Âme Miroir Ancienne

Chapitre 3

Back at his lodgings, Zheng Qigang made himself a bowl of noodles, and then his senior, Mo Han, called.

"Junior brother, how's your first day at work?"

Mo Han's words were somewhat teasing, but Zheng Qi was in no mood to joke with him at the moment.

Since returning from the incident at the old house, and after a recent trip to Maoshan, Zheng Qi and Mo Han's relationship has transformed from friendship into kinship. Both of them were orphans from a young age and were raised by their respective fellow disciples from the Maoshan Sect. Their battle at the old house, where they fought side by side, had bound their fates together, and they immediately became sworn brothers, bound by a bond of life and death.

"Senior brother, there is indeed a very strong resentment in that place!"

Zheng Qi hesitated for a moment, then decided it was better to tell Mo Han first.

"Resentment? Are you really sure?"

"Yes, the spirit-testing talisman I put in my pocket this morning is now ashes!"

"Huh?" Mo Han's surprised voice came from the other end of the phone, and he seemed quite surprised as well.

"So what do you plan to do?"

"We should remain calm and observe. We're not familiar with the situation yet, so I plan to wait until we have a clearer understanding of it before making any moves!"

"That's fine. Be careful. If you need any help, give me a call!"

"Okay, don't worry!"

When Zheng Qi hung up the phone, the instant noodles in his bowl had turned into a pile of lumps. He scooped them up a few times, but they had lost their flavor. He frowned, then casually pushed them aside. At that moment, he had no appetite anymore, his mind filled with the scene from the day he returned from Maoshan.

"Zheng Qi, before you leave, your uncle has a favor to ask of you. I wonder if you would be willing to help your uncle with this?"

"If you need anything, please don't hesitate to tell me. If it's within my power, I will do my best to help you!"

"Good, as expected of a good disciple of the Maoshan Sect, you speak and act cleanly and efficiently!"

Master Yuqing hesitated for a moment, glanced at Mo Han beside him, and then slowly said:

"Originally, I wanted Han'er to handle this matter, but he has always lived in Maoshan Temple since he was a child. I was afraid that it would be inconvenient for him to handle it, so I wanted you to handle this matter for me!"

"Uncle-Master, please tell me what it is!"

Zheng Qi readily agreed.

“I have a good friend whose son worked at a newspaper in your city. But he unfortunately passed away a month ago.” Master Yuqing’s expression turned somewhat sorrowful as he said this.

How did he die?

"The police diagnosis is that he died suddenly from some kind of unexpected cardiac event, and the matter has been treated as an accident. However, my friend believes it was the work of a demon, so he asked me to help him reopen the investigation into his son's murder. Therefore, I would like to ask you to help me investigate this matter. What do you think?"

"Please rest assured, Uncle-Master. If it is indeed the work of a demon, it is the duty of us Maoshan disciples to slay demons and eliminate evil. I will do my best to investigate this matter and give you a satisfactory explanation."

Master Yuqing stroked his goatee, looked at Zheng Qi approvingly, and nodded.

"Good, my junior brother really didn't make a mistake in taking on a disciple, good!"

"But, Uncle-Master, how do I get into that newspaper?"

"Don't worry about that. When you get back, go find my friend, and he'll arrange everything for you!"

"Alright, then please wait for my good news, Uncle! I will definitely do my utmost to investigate this matter thoroughly!"

"Alright, if you falter at that time, I will send Han'er to assist you!"

"Thank you, Uncle-Master!"

Thinking about this, Zheng Qi felt that the death of his uncle's friend's son was indeed very likely not a simple case of sudden death due to an accidental shock.

I don't know when it started, but a torrential downpour began outside the window.

At this moment, Zheng Qi's mind was completely occupied with his female colleague, Luo Min, who hadn't shown up all day. What kind of person was she? Why did Sister Zheng and the others react so strongly when she mentioned her? Everyone seemed fearful and uneasy. Could it be that the so-called demonic being was her? And where did that resentment come from? ...

As he thought about it, Zheng Qi felt a little tired, and his vision gradually blurred.

Outside the window, the sky grew increasingly dark, and the rain poured down harder, accompanied by howling winds that ravaged every corner of the city.

The next day at work, Zheng Qi was late.

When he arrived at the office door, his face flushed, his forehead covered in beads of sweat, and panting, everyone was quietly sitting in their respective seats, engrossed in their work.

Zheng Qi stood awkwardly at the door, his heart pounding. This was incredibly embarrassing; he was late on his first day of work. What would everyone think of him? Just as he was lost in these dejected thoughts, he suddenly realized that everyone was barely reacting to his lateness—in fact, not even a little bit. Zheng Qi was puzzled. Could it be that he was really that unpopular?

Everyone glanced at Zheng Qi briefly before immediately returning to their work. However, in their fleeting glances, Zheng Qi caught a glimpse of sympathy and pity. His heart pounded. Could it be a coincidence? Was it because Director Wang was there that they were too embarrassed to speak to him, offering only sympathetic looks as comfort and pity? Thinking this, he felt a wave of frustration.

Zheng Qi quickly glanced around the office. Thankfully, the director wasn't there, and there was no light coming from the adjacent office, which meant he had gone out. But—

Suddenly he saw a person sitting across from his desk, or rather, a stunningly beautiful woman.

Zheng Qi hesitated at the door for a moment before slowly walking over.

He felt like everyone was secretly watching him, as if he were being pricked by needles.

The woman was around twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, tall, with fair skin, beautiful eyes, and red lips. She gave off the air of a classical beauty with the stunning allure of a modern woman. Zheng Qi, who considered himself to have severed all ties with the world, couldn't help but feel his face flush and his heart race when faced with this unexpectedly beautiful woman.

This woman must be Luo Min, the one everyone in the office fears.

Zheng Qi walked to his seat, smiled at Luo Min,

"Hello, I'm Zheng Qi, the new colleague who joined yesterday! I hope you'll take good care of me in the future!"

Luo Min didn't answer, she didn't even lift her head, let alone glance at Zheng Qi with her beautiful eyes.

He acted as if he didn't exist at all, behaving arrogantly and looking down at the manuscript in her hand.

The entire office was quiet, without a sound. Everyone secretly held their breath and watched Zheng Qi and Luo Min.

"Ahem, ahem..." Director Wang appeared at the office door at just the right moment.

Zheng Qi, who was in an extremely awkward situation, finally showed a relieved expression.

"Oh, Zheng Qi, I forgot to mention yesterday, we also have a colleague, Luo Min!"

Seeing this, Director Wang dawdled over to Zheng Qi and introduced him to him in a cold and extremely reluctant tone.

To Zheng Qi's surprise, Luo Min was truly formidable. She remained completely oblivious to everyone else, engrossed in reading her manuscript without even looking up, showing absolutely no respect for the director.

Director Wang was a little embarrassed and coughed a few more times.

"Okay, let's get to work, let's get to work!"

After saying that, he hurriedly went back to his office.

As Zheng Qi watched the director leave, he thought to himself, "It wasn't that I forgot to introduce him yesterday, but rather that I simply didn't want to."

Zheng Qi sat down, casually turned on his computer, and while slightly tilting his head, he peered through the gap next to the computer screen at Luo Min across from him, wondering to himself what kind of person Luo Min was.

The aloof Luo Min remained expressionless, head bowed, intently focused on the manuscript in her hands, completely ignoring the two puzzled yet curious gazes fixed on her from the computer screen opposite her.

For the rest of the day, Zheng Qi secretly observed Luo Min's every move.

But no matter how he observed or analyzed her, he felt that she didn't seem like a wicked demon. This wasn't because Luo Min was too beautiful, so beautiful that Zheng Qi couldn't bear to suspect that she was one of those rumored hideous demons and monsters. It was because, based on the Taoist magic he had learned from his master over the years, he couldn't detect in any way that Luo Min was a demon with any Taoist cultivation.