It was getting dark, so so people were left to protect the cri scene, while Yang Xiao and two others followed the main force back to the city district. Secretary ng found Yang Xiao and told him that lodging arrangents had been made for them at a hotel that was not far from the Qingfeng Patrol Office and had very good privacy.
"That’s too much trouble, Secretary ng. Just find us two dormitories within the Public Office," said Yang Xiao, his wariness had arisen from the events that occurred earlier.
Secretary ng explained sowhat embarrassedly, "Captain Yang, our place is not like your big city. Qingfeng is a county-level city, and we only have one Patrol Defense Office. The supporting facilities are relatively poor, and the dormitories... the dormitories are really too shabby, it would be disrespectful to the three of you."
"No worries, just trouble you to find us two nearby dormitories, then. If there aren’t any dormitories, any two offices would do just fine for us," said Yang Xiao, putting an end to the discussion.
"Then... then let’s do as Captain Yang says, I’ll arrange it right now," Secretary ng agreed.
"Thank you very much."
The three went to a small restaurant near the entrance of the Qingfeng Patrol Office for a quick al, and it wasn’t long before they received a ssage from Secretary ng that their lodging was ready.
Following Secretary ng, they ca to the back of the office building of the Qingfeng Public Office and saw a three-story gray cent building beyond a small garden.
It did look sowhat dilapidated at a glance. Many parts of the exterior walls were cracked to varying degrees, and the plaster was peeling off, revealing the dark red bricks underneath.
It was already night, and only one window near the entrance on the first floor was lit. Under the boundless night sky, it exuded an oppressive atmosphere.
"Doesn’t anyone live here normally?" Xi nxiu asked suspiciously.
"This building is too old. Qingfeng City is not very big. Everyone basically drives ho after work, and only occasionally soone cos to rest at noon," Secretary ng replied.
After explaining, Secretary ng took the three toward the dormitory building. It was only once they entered that Yang Xiao and his companions realized that the room with the light on was the security room, where two uniford n were on duty behind the large glass window.
Upon seeing Secretary ng, both n imdiately greeted him, one sowhat bald and slightly older, probably just over 40, and the other around 25.
"Captain Yang, these two are our investigators. Wu is the deputy head of the investigation team, and they will be responsible for your safety tonight," Secretary ng introduced.
"Thank you for your hard work, brothers," Yang Xiao greeted politely.
Then, accompanied by Secretary ng, the three were shown to their prepared rooms. The rooms were on the second floor, not too far from each other, but as Secretary ng said, they were quite old, with a lot of peeling paint due to moisture, and the bathrooms had very old squat toilets.
But Yang Xiao wasn’t fussy about these conditions at all; he thought it was fine. He chose the room on the outside and let Zhuge Zhijie and Xi nxiu stay in the inside one.
"Captain Yang, here is the scene information we’ve gathered. It might be helpful to you," Secretary ng said as he took out several sheets of paper from his briefcase and handed them to Yang Xiao.
In addition to a simple investigative report, there were also a few photographs, taken at the scene, of a pit with bodies of people and several dogs.
The body of Nong Fayo had been pulled out of the pit and photographed separately, which was why Yang Xiao noticed a detail.
"Did the murderer chop off his fingers?" Yang Xiao noticed that Nong Fayo’s right hand was missing segnts from the middle and index fingers but he didn’t see any bloodstains.
"No, these are all old injuries from years ago, and his right leg as well," Secretary ng pointed to Nong Fayo’s right leg in the photograph.
In view of the posture, it was clear it was broken. Yang Xiao suddenly rembered the reclining chair in Nong Fayo’s yard, and that pair of crutches.
After chatting with Yang Xiao and the others for a while, Secretary ng left them with a few instructions and took his leave. Yang Xiao checked the room and found nothing out of the ordinary, then called Xi nxiu and Zhuge Zhijie to suggest a walk outside.
After greeting Wu, the head of security, the three walked around the nearby area. Xi nxiu noticed that Yang Xiao had sothing on his mind, "Captain, are you worried that it’s not safe to talk in the dormitory?"
"Afraid of eavesdropping devices. After all, it’s a brother departnt; it wouldn’t be appropriate to do a thorough inspection," said Yang Xiao, accepting the cigarette Xi nxiu offered him, but not lighting it, just holding it in his hand.
After hesitating for a mont, Zhuge Zhijie spoke up, "Captain, I think Secretary ng is quite reliable. Not only did he bring us the scene information, but he also arranged for two people to ensure our safety."
Yang Xiao sighed and looked at Zhuge Zhijie with a complicated expression, "There’s sothing off about Secretary ng. You two be careful."
"Why?"
"She said a bunch of nonsense just now, but she never asked what happened in the yard at that ti, nor what the Evil Cultivator said. Isn’t that strange?" Yang Xiao asked.
"That makes sense, if she isn’t asking about such important matters, it’s only because she already knows," Xi nxiu reacted quickly. "I suspect that she’s the one who leaked the information."
Yang Xiao shook his head, "Her rank is too low and her intelligence is average; she definitely couldn’t pull this off by herself. I think she must have a handler."
Zhuge Zhijie whispered, "So, what should we do now? Should we report it to Director Nalan right away?"
"Absolutely not, we’re currently on enemy territory. If anything goes wrong and our ssage gets intercepted, they will be backed into a corner and act desperately, and then the three of us are done for," Yang Xiao took a deep breath and made plans. "We hold our positions for now and discuss everything after I return from the Nightmare task."
"Alright, we’ll follow your lead," Xi nxiu and Zhuge Zhijie trusted Yang Xiao implicitly.
"There’s one more thing, listen carefully. If... if I can’t make it back, whatever you do, do not leave the Qingfeng Patrol Office on your own. Find an excuse to ask Director Nalan to send soone to pick you up, preferably Beibei and Yu Shu. Remind them to bring more people and to definitely bring guns."
"Once you’re safely back, report everything here to Director Nalan truthfully. After that, Director Nalan will know what to do."
After arranging everything, the three of them returned to their dormitory. Before they parted, Yang Xiao reminded the two to stay sharp and they took turns resting.
Once the dormitory door was closed, Yang Xiao was left alone inside. Because he could be dragged into the Nightmare World at any mont, he naturally needed to be separated from Xi nxiu and the rest.
Although normal people were usually pulled into the Nightmare World within two to three days after receiving the nightmare script, Yang Xiao was convinced that he wasn’t quite normal, and considered it very likely that he would enter tonight.
Seated at the desk, Yang Xiao started to study the materials provided by Secretary ng. Aside from a few photographs, the rest were guesses that weren’t very useful.
It was late at night. After a day of toil and a sleepless previous night, Yang Xiao felt tired. He went to the bathroom to splash his face with cold water, then ca out, took an unopened bottle of mineral water from his backpack, and gulped down a few mouthfuls, feeling much more alert.
There was also half a case of mineral water prepared in the dormitory, but Yang Xiao, cautious and steady as an old dog, only drank what he had brought himself.
He chugged half the bottle in one go, casually tossing the bottle cap onto the desk.
It was ti to focus on the task at hand. Last ti, Yang Xiao planned to use the Nether Garnt to deal with the script ghost that had co for him but was a step too late. This ti, he learned from his experience and took out the Nether Garnt in advance, laying it on the desk.
The mont he felt sothing was off, he would put on the garnt right away, then grab the paper money, fully prepared. If touched by the paper money, it would summon the funeral escort team to send it directly away, a tactic that never failed. Even the powerful Ghost Bodhisattva had been knocked over by the big red coffin.
"Evil Cultivator, tonight our hearts are in sync. Right now, I will bring down the script ghost and present it as a gift to honor you," Yang Xiao expressed his genuine feelings to the Nether Garnt.
Perhaps sensing Yang Xiao’s sincerity, suddenly he twitched his ears; he faintly heard so noises in the corridor outside.
"Crack—"
"Crack—"
The sound grew increasingly piercing, like a large creature was moving against the wall, its body scraping the surface and making odd noises.
Just as the sound reached Yang Xiao’s door, it suddenly stopped.
Without any hesitation, Yang Xiao imdiately draped himself in the Nether Garnt. With this treasure, his courage soared. Monts later, the light in the room gradually dimd.
All was going according to Yang Xiao’s plan. He slowly felt a chill approaching from behind, and the light overhead dimd oddly as if so strange force were sucking it away.
Darkness spread from behind, inching toward Yang Xiao. Just as it was about to touch him, he confidently turned around, his fingers grasping at the Nether Garnt. A piece of paper money materialized from nowhere, pinched between his fingers like a sword, he jabbed fiercely behind him, a fluent sequence of moves.
"Die!!" Yang Xiao shouted, turning around. What he saw was a swath of darkness, as if half the dormitory had vanished.
What truly brought despair to Yang Xiao was not that he grasped not a piece of white paper money in his hand, but a white, mineral water bottle cap.
Looking down, he was dressed in a dull grey cotton jacket.
The next second, a massive force struck him, flinging him against the wall behind him. Yang Xiao’s head twisted, and he knew no more.
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