Feng Shui

Chapitre 16

She began to curse, gritting her teeth, hysterical. He was thrilled; it was as if the fierce and ruthless Shen Hanjun from years ago, when he was involved in gangs on the streets, had returned—that man who loved the smell of blood!

"Goodbye!" He gracefully raised his gun, pointed it at the woman's chest, and fired.

The woman fell to the ground, a beautiful crimson stain seeping from her chest, like a red plum blossom spreading on rice paper. The red spread rapidly and uncontrollably across her pale yellow dress, gradually expanding to her entire chest and flowing to the ground. The air was filled with the pungent smell of blood, and he snorted, as if intoxicated by the evil aura.

“My dear, it’s all over. Sleep well.” He walked over and leaned down to take one last look at the woman. Although she was now dead, she was still a beautiful dead woman. Shen Hanjun had always liked beautiful things, regardless of whether the other person was dead or alive. However, this look completely stunned him. A chill ran down his spine. Even being thrown into an icy river in the dead of winter wouldn’t have made him feel this cold. He saw the woman, the dead woman, with an incredibly sweet smile on her face.

Shen Hanjun almost collapsed to the ground. No one could die with such a smile after being betrayed by their closest loved one; that smile reminded him of a demon. Shen Hanjun turned with difficulty to leave, but froze as if struck by lightning. A pair of snow-white arms encircled his shoulders from behind, accompanied by a sweet whisper, like a gentle caress. He heard the person say, "Darling, you hit me so hard~"

"Um, madam, may I ask when you discovered your husband's death?" Luo Jian asked somewhat awkwardly, tugging at his ill-fitting military uniform—truly an uncomfortable garment.

"It was around nine o'clock this morning, about... around nine-tenths. Han Jun said he would pick me up to go to the notary office, so I got up early to dress up." The deceased's family member, wearing a pale yellow dress, said softly. Her beautiful eyes were swollen like walnuts from crying. A young widow, Luo Jian thought, this is a good character.

"But no matter how long I waited, he didn't come. After the agreed time of 8:30, I waited for about 15 minutes before I felt something was wrong. I asked my servant, Ah Jin, to drive me to his apartment. I didn't expect to see him as soon as I opened the door..." The woman was crying and could hardly speak. This was probably the scene that the ancients used to describe as pear blossoms in the rain.

"Now, let's start from the beginning. Your relationship with the deceased was that of an engaged couple. You arranged to register your marriage together at 8:30 today. You couldn't wait for him, so you left at 8:45, taking a ride with your servant..."

"Sir, my name is A-Jin."

"Uh, you went to the deceased's house in the servant A-Jin's car. You arrived there around nine o'clock because you heard the grandfather clock in Shen Hanjun's house chime. After knocking on the door, no one answered. You noticed blood seeping from under the door and used an axe to pry it open. It took about ten minutes. Then you found the deceased lying in the living room with this gun on his body..."

The woman continued to cry, but simply nodded in agreement.

"Ah Jin, take the gun for testing to see whose fingerprints are on it. Have a forensic doctor perform an autopsy on the body, and..."

"Cut! Cut! Cut!" The bearded director was so angry his face turned green.

"Captain Luo, fingerprint verification technology didn't exist in China in the 1930s! Do you even understand what you're acting out?!"

"Sorry, sorry." Seeing that the director was in a hurry, Xiao Jin, who played the servant A Jin, rushed in front of Luo Jian to smooth things over, bowing and scraping as he apologized. He pulled Luo Jian aside and whispered, "Captain Luo, what's wrong with you? You're the only one who made mistakes today. Those rolls of film cost money. You don't care about the cost, but that bearded man does."

Luo Jian sat down on the stone steps with a sigh and casually opened a bottle of mineral water to drink. He didn't want to be like this either, but what could he do? He had no talent for acting. If it weren't for his aunt who worked as a production assistant, he wouldn't have wanted to get involved in this mess. Now, not only had he wasted his time, but he had also angered the director.

"But speaking of which, Han Qingyin has such a good temper. It's rare to find a big star like her willing to do such a cliché supporting role with you. You've had so many takes, and she hasn't said a single word of complaint. Look, her eyes are all swollen from crying. Captain Luo, you have to take responsibility for her!" Xiao Jin patted Luo Jian's shoulder as if afraid the world wouldn't be chaotic enough, and raised his voice as if afraid others wouldn't hear him. This attracted a curious glance from Han Qingyin, who was resting under a parasol opposite them. Luo Jian nodded awkwardly to her, and Han Qingyin saw him and smiled kindly at him.

"Look, she's even smiling at you. She's probably got a crush on you. I knew it, our Captain Luo is young, promising, and so outstanding..."

"Xiao Jin".

"What's up, Captain Luo?"

"Starting tomorrow, we'll be cleaning the courtyard for a week."

"Huh?" Xiao Jin wailed exaggeratedly, which made the staff on set burst into laughter, and Han Qingyin laughed too.

Luo Jian looked at Han Qingyin, who was still wearing her costume. The pale yellow dress perfectly accentuated her beautiful curves, and her 1930s-style curly hair made her look a year or two older than her actual age, yet it couldn't hide her captivating innocence. This twenty-year-old college student, already hailed as a prodigy actress, had long been favored by many well-known directors in the country. She seemed to possess a magical quality that drew everyone's attention, and her acting skills deeply impressed even veteran actors who had worked in the entertainment industry for many years.

Luo Jian was also amazed by her beauty, but he was more concerned about something else: whether the case of the missing girl was closely related to this famous young actress!

Three files were laid out in front of Luo Jian from left to right. The leftmost file was a case file that had just been transferred from the Missing Persons Investigation Department a few days ago. From the 15th of last month to the 15th of this month, a total of one month, three girls with the same identity had gone missing.

In fact, missing persons are not such a strange thing. In this materialistic and bustling city, such things can happen every day in any unexpected corner. Even the disappearance of three girls in a month is not that serious. However, what prompted the Missing Persons Investigation Department to transfer these cases to the homicide division was an accident that occurred two weeks ago.

Two weeks ago, a taxi driver on his early morning shift hit a girl at the Qinhe Road intersection. The driver, showing conscience, immediately stopped and called an ambulance, but the girl still died. Strangely, no bloodstains were left at the scene. A subsequent forensic examination revealed an even more shocking result: the girl should have died before the driver hit her, as over 99% of her blood had mysteriously disappeared, leaving her essentially a mummified corpse.

This conclusion might seem laughable if made by a young forensic pathologist, but coming from Dr. Guo, a veteran forensic pathologist with decades of experience in autopsies, it only sends chills down one's spine. How could a person who has lost all their blood walk on the street, and where did all that blood go? Dr. Guo pointed out a tiny, almost indistinguishable wound on the girl's carotid artery in her neck—a mark resembling teeth marks, two round holes less than 0.3 millimeters in diameter.

“Perhaps the blood was somehow drawn from the victim’s body from there, but that doesn’t explain how the victim, who lost so much blood, could still walk normally on the street. You know, an ordinary person would go into mild shock if they lost just 1 quart (1.1 liters) of blood…” Dr. Guo looked at the test report with such confusion as he spoke to Luo Jian that Luo Jian still remembers the outburst he had never shown before.

"It's just like...it's just like what those monsters called vampires did!"

Luo Jian sighed and turned his gaze back to the file in the middle. It was a record obtained from the household registration office, containing all of Han Qingyin's information from birth to the present. The file clearly stated: Han Qingyin, female, born March 3, 1985. Her father passed away when she was three, and she was raised by her mother, a primary school teacher. She was currently a second-year student in the Philosophy Department of the School of Humanities at Changnan University. Two years ago, Han Qingyin debuted in a short commercial. In just two years, she swept the film industry, winning numerous awards, large and small, and was widely recognized as a rising star in the domestic entertainment circle. Many professional media outlets even called her a genius actress. She possessed outstanding acting skills but was remarkably humble, thus earning high praise. Thinking back to when he had seen Han Qingyin a few days earlier during his cameo role, Luo Jian's impression of this young woman deepened. However…

Luo Jian picked up the file on his right and looked at it. This was why he was paying special attention to Han Qingyin. Compared to the thick stack of papers he had seen before, what Luo Jian held in his hand now was more like a few sheets of paper than a single file. These were several employment contracts, and without exception, Han Qingyin's name was signed on them. Party A: Han Qingyin, Party B: Luo Juan; Party A: Han Qingyin, Party B: Zhang Yueyue; Party A: Han Qingyin, Party B: Zhou Yuzhu; three names, three missing girls, all of whom were caregivers hired by Han Qingyin's family.

About three years ago, Han Qingyin's mother suffered a stroke due to overwork, losing her ability to care for herself. It was from that time that Han Qingyin began her modeling career, using it as a springboard to open the door to her dream of working on the big screen. Due to her increasingly busy work schedule in recent years, Han Qingyin, who had initially insisted on caring for her mother herself, began to consider hiring a caregiver. These missing girls came to the Han family through job advertisements Han Qingyin placed in the newspaper. Luo Juan, the first to disappear, went missing on the 15th of last month, exactly twenty days after she started working for the Han family. She was found by Han's next-door neighbor, a retired teacher surnamed Zhang. Because she was worried her mother wouldn't adapt to life there, even though she had saved enough money, Han Qingyin hadn't moved out of the old-style public housing her mother had been allocated by the school when she was a teacher. Since they were all former colleagues, many of Han's neighbors often came to the Han family's house to sit and chat with her mother, preventing her from feeling lonely.

That evening, Teacher Zhang went to the Han family home to check on them. She knocked on the door for a long time but received no answer. Knowing Han's mother's habits, she wondered why her mother, who should have been eating at that time, was unattended. Worried that something might have happened to her mother, Teacher Zhang hurriedly called Han Qingyin. When Han Qingyin rushed back, the two opened the door and found the house empty except for Han's mother, who was taking a nap. They initially thought the young girl might have been playing and missed the time, so they hadn't paid much attention. However, Luo Juan still hadn't appeared by the next evening. All of the girl's belongings and personal items were left at the Han family home, but she was nowhere to be found. Realizing something might have happened to the girl, Han Qingyin called the police. However, the police were unable to find any valuable clues at the scene, and the case, like most missing persons cases, was shelved. Soon after, Han Qingyin hired Zhang Yueyue, a nursing school student. Just ten days later, Zhang Yueyue also disappeared. The eyewitness was a security guard in the residential complex; on the morning of the 30th of last month, Zhang Yueyue went out to buy groceries and greeted the guard as she passed the security post, but she never appeared again. The third missing person, Zhou Yuzhu, was hired by Han Qingyin on the 3rd of this month and mysteriously disappeared more than ten days later. All these coincidences strongly suggest a close connection between the girls' disappearances and their employer, Han Qingyin. However, the police couldn't provide any evidence. It wasn't until two weeks ago, with the mysterious death of the girl, that it was revealed she had asked Han Qingyin for her autograph.

If these girls were indeed murdered and it was related to Han Qingyin, then what reason could she have given them? Luo Jian slumped into his seat, staring blankly into the distance. He simply couldn't imagine that such a beautiful and intelligent woman could commit such a heinous act. Without motive or explanation for the method, Luo Jian felt as if he had fallen into a bottomless pit, utterly lost and confused.

"Captain Luo, someone's looking for you in the meeting room!" Xiao Jin peeked in from the doorway and gave Luo Jian a knowing smile.

"Why are you smiling so slyly?" Luo Jian tapped Xiao Jin on the forehead as he passed by. Xiao Jin screamed and ran a long way, still shouting something.

"I'm sorry, Captain Luo, something came up, so I rushed over here without thinking."

Seeing that beautiful figure, Luo Jian finally understood what it meant to "speak of the devil and he shall appear"—the person standing in front of him was none other than Han Qingyin.

****

"Can I...go in?" Han Qingyin tilted her head and pointed to the slightly ajar door of Luo Jian's office behind him. Her playful gaze made Luo Jian's face flush.

"Please...please come in." Luo Jian coughed, composed himself, and stepped aside.

Normally, the homicide department's office isn't a place where just anyone can enter. Luo Jian realized this when he had already spoken about permission, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and let Han Qingyin in. But soon, he realized how foolish he had been.

"This is..." Han Qingyin sat down in the chair next to Luo Jian's table, her sharp eyes catching sight of the large stack of open files on Luo Jian's table.

Luo Jian quickly understood what Han Qingyin meant; she had seen the case files he was investigating and Han Qingyin's own file. Should he rush over and hide those files or just kick Han Qingyin out? Luo Jian sighed in frustration. No wonder the ancients said, "Even heroes can't resist the charms of a beautiful woman." Just seeing Han Qingyin—how could he have been so foolish as to lose his judgment and cause such a consequence?

"Is it... inconvenient for me to come in?" Han Qingyin noticed Luo Jian's predicament and stood up. "Then I'll wait for Captain Luo in the reception room outside."

"No need." Luo Jian walked over and put away the files. "Now that you're here, may I ask what Miss Han needs me for?"

"Oh, is that so?" Han Qingyin remembered something, rummaged in her pocket for a while, and pulled out a handkerchief. "This is the one Captain Luo lent me on set that day. I washed it and brought it back to return it."

Luo Jian recalled that during the filming of a murder scene on set that day, Han Qingyin had accidentally fallen and scraped her hand, and he had lent her a handkerchief to wipe the blood. This incident had been widely reported in the evening newspapers and online that day, claiming that Han Qingyin had been seriously injured during filming. As a result, a large number of media reporters and Han Qingyin's fans gathered on set the next day, eventually requiring the deployment of security personnel, and the day's filming was cancelled.

To be honest, the film Han Qingyin was involved in this time was quite unpleasant for Luo Jian! The reason was simple: the film in which Han Qingyin played the female lead was a horror movie. Luo Jian himself was a thorough materialist, always scoffing at anything supernatural or bizarre, and usually avoiding horror and thriller films altogether. He never expected to be personally involved in a case like this.

"The Thirteenth Month Ghost Story" is a transformative work by Hong Kong's up-and-coming director, Lin Zhifei. Before this film, this woman in her thirties was known for her family dramas. This time, however, she suddenly changed her approach, boldly declaring her intention to create a work surpassing the pinnacle of horror films, and even more extravagantly casting the pure-looking Han Qingyin to play the complex character Huang Wanling. The story is set in modern times, but its backstory involves several eras, including the late Qing Dynasty, the early Republic of China, and the 1930s. The story tells of Wanling, a palace maid ordered to be buried alive with the emperor before the Qing Dynasty's final collapse, who accepts the order to test the elixir of immortality for Empress Dowager Cixi. After taking the medicine, she loses all vital signs and is therefore judged a failure and thrown into a mass grave. However, Wanling did not truly die, or rather, she was no longer alive but could never become dead. The powerful effects of the drug caused her to lose all the characteristics that a living person should have, including breathing, body temperature, pain sensation, and consciousness. She could be killed an infinite number of times, only to be resurrected the next day, but she would never be a living person again.

From the day she awoke in a mass grave, Wanling began her century-long life as a living dead. In each era, she lived under different identities, attempting to find her own destiny, only to be met with repeated failures. Due to her unique physical condition, she became a being who straddled two worlds, thus gaining the ability to see beings from another realm invisible to ordinary people. In the 1930s, she became active on the historical stage as the daughter of an entrepreneur, falling in love with a man, only to be ultimately murdered by him. From that moment on, Wanling, who had always longed for a better life, began to change. She became ruthless yet yearned for true love. In modern society, she lived in the city as a female forensic pathologist, encountering a series of bizarre murders, the cases of which revealed a secret not belonging to this world.

Luo Jian appeared in a scene set in the 1930s, playing a police officer investigating the death of Han Qingyin's husband, who was murdered just as he was about to uncover the truth. For some reason, Luo Jian felt a startling resemblance between that scene in the play and his current situation. The mysteries surrounding Han Qingyin, the bizarre cases, and his own involvement—could it be…? Luo Jian found the sudden thought that Han Qingyin wasn't human laughable. He shook his head, sighing that he'd probably been working too much overtime lately, and his nerves were too tense.

"Captain Luo, thank you so much for what happened last time." Han Qingyin handed a handkerchief to Luo Jian.

"It's nothing, Miss Han, you don't need to take it to heart." Luo Jian came back to his senses, subtly avoiding Han Qingyin's grasp, and took the handkerchief.

"Just call me Qingyin. Captain Luo, don't you find it strange that you keep calling me Miss Han?" Han Qingyin seemed to intentionally or unintentionally move closer to Luo Jian. The fragrance from her long, black hair wafted over and entered Luo Jian's nose. It smelled like flowers and herbs.

Luo Jian took two steps back and smiled awkwardly: "You're a big star. It wouldn't be good if people wrote about you in the newspapers if I called you that. By the way, if there's nothing else, I'll have Xiao Jin drive you home."

"Is Captain Luo giving us the boot?" Han Qingyin looked at Luo Jian, her clear eyes making Luo Jian involuntarily feel a sense of guilt.

"No, what I mean is... Miss Han is a celebrity, she must have a lot of things to do, wouldn't it be a bad thing if she wasted her time here?"

"I don't have any scheduled activities today," Han Qingyin said with a sly smile. "Actually, I came to see Captain Luo today not only to return the handkerchief, but also for something else."

Luo Jian stared at the woman in front of him in confusion. This Han Qingyin did not seem as innocent as he had imagined. What was she here for?

"To express my gratitude for Captain Luo's kind gesture with the handkerchief, I would like to treat Captain Luo to a simple meal today. Would that be alright?"

Luo Jian thought he had misheard, but Han Qingyin ignored his stunned expression and happily came forward to take Luo Jian's arm, dragging him towards the door.

Luo Jian felt he was probably really getting old, which was why he couldn't understand young girls' thoughts. It was only a six or seven-year age difference, so why did it feel like there was such a wide river separating them?

"Brother Luo, hurry up and strike a pose, I'm going to take a picture!" Han Qingyin called out happily beside him, tugging at Luo Jian's sleeve and striking various cute expressions in front of the photo booth.

“Photo booth pictures…” Luo Jian shook his head helplessly. He had used these machines before, back when his ex-girlfriend Xiao Qiu was still with him. They had dated for five years, but it ended because of his busy work schedule. He wasn't unmoved, but Luo Jian was an easygoing person, and the homicide department always had so much work, so even after the breakup, to exaggerate a bit, he never had time to grieve or reminisce. He only felt a little melancholy when he occasionally saw the photo booth pictures in his wallet.

"Isn't she afraid of being seen?" Luo Jian stared at the elated Han Qingyin, his mind filled with questions about her. She was a strange girl. He knew her well because he had all her records and files from birth to the present. He even knew that she had suffered a serious injury as a child, and he knew the exact location of the scar. But those were just static, formulaic, and unchanging images of Han Qingyin. The living, breathing Han Qingyin before him could laugh, sing, and talk. She was as youthful as a newly blossoming flower, full of unpredictable possibilities. She lacked the composure she displayed on set and the sophistication she showed in front of the media. At this moment, Han Qingyin was as approachable as a girl next door, which only fueled Luo Jian's suspicions. Just moments before, while they were eating at a small restaurant, Han Qingyin had bluntly asked Luo Jian, "Captain Luo, have you been investigating me lately?" When Luo Jian was embarrassed and unsure how to answer, she smiled nonchalantly and said, "In that case, then spend more time with me!" And so, after the meal, Han Qingyin dragged Luo Jian to a corner of the market and took a bunch of photo booth pictures of him.

This could be considered investigative work... Luo Jian tried to convince himself, but found that such an excuse was too weak.

"Excuse me, are you Han Qingyin?" Luo Jian turned around and saw a boy who looked like a high school student holding what appeared to be an autograph book, staring intently at Han Qingyin who was posing for a photo.

"Me?" Han Qingyin pointed to herself.

Oh no, not again! Luo Jian thought to himself, and was about to dodge when Han Qingyin excitedly pounced on him, neatly taking his arm and saying intimately, "Jian, someone else said I look like Han Qingyin! Am I really that pretty?"

"Beautiful, beautiful." Luo Jian replied helplessly, secretly trying to distance himself from Han Qingyin.

"Ugh, why do you always look so reluctant when you praise me?" Han Qingyin pouted and leaned her head on Luo Jian's shoulder. Luo Jian could only smile awkwardly at the male high school student, who looked back and forth between the two of them with a puzzled expression before putting away his notebook and leaving.

"I've been tricked." Han Qingyin waited until the man was far away before laughingly removing her head from Luo Jian's shoulder and turning to Luo Jian, saying, "Brother Luo's acting was pretty good!"

Luo Jian looked helplessly at that smiling face, momentarily at a loss for words. The atmosphere within the small space enclosed by the plastic sheeting suddenly became somewhat strange.

The sudden ringing of the cell phone startled Luo Jian and brought him back to his senses. Just now, in a split second, why did he have the idea of getting closer to Han Qingyin?

"Okay, I understand. I'll be right back." Han Qingyin hung up the phone and gave Luo Jian an apologetic smile. "Something came up at home, so I have to go back now. Thank you for today, I had a lot of fun."

"I'll take you back." Luo Jian made the decision decisively, while Han Qingyin's expression looked like something serious had happened.

"Alright." Han Qingyin didn't refuse and turned to leave first.

****

"Wait a minute." Luo Jian stopped Han Qingyin and looked warily into the room.

Half an hour ago, Han Qingyin received a call from her home nurse, Xiao Lan, saying that her mother was throwing a tantrum again, refusing to eat, and had even smashed a medicine bowl in a fit of anger, shouting that she wanted to die. Han Qingyin hung up the phone and rushed back home. However, the inside of the Han family's half-closed door was unusually dark, with no sounds of arguing or signs of human activity, which was really strange.

Luo Jian tentatively pushed the door open, and it slid open silently in the light of the hallway, letting in a golden hue. Although it was just a small area at the entrance, it was enough for Luo Jian to see a scene that shocked him—blood! Crimson blood, like thin veins of water, meandered across the marble floor, drawing eerie curves.

Luo Jian heard Han Qingyin's muffled shouts behind him, so she must have seen it too. What happened at the Han family's house? A home invasion robbery? Or did Han's mother really commit suicide? She wasn't carrying a gun. Assuming it was indeed a home invasion robbery, judging from the current situation, the robbers should have already left, but he still needed to be careful.

"Don't go in yet. If anything happens, don't worry about me. Run away and call the police." Luo Jian whispered to Han Qingyin. Only after the panicked Han Qingyin nodded to show that she understood did he take a deep breath, kick open the door, and slip inside.

There was no movement! Luo Jian crouched in the darkness for a while, and after determining that there was no problem, he got up, fumbled for the light switch, turned on the light, and turned back to call out to Han Qingyin, "Come in."

"Why don't you come in?" Seeing the expression on Han Qingyin's face, which looked like she was about to faint, Luo Jian realized something was wrong. He quickly turned around, his heart seemingly stopping for a moment!

The golden light overhead was warm and full of life, illuminating the Han family's living room. However, in the center of that living room, there was something that seemed like a demon.

"Mom..." Han Qingyin behind him spoke in a hoarse voice like an old woman, which meant that she was terrified.

In the center of the living room sat a monster covered in blood, clutching the corpse of a young girl and desperately sucking at her neck. Crimson liquid flowed down her fair neck, dripping onto the marble floor with a faint dripping sound, gradually merging together drop by drop to form the blood that Luo Jian had seen earlier.

Was that a person or a monster? For a fleeting second, Luo Jian was blank, unsure of where he was or what he should do. He even wondered if everything before him was just a dream. But he quickly snapped back to reality. He remembered the missing persons cases, the girl whose blood had been drained, and Han Qingyin's soft moan from just now.

"mom!"

This is Han's mother!!!

Without a second thought, Luo Jian dialed 110.

****

"From a medical perspective, Han's mother is a patient with what's known as 'porphyria'," Dr. Guo said to Luo Jian as he came out of the hospital office. Seeing that Luo Jian didn't understand, he added, "She's like the vampire from the novels."

Luo Jian then exclaimed "Oh!" in sudden realization. Porphyria is a blood disorder that can cause various symptoms such as photophobia, muscle atrophy, and anemia. In ancient times, patients with porphyria sometimes felt better by sucking or drinking fresh blood, which may have inadvertently become the origin of vampire legends.

"I never imagined that all of this was done by a poor old woman," Dr. Guo sighed. "Han Qingyin won't have an easy time this time either. To encounter something like this at such a young age might ruin her future, especially since it was her own mother who did such a thing."

Luo Jian lowered his head and remained silent. Someone seemed to be making a racket in his head, preventing him from finding peace. Once, it seemed as if some clue had caught his eye, but he hadn't noticed it.