witchcraft

Chapter 21

“He…” Xiao west seemed to want to ask something, hesitating, but suddenly, he grabbed Hao Jie’s arm and asked urgently, “Is that Feng Qi a reporter? He’s been to our bar?”

Hao Jie nodded and said, "It seems they know each other. By the way, Xiao Xi, Feng Qi told me something today..." He continued, but Xiao Xi's mind was clearly too full for anything else. After a while, he quietly lay down, pulled the blanket over himself, and said to Hao Jie, "I'm tired, go to sleep."

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Feng Qi was kept awake all night by Fei Xue's shrill cries. He didn't know what had upset her, but she kept howling. Feng Qi turned to the side and muttered to the restless Fei Xue, "Fei Xue, can you please be quiet?" Fei Xue's eyes widened, her fur stood on end, and she continued to howl.

Reluctantly, Feng Qi crawled out of bed, yawning as he approached Fei Xue. The moment he opened his eyes, Feng Qi was somewhat stunned. Although they couldn't communicate verbally, he sensed that Fei Xue was very different from usual. He seemed to see anger and shame on that usually docile face. Just as he thought this, he chuckled at his own thought. He knelt down and reached out to touch Fei Xue. Unexpectedly, Fei Xue swatted at him with her claws, leaving several scratches on the back of his hand.

Feng Qi looked at Feixue, who was avoiding him but kept meowing, completely bewildered. It kept rubbing its body against the floor, seemingly in great discomfort. He then found Xiao Hei, who was shivering under the bed, by the moonlight. Looking at Feixue's appearance, he suddenly realized something. He tentatively asked, "Feixue, you...you're not in heat, are you?"

Feixue glared at him angrily, but then lowered her head.

"This..." Feng Qi was at a loss: "Where am I supposed to find you an adult male cat in the middle of the night? Fei Xue, just bear with it for a few days." As soon as he finished speaking, Fei Xue, who had been avoiding him, swiftly swatted him with her claws. Realizing he had stepped on a landmine, Feng Qi quickly said, "Okay, let's not talk about this anymore. Miss, please continue."

Feixue's commotion instantly banished his sleepiness. Feng Qi looked up at the clock; the hour hand pointed to 12. He sighed, turned on his computer, and prepared to continue his daytime work, organizing the patients' data, searching for more detailed commonalities, and seeing if he could find out what exactly happened four years ago.

At 1 o'clock, Qingfei called and immediately questioned, "Feng Qi, you and Henry are old acquaintances, why did you pretend to come for an interview? And you even lured Henry away."

Feng Qi glanced at the clock and couldn't help but laugh, "Miss Secretary, this is my private time. Besides, your wording is inaccurate. He's the one who kidnapped me."

"Please answer my question." Qingfei remained unmoved by Feng Qi's words and stubbornly asked.

"Okay, to be honest, I don't know any Henry. The interview was real. I just didn't expect him to be my childhood friend."

"How much...do you know?" Qingfei asked hesitantly.

Feng Qi raised an eyebrow on the microphone: "Miss, if I knew, I wouldn't have come for the interview."

Qingfei changed the question this time: "How many do you want?"

Feng Qi thought with amusement, "Could it be that Qianye is used to being blackmailed, and this woman has become accustomed to using money to cover up her secrets?" He decided to pretend he didn't understand: "I don't know what you're talking about."

“Don’t play dumb,” Qingfei said. “You know what I’m talking about.”

"Hey, you're a really strange girl, I really don't understand."

“I don’t want to waste time on this boring question. Feng Qi, I know you’re short of money, so let’s be straightforward and name your price.”

“If I need money, give me money. But if I don’t need money, what can you give me?” Feng Qi suddenly asked.

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, then a clear voice said, "For celebrities, lying is the worst thing. But our lies are unavoidable and harmless. Saying that Henry went abroad to study is to enhance his own image, and it doesn't bother anyone else. Why make things difficult for you?"

Feng Qi was both amused and exasperated, saying, "Miss, you're calling at one in the morning. Are you having delusions? I never said I would reveal this secret. Besides, this secret isn't worth me writing so much about."

“…Really? But he said…” Qingfei stopped mid-sentence.

"Him?" Feng Qi laughed. "Does that mean if Qianye told you, I would reveal his secret?"

"It's best if you don't say anything. I think you know that even if you write it, I have ways to prevent it from being published." After saying this harshly, Qingfei hung up the phone.

Feng Qi held the phone, lost in thought. Was Qian Ye really the one telling Qing Fei all this? His personality didn't seem like he would tell her such trivial matters. But if this incident was simply to cover up Qian Ye's background, wouldn't it involve too many people?

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Meanwhile, Yu Ye was also discussing with Asakusa who the murderer was. However, unlike Feng Qi, who was preoccupied with why such a coincidence had occurred, Yu Ye was more curious about who had committed the act. Taking advantage of a moment when no one was looking at the hospital, she collected saliva samples from several patients to take home and conduct experiments. The results confirmed that it was indeed caused by water-based witchcraft.

"Asakusa, I remember there aren't many people left in the water system, and they're all quite mediocre. Who has the same skills as me and can achieve this level?" Yu Ye sat cross-legged on the ground, staring at the test tubes in front of her, completely puzzled.

Asakusa's bar has been doing poorly lately, so he idly wipes the glasses while dealing with Yu Ye's nagging, "Not only the water system, but after that incident ten years ago, almost all the people from the five clans left. That's why you were able to rule Zhicheng."

"Bullshit!" Yu Ye jumped up, put her hands on her hips and shouted, "I am a genius witch of the water element. My reign as king has nothing to do with those old men."

Asakusa's icy expression remained unchanged as he calmly stated, "This person's methods are very similar to yours."

Yu Ye stroked her chin, looking thoughtfully at the test tubes on the ground: "Going through so much trouble, how much would it cost to make a profit? One person's contribution probably couldn't even match that. If it were me, I definitely wouldn't do this business; it's a sure loss. But..." She smiled, "If you want to play dirty tricks, this young lady is ready to play along to the end!"

The performance proceeded as scheduled.

The first day's program was classical dance. The story was written by Henry, Qianye's teacher, and told a poignant love story. Feng Qi, using his identity as a reporter, got a free seat in the last row.

The stage was predominantly lit with cool-toned lighting. Qianye, dressed in white, had his hair wildly flowing. He was sometimes lying on the cold ground, sometimes swaying to the music. His eyes were filled with reluctance and unforgettable memories of his deceased lover. Even Feng Qi praised Qianye on stage for possessing a kind of spirit that didn't exist in real life, making it impossible to look away once you were on stage.

Feng Qi unconsciously compared Qian Ye to Xiao Xi, whom he had seen at the Maya Bar that day. He noticed that although one was aloof and the other passionate, they were remarkably similar at their core. However, Xiao Xi ultimately leaned towards vulgarity, lacking the captivating charm of Qian Ye. The person beside him seemed just as mesmerized by Qian Ye's dance as Feng Qi, uttering soft exclamations of admiration. Feng Qi turned with a smile, only to discover that the person two or three seats away was none other than Xiao west.

Since this was Qianye's first performance, the audience wasn't full. Xiaoxi was completely focused on the stage, unaware of the gaze directed at him. Feng Qi guessed that Xiaoxi must know Qianye, but he hadn't expected that Xiaoxi would also be there to watch Qianye's performance.

The performance wasn't over yet, but Xiao west quietly left. Feng Qi had been paying attention to him, so he noticed as soon as he left.

For several shows in a row, Xiao Xi entered the theater some time after the performance started and left early before the end. Each time, she sat in the last row near the door.

Feng Qi had already written several reports about Qianye's performance, naturally praising it extensively. Firstly, there was media hype, and secondly, Qianye was indeed excellent; the script was tailored to modern tastes, making it anything but boring. Qianye's reputation had grown even more since his arrival in Zhicheng. Many young girls who weren't originally interested in dance came to see his performance, just to admire his handsome appearance.

One day, when Xiao Xi left the theater early, Feng Qi chased after him and stopped him at the theater entrance.

Xiao west looked at the stranger who had called out to her with a half-smile, without saying a word. Feng Qi introduced himself first. He noticed that Xiao Xi raised an eyebrow slightly when he said his name, knowing that Hao Jie must have told him his name. He just didn't know how much he had said. He briefly told Xiao Xi what he had discovered and then waited for her reaction.

After listening, Xiao Xi's lips slowly curled into a smile, her voice sweet and coquettish: "You mean, someone wants to harm me? Because of what, Henry?" He shook his head. "Big reporter, this is all baseless speculation on your part. To put it bluntly, my murder, Hao Jie's murder, have nothing to do with you. The reason you're so enthusiastic is simply to gain fame and success by digging up other people's private lives. For example, you could write that a certain bar used to be a gay bar, filled with decadence and debauchery, describing how depraved it was. Or you could write that the famous dancer Henry's real name was Qianye, that he studied abroad, that he came from a wealthy family—all nonsense. He was just a homosexual who frequented a gay bar in Zhicheng years ago." Or perhaps you dig deep and unearth a so-called secret from years ago, revealing it to the world. For you, it's merely a stepping stone to fame and fortune; for the public, it's just a diversion in life; but for us, it's our entire existence. It's not that I haven't seen your news reports. I remember a little over a year ago, you were just a piece of trashy news reporter writing things like "The streetlights are broken today," "The streetlights are fixed tomorrow." Isn't all your success today the result of digging into other people's privacy? If you ask me, that unknown murderer did a good job. I know those people Hao Jie told me about; they're all wealthy and powerful men, but none of them are good people. The world would be a little more peaceful without one less like that.”

He spoke slowly, but Feng Qi couldn't get a word in edgewise. Faced with the accusation from someone he didn't know very well, he was speechless. But in his silence, he thought of Qian Ye again; that person had said something similar to him a few days ago, though not as sharp as Xiao west's.

"I just want to tell you to be careful," Feng Qi said with a wry smile.

But Xiao west didn't appreciate it. He snorted coldly, "I don't need your fake kindness."

Chapter Seven: Dispute

Chapter Seven

Because Maya Hotel closed down, both Xiao west and Hao Jie were unemployed. Hao Jie quickly found a job as a security guard at a hotel, but Xiao Xi was lazy and unwilling to look for other work. Every time Hao Jie brought it up, the two would inevitably have a big argument. Xiao Xi was sharp-tongued and, when provoked, would say whatever came to mind, picking out the most hurtful things. After a while, Hao Jie stopped asking him to go out to work. Every day, Hao Jie would go out, and Xiao Xi would dress up beautifully to go see Qianye's performance. But each time he saw it, his sadness would increase, and he could only find relief by wandering around. Sometimes, he would meet someone willing to pay him and sleep with them for some pocket money. More often, he would sit in the park, basking in the sun, watching the old people, children, and stray dogs. He would clear his mind, feeling warm all over in the autumn sun, and his sadness would seem to temporarily disappear.

That day, Xiao west returned home and was surprised to find Hao Jie, who should have been working, slumped on the sofa. The setting sun shone through the old window, illuminating his sharply defined face.

Xiao west chuckled and said, "What's wrong? Did you get off an early shift today?"

Hao Jie didn't answer him, but simply turned his head and silently looked into Xiao Xi's eyes. This Hao Jie was a stranger to Xiao Xi; his unfathomable gaze locked onto him, making him instinctively want to escape. Despite this thought, Xiao Xi's expression didn't change. He raised an eyebrow and teased, "What, you're not used to me showing you some concern?"

Seeing that Hao Jie still didn't react, he snorted and went into the kitchen to take out some bottled water from the refrigerator. After washing his face, cooking noodles, and eating, Xiao Xi put the bowl in the sink, walked up to Hao Jie, and kicked his foot: "Go wash the dishes." Normally, Xiao Xi's gesture would be an attempt to make peace, and Hao Jie would reluctantly go wash the dishes. But today, Hao Jie was completely unmoved by such words and still quietly looked at Xiao west.

The tense atmosphere fueled Xiao west's anger. He grabbed a cup from the table and threw it violently against the wall behind Hao Jie, yelling, "What do you want from me?!"

The glass shattered into several pieces, shards littering the floor. Hao Jie finally spoke, his tone icy, unlike anything Xiao west had ever heard: "I'm the one who wants to ask you what exactly you want."

"Nothing happened to me."

"Xiao west, I've been very kind to you. Why do you have to betray me like this?"

Xiao west frowned. He looked at Hao Jie, who was radiating coldness, and knew that he must have been discovered while out hunting for food. He said contemptuously, "Are you sick? I've always been like this."

“Yes, you’ve always been like this. I’m just being pathetic for tolerating you like this.” Hao Jie’s eyes dimmed. “Where have you been all this time?”

Let's go out for a walk.

"That can't be all. Don't you go to Qianye's shows every day? Where did you get the money?"

Upon hearing Qianye's name, Xiaoxi looked up and angrily asked, "You've been following me?"

"I don't have the time for that..." Hao Jie said wearily, "I'm just asking you, where do you get the money to go see them every day?"

Xiao west looked at Hao Jie, realizing that Feng Qi had told Hao Jie, and chuckled, "Sell it, how difficult is it? I didn't expect that reporter to be so talkative."

"I remember you said you didn't want to see Qianye." Hao Jie said calmly, "I knew you were fickle, but I didn't expect you to still be the same after all these years. You betrayed him back then, and I thought you would never have the face to see him again. Did I underestimate your shamelessness, or was it just your fickleness?"

Upon hearing this, Xiao west's expression changed drastically. He almost lost his balance, glaring fiercely at the calm Hao Jie: "You... if it weren't for you, would I have betrayed Qian Ye? Would I be like this now? Hao Jie, you've finally taken off your hypocritical mask today. Good, very good! I only regret how foolish I was to have believed your sweet words..."

"That's because you can't stand being alone," Hao Jie interrupted Xiao Xi. "You're fickle and promiscuous; that adjective couldn't be more fitting for you."

Hearing Hao Jie's words, Xiao Xi was furious and grabbed anything he could throw, hurling it at him. Tears streamed down his face uncontrollably. Enraged, he slapped himself several times until his mouth bled: "I was crazy! I was bewitched to be with you. I brought this upon myself! I was pathetic!"

When Xiao Xi was throwing things, Hao Jie remained unmoved, but as soon as he saw Xiao Xi slap himself, he jumped up from the sofa, rushed forward, hugged the hysterical Xiao Xi, and shouted, "What are you doing! Stop it! Huang Xiangxi!" He held Xiao Xi tightly in his arms and kept apologizing, "Xiao Xi, Xiao Xi, I was wrong, I deserve to die, I was talking nonsense, don't be like this, it hurts me to see you like this."

Xiaoxi struggled for a while and then stopped, but tears continued to fall as she murmured, "Qianye, Qianye, I regret it so much, I regret it so much, I want to die."

"I'm sorry, Xiaoxi, I'm just worried about you. Please don't go to Qianye's performance, okay? Please," Hao Jie pleaded in a low voice. "I don't want you to be in danger. You don't know, so many people have gotten into trouble, and it's definitely related to what happened to Qianye four years ago. Let's not provoke him, okay?"

Xiao Xi's forehead was pressed against Hao Jie's cheek, her eyes gazing blankly out the window, and she sighed softly, "Okay, I won't go, I won't go, Jie, can you let me go now?"

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Feng Qi wasn't surprised at all by Hao Jie's call. He knew from other sources that Hao Jie and Xiao Xi lived together, so he knew their relationship was special. Seeing Hao Jie's usual nonchalant demeanor when he mentioned Xiao Xi further confirmed that Xiao Xi was someone Hao Jie cared about deeply. Feng Qi arranged a time and place to discuss the matter in detail. Because Hao Jie was short on time, they chose a hotel near where he worked.

The first thing Hao Jie said during their conversation the next day was, "I'll tell you about what happened four years ago, hoping you can find the real killer." Feng Qi was somewhat surprised by Hao Jie's cooperation. He had been running into many obstacles these past few days, and this sudden cooperation felt strange.

“Five years ago, I met Qianye at Maya. At that time, he couldn't afford to go to school and worked as a waiter at Maya. Occasionally, he would dance on stage to earn some extra money. Among the customers he met at Maya were many wealthy men, and many offered to keep him as a mistress, but he refused them all. Qianye is a very arrogant person; even at Maya, he seemed untouchable. I often thought that such a person shouldn't be hanging around here. His stage, his world, should be much wider.” Hao Jie smiled at Feng Qi as he said this: “You've met him; you should be able to sense it. He's more composed now; before, he was simply arrogant and disdainful of everyone.”

Feng Qi nodded in agreement, saying, "Indeed, Qianye has always had a strong presence since he was a child."

"One day, he came to work with a skinny little kid following behind him. He said helplessly to me that this child insisted on following him and asked me to help him find a job. He was the kind of person who always kept his distance from people and would never initiate conversation, let alone ask for favors. That's when I noticed the child. The child was unhealthyly thin, clearly suffering from long-term malnutrition. He was very dependent on Qianye, holding onto his hand tightly while talking. That child was Xiaoxi. Xiaoxi was the child of one of Qianye's neighbors. He had recently lost both his parents and had been living with Qianye. Yu Gang refused to hire him because the child was a minor. It was only after Qianye and I pleaded with him that he reluctantly agreed."

"So what suspicious event happened four years ago?" Feng Qi asked.

Hao Jie chuckled: "Don't rush me, I'll tell you. That period was probably the best time. The three of us got along very well back then. Both of them were dance fanatics. Every day after get off work, Xiao Xi would pester Qian Ye to teach him to dance, and I was the only audience. After Xiao Xi grew up, he was an extremely beautiful child. If we were to use plants as a metaphor, Qian Ye would be a lotus, and Xiao Xi would be a poppy. He was naturally very attractive."

Upon hearing Hao Jie's analogy, Feng Qi coughed lightly, feeling uncomfortable. Hao Jie's smile, lost in reminiscence, vanished, and he sighed, "Thinking back, this was Xiao Xi's calamity, and also Qian Ye's calamity. Once, Xiao Xi offended someone you shouldn't have messed with. That person was a gangster boss, not gay, but occasionally played around with men. Actually, Qian Ye and I had told Xiao Xi more than once not to act so rashly. What you might have been a thoughtless joke could have been interpreted as an invitation by someone else. That person took a liking to Xiao Xi and insisted that she go with him. Xiao Xi was just a child; even working in a gay bar, he might not have understood the implications. He was also stubborn and refused to comply. Later, that gangster boss simply kidnapped her. Qian Ye was both anxious and remorseful. He had brought her here, and now she was in this state. He chased after the gangster boss, but instead saw Xiao west..." He sat trembling on the ground, covered in blood. After careful questioning, I learned that Xiao west had feigned compliance but stabbed the man with a shard of glass before they were about to consummate their relationship. He told me this when he brought Xiao Xi, who was too terrified to speak, to me. He asked me to take care of Xiao Xi before turning himself in to the police. I don't know how he did it, but after the man recovered, he didn't reveal that Xiao Xi had stabbed him, nor did he cause us any further trouble. Qianye spent six months in detention. This incident was well-known in our circle, but everyone assumed the man had tried to force himself on Qianye but failed and ended up getting injured instead. Apart from Xiao Xi and me, almost no one knew the truth. Later, Xiao Xi and I developed feelings for each other. After Qianye was released, he saw us together and left without saying a word. I thought I would never see Qianye again.

"Your friend is taking the blame for someone else's imprisonment, and you're stealing his girlfriend?" Feng Qi asked incredulously. "When you were together, didn't you feel guilty or ashamed?"

"Sometimes, emotions are beyond our control."

"Is this what happened four years ago?" Feng Qi asked.

Hao Jie nodded: "There's nothing bigger than this."

"That's probably something Qianye did to cover up his past imprisonment, right?" Feng Qi frowned and pondered, feeling that something was off, but he couldn't figure out what it was.

"No," Hao Jie retorted, "Qianye is not the kind of person who would hurt others to cover up his past."

Feng Qi raised an eyebrow and looked at the excited Hao Jie: "So who do you think it is?"

“There must be someone,” Hao Jie said. “I don’t know, but I don’t want anything else to disturb our lives. I’m content now, as long as Qianye doesn’t come back.”

Feng Qi laughed and said, "You're really selfish."

"Isn't everyone selfish? The only difference is whether they're willing to admit it." Hao Jie returned Feng Qi's smile: "I'm telling you the truth not because I want you to expose our lives. Feng Qi, can you give me a guarantee? As you said before, you won't report our private lives."

"I promise," Feng Qi replied earnestly.

After saying goodbye to Hao Jie, Feng Qi kept replaying his words in his mind. Was what happened four years ago really orchestrated by Qian Ye or someone connected to him to cover up his past imprisonment? How much of Hao Jie's statement was concealed, and how much was true? He had a gut feeling that he had missed something crucial—but what was it?

As he walked, he suddenly stopped, realizing what he felt was wrong. It had been confirmed that most stroke patients were homosexual. If what Hao Jie said was true—that it was to cover up his imprisonment—then the police officers who received Qianye when he surrendered, and the prison guards at the time of his imprisonment, should also have been victims.

He immediately stood by the roadside, hailed a taxi, and rushed to the hospital.

Over three days, he investigated all the hospitals in Zhicheng, but found no prison guards or police officers hospitalized due to strokes. He even asked around at the Public Security Bureau, but still found nothing. It seemed that what Hao Jie said wasn't true. After reviewing the thick stack of documents in his hand, he went to the apartment Hao Jie had rented, following the address Hao Jie had given him last time.

Xiao west opened the door.

Upon seeing Feng Qi, Xiao Xi made no attempt to hide her disgust and reached out to slam the door shut. Feng Qi quickly stopped her, saying urgently, "I'm looking for Hao Jie."