Chapter 53: Retirement Day 53 This sleep quality is too good...
As soon as Kong Xingyan stepped into Yan Jingrui's study, he brought up the old matter again, talking about Sang Qiqi's hasty departure from Jingbei.
Compared to Kong Xingyan's worry, Yan Jingrui, having experienced more, appeared remarkably calm and composed. He raised his eyelids and gazed at Kong Xingyan's unshaven face with a hint of disdain. "You've spent more time with Miss Sang than I have. I think you should know better that she's not the type to be careless. She left Jingbei in the middle of the night and couldn't even wait until daylight. It must have been sudden. And compared to my situation, hers was more urgent. Besides, even though she left, she left with help."
But neither of them knew who Sang Qiqi's helper was.
Kong Xingyan understood all these principles.
But whenever he thought about the fact that Meng Zhengxiang had killed so many people after his death, and even the explosion in the hot pot restaurant might have been done by Meng Zhengxiang... Kong Xingyan's worries never subsided.
Meng Zhengxiang possessed someone else and attacked Yan Jingrui. Yan Jingrui was at least an experienced criminal policeman. Even though he was old now, he never neglected his daily exercise and still had some resistance like he had knocked down Old Man Yan.
But accidents like car accidents and explosions leave people completely unprepared.
Kong Xingyan's eyebrows were almost wrinkled into the shape of a "川" character.
Yan Jingrui patted his shoulder and said soothingly, "Come on, clean up your slovenly look and get back to work. You have a pretty face, but how can you be so filthy? No wonder you can't find a partner."
Kong Xingyan: “…”
Upon hearing the word "object", the slight hesitation that Kong Xingyan had originally had immediately disappeared completely. He raised his wrist to check his watch without hesitation, nodded, and said, "It's really late. Master, I'm leaving first." Then he turned and ran.
He was afraid that Yan Jingrui would conjure up someone and put them in his arms on the spot.
Yan Jingrui's eyes twitched, and he cursed with a bit of amusement: "Stinky boy."
After returning to the neighborhood from Yan's house, Kong Xingyan casually tidied up his appearance and drove to his workplace. The Criminal Investigation Brigade had little to do today, so Kong Xingyan briefly looked through the files related to Meng Zhengxiang. As Xiao Xiao passed by him, clutching a document, he spotted the words 'Meng Zhengxiang'. He spun around, pulled over a chair, and plopped down next to Kong Xingyan. "Boss, you've been so distracted these past two days, staring at Meng Zhengxiang's files at work. Wasn't he already dead? What's there to see?"
Kong Xingyan didn't even raise his eyes, but just casually responded, "Do you know him?"
Xiao Xiao nodded, and then said something shocking: "I know, my girlfriend knows him."
Kong Xingyan paused slightly as he gripped the A4 paper. He tilted his head and glared at him, his eyes revealing a hint of surprise and confusion. "Does your girlfriend know Meng Zhengxiang?"
"Right." Xiao Xiao nodded. "Five years ago, Meng Zhengxiang got into an argument with someone at a small restaurant, and a few days later, he broke into the victim's home and slit the victim's throat. Actually, my girlfriend and her girlfriend were also at the restaurant at the time, and they also had a few words with Meng Zhengxiang."
So after the incident, Xiao Xiao and his girlfriend saw Meng Zhengxiang's motive for murder written in the police report, and they were so scared that they couldn't sleep all night.
"The scariest thing is, when I was renting an apartment, I also went to the victim's neighborhood. Later, because the price was a bit high, I rented in a neighborhood two blocks away..."
Xiao Xiao still had a lingering fear when he talked about this. "My girlfriend happened to be in a band with her friends at the time, and they would always get off work in the early hours of the morning. If I had really lived in the victim's neighborhood, I might have run into Meng Zhengxiang."
Kong Xingyan's brain almost stopped working after hearing what he said.
After a few seconds of stunned silence, he stood up and looked at the young man in front of him with an incredulous look. His voice became a little louder: "So your girlfriend was one of the nine people in that restaurant back then?"
Although he didn't quite understand why Kong Xingyan specifically mentioned 'nine people', Xiao Xiao nodded: "Yes."
Kong Xingyan: “…”
What a fucking coincidence.
He rubbed his face vigorously, threw the information into Xiao Xiao's arms, and dropped a bombshell that almost turned Xiao Xiao into a fool: "Of the nine people who quarreled with Meng Zhengxiang in the restaurant, seven died."
Xiao Xiao was stunned.
Kong Xingyan continued, "Although you haven't come into contact with two of the deceased, you know the details of the case. The hot pot restaurant that our people determined was caused by a liquefied gas leak was the predecessor of Sang Qiqi's funeral service. The couple who were killed in the explosion were the owners of the restaurant back then."
Kong Xingyan's voice had become very vague when it sounded in Xiao Xiao's ears. Ever since Xiao Xiao heard 'seven out of nine people died', his head had been buzzing and his mind was blank.
After a long while, he finally opened his mouth and squeezed out a voice with difficulty: "Boss, are you kidding me? Is this a coincidence?"
Kong Xingyan knew this news was truly terrifying, especially since Xiao Xiao was a relative of the person involved. He slapped him on the back of the head, waking him up, and frowned, saying, "Who would joke with you like that? Let me ask you, is your girlfriend's sister studying abroad?"
"Yes, yes!" Xiao Xiao nodded vigorously immediately.
Kong Xingyan thought to himself, as expected.
Last night, Yan Jingrui had called him and simply described the seven victims' deaths. Their identities had become insignificant in the context of this murder case. However, they had analyzed the circumstances surrounding the two remaining survivors. One of them had left the country two years prior and hadn't returned since Meng Zhengxiang began committing crimes. Therefore, even if Meng Zhengxiang wanted to kill her, he wouldn't have had the opportunity.
The remaining person, Xiao Xiao's girlfriend, probably had something special about her, which is why Meng Zhengxiang couldn't succeed.
Yan Jingrui said at the time that he would mention it to Sang Qiqi, but it is not known whether he did.
Kong Xingyan frowned, took out his phone, and sent a message to Sang Qiqi. Just as he was worrying about whether she would receive the message, he heard the phone ding-dong and received a reply: "Is that Officer Xiao Xiao's girlfriend? Is Officer Xiao Xiao so special? His girlfriend is so beautiful, tall, and elegant. He's lucky."
Kong Xingyan: “…”
So magical.
Although Sang Qiqi replied with such a long sentence and not a single word hit the point, after he finished reading it, the nervousness and worry in his heart disappeared completely, without a trace left.
Perhaps he knew in his heart that Sang Qiqi was a reliable person. The fact that she answered questions irrelevantly and focused on such non-essential points proved that Xiao Xiao's girlfriend should not have any safety issues.
Sure enough, Sang Qiqi's next message arrived shortly afterwards.
Sang Qiqi: Officer Xiao Xiao’s girlfriend has a consecrated jade piece hanging around her neck, so Meng Zhengxiang can’t get close to her.
Kong Xingyan immediately turned to face Xiao Xiao: "Is your girlfriend wearing a jade pendant around her neck?"
Xiao Xiao was still thinking about Meng Zhengxiang, and the more he thought about it, the more anxious he became. He wanted to fly back to his girlfriend right now. Suddenly hearing Kong Xingyan's question, he was stunned for a moment, and after two seconds, he came to his senses and nodded: "Yes, Ah Chun... that's my girlfriend. She said this is her family heirloom, passed down from her grandmother's generation. Her grandmother saved a Taoist priest, and the Taoist priest gave it to her."
After that, Xiao Xiao couldn't wait to ask Kong Xingyan for leave: "Boss, I'm a little worried about Achun. I want to ask for leave to go back and see him."
Kong Xingyan: “…”
Before contacting Sang Qiqi, Kong Xingyan immediately agreed to Xiao Xiao's request for leave with a wave of his hand.
But now—
He said expressionlessly, "Don't worry, compared to your girlfriend, Meng Zhengxiang would probably be more willing to come to you."
Xiao Xiao: “……?”
-
Beijing North, Fuping District, Yueman Hotel.
Yueman Hotel is a five-star hotel under Ningchuan Real Estate. It has 30 floors in Fuping District. Although it is expensive, the service is very considerate and it is very popular among wealthy people.
Qi Hongkai took the room card, handed the suitcase to the staff, and walked towards the elevator.
The elevator went directly to the 23rd floor. He entered the room and locked the door. He turned on the computer he carried with him and searched for news about Sang Qiqi.
Today's Weibo hot searches are quite lively.
Or rather, it's different now. Any livestream Sang Qiqi does can easily become a trending topic, not to mention last night's vlog of her and Sang Qiqi working at the Wuyanzhuang Reservoir. After a late-night buzz, hashtags like #ChengHeyiSangQiqi#, #GhostGuildMember#, #ChengHeyiRecoveringBody#, and #SangQiqiSavedChengHeyi# remained trending.
But Qi Hongkai did not pay attention to these people. Instead, he searched for Tang Yingjun's name again and successfully entered Tang Yingjun's super topic.
The pinned post on the topic caught his attention.
Don't Like Chocolate: I know fellow enthusiasts are very concerned about Xiao Tang. Although we haven't been able to contact Xiao Tang or Master Mingxin, we did reach Sister Cheng! Sister Cheng said she and Sang Qiqi have already landed in Hai City, Xiluo Province, and are now heading to the mental hospital where Xiao Tang is exploring. They estimate they'll reach their destination in less than an hour.
PS: Actually, don't worry too much. Everyone knows the background of the mental hospital where Xiao Tang is exploring this time. A fire broke out there 40 years ago, and the magnetic field is likely affected to some extent, so the communication tools may not be as effective. Long-time fans should know that Xiao Tang has experienced these so-called accidents many times, and it is a very normal phenomenon!
[That’s right, don’t worry too much]
[Perhaps anyone still remembers the time when Xiao Tang went to explore the abandoned temple on the mountain and scared himself so much that he sat on his phone and broke it... Maybe this time he broke his phone while scaring himself as well.]
If Xiao Tang was alone, I might be worried, but with Master Mingxin here, there's no need to be afraid! Master Mingxin makes me feel safe!
Even if something does happen, it'll be fine now that Sang Qiqi is there. The locals in Wuyan Village are whispering that there seems to be a water ghost hiding in our reservoir, and Sang Qiqi is here to catch it. /Shhh]
[? ? ? ]
[Fellow local, if you don't believe me, you can check the IP address. What the above person said is true, so Sang Qiqi is really awesome! With her around, you don't have to worry about Xiao Tang's safety at all.]
There were nearly a thousand comments under this post, but Qi Hongkai just glanced at them twice and ignored them. His eyes were fixed on the sentence "Sister Cheng said that she and Sang Qiqi have already landed in Hai City, Xiluo Province", and his expression was indescribable.
After a moment, he searched again the abandoned mental hospital that Tang Yingjun had explored yesterday.
This information was easy to search for, as Tang Yingjun had a habit of posting preview videos before heading off on expeditions. Qi Hongkai opened Tang Yingjun's Li Zi homepage and clicked on the latest video.
In the video, Tang Yingjun flashed a bright smile and greeted the audience enthusiastically: "Hello, hello, good evening everyone. Today's episode is a preview. In a few days, I'm going to explore the abandoned mental hospital in Hai City, Xiluo Province with Taoist Master Mingxin. Those of you who are a little older should have heard of this mental hospital. Forty years ago, a fire broke out there, killing sixty-three people, including doctors, security guards, and patients."
Qi Hongkai turned on his mobile phone and searched for the name of the mental hospital while listening to Tang Yingjun's introduction.
After comparing the information, I found that Tang Yingjun was not lying.
Moreover, the information is more detailed than what Tang Yingjun said.
In fact, at the beginning of the fire, a doctor who had reacted called for help and the firefighters quickly arrived at the scene. However, a strange thing happened. No matter how much water or how big the water column was sprayed into the fire, the fire showed no sign of going out. It even had a tendency to burn more fiercely, which shocked everyone at the scene.
The plan to extinguish the fire failed, but the firefighters could not just sit there and watch the fire continue to burn. What's more, the screams and cries of pain coming from the mental hospital were terrifying. According to people at the scene, the screams were heartbreaking and gave people goose bumps. Even when they were sleeping at night, those sounds seemed to echo in their ears.
The firefighters rushed in to rescue people, but they only managed to save two lucky people; the others were trapped and died inside.
Later, the fire burned for a whole night before it was extinguished.
Relevant departments entered the fire scene to investigate, but found nothing useful.
As a result, the fire at Hai City Mental Hospital has become an unsolved case. To this day, many bloggers who write about this topic still express their opinions, believing that the fire was caused by aging wiring, arson by patients, revenge against society, and other reasons.
After reading this heavy past event, Qi Hongkai's mouth corners unexpectedly curled up a little bit.
He had experience. Usually, unsolved cases with a touch of suspense like this were always accompanied by a sinister spirit. It was like the police, who were aware of the strange similarities between the five home invasions and murders in Kunnan, Yangyuan, and Jingbei, but couldn't find the connection. Of course, they couldn't find it, because the so-called connection was beyond their comprehension.
Qi Hongkai leaned back lazily on the chair.
He had originally thought that Sang Qiqi's departure from Jingbei was a deliberate plot by Sang Qiqi because she couldn't catch him, waiting for him to take the bait. But now it seemed that Sang Qiqi had indeed gone there to help out.
After all, a demon capable of burning over sixty people to death in a single blow was undoubtedly his equal. An ordinary person like Tang Yingjun would be doomed if he ventured there. Even with a Taoist priest by his side, it wouldn't necessarily be enough. Granted, Mingxin probably knew a bit about ghost hunting, but it was an evil demon. It wasn't clear if Mingxin could capture it while also protecting Tang Yingjun.
and--
Qi Hongkai looked at the time when Tang Yingjun released the preview video, which was five days ago.
At that time, he had already possessed the body of Yan Jingrui's father, but Yan Jingrui's father was not dead yet, and the Yan family and Kong Xingyan had not contacted Sang Qiqi, so Sang Qiqi did not know of his existence.
Therefore, it is impossible for Sang Qiqi to frame him in this matter.
As for the two little ghosts Sang Qiqi had left at Yan's house to spy on him... Haha, he could only say that Sang Qiqi underestimated him a bit. He could easily swallow two of those little ghosts at once. To think that these two little losers could protect Yan Jingrui was simply a dream!
Thinking of this, the smile on Qi Hongkai's face gradually deepened.
He stood up, walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, and looked through the transparent glass towards the direction of the Yan family.
today.
Today he will make Yan Jingrui pay the price!
-
Xiluo Province, Hai City, Kang'an Mental Hospital.
Tang Yingjun was covered in black dust. He rolled around on the creaking bed, staring at the ceiling above his head with boredom.
After the fire at the mental hospital, rumors abounded, and five or six years ago, a young businessman named Tian, sensing a business opportunity, purchased the empty shell of the building, hoping to profit from it by renovating it and turning it into a haunted house or escape room. However, unexpectedly, after spending his money and completing the building's renovation, Tian suddenly died while drinking.
This incident also added a strong supernatural color to the already exaggerated horror rumors about Kang'an Mental Hospital.
The bed that Tang Yingjun is lying on now is the bed that Boss Tian prepared for the NPC in the haunted house.
He turned around and around, turning his head to look at Taoist Master Mingxin, who was sitting cross-legged in meditation on the other bed. Finally, he couldn't help but frown and asked, "Master, what on earth do you think Miss Sang wants to do? She asked me to pretend something happened out of the blue, and she won't let me notify my fans. Isn't this just pure scare tactics?"
Last night, he and Mingxin were having a great time exploring the mental hospital when Sang Qiqi suddenly sent a message to Taoist Master Mingxin.
Taoist Master Mingxin took out his cell phone and took a look at it. Without notifying him, he leaned to the side, out of the camera's range, and then quickly took out a piece of talisman paper. The talisman paper floated to his feet in the darkness, and suddenly sparks appeared, scaring the unsuspecting man so much that he screamed on the spot, and his hand shook, and the camera he was using for filming was dropped.
The live broadcast room suddenly closed.
Tang Yingjun also reacted and stared at Mingxin with disbelief.
Ming Xin raised an eyebrow at him and pointed at the phone and said, "Remember to ask Boss Sang to reimburse you for the camera."
Tang Yingjun: “…”
Is the question now whether to reimburse or not?
It was probably because he suddenly screamed, turned off the live broadcast room and disappeared, scaring his fans!
But Mingxin said, "This is what Boss Sang meant. She said that if we can get the job done, she will give us more merit."
Tang Yingjun was now familiar with Mingxin, and he often heard the word "merit" from him. He also knew that Mingxin helped people with fortune-telling and handling paranormal events in order to accumulate merit. Tang Yingjun didn't find it strange, after all, there was a saying about this among Taoist priests.
but--
"Why can Boss Sang give us more merit?"
Because he has connections in the underworld.
Taoist Mingxin muttered something in his heart, but didn't say much in front of Tang Yingjun.
The first thing his master did upon returning to Liuyun Temple from Wuyan Village in Beizhou was to call him and inform him of the outcome. He then repeatedly praised Sang Qiqi's abilities, saying, "The young girl is young and promising, and her strength should not be underestimated. Aside from being a bit cunning, everything else is excellent."
Retracting his thoughts, Mingxin faced Tang Yingjun, who was curiously waiting for the answer, and said mysteriously like a real Jianghu charlatan, "The secret of heaven cannot be revealed."
Tang Yingjun: “…”
He used to really think that there were so-called secrets of heaven that could not be revealed, but now that he was familiar with Mingxin, he knew that every time Mingxin said "the secrets of heaven could not be revealed" he was just too lazy to answer.
But Tang Yingjun had no intention of asking any further questions. He obediently picked up the camera, followed Mingxin, chose a relatively safe room, sat down, and played a single-player game.
He had originally planned to sleep his way through the night, but as soon as he closed his eyes, a faint, shrill wailing filled his ears. To this end, Mingxin generously and proactively handed over a mute note he had snatched from his fellow Taoist priest. But once the note was activated, the entire world fell silent, not even the sound of breathing or heartbeats could be heard, and Tang Yingjun's panic deepened.
Returning the silent note, he chose to stay awake until dawn.
Now, he couldn't hold it in any longer and once again asked Mingxin about Sang Qiqi's plans. But Mingxin sat in meditation with a calm expression, as if she hadn't heard his question.
Tang Yingjun narrowed his eyes, got off the bed, raised his finger and poked Mingxin's shoulder. The latter slowly fell on the bed and began to snore.
Tang Yingjun: “…”
He was convinced, he was really convinced!!
Sang Qiqi and Cheng Heyi came to the third floor of Ankang Mental Hospital. When they opened the door of the ward, they saw Tang Yingjun with his hands on his hips, cursing at Mingxin.
Mingxin opened his eyes, swung the whisk in his hand, and nodded from time to time. It seemed that he had realized his mistake and his attitude of admitting it was very good.
However, Sang Qiqi stood at the door and watched for five seconds before she couldn't help but ask Tang Yingjun, "You've been scolding me for so long, didn't you notice that there was a Jingyin note stuffed in his scarf?"
Tang Yingjun was stunned and suddenly raised his hand to pick up the Taoist scarf on Mingxin's head.
Without the pressure of the Taoist scarf, the silent note above his forehead slowly floated down.
Tang Yingjun: “…”
Mingxin: “…”
Ten minutes later.
Tang Yingjun finally shut up after mumbling another round of curses due to dry mouth. Mingxin's head was buzzing. He rubbed his ears and turned his head to greet Sang Qiqi and Cheng Heyi, who had been watching the excitement for a long time. "Boss Sang, Boss Cheng, good morning."
Cheng Heyi bowed and said, "Hello, Taoist priest."
Sang Qiqi also imitated Cheng Heyi and greeted him with a smile: "Thank you for your cooperation, Taoist Priest and Anchor Xiao Tang. I will treat you two to dinner after this matter is resolved."
When Tang Yingjun heard Sang Qiqi mention the so-called cooperation, he quietly moved over and asked in a low voice, "Boss Sang, what exactly are you going to do? Can you tell me quietly? I promise not to tell anyone else."
After saying that, he raised three fingers and made an oath.
"Lure the ghost out of its hole." Sang Qiqi said these four words with a smile. Without saying anything more, she scanned the ward and saw an empty bed. She walked over naturally and said, "I'll take a nap first. You guys can do whatever you want."
With Tang Yingjun looking confused, Sang Qiqi lay down on the bed and closed her eyes. Her ghost came out of her body, said hello to Taoist Mingxin, turned around and went into the underworld.
Click.
The arm that was originally resting on her lower abdomen fell down and hung over the edge of the bed.
Tang Yingjun stared at this scene in amazement and couldn't help but sigh: "This sleep quality is too good."
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