a famous detective!”
He had always wanted to take on a big case and make a name for himself, but the opportunity had never come.
He and Li Changqing became detectives around the same time. Later, Li Changqing set up his own agency and gradually earned a modest reputation, solving many difficult cases.
Kelly’s agency wasn’t small—six professional detectives in total, counting himself. But the cases assigned to him were always trivial, never making any waves.
That was why, after witnessing the bizarre incident of the woman being hit by a car, he persisted in his investigation. If he could just solve this case, perhaps he could report it and start building his reputation.
Li Changqing said, “You should stop looking into this case for now. Since it involves the supernatural, it’s dangerous.”
Even Bai Chuan had reacted with alarm after seeing the black handkerchief—if Kelly continued digging, it would only lead to disaster.
Kelly sighed, understanding this case might have to be abandoned. He said, “You know, my colleagues at the agency ostracize me. Just because the boss’s wife gives me an extra look every time she visits, the boss doesn’t like me.”
“At least you haven’t been fired. Your boss isn’t so bad,” Li Changqing thought. But then he said, “Kelly, have you ever considered changing your work environment? Maybe try working at my agency?”
Kelly Losetti would be a competent detective—at least, in terms of professional skills, he was even stronger than Li Changqing himself.
To grow a detective agency, one person alone would never be enough.
Kelly glanced around the living room of this amateurish detective office, frowning slightly. “I’ll have to think about it seriously.”
“Kelly, while our agency isn’t as big as the others, it does have advantages. You’ll get plenty of opportunities to hone your skills and take on all sorts of cases.”
“Of course, in terms of pay, we can’t compete with your current place.”
Kelly hesitated. “Let me think it over for a few days. I’ll give you an answer soon.”
“All right. Whenever you’re ready, you’re welcome here.”
Of course, Kelly would need to consider this carefully; he wouldn’t accept immediately. And he still had a contract with his current agency—even if he decided to leave, there were formalities to go through.
After resting for a while, Kelly took his leave. Li Changqing did not try to keep him, but escorted him to the nearby bus stop.
Back at the office, Tang Xiaoyu was sitting on the sofa, lost in thought, not watching her usual melodramatic idol dramas.
“Li Changqing, if Kelly really joins us, how much salary should we offer? He’s a professional detective, so a fair wage should be at least five thousand Lang coins a month. Some agencies even pay fifty-five hundred.”
Li Changqing smiled; so this was what the girl was worrying about.
He said, “Two thousand Lang coins.”
“Are you crazy? You’re even stingier than I am!” Tang Xiaoyu exclaimed. “He’s a professional detective…”
“You don’t understand. If he really joins, two thousand Lang coins is just a base salary—there will be commissions,” Li Changqing replied calmly. “For every case, he’ll get fifty percent of the commission fee.”
Detective salaries were always a mystery—a pyramid-structured industry where income depended entirely on reputation.
For a novice, being hired by any agency was already fortunate; the pay was just enough to survive.
Then came people like Kelly, with a certain level of expertise, resources, and connections. Most detectives remained at that level.
Beyond that were those with some renown, like Li Changqing now, willing to take cases that most agencies wouldn’t touch because of their supernatural elements.
If Li Changqing left his own agency and joined a major firm, his starting salary would be at least ten thousand Lang coins.
At the top were famous detectives, known throughout the city or even the Federation.
Their commission fees were astronomical. For example, the Federation’s legendary detective Formos was said to have taken a commission from a prince of the Lamella Empire that paid a million Lang coins.
A detective’s ability was reflected in their network and resources. Solving a case often depended on those connections and industry know-how.
The more famous the detective, the more capable they were. This line of work had no room for bluffing—reputations were built one case at a time, through real skill.
But most detectives were on fixed salaries; commission-based schemes like this were rare.
Li Changqing had long considered his agency’s business model. Funds were limited, so high salaries were impossible. Commission was the best approach.
Tang Xiaoyu asked, “But if Kelly joins us, it’ll be awkward for us to talk like we do now.”
“When the time comes, you can introduce yourself—say you’re my assistant.”
Tang Xiaoyu could appear before ordinary people, though she was timid.
“All right…”
Still, she hesitated. “Then, who’s the boss between us?”
“We’re partners,” Li Changqing replied.
He had no idea when the Shadow Cult would show up, but he still needed to earn a living and buy cinnabar.
He couldn’t just close shop for a year if the Shadow Cult didn’t come looking for him.
If Kelly agreed to join, they could make some money, but would eventually need to move to a more professional setting; otherwise, many clients would be lost.
With nothing else to do, Li Changqing picked up the Southern Lin Evening News and began reading.
That was his habit. Though this world had mobile phones, it wasn’t the era of smartphones as in his previous life.
People could browse news on their phones, but it wasn’t the main source of information.
Especially for local news, the newspaper was still key.
Southern Lin Evening News:
“Famous singer Lin Zhenzhen will kick off the fifth stop of her national tour in three days. Fans in Southern Lin are enthusiastic, many queuing all night for tickets, only to find scalpers have already snatched them…”
“Male celebrity caught in a scandal, claims he was just going over scripts late at night…”
“Last month, Federation archaeologists claimed to have discovered the tomb of the Marquis of Gai Shi from the ancient Yan Kingdom. Now it’s been revealed to be the tomb of the Prince of Zhen from Yan, already plundered by grave robbers, and badly damaged. The real Marquis’s tomb remains a mystery. Experts say this could be the best evidence of an ancient kingdom’s existence three thousand years ago…”
Most of the news was celebrity gossip; Li Changqing had no interest in the archaeological reports.
In this world, records from ancient times were scarce—detailed documentation only began about two thousand years ago.
Whether there were ancient kingdoms three thousand years ago was still a matter of debate internationally.

Li Changqing quickly flipped to “Southern Lin Weekly Mysteries.”
Supernatural incidents occurred now and then in this world. Most people were skeptical and didn’t take them seriously.
But that didn’t stop “Southern Lin Weekly Mysteries” from being popular. True or not, many enjoyed passing the time with such stories.
“Haoyu High School girls’ dorm ghost incident revealed as a hoax by students who didn’t want to study!”
“A company discovers a female employee eats her own hair every day…”
“Child prodigy claims to be the reincarnation of a god, demands his parents kneel and become his followers, now under psychiatric care…”
“Woman says her pet dog is her lover from a past life—does reincarnation really exist?”
Li Changqing was reading with interest when a knock came at the door.
He put down the paper, wondering if it was Kelly, perhaps with a decision.
He went to the door and opened it.
Standing outside was a man in his early thirties, dressed in a black T-shirt and jeans, slightly stooped, exuding the smell of sweat.
“May I ask who you are?” Li Changqing greeted him with a friendly smile.
“A hunter in the dark,” the man replied in a hoarse voice.
Li Changqing’s smile stiffened slightly. Was he a member of the Shadow Cult?
His pupils narrowed, but he quickly regained his composure, smiling, “The shadow is with you.”
“Come in. No one followed you, did they?”
Li Changqing slipped into character, even glancing theatrically behind the man.
“No,” the man replied, quickly striding into the living room.
He immediately noticed Tang Xiaoyu sitting on the sofa and paused in surprise.
Tang Xiaoyu hadn’t expected this man to see her. Before, whenever Li Changqing received guests, she never bothered to hide—after all, ordinary people couldn’t see her.
But this…
“And this is?” the man asked, eyeing Tang Xiaoyu curiously.
“My shadow,” Li Changqing answered smoothly, signaling to Tang Xiaoyu with his eyes.
Obligingly, she floated over and clung to Li Changqing’s back.
She wondered if she could pass for one of them; the cultists’ shadows were all dark and ugly.
The man didn’t seem to care. “So, the item?” he asked.
Li Changqing produced the black lump he always carried, holding it up for the man to see.