Chapter 19: Probing

"...Officer Han Meng."

The moment he was called out by Han Meng, a flash of guilt crossed Chen Ling's eyes, but he quickly recovered. "Is there something you need from me?"

"A Fuser, actually daring to blend into the enforcer ranks... You've got some nerve." Han Meng spoke slowly. "Tell me, what is your goal?"

These words hit Chen Ling like a thunderclap!

He found out?!

No... impossible... The one who fought him last night was the red-paper monster, and he never saw my face from start to finish! How could he recognize me at a glance?

"Huh?" Chen Ling's eyes were filled with confusion. "Officer Han Meng... what are you talking about?"

"Do you still not understand what I mean?"

"...I don't."

"Where were you last night?"

"Sleeping at home."

"Before that?"

"Practicing opera in the wilderness with my brother."

"Your brother was practicing opera, what were you doing?"

"He's timid, he needed me to accompany him."

"What piece were you practicing?"

"《Farewell My Concubine》."

"What was the last line of the script?"

"...Oh my!"

"What about the second to last line?"

"...Let me see!"

Han Meng's questioning speed was incredibly fast, leaving Chen Ling no time to react.

As Chen Ling answered, cold sweat broke out on his back. By the last three questions, he almost couldn't help but turn and run.

Chen Ling hadn't been exposed to the theater of this world and didn't know what plays existed, so he could only bite the bullet and name the one he was most familiar with from his previous life... He could only gamble, gamble that Han Meng didn't know theater at all!

As for the lines, that didn't stump Chen Ling. In the theater of his previous life, there were often Peking Opera performances, and he had heard 《Farewell My Concubine》 more than twenty times. He still remembered the scene where Xiang Yu turned around to find Concubine Yu had committed suicide quite clearly.

As it turned out, Chen Ling had gambled correctly.

After asking the last question, Han Meng stared straight at Chen Ling, his eyes seemingly trying to see through his heart... After a few seconds of silence, Han Meng spoke slowly:

"Oh, I must have been mistaken."

This guy was definitely trying to bluff me!

It seems I hit him too lightly with that club last night!

Chen Ling took a deep breath. "Officer Han Meng, if there's nothing else, I'll be going."

"Wait." Han Meng called out to Chen Ling. "Which street were you assigned to?"

"...District 2, Bingquan Street."

"Don't go home first... go straight there."

"Huh? Didn't they say we had three hours to prepare..."

"That's an order."

Han Meng's four simple words blocked everything Chen Ling had to say.

Chen Ling and Han Meng stared at each other in the cold wind, their cotton robes and trench coats fluttering, the world falling into dead silence...

I don't know how much time passed before Chen Ling spoke slowly: "I understand..."

"It takes at most two hours to get from here to Bingquan Street in District 2. In two hours, I will confirm whether you have arrived... Understand?"

Chen Ling gritted his teeth. "My legs are tired from walking, it will take a bit longer."

"I'll call a rickshaw for you."

“……”

Han Meng interpreted the word "decisive" to the extreme. He stopped a rickshaw driver on the street—the very same one who had spoken to Chen Ling earlier—and told him to deliver Chen Ling to Bingquan Street on time, with the fare covered by him.

And so, under Han Meng's gaze, Chen Ling helplessly got into the rickshaw and headed straight for District 2.

Watching Chen Ling leave, Han Meng stepped on the finished cigarette butt and snorted coldly.

"Meng, why are you targeting him?" Jiang Qin walked over, puzzled.

"Don't you find it strange?" Han Meng replied calmly.

"On the night of the Gray Realm convergence, Li Xiuchun and Chen Tan went to the mass grave in the rain, claiming they were paying respects to their son... The next day, a Calamity just happened to break into their home, killing the two law enforcers who were tailing them, yet it spared the two of them alone... And during this process, the two Chen brothers happened to be away from home, with no alibi."

"But, they already explained about paying respects to their son; the couple did have a child who died young many years ago..."

"You're missing the point."

"Huh?"

"The point isn't that they went to pay respects to their son, but that they did it before dawn, braving the rarest torrential rain in the Aurora Domain in a decade... Do you really think a child who died young, one they had little emotional attachment to, is worth them doing that?"

"This..." Jiang Qin was left speechless.

"The child who died young, and the opera singing—these are all Chen Ling's one-sided claims, without any evidence." Han Meng patted Jiang Qin on the shoulder. "As law enforcers, we must use our own eyes to see, not our ears to listen."

"...I understand, Meng."

"If you understand, come with me to 128 Frost Street."

"What for?"

"I've already sent Chen Ling away... All that's left is to interrogate Chen Yan." Han Meng's eyes narrowed slightly.

……

Tap—tap—tap...

The rhythmic hammering of the iron nail drove it bit by bit into the wall.

As the wooden boards were laid neatly against the wall, the original hole was gradually patched up. Chen Yan wiped the sweat from his face, secured the final board in place, and then sat down on a chair, panting.

He looked back at the living room and saw the man in silver-rimmed glasses curiously examining the boards he had just installed, wondering what he was thinking.

"He doesn't even know how to help..."

Chen Yan muttered under his breath.

Chen Yan actually didn't want to let this man into the house, but the man held a handwritten letter from his brother, making him a legitimate guest.

However, how come he had never heard his brother mention that he had friends in Aurora City?

Just as Chen Yan finished his work, the man slowly stood up, walked to the tightly nailed wooden boards, and spoke in surprise:

"How did you manage this...?"

"Fixing a house isn't hard. When I was little, my brother even taught me how to build a wooden hut... though it was for little birds." Chen Yan raised his head proudly. "I heard that you people in Aurora City are all very delicate; you probably don't have such good craftsmanship for house repairs, right?"

Just as the man was about to say something, a series of urgent knocks came at the door.

"Law enforcement, open the door immediately!!"

Hearing these words, Chen Yan's face turned deathly pale.

He didn't know why law enforcement had suddenly shown up, but his intuition told him that them coming to ask questions at this time definitely meant nothing good...

Chen Yan's mind raced, and he said to the man: "When you open the door, just say there's no one home."

With that, he immediately hid in the bedroom, concealing himself.

"Law enforcement, huh..." The man frowned slightly, hesitated for a moment, and then went to open the door.

Behind the door stood Han Meng and Jiang Qin.

Seeing a stranger open the door, Jiang Qin was stunned. He glanced at the house number and asked in confusion, "That's strange... I didn't get the wrong place, did I?"

Han Meng saw the man, and his eyes narrowed slightly.

"Why are you here?"

"I was wondering who it was... so it's you." The man curled his lips, pushed up his silver-rimmed glasses, and spoke unhurriedly, "I should have guessed; District 3 is your territory."

Seeing the two of them start chatting, Jiang Qin leaned over to Han Meng's ear and whispered, "Meng, who is he?"

"Aurora City, Divine Doctor Chu Muyun."