Chapter 310

Chapter 310

◎Ghosts—And Vicious Ones◎

The information Zhang Yuan gathered wasn’t good for Dong Qi.

This case involved both fraud and murder, making it particularly severe. It was no longer something minor that beat cops could handle, so it had been transferred to the criminal investigation division—specifically, the precinct where Zhang Yuan’s father worked. As a result, Zhang Yuan had access to slightly more details than others.

"In that rented room, one person was dead, and another was unconscious. Someone had shouted for help, and the neighbors thought it was just a fight but called the police just in case. When the officers arrived, no one answered the door, so they forced it open. Inside, they found the deceased, Cao Zhen, lying in a pool of blood, while the injured Tian Xin was unconscious on the floor. And Dong Qi was standing in the room, holding a blood-stained knife."

In the small, rundown building, Jiang Tangtang and the others gasped, covering their mouths at Zhang Yuan’s description. "No way! Dong Qi doesn’t seem like the impulsive type. He’s always joking around and gossiping, never seemed to clash with anyone—just a total pushover."

Though they weren’t in the same class as Dong Qi, they often visited Xiao Ye and Ji Nanxing, and since Dong Qi sat nearby, they’d interacted with him occasionally. From what they’d seen, Dong Qi was gossipy but timid, not the kind to pick fights. How could he possibly stab someone?

Guo Xun, lingering nearby, nodded along vigorously. During evening self-study, he’d often sneak out to wander around after dark. Since Ji Nanxing could see him, he didn’t mind interacting more, so he frequently visited Ji Nanxing’s classroom. Naturally, he’d also seen that guy who would sneak snacks under his desk during study hall.

There was just no way he looked like a killer.

Zhang Yuan sighed. "Only Dong Qi’s fingerprints were on the knife. The scene the police saw when they broke in was clearly a murder scene. Worse, the woman woke up and said Dong Qi suddenly went crazy, stabbing Cao Zhen with the knife. There’s both witness testimony and physical evidence. Most importantly, Dong Qi had a motive—the dead man and the woman were the ones who scammed him."

With all this stacked together, the evidence was damning. Even though Dong Qi kept insisting he hadn’t killed anyone, who would believe him with so much against him?

Ji Nanxing asked, "How did Dong Qi even find the scammers?"

Zhang Yuan shook his head. "No idea. I mainly asked about what happened that day. The rest, I haven’t gotten into yet."

Even though his father was a cop and he had good connections at the precinct, the officers weren’t about to analyze the case with a kid—even if he wasn’t that young, high schoolers were still just kids in adults’ eyes.

Ji Nanxing said, "It’s fine. I’ll meet Dong Qi first and see what’s really going on."

Zhang Yuan frowned. "Might be hard to arrange. I asked—Dong Qi’s already eighteen. Even his parents can only see him with a lawyer present. His family’s currently looking for one."

Hiring a lawyer wasn’t cheap, especially for a case like this. Even if Dong Qi’s guilt seemed certain, the court would assign him a public defender (court-appointed lawyer) for the trial. But Dong Qi’s family wasn’t comfortable with that and insisted on paying for a skilled lawyer themselves. They were reportedly still searching.

Ji Nanxing said, "Don’t worry. I’ll have the police take me to see him."

This wasn’t something they could delay. Ji Nanxing contacted Peng Cheng, explained the situation, and Peng Cheng told him to wait a bit—even he had to go through some procedures to arrange a meeting. By evening, Ji Nanxing finally got to see Dong Qi with Peng Cheng’s help.

Dong Qi was terrified, curled up in a corner, crying. His face was as white as a sheet, his clothes wrinkled and stained with blood. His hands had been washed, but traces of blood remained under his nails, making them grimy. Combined with his panicked expression, he was a complete wreck.

Standing at the door, Ji Nanxing called softly, "Dong Qi."

Dong Qi looked up. Seeing Ji Nanxing, he burst into tears. "*Sob* Academic god, I didn’t—!"

Dong Qi was genuinely terrified—filled with regret and fear.

He had no idea how things had escalated like this. He’d just been in an online romance. At that hormone-fueled age, he couldn’t resist a young girl’s flirting. He’d thought the worst that could happen was getting scammed. But it turned out things could always get worse.

Dong Qi’s legs gave out. He’d been locked up for two days, interrogated repeatedly, unable to eat or sleep. Now, he was completely drained, but he still clung to the bars, desperate for Ji Nanxing to come closer. Having someone he knew nearby made him feel slightly less afraid.

Ji Nanxing crouched down outside the bars. "Dong Qi, if it’s something you didn’t do, then don’t be afraid. I’ll help you find the truth. Now, tell me everything that happened from the beginning."

He already had a rough guess. Dong Qi was covered in *Yin* energy. A place like a police station, with its strong, law-abiding energy and mostly male staff—in other words, overflowing with Yang energy—should’ve dispersed any ordinary Yin contamination by now.

But Ji Nanxing could still sense Yin energy on Dong Qi. That meant Dong Qi had either been possessed or tricked by a ghost. Either way, it proved Dong Qi hadn’t killed anyone. The one who murdered Cao Zhen was a ghost.

Hearing Ji Nanxing’s words, Dong Qi, though still scared, felt a strange sense of security. Between sobs, he recounted everything that had happened that day.

He’d had video chats with Tian Xin before, so he knew what she looked like. That Saturday, he’d brought herbal soup to his hospitalized grandmother. On his way home, he spotted a woman who looked just like Tian Xin and instinctively followed her.

As he followed her, the more he looked, the more she looked like Tian Xin. He wasn’t dumb enough to confront her directly but instead called the cops right away.

Dong Qi: "After my parents took me to report the scam, I saved the precinct’s number. That's the number I called. But the cops would take a while to get there, and Tian Xin kept walking. I was scared I’d lose her for good after tracking her down, so I tailed her. I thought if I could confirm where she lived or at least the general area, it would make it easier for the police to track her down."

Ji Nanxing: "Did they spot you?"

Dong Qi nodded, sobbing: "Yes, they did. They were working with others. They lived in an old walk-up apartment. I didn’t dare follow too closely—I just wanted to confirm which building she entered so the police could do a door-to-door search if they had to. I never meant to go up, but just as I was about to leave, a guy came up behind me—the one who died, Cao Zhen."

Peng Cheng, standing beside Ji Nanxing, asked: "What did he do to you?"

Dong Qi: "He grabbed me right away, twisted my arms behind me. When I tried to speak, he covered my mouth and dragged me upstairs by force."

Even now, Dong Qi trembled with fear: "Once inside, they beat me. I asked Tian Xin why she scammed me, and she called me a moron. Cao Zhen said since I’d found them, their spot was blown. They wanted to flee, so they tied me up and left me for dead."

Ji Nanxing: "What happened next?"

Dong Qi shook his head: "Everything after that’s a blur. I really didn’t kill anyone! I don’t know how it turned into what the police saw when they broke in. I don’t know when the ropes came loose or where the knife came from. Ji Nanxing, believe me, I didn’t kill anyone!"

Ji Nanxing nodded: "I believe you. Don’t worry, this guy next to me is a top-notch detective. He’ll help find evidence to prove your innocence."

Dong Qi nodded repeatedly, relieved that someone believed him and was willing to help.

After leaving the station, Peng Cheng fought the urge to light up: "Ghosts again?"

Ji Nanxing: "There’s Yin energy on him. I think we need to visit the crime scene."

Xiao Ye, waiting outside, hurried over: "How is it?"

Ji Nanxing: "It might be a ghost killing. Let’s check first."

Peng Cheng drove them to the crime scene. The place was taped off. The apartment had been rented by the deceased, but it hadn’t yet been returned to the landlord. Bloodstains and scattered items remained untouched, preserving the scene as it was.

Upon entering, Ji Nanxing didn’t see an ordinary crime scene—instead, the room was crawling with Yin energy. He confirmed: "There was a ghost here. A vicious one."

Peng Cheng instinctively rubbed his arms. Though his job involved dealing with gruesome deaths, supernatural entities still unnerved him—the unknown was always the most terrifying.

Just then, a cold gust of wind blew. Peng Cheng glanced toward the open window.

A dark shape was lurking in the corner. As the curtain fluttered, a pale face peered out, its cold eyes locked onto them.

The shadow darted at the edge of Peng Cheng’s sight. He spun around, but when he looked again, there was nothing.

Peng Cheng: "Is there a ghost here? I thought I saw something—maybe I imagined it."

Ji Nanxing: "It wasn’t your imagination."

Peng Cheng: "Then what was it?"

Xiao Ye scooted closer to Ji Nanxing. The room was freezing and stank of death. Places where people died always felt eerie, and right now, only standing beside his frail deskmate gave him any sense of security.

Ji Nanxing waved his hand through the air, collecting wisps of lingering ghost energy: "A ghostly shadow. It fled."

The Yin energy here was too strong, mixed with the lingering aura of death, masking the ghost’s presence. Ji Nanxing pulled out talismans from his bag. Activating the inscriptions, they flew and sealed the windows and doors.

Ji Nanxing: "The ghost can’t re-enter now. Where’s the injured woman?"

Peng Cheng: "At the hospital."

Ji Nanxing: "We need to go there. The ghost might be going for the kill."

The group hurried downstairs, and Ji Nanxing reported the incident to the Management Bureau.

Lingering ghost killings are the Management Bureau's jurisdiction. Besides, if a lingering ghost did the killing, Dong Qi would be innocent. But there was no hard evidence to clear him—regular courts don’t rule on supernatural cases.

Only by transferring the case to the Management Bureau could Dong Qi potentially be acquitted.

After Ji Nanxing finished reporting, Xiao Ye spoke up, "Did you see whether the ghost was male or female? If it plans to kill the injured person in the hospital, why hasn’t it acted in the past two days? Why wait till we showed up to act?"

Ji Nanxing replied, "A female ghost. She *was* active—just busy devouring Cao Zhen’s soul. I just captured a few remnants of Cao Zhen’s spirit. The ghost hadn’t fully absorbed and converted them into her own power yet. Now that we’ve exposed her, she’ll rush to the hospital to kill in revenge."

In the hospital, Tian Xin lay on the bed. The day Cao Zhen was killed right in front of her had left her deeply traumatized. Later, when Dong Qi shoved her aside, she couldn’t comprehend how a person could possess such terrifying strength. She wasn’t overweight, but she was tall, weighing nearly 120 pounds—yet she was sent flying from just one shove.

The impact against the wall had been so severe that she suffered a concussion, which was why she was still hospitalized. Once discharged, she’d likely be arrested and imprisoned.

Tian Xin had already resigned herself to her fate. She just didn’t know how long the sentence for fraud would be. From the moment she followed Cao Zhen, she’d crossed a line with no way back. Perhaps this was for the best—at least it was a form of closure in another sense.

With her eyes closed, Tian Xin didn’t see the bony, pale hand inching closer from the edge of the bed toward the blanket.