Chapter 17: The Old House

The walls were painted black and white in that dimly lit corridor, and the ceiling that carried the crystal lamps was peeling. The heavy, dark lead doors on both sides were engraved with complex patterns, with golden liquid that was reminiscent of mercury flowing between the patterns.

Behind the lead doors, waves of malice were flooding from beneath the gaps of the doors.

With great difficulty, Jiangli told Bai Kai that he was “misusing a Class D psionic item for personal use” and had no choice but to keep quiet. He soon followed them out of the dissection room.

An Qing felt that there was nothing wrong with letting Bai Kai throw his little tantrum by rolling on the ground. It would definitely save her the effort of cleaning this week.

Passing through the endless corridor and going up the spiral staircase that was engraved with strange, animalistic patterns, they saw the light, and Bai Kai stopped in his tracks.

“Shouldn’t you leave?” An Qing asked. “You said that the boy was your godson. Wouldn’t it be better for you to let him know of the situation?”

“I thought of it,” he turned around and sighed. “But I’m not going to. I don’t want him to know that I do this type of work.”

He leaned against the wall at the stairway, lighting a cigarette and smoking it.

“If I had the choice, I wouldn’t have let him know of the existence of these urban legends,” Bai Kai sighed, turning his gaze away from An Qing before glaring at Jiangli.

“Why not?” An Qing was puzzled. “I heard that he has prophetic dreams. “It wouldn’t hurt to have another person join us.”

“What do you know?” Bai Kai curled his lips downwards.

“I understand,” Jiangli interrupted. “You don’t want him to be locked up forever like those guys downstairs, so he won’t be involved in the affairs of the Night Division, right?”

“Finally,” Bai Kai glanced at Jiangli. “You’re saying something human for once, but don’t think for a moment that I’m forgiving you!”

“You’re mistaking me,” Jiangli stopped. “I understand you, but that doesn’t mean I agree with you. You’re putting a blindfold on him and sheltering him. He is a person who can think for himself, so I think you should give him the choice to make a decision.”

“What then?” Bai Kai snapped. “Is he going to be like us? Become a monster, risk our lives all day long, and die in some stupid accident? He’s only eighteen!”

As soon as he said that, his voice lowered as he stared at Jiangli. He remembered that she was only a teenage girl—a year younger than Yibei when she joined the Night Division. She survived a freak accident by luck and became a psychic user.

Both of them stared at each other for a moment. Bai Kai snorted coldly before walking away.

An Qing watched as he walked away and turned back to Jiangli, “A monster? I feel pretty good, though! I have many men lining up for my contacts outside of work!”

A few drops of blood were splattered on her porcelain face, and her two sharp canines were exposed between her lips when she smiled. Her hands were practically dyed red with blood.

“Right,” Jiangli nodded expressionlessly.

After the interrogation, the maid led Lu Yibei to the break room next to the interrogation room and said, “Wait right here!”

She left him alone. As soon as she closed the door behind her, a click could be heard, as if she were afraid that he would run away.

“Hmph! All of you are treating me like I’m some kind of villain…” he muttered under his breath, looking out the window involuntarily.

Through the gaps in the shutters, one could vaguely see the fallen leaves of the ginkgo trees in the garden dancing with the wind.

“Click, click!” The sound of a window being pried could be heard in the room.

‘C-crap, I just wanted to see if the windows were solid. I’m not running away!’

Lu Yibei didn’t realize how long he had been in the break room. He only remembered “checking” how sturdy the doors and windows were. He rummaged through the displays on the bookshelves, and just as he was about to confirm whether or not the golden terracotta model on the coffee table was real, the door of the room swung open, and a silver-haired girl limped in.

When Jiangli walked into the reception room, she saw the terracotta inside Lu Yibei’s mouth, who had a stunned expression.

“This is fake,” he stopped before walking away and pretended as if nothing had happened.

Lu Yibei avoided looking at Jiangli, spitting out the metallic taste in his mouth.

“Hello, my name is Jiangli, and I’ll be explaining the follow-up matters for you. After I’m done, you can leave.”

“Really? What if Mr Rabbit comes looking for me again? I’m not dumb!”

“Generally speaking,” Jiangli explained carefully. “Species like Mr Rabbit don’t get attached to a single target. After all, we aren’t your nannies, so we can’t exactly watch over you every night. Think about it. Would you want us to be watching you if you were doing something privately? Off the top of my head, you browsed through three pornographic websites, thirty-two fan-made comics, and…”

“Stop, please,” Yibei’s face was calm, but his cheeks were flushed. “Keep it to yourself!”

“Right,” Jiangli nodded. “However, I didn’t say that we were going to leave you alone. From the data we have, your family used to live on Peony Street. If possible, I suggest staying at your old house for the time being, so we can guarantee your safety.”

“Huh? Your headquarters are near Peony Street?” Yibei asked as he glanced out the window.

“Actually, we are currently on Peony Street.”

“Oh… you’re not going to kill me in the future so that I keep quiet, will you?”

“No,” she replied calmly. “To outsiders, we are just a Folk and Culture centre for tourists. If you mention this to anyone, we’ll simply throw you in the mental asylum. Simple as that.”

“Right,” Yibei shivered. “Then, don’t you guys have any form of security here?”

Lu Yibei had initially planned to keep a close relationship with this mysterious organization. Now that the opportunity presents itself, he’s not going to let it go.

“Yes, but if you want to join us, you must have at least one or two special abilities. We don’t support slackers,” she glanced at his flushed face. “And if you lie to us, we’ll throw you into the mental asylum.”

Lu Yibei pondered for a moment. His prophetic visions seemed inconsistent, and he wasn’t sure if they were going to work again. Besides, he couldn’t interpret the dream with the girl in the building either.

‘What are my special abilities? I guess I know how to cook.’

“Does cooking count?” Yibei asked.

Jiangli sighed as she took a contract and pen out and handed it to him, “This is a temporary employment contract. After one month, you can decide if you want to stay or not.”

Lu Yibei felt that she wanted him in the organization long ago but decided to beat around the bush instead.

It was as if Jiangli could read his thoughts, and she nodded, “You’re right.”

Jiangli put away the contract after he signed it: “Now that you are a temporary operator, in order to ensure your safety, you can select your own Class D psionic item for self-defence.”

Got it, Lu Yibei thought for a moment. “Could you return my statue of Acala back to me? I heard from the maid that it’s a Class D psionic item, right?”

“We have thirty-three items for you to choose from, and the [Blessed Statue of Acala, the Immovable] is the biggest one. It might not be convenient for you.”

“No, no, for nostalgia’s sake,” Yibei replied. “I’ve gotten used to sleeping with him, so I’m afraid I might get insomnia without him.”

…

Half an hour later.

“Finally!”

Standing on the bluestone slabs of the street, Lu Yibei stretched his waist and groaned in pleasure.

Jiangli wasn’t lying when she said that the Night Division Headquarters was not far from his old house; it was no more than a 200-meter walk, and it took him less than three minutes to reach the house despite the twists and turns of the route.

White walls, blue tiles. It wasn’t much of a difference compared to other houses on the street.

Under the eaves were two stone drums, and the gate was locked tightly with copper rings. A layer of dust could be seen on the locks. A wooden plaque on the gate read [Lu Ji Sichuan Cuisine].

This was his old house. The ground floor was a restaurant, while the upper floor was the living quarters. He spent most of his childhood in this cramped house.

About two years ago, his father spent most of his savings to buy the four units next door and broke the walls down to expand the space. He was fully ready to open his newly renovated restaurant, but…

Standing in front of the gate, he shook his head and unlocked the locks.

A faint, musty smell greeted his nostrils. Shui comes over to clean the house occasionally, but he could see the dust hovering gently in the air.

He walked in, gingerly placing the statue of Acala, the Immovable, on the dining table in the hall. He rolled up his sleeves and walked to the bathroom, retrieving a broom and a rag, and started to clean.

“Knock, knock!”

“Hey! Why is your house so dirty? How long has it been since you last cleaned it, you brat?”

Lu Yibei put his broom down and looked up, seeing a man in a coat. He had big, wide shoulders with a round waist. He had a beard and a deep skin tone with bulging muscles.

He might look violent, but he had a feminine name: Sumi. His family has been running a handmade embroidery business for generations and lives across the street. He is the same age as Yibei and has been neighbours with Yibei for a long time.

“Tsk, I just came back! It’s normal for it to be dirty!” Yibei curled his lips downwards. “Are you volunteering to help me clean?”

“What?” Sumi stared back. “You just came back? You’re joking! I keep hearing the noise in your house! That night, I heard a girl singing! And I thought you got yourself a girlfriend!”

Sumi noticed that Yibei’s expression was a little abnormal and stopped talking.

“Hello?”

“No…”

“Hello…?”

Lu Yibei looked around blankly. The once cosy house, which was decorated with quaint statues and trees and a somewhat colourful palette, suddenly became gloomy and eerie.

‘This place is close to the Night Division. I can’t believe there are urban legends lurking nearby.’

Lu Yibei threw away the broom in his hand and picked up the statue of Acala, the Immovable. He walked up to Sumi and announced, “Forget it; it’s too dirty! I’m not cleaning up anymore; I’ll be sleeping at your house tonight. I want to catch up with you.”

He ran into Sumi’s house and slammed the door behind him.

Sumi shrugged and glanced at the old house of Lu Yibei. Through the gaps in the window, he thought he saw someone running into the house. He couldn’t believe he wanted to eavesdrop on Yibei and his “girlfriend’s” private… things. He felt shameful and ran into the house.

“Hey, you brat! Stay loyal!”