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    Shi Yubing bent down to retrieve the file from the table. "Take a seat anywhere."

    Zhou Fengxu leaned against a sofa nearby. Shi Yubing passed him the case report. "The Sham Shui Po female corpse case has been solved. Congratulations first of all. The higher-ups have given high praise to Team D for this swift resolution."

    Flipping through the report, Zhou Fengxu knew that with the case solved, Shi Yubing wouldn't have come to him without a reason. He closed it again.

    "You can just get straight to the point."

    Shi Yubing was direct. "You know how tense everyone in the Major Crimes Unit has been lately, especially Team A. They've been unusually productive, resolving several cold cases in a row."

    Cold cases were those with too few leads, cases that had remained unsolved for over a decade or even two decades.

    Team A had recently cracked three of them, which was undoubtedly a major feat.

    On the other hand, while Team D didn't have any cold cases, they had recently been tasked with an enormous case - the human skin case. The murderer's brutal method of flaying victims before dismembering them had sparked significant public uproar in Hong Kong.

    The key issue was that there were very few clues left on the bone remains without the skin, making it challenging to even identify the victims.

    The investigation was riddled with difficulties.

    It was a massive bombshell that would shake any team, leaving Shi Yubing utterly exasperated.

    Rapping her fingers on the desk in frustration, she said, "The higher-ups are pressing us hard, and all of Hong Kong is watching Group D closely. If we don't solve this case soon and another victim turns up, public opinion will spiral out of control, and panic will grip the citizens of Hong Kong."

    "I don't want this case to turn into an unsolved mystery, Inspector Zhou. I trust you understand my concerns."

    Zhou Fengxu stood up and returned the case report. "Group D will spare no effort to crack this case, Madam. You can count on us."

    After leaving Kowloon City Police Station, Chu Yuening didn't rush back to Temple Street. Instead, she hailed a taxi and headed for the 'Ruyi' feng shui store.

    When Boss Huang spotted the young lady returning, he put down his newspaper and greeted her with a wide grin even before she entered the shop. The customer was always king, and he had to be at his most attentive and provide top-notch service.

    "Miss, what can I get for you?"

    "I want to buy a compass," Chu Yuening said as she surveyed the shop. Apart from feng shui tools, the store also sold various decorative items.

    Statues of deities, prosperity gods, and even lucky cats were among the offerings.

    Dressed in a Taoist robe, Boss Huang lifted his wide sleeves and retrieved several boxes from the counter, arranging them neatly on display.

    "Small shop compasses range from a few hundred to a few thousand. May I ask what price range you're looking at?"

    Chu Yuening examined each one, feeling their substantial weight and icy coldness in her hands. She held one up and asked the owner, "They're all gold; are there no other colors available?"

    Moreover, they seemed unable to support any magical power, making them both tacky and useless.

    "The good ones are naturally golden. You have quite an eye. This one you're holding is priced at six thousand six hundred. It's the same model as Master Wong from Mong Kok, who wore it on a TV show before."

    "Six thousand six hundred?"

    Chu Yuening promptly put down the compass. "Too expensive and not useful."

    "It's normal that you don't understand as a newcomer. High-end and low-end compasses might look similar on the surface, but there's a significant difference for those in the know," Boss Huang said without blaming Chu Yuening. Recalling her beginner status, he added, "If you don't like gold, I have a black one you can take a look at."

    He opened a cabinet and retrieved a red cloth-wrapped item, unfolding it slowly. "This compass isn't gold. If you like it, I'll sell it to you for a hundred dollars."

    It would just end up gathering dust in his feng shui store anyway.

    No one would truly appreciate such a compass.

    Chu Yuening took it and found that it was vastly different from other large compasses. It was small enough to fit in one hand, and it felt heavier than its appearance suggested, as if made of a material stronger than copper. The characters denoting the hours were inscribed in golden, while the rest of the compass had a dark gray hue.

    She infused a bit of her magical energy into it.

    To her surprise, the interior seemed much larger than its exterior suggested.

    "Are you sure about a hundred?" asked Boss Huang with a smile. "I'll take eighty, giving you an extra twenty. I won't hide it from you; when I first acquired this, I thought it would just be another piece to fill the shelves. But it didn't match any of the other compasses, and it even affected my sales. So, I decided to keep it tucked away. If you don't want it, it's unlikely I'll find another buyer anytime soon."

    "However, let me be clear: if there's any issue with its functionality, I won't offer a replacement."

    "Alright, I'll take it," Chu Yuening said, promptly handing over the money. As she was about to leave, Boss Huang picked up the newspaper, tapping on the front-page headline. "There's been quite a buzz about this fortune-teller lately. Have you seen it?"

    Confused, Chu Yuening replied, "What's that?"

    Boss Huang pointed to the article. "Right here. This fortune-teller predicted that a customer was involved in drug trafficking, and everyone assumed it was a hoax. But the police actually arrested the person on the spot."

    Chu Yuening's lips twitched. She didn't read the newspaper and passed it back. "What do you think?"

    Boss Huang scoffed. "It must be fake. Although I have no idea how this fortune teller managed to get O Team to act, if he's really that accurate, why would he still be doing fortune-telling? He'd better set up a temple and become a Buddha, earning more from daily offerings than selling on the streets."

    Coincidentally, the small TV in the shop was playing Hong Kong news, showing Li Zhirong's picture.

    "Look," Boss Huang pointed at the screen. "If he were really that clairvoyant, such a murderer would've been caught long ago. With just a quick calculation, he'd know who the criminal is. How could that be possible?"

    Chu Yuening blinked.

    Boss Huang continued, "But honestly, I never thought he was the murderer."

    "You know him?" Chu Yuening found it odd.

    As far as she knew, Li Zhirong didn't have a wide social circle.

    "I do. He's been to my shop before and even asked me about planting Ghost Peony," Boss Huang said. Though he was greedy, he still had his professional ethics.

    "Ghost Peony is an evil practice. Even if I knew, I couldn't have told him. Now it seems I was right. This guy is truly wicked." Boss Huang shook his head.

    Yet Chu Yuening was lost in thought.

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