Chapter Five: The Case

This was the Southern Lin Evening News, which Li Changqing had just read before leaving. On the newspaper’s page, beneath the “Southern Lin Weekly Strange Events,” a piece of news had been highlighted in red ink.

“Is it a benevolent act of giving or something more sinister? Overnight, ten-lang coins were stuffed into the cracks of the doors of ninety households in a certain building…”

“Manager Fang came to see me because of this?” he asked, pointing at the news.

Ten-lang coins slipped into each household’s door crack? But what did that have to do with the commission to find him?

“It happened three days ago. That residential complex happens to be one of Linmei Group’s projects. Of the building’s residents, about sixty households picked up the money; the remaining coins were collected by a security guard patrolling the building.”

“But the very next day, twelve residents, along with the security guard who took the rest of the coins, began to show symptoms—their bodies darkened and shriveled.”

As she spoke, Fang Qing took out a stack of photographs and placed them before Li Changqing. He frowned slightly; in the photos, the afflicted people looked as if their flesh and blood had been drained, their skin blackened, bodies gaunt and skeletal.

Fang Qing, efficient as ever, produced another photo. “After discussion and inquiry, our group learned from these seriously ill individuals that their only commonality was that they picked up the ten-lang coins and spent them.”

“This man is the one surveillance caught secretly placing the money. Detective Li, your task is simple: find out where he is. After that, our group will handle the rest.”

A straightforward assignment—just locating a person.

The photo appeared to be taken directly from a surveillance screen, not very clear, but one could vaguely discern the man placing the money: he wore a brown leather jacket, his hair was mottled with gray, and he was hunched.

Li Changqing asked, “Manager Fang, are there any other distinguishing features?”

Fang Qing lifted the teacup from the table, sipped, and pondered a moment. “He walks with a slight limp. There’s not much else visible from the footage.”

“Please send a copy of the surveillance tape to my detective agency later.”

Li Changqing spoke as he took out a standard commission contract. “Based on what you described, twenty thousand lang coins—how does that sound?”

From beneath the soft-brimmed hat came Tang Xiaoyu’s astonished voice: “Just to find a person, you’re charging twenty thousand lang coins? My god, you’re ruthless!”

Usually, for finding stray dogs or cats, the fee was around one thousand lang coins. For locating a person, the price would certainly rise, but never to twenty thousand!

Li Changqing ignored Tang Xiaoyu’s shocked exclamation inside the hat; for this case, the price was justified.

Fang Qing was not surprised by the quote. She nodded. “Money isn’t an issue, Detective Li, but you need to find this person within three days.”

Linmei Group managed numerous residential complexes and had extensive business in Southern Lin. Due to this incident, competitors were already preparing to create a media storm, buying news columns to attack them.

If not resolved quickly, the group’s reputation would suffer greatly.

With Linmei Group’s resources, they could hire any famous detective in the city, yet after inquiries, all the renowned detectives declined—they refused to take on a case steeped in the supernatural. Someone then recommended Li Changqing’s agency; it was said he had solved many strange cases, so Fang Qing came hoping for a solution.

Once the contract was filled out with the fee, details of the assignment, both names, and fingerprints pressed, it became legally binding under federal law.

After signing, Fang Qing glanced at her watch, stood up, took four thousand lang coins from her bag, and placed them on the table. “I’ll have the surveillance tapes delivered to your agency as soon as possible. This is your deposit.”

The deposit was standard practice: after signing, twenty percent of the fee was paid upfront for preliminary investigation. Even if no results were achieved, the deposit wasn’t refundable, since time and energy were spent regardless.

Soon, a waiter brought in steaming food. Li Changqing ate unhurriedly, finishing everything and feeling quite full. Only after he finished did Fang Qing settle the bill and leave, clearly with other matters to attend to.

Once Fang Qing left, Li Changqing casually picked up the four thousand lang coins and counted them.

“So fragrant, let me count them too…”

At some point, Tang Xiaoyu had quietly slipped out from the soft-brimmed hat, propping herself on the edge of the table, sniffing the coins, her eyes fixed greedily on the money.

“Here you go.”

Tang Xiaoyu sat nearby, counting two thousand lang coins back and forth over ten times, finally keeping two thousand for herself and handing the rest to Li Changqing. “How dare you quote twenty thousand lang coins! I was afraid you’d scare her off.”

“This is for a corporate job; it’ll go through their accounts, not out of her own pocket. Why should she mind?”

“Besides, there’s reason for the price—the money isn’t easy to take.”

Li Changqing pondered the case, recalling his grandfather once telling him about a crooked, sinister practice.

“These people ended up this way because they took money they shouldn’t have,” he picked up the teacup.

Tang Xiaoyu was puzzled. “There’s such a thing as money you shouldn’t take?”

“This is life-buying money. Whoever picks it up and spends it is, in effect, selling their lifespan.”

“Finding money seems lucky, but fate’s gifts are always secretly priced.”

Remembering his grandfather’s tales of such sinister arts, Li Changqing never dared touch money left on the street.

As he reminisced—

Bang…

Tang Xiaoyu angrily slapped the table, her face furious. “Let them try putting money in front of me! I could pick up enough to bankrupt them!”

After all, she was a ghost—bare feet fear no shoes. Could anyone buy a ghost’s lifespan?

“We’re only responsible for finding this person. The rest is up to Linmei Group.”

This matter required utmost caution; Li Changqing knew his own limitations. Though he could draw talismans, their power was only enough to warm a cup of cappuccino.

While his body was unusual, belonging to the realm of the supernatural, his focus remained on keeping it suppressed.

Li Changqing left the Anran Restaurant; it was already ten at night, and few pedestrians remained on the street.

He recalled that two months ago, the Federation amended the Entertainment Act, one clause prohibiting all entertainment venues from operating past ten.

But lately, protests had erupted in the federal capital, demanding cancellation of that restriction.

Li Changqing strolled the near-empty streets, walking leisurely to digest his meal.

Just then, from within the soft-brimmed hat, Tang Xiaoyu’s voice sounded: “Oh no, the buses are about to stop running! Hurry or we’ll have to take a taxi—it’ll cost thirty lang coins to get back from here!”

“Why are you worried? Even if we take a taxi, it’s my money—not yours.”

“Watching you spend money makes my heart ache.”

“…”

This girl must have died of poverty, Li Changqing swore to the heavens.

Luckily, he caught the last bus before service ended, bringing Tang Xiaoyu back to the detective agency in the factory district.