Chapter 387

Chapter 387

◎Another Death◎

Li Rong had died, found by a sanitation worker on their early morning shift.

While cleaning the garage, the worker noticed someone in a car. After knocking twice and getting no response, they quickly called the police, fearing something was wrong. Police arrived and called firefighters to break the car window, only to find Li Rong's body already cold and stiff.

The rigor mortis indicated he had been dead for at least four to five hours.

Police checked the surveillance footage right away, which showed Li Rong frantically running out of an elevator around 1 a.m., as if someone were chasing him, before getting into his car. However, the vehicle never started, remaining stationary until the sanitation worker found it.

...

Xiao Ye pulled up on his scooter outside the teaching building, helping Ji Nanxing remove his helmet and placing it in the seat. "Once it gets colder, we won’t be able to ride the scooter," he remarked.

Ji Nanxing replied, "It doesn’t get that cold here. Yulan City hardly gets winter weather before December, and February is winter break. This year, I’ll go to Haicheng with you."

Xiao Ye’s eyes instantly lit up, his imaginary tail wagging like crazy. "Really?! I’ve been dying to take you shell-collecting! We can wake up early for beachcombing, try a small boat first, and if you don’t get seasick, we can go fishing on a trawler. Fresh seafood straight from the ocean just needs a quick rinse before boiling—nothing compares to that freshness!"

Watching him already planning, Ji Nanxing chuckled, not wanting to dampen his enthusiasm. "Sure, you can arrange it. But I’ll need to come back for New Year’s Eve."

Xiao Ye nodded eagerly. "I’ll come back with you."

October wasn’t even halfway over yet, but Xiao Ye was already looking forward to the New Year. Just thinking about taking Naonao beachcombing and shell-collecting got him pumped.

However, his good mood didn’t last long. When they entered the classroom, Fang Bei waved them over. "Over here!"

Xiao Ye glanced at the lectern. "Why sit all the way back here? We won’t even see the screen."

Fang Bei grinned. "Sitting in the back lets us talk easier. Remember that guy from your club who had a grudge against you? He’s dead now!"

Ji Nanxing paused while taking out his textbook. Xiao Ye frowned. "Who died?"

Fang Bei: "Li Rong! He’s dead now!"

The feud between Li Rong and Xiao Ye over the competition was mostly just club gossip. Although this information sometimes spread beyond the club, it wasn’t common knowledge since the other party was Ji Nanxing’s boyfriend.

Fang Bei and the others knew because Xiao Ye and Ji Nanxing sometimes discussed it openly in the dorm. Now that one of them had died, they naturally wanted to share the news with their roommates.

Xiao Ye sat down. "Where’d you hear this? How’d he die?"

Fang Bei pulled up some photos on his phone. "Heard he was found dead in his car by a sanitation worker. No clue about the details."

A nearby classmate overheard and leaned in, curious. "Died in his car? How’d that happen?"

Xiao Ye flipped through the photos—police surrounding a car, a sanitation worker standing nearby, and a body covered in a white sheet being carried out. The victim’s face wasn’t visible.

Fang Bei explained, "Someone who lives in the same neighborhood as Li Rong was driving to class this morning and saw police gathered around. They went to check and realized it was Li Rong."

Fang Bei lowered his voice and added, "Do you think the cops will question you?"

Xiao Ye: "Why would they question me?"

Fang Bei: "You two had that competition beef—there was bad blood. Where were you last night? Do you have an alibi?"

Ji Nanxing interjected calmly, "Cops don’t just question people randomly. First, they’ll determine the cause of death—suicide, homicide, or accidental due to sudden illness. Only if it’s ruled a homicide will they investigate Li Rong’s social connections."

Fang Bei nodded. "Oh, got it. How do you know so much about this? Do TV shows even go into that?"

Ji Nanxing let out a soft laugh. "Those who kill often know that."

Fang Bei couldn't help but snort. Seeing Ji Nanxing's usual cold and distant demeanor, he hadn't expected him to make jokes.

Xiao Ye didn't take Li Rong's death too seriously, although it had been unexpected. In today's world, nobody could say whether tomorrow or an accident would come first.

Ji Nanxing himself didn't think much of it either. He knew for sure that Li Rong's death had nothing to do with Xiao Ye. Whether it was murder or an accident, it wouldn't implicate Xiao Ye, so it wasn't their concern.

However, at lunchtime in the school cafeteria, Gao Xiang—who used to constantly hover around him, confident he'd eventually win him over—suddenly acted like a completely different person, even going out of his way to avoid Ji Nanxing when they crossed paths. This caught Ji Nanxing's attention, prompting him to glance twice.

Xiao Ye approached carrying the prepared lunch, noticed Ji Nanxing staring off into the distance, and followed his gaze: "What's wrong? Did you see something? Don't tell me it's a ghost? Impossible, especially during broad daylight in such a lively place as a school."

Ji Nanxing: "Not a ghost, just someone acting strangely."

While placing the dishes he knew Ji Nanxing liked best, Xiao Ye asked, "Who is it?"

Ji Nanxing: "A self-proclaimed admirer who thinks he stands a chance."

Xiao Ye: "WHAT THE—?!"

His voice was so loud that even the noisy cafeteria briefly fell silent.

Ji Nanxing shot him a look, and Xiao Ye immediately lowered his tone, his expression turning urgent: "Who is it? Why didn't you tell me? That doesn't make sense—we're practically inseparable. If someone were chasing after you, I should have known. I get it now! It must have been when I was focused on the competition, right? I knew it! The moment I let my guard down, someone took advantage! Who is it? Tell me quickly! Naughty!"

Ji Nanxing: "And what are you planning to do once you know? Go pick a fight with him?"

Xiao Ye: "I'm not some hothead who jumps into action recklessly. If I know who it is, at least I can keep an eye out. So who is it? Naughty!"

Gao Xiang had already left. He originally came to eat, but upon seeing Ji Nanxing arrive, turned around immediately and fled. Ji Nanxing found this somewhat strange—what was he afraid of? Surely not Xiao Ye?

If Xiao Ye had actually confronted him before, it would be understandable why Gao feared him. But currently, Xiao Ye didn't even know about this situation. Then who was Gao Xiang really afraid of? Could it possibly be fear of Ji Nanxing himself? Yet Ji had done nothing. Now suddenly scared, then why had he approached before with such greasy confidence?

Ji Nanxing narrowed his eyes, recalling how Gao Xiang had approached him previously—his attitude brimming with near-certainty, laced with arrogance as if victory was assured.

How could someone from a background barely qualifying as third-rate nobility dare act so condescendingly in front of him?

What fueled his confidence?

Control.

Gao Xiang seemed firmly convinced he could manipulate Ji Nanxing, as though certain Ji would eventually fall for him.

Ji Nanxing glanced sideways at Xiao Ye, who still stared at him like a puppy. Incidentally, it was also Gao Xiang who mentioned Li Rong's involvement in competing against Xiao Ye for the contest, which Ji learned only after hearing from him.

This suggested two possibilities: one, Gao had targeted Ji, hence also keeping tabs on Xiao Ye and monitoring his activities within the club;

Two, Gao Xiang had some connection with Li Rong.

If it was the latter, then considering Gao's drastic shift in attitude following Li Rong's death, it meant whatever had supported his previous confidence no longer existed, leaving him too frightened to approach again.

So what exactly had given Gao Xiang his confidence? Was it Li Rong? And what gave Li Rong the power to make Gao believe he could control Ji Nanxing?

Seeing that Ji Nanxing ignored him, Xiao Ye dejectedly started serving food onto Ji's plate like a neglected lover: "Naughty, hurry up and eat, otherwise the food will get cold."

Ji Nanxing: "I need to go view Li Rong's body this afternoon."

The sudden change of topic startled Xiao Ye: "Why would you want to see the corpse?"

Ji Nanxing laid out his earlier theory: "That cocky attitude of his, like he had me figured out—according to general logic, he must have had something in his hands that could manipulate me, like incentives or threats. But the gap between us is too vast. I doubt he possessed anything of the sort, so I’m leaning toward something supernatural."

Xiao Ye: "A supernatural possibility would be that Li Rong had some means to assist him, which gave him that confidence, making him believe he could achieve his goal. If that's the case, it implies Li Rong was involved in underhanded tricks, meaning his death might not have been natural."

Ji Nanxing nodded: "That’s why I need to check it out myself."

Xiao Ye: "Alright, I'll go with you."

Li Rong’s autopsy results were in—heart attack. However, the footage of him before getting into his car, where he looked like he was running for his life, added some suspicion to his cause of death. With red flags like that, they couldn’t just close the case and required further investigation.

Cases not flagged as homicides usually wouldn’t end up with Peng Cheng. But since Ji Nanxing contacted him, it indicated something abnormal about the case. Peng Cheng followed procedure, submitted the necessary request, and took Ji Nanxing to examine the body.

Peng Cheng: "Li Rong's family is demanding the return of his remains. They've accepted the heart attack as the cause of death and don't want further investigation. But according to regulations, if there are unresolved doubts, the body can't be released yet. Still, we can't hold onto it for too long. If no evidence of unnatural death is found, the case will be closed by tomorrow at the latest."

Peng Cheng then asked curiously: "What happened with this guy that made you suspect his death?"

Ji Nanxing: "Nothing happened to him directly, but someone connected to him is suspicious. That's why I'm checking."

Ji Nanxing changed into protective gear, donned a mask and gloves, and entered the morgue.

Li Rong was corpse-pale, stiff, with no visible external injuries—but only on the surface.

Ji Nanxing spotted traces of dark mist clinging to him—residual ghost energy. Beyond that, his soul had probably been eaten. Within seven days of death, there’s still a faint connection between the body and the soul, a tether not fully cut.

But in Ji Nanxing’s eyes, the tether linking Li Rong’s body to his soul had already snapped. This could only mean one thing—his soul had been consumed by something, or by a lingering ghost.

Peng Cheng also examined the body: "So, did you find anything?"

Ji Nanxing: "This case can be transferred to the Bureau."

Peng Cheng immediately understood—Li Rong’s death was unnatural. A ghost had killed him.

Ji Nanxing pulled out a spirit talisman, holding it between two fingers as he swept it over Li Rong’s corpse.

Though there had been no visible injuries before, Li Rong’s corpse blackened right in front of them. Soon, black fingerprints and claw marks emerged on his chest, neck, and shoulders—proof he’d been mauled by a vengeful spirit before dying.

Peng Cheng: "These marks explain the video. He was being chased by a ghost, trying to escape in his car. Once inside, the ghost killed him. This case’s gonna need a task force. But if Li Rong’s death was unnatural, then Xiao Ye will probably get dragged into it too."

Given Xiao Ye’s ties to the occult world and his past conflict with the deceased, he was bound to get dragged into it.

Ji Nanxing: "Let them investigate. If he’s clean, he’s got nothing to worry about."

While Li Rong’s case was still being processed for transfer, another member of the Li family died—Li Rong’s father. He was found dead in his office, slouched in his chair, his eyes wide open, staring unblinkingly at the ceiling. He’d died with unfinished business.