A Good-for-Nothing

207. A Word-Spirit (I)

Translator: Dragon Rider

In a hospital.

This was the second time this month that He Zheng had been in a hospital, which made He Zheng wonder whether or not this was some kind of cosmic plan. In fact, he had just skinned his knee and didn’t need to be hospitalized, but as that driver who had died in queer circumstances had to be brought to this hospital to be examined, the police also took He Zheng to this place in passing to take a statement from him.

The policeman interviewing him was Luo Zhou, an old acquaintance of He Zheng’s, who noticeably paused in surprise at the sight of him. He Zheng could tell from the expression on Luo Zhou’s face that he was inwardly saying, “Will I never be rid of you?”

“Well, I think we can dispense with the pleasantries. It’ll be just a short interview. Let’s get it over with.”

Chen Qianlin, sensing that Luo Zhou seemed to be quite acquainted with He Zheng, asked about it. He Zheng replied, “We had some dealings during the last case.”

And then Luo Zhou had He Zheng provide a brief outline of the accident. When the interview was over, Luo Zhou told He Zheng that he was free to go.

He Zheng inquired, “What happened to that guy? It was an unnatural death, right?”

Under the statutes of the police station Luo Zhou was not supposed to disclose any details to outsiders, but the police did need to cooperate with the Supernaturalism Management Bureau (SMB) to crack this case, so Luo Zhou pointedly tossed the surveillance camera a glance and then said, “You guys wait outside for a while. I’ll be there in a minute.”

He Zheng inclined his head. A few moments later, he limped through the front gates of the hospital. Chen Qianlin was feeling a little impatient. He had expected to have a duel with He Zheng, but now the plan had been ruined by this accident. Anybody in his shoes wouldn’t have been happy about it.

But He Zheng’s next remark made Chen Qianlin’s displeasure ebb away.

“I saw black gas on that man.”

“What?” Chen Qianlin asked sourly.

He Zheng held up two fingers to point at his eyes and then bobbed his chin. “You know, my master opened the Divine Eye for me, so I can see demonic Qi.”

It took Chen Qianlin a while to fathom out what He Zheng meant. Somewhat incredulous, Chen Qianlin subconsciously asked, “Are you sure of what you saw?”

Instead of giving him a dirty look immediately, He Zheng answered, “If you had carried with you a magic tool that could detect demonic Qi, you would definitely have found something abnormal about that guy’s body.”

While the two of them were talking, Luo Zhou walked out of the hospital as well. He was a heavy smoker. Though he never smoked in a crime scene or a non-smoking area, the moment he exited the hospital, Luo Zhou, bursting with impatience, took a cigarette from his pocket and clamped it between his teeth. He did it to satisfy his addiction to tobacco, but also to refresh himself.

“The autopsy report for that guy won’t be ready until tonight at the earliest. We’ll have to wait,” said Luo Zhou after puffing out a cloud of smoke.

He Zheng had just finished speaking when someone stealthily hid himself in a corner near the front gates of the hospital. Chen Qianlin’s and He Zheng’s five senses were far sharper than those of the next person, so they immediately perceived it.

“Show yourself.” It was undeniable that Chen Qianlin sounded quite commanding when he spoke in a cold voice.

That person scratched their head and emerged from the green belt on the side.

It was a man. He was plain-looking, but He Zheng felt that he seemed pretty familiar.

Because this man was that talent scout who had earlier this day tried very hard to recruit him to a talent agency.

“Haha. Hey there, guys. Oh, aren’t you Zhao Fei’s little brother?” Originally the man’s attention had been fixed on He Zheng, but his eyes noticeably brightened again when they alighted on Chen Qianlin. “And may I have your name, handsome? Do you think you have any interest in joining our talent agency? I promise I’ll have you become an A-list cele-”

“Cut the shit!” He Zheng interrupted him impatiently and then pointed at Luo Zhou and said, “He’s a cop. If you keep lurking around outside this hospital, he’ll take you into custody in no time.”

The man shut his mouth, which was quite sensible of him.

Having been in the criminal police force for years, Luo Zhou could tell at a glance whether someone was hiding secrets or not. His piercing eyes stared squarely at the man, rendering him unable to move.

The man forced a chuckle. “I just came here to see a friend. I was told that he got hurt. Please believe me, officer. I’m really not a bad guy.”

He Zheng suddenly threw the man a peculiar look and queried, “Is your friend the one who got in a car accident earlier this day?”

“Yes.” The man gave a nod. “There’s no doubt he won’t be able to make it through this evening. Although he poached all my trainees, we used to work in the same talent agency and I still care about him, so I came here to keep him company in the last few hours of his life.”

Luo Zhou and He Zheng exchanged glances and both came to know what they should do next.

Luo Zhou said, “Please show me your ID card, sir.”

The man was bewildered by this request but still obediently fished his ID card out of his pocket and handed it to Luo Zhou, who took and glanced at it. The ID card showed that this man’s name was Wang Jian, that he’d been born in 1986 and was thirty-two years old.

“Wang Jian, right? You and Feng Ma used to be colleagues?”

“Yes. I and Pony came to Coastal City together to seek our fortune. Afterward we worked as brokers in several different talent agencies. This is my business card. You may each have one.” Wang Jian began handing out his business cards from force of habit.

Without the slightest change of his countenance, Luo Zhou flicked a glance at He Zheng, who bobbed his head. Luo Zhou said, “Okay. I need you to go with me to the police station.”

Wang Jian was astonished. “Ah?”

Luo Zhou eyed Wang Jian searchingly. “Just now you said that you knew Feng Ma wouldn’t be able to make it through this evening. I don’t know why you’re so sure of that, so you have to go with me to the police station.”

It was after hearing this that Wang Jian came to understand, and now he began to get anxious. “No… I… I’m really a good person, officer!”

“Let’s go to the police station to do a preliminary investigation first.”

Wang Jiang’s face crumpled up. Luo Zhou said goodbye to He Zheng and Chen Qianlin and then took Wang Jian away.