Chapter 15

Red Raven 3, Cremation Urn

The most infuriating thing about An Ge'er wasn't his sudden, prophet-like ability to identify the murderer, but the way he could casually say something shocking, and appear oblivious when everyone else was frantic.

"You..." Mo Fei's eyes widened at An Ge'er, "Did you catch him?"

An Ge'er thought for a moment and said, "Well, to be precise, he killed many people back then. After my investigation, I found his hideout. It was an abandoned factory. The police surrounded him, but he tried to escape and accidentally touched the factory's leaking electrical equipment."

"Electrocuted?" Mo Fei asked.

An Ge'er nodded, "Although he wasn't electrocuted to death, the doctor said his heart was severely damaged. He wasn't expected to live long, yet he managed to survive many years."

"Why did he kill so many people back then?" Mo Fei asked curiously.

An Ge'er thought for a moment, then said, "Probably due to some physiological need."

"Huh?" Mo Fei was somewhat puzzled, "A physiological need to kill?"

An Ge'er nodded, "I've encountered several serial killers. Initially, they killed due to some bizarre triggers, but eventually, it turned into killing for their own pleasure."

"Uh... that person, the one I burned?" Wang Zhong asked An Ge'er with a mournful face, "Oh no, he really was a vicious ghost. What am I going to do... I have a family, can I stay here tonight?"

An Ge'er turned his head and looked at him for a while, then suddenly said, "Actually, I never really saw Xu Keluo's true face."

Mo Fei looked towards Angler, puzzled.

An Ge'er stared at Wang Zhong for a while, then said, "When Xu Keluo used to commit his crimes, he liked to wear a human skin mask. It made him appear terrifying."

Mo Fei frowned slightly, as he saw Wang Zhong looking down at his dirty clothes on his legs.

An Ge'er casually crossed his legs, "Considering three people died in the funeral home, and it's a Xu Keluo-style serial killing, the police should be taking it very seriously. Your whereabouts and safety must be under strict surveillance. How did you manage to get out?"

Wang Zhong remained silent, continuing to stare at his clothes, while Mo Fei began to feel that something was amiss.

An Ge'er continued calmly, "If, as you say, the case happened a long time ago, it's impossible that no one informed me... unless, the case just happened recently."

At this moment, Wang Zhong slowly raised his head, his previously timid expression replaced by a sinister smile.

An Ge'er studied him for a moment and said, "That coat doesn't quite fit you. You don't want us to touch it because there's something else hidden inside, isn't there?" As he spoke, An Ge'er's slender fingers gently tapped on his knee, "I remember there are many medical cases of apparent death caused by heart failure, leading to a state of suspended animation, with the longest case lasting for several days."

Wang Zhong chuckled, looking at An Ge'er but remaining silent, merely sizing him up.

"Suppose Xu Keluo didn't die but was in a state of suspended animation, and when he woke up, he was already in the morgue of the crematorium. Then he would kill Wang Zhong and other crematorium workers, put on Wang Zhong's clothes, and come to seek revenge on me."

After finishing, An Ge'er looked at Wang Zhong, "In my opinion, the medical likelihood of suspended animation is much more credible than that of a malevolent ghost."

"Heh heh..." Wang Zhong nodded, "The ghost story was just a cover to find a fortune teller to inquire about your whereabouts."

Mo Fei stood up, "Are you Xu Keluo?"

Wang Zhong also stood up, dropping the clothes in his hand and pulling out a sharp, long knife, smiling at An Ge'er, "My biggest wish after coming back to life was to see you again and then kill you myself." As he spoke, he reminisced with a dreamy expression, "I was so shocked the day you came to catch me. An angel stepping into the filthy den of demons, using mere traces of clues to capture me, a devil who had been at large for seven or eight years, was simply unbelievable."

An Ge'er's face showed no particular emotion, only a puzzled look as he asked, "How did you know to ask Xia Fan about my whereabouts? Who told you?"

Xu Keluo paused for a moment, then said, "A strange person... someone even I would be afraid of."

An Ge'er rarely showed a look of incomprehension.

Mo Fei, observing the situation, couldn't help but admire An Ge'er, thinking to himself that if An Ge'er had realized earlier that this man was trouble, he should have given me a heads-up so I could have prepared a weapon to fight this knife-wielding murderer. Now, we're unarmed against a murderous devil.

An Ge'er, completely oblivious to Mo Fei's tension, asked with curiosity, "Who could it be?"

Xu Keluo laughed, brandishing the knife closer to An Ge'er, admiringly saying, "You're really beautiful. Once I kill you, I'll cut off your head and carry it with me."

"An Ge'er." Mo Fei, closer to An Ge'er, quickly reached out to pull him from the chair behind him for protection, saying, "I'll hold him off, you go get help."

"Don't call for help; the police are already on their way," said Anger, shielded behind Mofei.

"What?" Just as Mo Fei asked, the door was kicked open. Os and the police rushed in with guns drawn, aiming at Xu Keluo, "Don't move!"

A hint of doubt flashed in Xu Keluo's eyes, then he let out a roar, brandishing the knife fiercely at Mo Fei and An Ge'er...

Anger had just shouted, "Don't kill him!"

But the police nearby had already fired. Xu Keluo was hit twice in the chest, collapsing at An Ge'er's feet, blood trickling from his mouth, still chuckling.

An Ge'er crouched down, asking him, "Who told you to go to Xia Fan?"

Blood bubbling from Xu Keluo's mouth, he reached out with his bloody, dirty hand, attempting to touch An Ge'er's face. Mo Fei pulled An Ge'er back, and Os approached. Xu Keluo, staring at An Ge'er, died with a smile.

Seeing Xu Keluo dead, An Ge'er deeply furrowed his brows, a look Mo Fei had never seen before on his face. Mo Fei helped him up, seated him on the sofa, and asked, "Are you okay?"

An Ge'er shook his head.

Mo Fei, puzzled, asked Oss, "How did you arrive just in time?"

"It was Xia Fan who called me," Oss explained. "Also, the crematorium previously reported a case, mentioning several missing staff members. They couldn't find them for days. Only a man claiming to be Wang Zhong's cousin showed up at Wang Zhong's house to work temporarily. Later, the families of these workers called, asking why they hadn't returned home after coming to work. Additionally, Wang Zhong's family mentioned he had no cousin. That's when everyone realized something was amiss, so they reported it to the police."

"What about those missing furnace operators?" inquired Mo Fei.

"They were probably thrown into the incinerator," Oss speculated. "We found remains of several people in the incinerator, but the ashes were gone. It's likely that Xu Keluo went to work as a temporary worker to dispose of the corpses."

"That's disgusting," Mo Fei frowned.

Subsequently, Oss ordered the body to be removed, while Mo Fei cleaned the floor with cleaning tools, and the police officers dispersed.

After Mo Fei had thoroughly cleaned the floor and sprayed air freshener until not a trace of the smell of blood remained, he wiped the sweat from his brow and sat down on the floor to rest. Seeing Anger still seated on the sofa in deep thought, he asked, "Anger, what are you worrying about? Is it really that important who told Xu Keluo to go after Xia Fan?"

Anger looked at Mo Fei and asked, "Do you know why I immediately thought of Xu Keluo?"

Mo Fei shook his head blankly, "It's not surprising, are you a psychic?"

Anger looked at him dissatisfied, "No, it's Xia Fan who is the psychic!"

Mo Fei raised an eyebrow, stood up, and sat beside Anger, "Then tell me, why are you so anxious?"

Anger asked, "Do you remember the graffiti we saw on the wall just now?"

"Hmm," Mo Fei nodded.

"The resurrected demon has a crow on its shoulder," Anger said.

Mo Fei nodded, closely observing Anger's eyes, a faint amber hue...

"Xu Keluo's case is also famous internationally," Anger spoke softly. "They call him the Red Crow because 'Keluo' sounds similar to 'Crow' in transliteration."

"You mean, that painting was a warning that Xu Keluo, risen from the dead, is coming for revenge?" Mo Fei asked. "But why did it happen to be placed where you would see it?"

"Every time I visit my grandmother, I pass that road," Anger explained. "The painting was there, impossible for me to miss."

"Do you suspect the person who painted it and the one who told Xu Keluo to find Xia Fan are the same?" Mo Fei asked. "Meaning, someone is watching you from the shadows?"

Anger pondered, "I can't say they are watching me, but on one hand, they guided Xu Keluo to seek revenge on me, and on the other, they warned me to be on guard... what could their motive be?"

Mofei scratched his head, pondering, "Indeed, a question worth considering. How did you know that Oss and the others have arrived?"

Anger answered nonchalantly, "Xia Fan is clever, she would definitely inform Oss. They would come looking for me if they connected the case. I was sitting in a spot facing the door; I exposed Xu Keluo only after seeing them arrive."

"You could have given me a heads up," Mo Fei complained. "I was scared to death. If we had agreed to let Wang Zhong stay the night, we might have ended up dismembered. Your job is quite dangerous, you must have many seeking revenge, right?"

Anger shook his head, "Not that many." After speaking, he lay down on the sofa, murmuring to himself, "Who could it be?"

Mo Fei glanced at the time, nearly midnight. Usually, Anger would be asleep by now. Seeing him lounging on the sofa, he nudged him, "Hey, go to bed in your room."

Anger, ignoring everything, leaned against a pillow, ready to sleep.

"Sleeping on the couch will give you a stiff neck!" Mo Fei tugged at him, "Get up, go back to bed."

Anger grumbled softly, dissatisfied, "Climbing the stairs is tiring."

Mo Fei scratched his head, "It's just a few steps, you..."

Anger continued to sleep, leaving Mo Fei with no choice but to lift him and carry him upstairs to the bedroom. After placing him on the bed, removing his shoes, and covering him with a blanket, Mo Fei, feeling a bit reluctant, leaned in and asked, "Hey, do you need help with your bath?"

Anger, with barely open eyes, glanced lazily at Mo Fei and then covered himself with the blanket.

After a moment's thought, Mo Fei stood up and checked the entire room, locking the doors and windows before returning to Anger's room. Seeing the person in bed already asleep, Mo Fei sat down on the sofa beside Anger's bed and leaned against it to sleep...

In his sleep, Mo Fei suddenly heard a doorbell ring.

Sitting up abruptly, Mo Fei glanced at the wall clock... 3 a.m. Who could it be at this hour?

Standing up to check on Anger, he found him sound asleep, with nothing amiss around. Mo Fei went downstairs alone; there was no one outside the door. He looked both ways, still no one... Had he misheard? Or was it a dream? Shaking his head and about to return, his gaze suddenly fell on a box placed at the bottom step of the door.

Mo Fei opened the door, picked up the box, looked outside again – still no one. After closing the door, he brought the box inside, turned on the light, and examined it. The box was rectangular, somewhat resembling a small coffin. Opening the lid, he saw it contained some white powder...

Mo Fei instantly realized what it was, quickly covered the box again, looked around, and felt a chill down his spine. He hurried upstairs, rushed into Anger's room, and shook the bed, "Anger, Anger, wake up!"

Anger, groggy with sleep, took several minutes to show signs of waking after Mo Fei shook him. Mo Fei turned on the light and continued shaking him, "Hey, wake up!"

Anger slowly opened his eyes, finally awake, and looked at Mo Fei with a puzzled expression, "Hmm?"

Mo Fei pulled him up, "Get up and take a look, someone sent a box, it looks like an urn!"