Replacing the Evil Way

Chapter 87: Long Dream

“The doors and windows are intact, with no signs of struggle; it seems like the work of someone familiar.”

“Yes, the tea in this cup is high-quality Biluochun, while the victim’s own cup contains ordinary tea leaves. It appears that the perpetrator might have been a distinguished guest.”

“Could it be his boss? Vice-Captain Cheng, what do you think?”

All eyes turned to Cheng Zesheng. After half a minute, he continued to stare at the large splatters of blood on the wall, his gaze blank and unfocused, not converging into a single point. Xiang Yang pulled at his sleeve and said, “Vice-Captain Cheng, what’s wrong with you?”

“Huh?” Cheng Zesheng suddenly snapped back to reality, turning to see familiar faces and this unfamiliar room. Why was he here?

“What’s wrong with you? You seem distracted,” Le Zhengkai nudged his shoulder. “We understand that it wasn’t ideal to interrupt your date, but we had no choice. It’s an emergency case. Please understand.”

“…Who was I on a date with?”

“With your childhood friend, Xie Wenxi.”

Cheng Zesheng instinctively denied it; it couldn’t be. At most, he was coerced into doing some labor, but calling it a “date” was too far-fetched. He cautiously walked to the wall, avoiding the dripping blood on the floor, and measured the length of the splatter stains with his fingers. However, his mind was filled with the sound of gunshots.

“Bang!”

Two blurry figures intertwined gradually became motionless, and blood spread from beneath them, forming a blood-red carpet that flowed toward Cheng Zesheng’s feet.

Cheng Zesheng instinctively stepped back, then was reminded, “Hey! Vice-Captain Cheng, be careful! There’s a cabinet behind you.”

Cheng Zesheng’s consciousness faltered as he realized that he was back at the crime scene, and there were no entangled figures. Had he been hallucinating even during his fieldwork? 

After all the evidence was collected at the scene and the body was taken back to the police station, the team left. Le Zhengkai removed his blood-stained gloves and tossed them into a trash bag, asking, “What happened to you today? You seemed absent-minded and distracted.”

“It’s nothing, probably just tired lately,” Cheng Zesheng rubbed his temples. “My mind feels like mush, like I haven’t had a proper night’s sleep.”

Le Zhengkai patted his shoulder, “You’re right. It’s been ages since you took a vacation. You should consider applying for one with Lao Huang and go on a trip to relax.”

Cheng Zesheng thought he was kidding; Lao Yan was in the hospital, and if he took a vacation, who would handle the case?

Sitting in the car, Cheng Zesheng closed his eyes and tried to remember the events leading up to his arrival at the crime scene. He had been shopping with Xie Wenxi in the morning, then received a call from the police station, asking him to go to the crime scene for a homicide investigation.

These memories were clearly stored in his mind, but for some reason, Cheng Zesheng felt a strange sense of unfamiliarity, as though it had happened a long time ago. He couldn’t even recall what clothes Xie Wenxi had been wearing earlier.

Including at the crime scene, that moment when he snapped back to reality felt like he had been in a long and distant dream, suddenly awakened but unable to tell where he was or distinguish between dream and reality.

In fragmented memories, there was always a vague figure, shrouded in black mist, his face indistinguishable. However, from the slender silhouette, it seemed to be a man. Cheng Zesheng had a feeling that he knew this person well, and a name seemed to be on the tip of his tongue, ready to be spoken.

Who was he?

Returning home, Ding Xiang had already prepared a sumptuous meal. Cheng Zesheng first lit incense for his brother upon entering and then washed his hands before eating. His father remained reserved as usual, and Cheng Zesheng had grown accustomed to it, going about his meal as if he didn’t notice his father’s demeanor.

“Did you apply for moving into the dormitory to Lao Huang?” Father Cheng asked.

Cheng Zesheng replied without changing his expression, “Yes, I submitted the application a while ago.”

Ding Xiang had a worried look on her face. “Zesheng, why are you moving out? Zhenqing is no longer with us, and it’s just your dad and me…”

“Cough! Cough!” Cheng’s father coughed forcefully twice, glaring at Cheng Zesheng. “If his wings are strong enough to leave on his own, then let him go!”

Not only Cheng Zesheng didn’t get angry, but he even replied with a smile, “Thanks, Dad.”

During the night, Cheng Zesheng had a vivid yet strange dream.

He dreamt of being in an old, dilapidated house, lying on the ground with a bullet hole in his chest, his flesh and blood mangled. Another person knelt beside him, the same indistinct man with no visible face, holding his hand against his cheek and whispering softly.

“I’m sorry.”

Why was he apologizing? Did he kill me? Cheng Zesheng was both puzzled and curious. He glanced at his own lifeless body but wasn’t deeply affected. He had already prepared himself for the dangers of his profession and had experienced dreams of his own death before. At this moment, he was aware that he was in a dream, and there was nothing to fear.

The man left with blood covering him, and Cheng Zesheng followed him. They descended a mountain and arrived at a university where they met another somewhat familiar man, whom Cheng Zesheng struggled to remember. After a while, he recalled that the man was the owner of the Avenoir Bar, Liang Jingyuan.

The man was talking to Liang Jingyuan about meteors and supernovas, and Cheng Zesheng caught the gist of their conversation. The man then went home with Liang Jingyuan, and Cheng Zesheng followed them. He watched as the man changed into a different set of clothes and left the house once more.

At a flower shop, a young girl stopped the man and he asked, “Do you have champagne roses?”

The girl shook her head, and the man left, heading to an internet cafe before returning to the mountain.

Cheng Zesheng watched as the man organized the scene and, finally, knelt beside him again, holding his hand.

“Wait for me.”

“I will find a way to save you.”

Cheng Zesheng approached his own lifeless body and crouched down, trying to see the man’s face clearly.

The man’s face was still shrouded in a layer of black mist, but there were glistening tears welling up and falling down his cheeks.

Cheng Zesheng reached out, and that teardrop fell into his palm, searing hot and painful, as if it branded not only his hand but also his heart.

Why were you so sad?

Cheng Zesheng opened his eyes, exhaustion evident on his face. His temples throbbed, and his nerves pulsed painfully.

Outside the window, it was already bright. It was a rare Sunday without overtime work, yet he had been running around in his dreams, feeling even more drained than he did during fieldwork.

He couldn’t recall the specific details of the dream, but he couldn’t shake off the intense reality of that teardrop in his hand. It seemed to carry an abundance of sorrow, helplessness, and countless heartaches, giving it that searing and powerful energy.

He didn’t know who the man was, and he couldn’t even see his face.

An inexplicable sense of emptiness washed over Cheng Zesheng, and he clenched and released his hand, feeling like he had lost something very important.

———

The investigation of the home invasion murder was ongoing, and although Cheng Zesheng continued to assign tasks and conduct interviews like usual, he was visibly not in the right state of mind.

For instance, he would often daydream, staring at something intently with a furrowed brow, and frequently made mistakes in handling evidence and witness statements. This was unprecedented in Cheng Zesheng’s career. When asked, he insisted that everything was fine, but his colleagues who spent so much time with him knew better; Vice-Captain Cheng couldn’t be okay in this condition.

“Do you really not need some rest?”

During the lunch break, Le Zhengkai handed him a can of cold cola. “Look at your complexion; you look awful. Don’t wear yourself out.”

Cheng Zesheng shook his head. He wasn’t sleeping well; he dreamt of that man almost every night, following him as he wandered about. He even dreamt of his deceased brother.

In his dreams, the relationship between the man and his brother was peculiar. They called themselves friends, but they didn’t seem close. Yet they could talk about everything, sitting in a dimly lit basement, sharing drinks. Cheng Zesheng didn’t quite understand their conversations. Rather than saying he didn’t understand, it was more like he only heard bits and pieces through a layer of mist, hearing some irrelevant parts while missing key elements. The plot didn’t connect from beginning to end.

Because of this, Cheng Zesheng often found himself recalling these dreams during the day. The man had become somewhat of an obsession, as he continued to follow him everywhere, even watching him sleep, waiting for the next sunrise.

Time in his dreams didn’t synchronize with reality. He always felt like a lot of days had passed, but when he woke up, it had only been a few hours.

But after all this time, he still didn’t know the man’s name, and he couldn’t see his face.

In this way, Cheng Zesheng’s days and nights were almost split into two worlds. Spending long nights in his dreams caused him to forget some details of the cases and events in reality. Lack of proper sleep at night, followed by focusing on work during the day, had taken a toll on him in just a few days. Sometimes, he even experienced auditory hallucinations during the day.

“Wait for me. You have to wait for me.”

Cheng Zesheng didn’t understand what he was waiting for or why he was waiting.

Le Zhengkai patted Cheng Zesheng’s shoulder. “I spoke to Chief Huang yesterday. He should arrange for you to have a few days off. You’re still moving, aren’t you?”

Cheng Zesheng rubbed his temples. “Oh, I almost forgot about that. I haven’t gone to see Chief Huang to get the keys yet.”

Indeed, in the afternoon, Huang Zhanwei approached him and granted him three days off, which was just perfect for moving and taking a break. Cheng Zesheng realized that he wasn’t in good shape and that staying at work might only reduce his efficiency. Surprisingly, instead of resisting stubbornly, he agreed.

Cheng Zesheng moved into Future Domain 403, the last unit in the corridor. He stood in front of the door, looking at the cold white walls and feeling like there was too much-unused space here. Clearly, another apartment could have been constructed, so why was it left empty? Didn’t the government prefer not to waste a single penny and make the most out of everything?

Cheng Zesheng didn’t dwell on it too much. After moving, his body felt drained, and he lay down on the sofa, unknowingly falling asleep.

During this sleep, Cheng Zesheng didn’t dream of the mysterious man; instead, he dreamt of a piano piece that echoed relentlessly in his ears. It played on repeat, almost wearing out his eardrums. The piano piece seemed like a spell, causing his mind to buzz incessantly.

When Cheng Zesheng woke up and checked his phone, it was midnight.

He got up, feeling groggy, and it seemed like he could still hear the piano melody faintly. He felt agitated, lowered his head, and shook it a couple of times, trying to shake off the annoying music. However, it kept playing, distant, ethereal, and haunting.

Something was wrong. Cheng Zesheng stood up and listened carefully as if he could indeed hear the piano music.

He tried to determine the direction of the sound source, slowly turned around, and realized it was coming from the wall behind him.

Cheng Zesheng walked over, pressed his ear against the wall, and could faintly hear the piano melody continuing, like an alarm clock that wouldn’t stop unless someone turned it off.

However, there was just an empty wall on the other side; he had no neighbors nearby.

Cheng Zesheng stepped out of the apartment again and stood in front of the wall, reaching out to touch it lightly.

Suddenly, the wall trembled ever so slightly, as if some external force had struck it. Cheng Zesheng looked around, but the entire corridor was empty. There was no one who could have caused this phenomenon.

He Wei bit his lip and punched the wall once more. His whole body was overwhelmed by a sense of defeat and powerlessness.

Cheng Zesheng.

He Wei bit his lip and whispered silently in his mind.

Cheng Zesheng slowly withdrew his hand, stared at the blank wall for a few seconds, and then returned to his room.

The hallucinations were becoming increasingly severe.