Replacing the Evil Way

Chapter 22: Initial Trial Record of the Deceased Cheng Zesheng

Cheng Zesheng stood in the living room of Apartment 404; his emotions at this moment were complex and difficult to describe.

Across from him, an empty chair was placed, and an invisible person who introduced himself as “He Wei” assumed an interrogative tone, “So, tell me, what are you doing in my house?”

Despite the eerie scene that was incomprehensible to ordinary people, Cheng Zesheng not only didn’t feel intimidated but quickly calmed down. He retorted, “This is my home as well; I haven’t asked you what you’re doing here.”

“Your home? Haha,” He Wei sneered, propped up his legs, and pointed to another chair, “Why don’t you grab a seat as well, and we can chat?”

Cheng Zesheng crossed his arms, looked down at the empty chair, and said, “Why should I have to comply just because you’re making a request? Are you my boss or my father?”

“When you emphasized ‘as well’ in your previous assertion, it indicated subconsciously that you acknowledge my ownership of this apartment. Since we’re both curious about each other’s intentions, why not have a conversation?” He Wei said lightly, “As for whether you want to consider me your boss or your father, feel free; I don’t mind either.”

“…” Cheng Zesheng encountered this kind of shrewd person for the first time, someone who could exploit any opportunity and keep pushing. The information described He Wei as reserved and introverted, but this “He Wei” was eloquent, never holding back with words. Cheng Zesheng didn’t bother paying it any mind; he wasn’t afraid of such tactics. So he fetched another chair and placed it across from the invisible figure.

“Alright, let’s officially begin our conversation,” He Wei took out a pocket-sized notepad from his pocket, then retrieved a pen, uncapped it with his teeth, and just as he wrote down the words “Suspect Interview,” he felt that the phrasing wasn’t appropriate, so he crossed it out and rewrote, “Initial Trial Record of the Deceased Cheng Zesheng.”

“Name.”

“Don’t you already know it?”

“Gender.”

“…Female, can you believe that?”

He Wei reminded as he wrote, “Watch your attitude; these are all formalities.”

Cheng Zesheng rolled his eyes, feeling perplexed, “Are we having a conversation or are you interrogating a suspect?”

“Is there a difference?” He Wei looked up, “You, a suspect—or rather, someone who’s not quite alive or dead—came to my house, disturbing my normal life. I’ve caught you on the spot; shouldn’t I properly question you?”

Cheng Zesheng folded his arms, not wanting to show any weakness as he retorted, “Are you mistaken? I said it before, this is my home. The morgue and the urn are where you belong. Even in death, your soul isn’t at peace, and you’re here to urge me to solve a case?”

Solve a case? He Wei frowned, seizing onto a crucial piece of information, “Say that again, what’s wrong with me?”

Just a moment ago, he was pressing hard, and now he’s pretending to have amnesia? But as Cheng Zesheng thought it over, he had heard of some superstitious beliefs. Some individuals who met an untimely death might lose their memories as spirits, unaware of their own demise. Hence, they would continue lingering in the human world. Right now, He Wei fit this description in his eyes, like a lost soul without a place to go, only able to return with him.

Even though Cheng Zesheng didn’t want to admit the existence of ghosts, the fact spoke louder than the argument. He was sitting here, genuinely communicating with an unseen spirit. Why hadn’t he suspected a recording or a remote speaker? Come on, that was a ridiculous notion. If he couldn’t discern something like that, what was the point of Cheng Zesheng’s role as a team Vice-Captain?

So he pulled the chair closer, leaning forward, and told He Wei, “You died. You died on the 14th.”

The breath of air hit his face, and He Wei frowned. His character was reserved and cold, and he had never been in such close contact with anyone, let alone someone who was supposed to be a ghost. He pushed forward, expecting resistance, but only encountered emptiness and loneliness. He had to use the tips of his toes to slide the chair backward a step.

“Just speak, but don’t get so close.” 

Cheng Zesheng was speechless. He couldn’t see He Wei, so how could he gauge the specific distance? Moreover, they were both men; even if their orientations were different, did it really need to be this sensitive?

He Wei, however, was intrigued by what he said. Why would Cheng Zesheng assume he was the deceased? And the death date was the 14th, the same as his time of death.

“Are you sure it’s me?” He Wei asked.

“I had a tiny suspicion it might be your brother, but now I’m a hundred percent sure,” Cheng Zesheng replied. If even souls were brought into the matter, how could he be mistaken?

“I didn’t expect you to know about my brother,” He Wei said, holding the pen and continuing to ask, “How did I die?”

“Mechanical asphyxiation.”

“Hanged, strangled, throttled, or another method?”

“Strangled.”

“What was the murder weapon?”

“A hemp rope,” Cheng Zesheng caught on, “Why are you using the language of interrogating a case again? Are you begging me to tell you? Can you be a bit more polite?”

“I’m already being polite. Please cooperate with my work,” He Wei looked at the record, “Where was the body found? Were there any witnesses? What’s the evidence at the scene?”

“In a mansion at Fulong Mountain. You won’t gain anything from knowing the rest.” Cheng Zesheng’s implication was actually, “You know so much; why don’t you go reincarnate?”

Hearing that he “died” in the Mansion at Fulong Moutain, He Wei was taken aback and almost blurted out, “You also died there.” But he hadn’t finished asking what he wanted to ask, so he continued to lead the conversation, “It seems like you’re quite familiar with my death incident.”

“Nonsense, I’m investigating your case; otherwise, how would you have gotten entangled with me and followed me here?”

The living room became eerily quiet in an instant.

Cheng Zesheng keenly sensed that this silence was unlike any other, as even He Wei’s breathing had disappeared. He looked up at the quartz clock; there were still a few minutes left until 12:30. He had arrived so abruptly, and now he had left just as mysteriously.

As He Wei sat in the chair and asked, “Are you a police officer?” Cheng Zesheng fell silent, and the tranquil night gradually spread, covering the living room once again.

Cheng Zesheng stood up, tore a page from the back of the notepad, and wrote two words before leaving it on the coffee table.

【Continued Tomorrow】

———

Cheng Zesheng walked into the city bureau with heavy dark circles under his eyes. He ran into Liu Yan from the Economic Investigation Department, who grabbed his arm, saying, “Hey handsome, there’s a day off tomorrow, are you coming to the gathering… Oh, what’s wrong? You look so worn out. Your Criminal Investigation Department hasn’t been involved in any major cases recently, right?”

Cheng Zesheng’s face appeared pale and lifeless, as if he had crawled out from a grave. He responded, “Insomnia, staying up late. If you have something to say, just say it.”

“I already told you! It’s a holiday gathering, organized by our superiors. Lots of beautiful police ladies will be there, a chance to solve our long-standing single status,” Liu Yan persisted.

Cheng Zesheng wasn’t interested at all and waved it off. Liu Yan wouldn’t let go, saying, “What plans do you have for tomorrow? If you’re free, come join us and liven up the atmosphere. You’re not just representing your Criminal Investigation Department, you’re also the face of our entire city bureau!”

“…” Cheng Zesheng brushed off his hand, “I have something to do, I have an appointment with a psychologist.”

“Damn, is the pressure in your Criminal Investigation unit so high that you’re going to see a psychologist?” Liu Yan let go of him and smoothed out his ruffled sleeve, “Go on, buddy. If you are sick, you have to take medicine, you can’t stop taking medicine. Don’t let it get serious.”

Cheng Zesheng couldn’t be bothered with him, so he didn’t return to his office but turned towards the office of the Chief of the city bureau. He barged in without knocking. The assistant was in the middle of making tea for Chief Huang, and he got a startle, “Vice-Captain Cheng, why are you here?”

“You don’t even knock, do you think this is a restaurant or a hotel?” Chief Huang Zhanwei scowled, took off his reading glasses, and folded up his newspaper. “You came at the right time, sit down, I have something to discuss with you.”

“What’s the deal with the cameras?” Cheng Zesheng asked ahead of time, “Did my dad have them installed?”

“What cameras? Who would dare to install cameras in a police dormitory? Even if it’s an investigation by the disciplinary committee, they wouldn’t resort to such underhanded methods,” Chief Huang slammed the table, “Furthermore, do you really have such a big issue with your dad? He’s a Chief of Staff, does he need to go to such lengths to install cameras to monitor you?!”

“But there really are cameras in my dorm, five of them!” Cheng Zesheng was all fired up and reached into his pocket, intending to present the evidence. But to his surprise, after rummaging around, all he found in his pocket were car keys, identification, and an empty bag. He had definitely put five small cameras in there this morning, and the bag had been tightly sealed. But now, the contents had disappeared!

Cheng Zesheng stared at the empty bag, after the bizarre events of last night, there was nothing that could really rile him up anymore. He calmly tossed the empty bag into the trash bin and smiled at Huang Zhanwei, “A misunderstanding.”

“…”

Chief Huang clenched the tea cup with five fingers, as if he was about to hurl it, but when he met Cheng Zesheng’s exhausted eyes, he stopped himself. “Zesheng, something’s not right with you. You asked me about a roommate last night and now about the cameras this morning. Did something go wrong over there?”

“Nothing,” Cheng Zesheng casually shrugged, feigning nonchalance, “Just discovered some thieves were around yesterday. The management is really lax; they can even steal into the police dormitory.”

Chief Huang took a sip of tea and informed Cheng Zesheng that the new dormitory had just been assigned and people were gradually moving in. Once everyone had settled, the cleaning and security staff would be provided. Besides, after all these years of being a police officer, could thieves really succeed? He might as well take off his police uniform and open a stall.

He had wanted to talk about the case with  Cheng Zesheng today. He had heard from Yan Minglang that it was quite tricky. Now that he saw Cheng Zesheng’s appearance, well, it really did seem quite tricky.

“How’s the case at Mount Fulong Mansion progressing?” Chief Huang inquired.

Cheng Zesheng began his report, using official language, talking about how things were not yet clear, pending further investigation. Chief Huang urged him to tell the truth; they were colleagues, so what couldn’t be said between them? Even if Cheng Zesheng had said, “Chief Huang, I can’t handle this case,” it wouldn’t be embarrassing.

An assistant brought a freshly brewed cup of floral tea for Cheng Zesheng. He held the teacup with both hands and whispered, “I’ve made an appointment with a psychologist.”

“Why?”

He raised his head, looked seriously at Huang Zhanwei, and said, “Because I saw the ghost of the deceased.”

——–

He Wei returned to the police station in a good mood.

As he walked into his office with breakfast from the downstairs convenience store, looking energetic with a slight smile, Chong Zhen approached him, curious about what good news he had encountered. In the process, he grabbed a steamed bun and stuffed it into his mouth.

“You better not ask, if I tell you, you might be scared to death.”

Chong Zhen took a big bite of the thin-skinned, well-filled pork bun. “In that case, you better not say it. I don’t want to hear ghost stories.”

“In that case, I won’t tell you a ghost story. I’ll tell you an urban legend instead.” He Wei propped up his cheek with one hand and held a cup of soy milk in the other. “Hey, do you believe there might be two of me in this world?”

“Two of you?” Chong Zhen rolled his eyes. “One of you is already enough! Now you’re saying there are two? Has God really left no way for us to survive?”

“Don’t interrupt, let me get to the point.” He Wei picked up two pens, holding one up, “One me is the current head of the Criminal Investigation Division, He Wei,” he held up the other pen, “The other me had already died on 14th, strangled to death.”

“I don’t believe it. You must have gotten confused. Don’t you have a brother who looks just like you? Mixing them up is normal.”

“That’s ruled out, the dead person is me.” He Wei’s hand instinctively touched his neck. “Strangled with a hemp rope, causing mechanical asphyxiation, the body was found at the same mansion. Doesn’t it sound quite peculiar?”

He Wei smiled faintly. “Perhaps in the eyes of some dead people, I am the deceased. The ‘me’ you saw might not be the real me, but the one who should have died.”

…Chong Zhen suddenly found his bun not so appetizing anymore. He put it down slowly and said, “…Damn, ruining breakfast with these urban legends so early in the morning. Who came up with this? Whoever it is, they’ve messed up my appetite.”

He Wei burst into laughter, patted Chong Zhen’s shoulder, and left him the remaining breakfast.

At that moment, Xia Liang poked his head in from the door, looking like he had something to say. He waved Xia Liang over, and like a rabbit, Xia Liang hopped in, saying, “Report! We’ve found the exact location of the IP address for the account that issued the expedition order!”