S.C.I. Mystery Vol. 1, Ch. 50

T/L ANNOUNCEMENT: I study birds. In this case, I'm studying birds in the middle of a desert. Though I want to update more frequently, I will literally be out of cell signal for the most part. Thus, you will be getting updates once a week on average, probably around the weekend, when I go to town for shopping. If I happen to be out of signal for, say, two weeks, I'll post two chapters the next week I'm in service.

Magic Murderer 5: Curse

Zhao Yan said, "I remember who you are..." and Bai Chi cried "Swindler!"

Zhan Zhao asked Bai Chi, "Did you know each other previously?"

Zhao Yan smiled a bit awkwardly, and Bai Chi bowed his head uncomfortably, seemingly angry.

After being silent for a long time, Zhao Yan suddenly softened his voice and asked Bai Chi, "You... you’re not stuttering?"

Hearing that, Bai Chi turned his head to stare at Zhao Yan fiercely. There was a faint mist in his eyes. Turning around, he grabbed Zhan Zhao and said, "I want to go back first."

"No, no!" Zhao Yan quickly reached out and pulled him back, "Sit here for a while before leaving. I haven't seen you for a long time..."

Bai Chi shook his hand off vigorously, "You are not allowed to touch me!"

"Not touching, not touching..." Zhao Yan quickly withdrew his hand and smiled.

There was a thought flashing through the minds of all the people present. Could Zhao Yan have done something offensive to Bai Chi? Otherwise, why would the little guy be so fired up?

Bai Yutang raised his eyebrows, meaning "See? Rabbits bite when they are anxious~~"

Zhan Zhao glanced at him, "You don't think it's messy enough yet?"—He warned him "Don’t make trouble!"

The old housekeeper suddenly uttered an "Ah!" He looked at Zhao Yan and Bai Chi and laughed.

Bao Zheng asked, "Why, do they have a history?"

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang immediately looked at Bao Zheng in admiration, and thought, "He really deserves to be the boss~~ We were thinking about it secretly and he gossips about it so naturally~~ Such admiration..."

The steward led everyone to the living room and served tea before he spoke. That year, there was a small episode~~

Generally speaking, children who are different do not have happy childhoods... Because they are different, they have no friends.

For example, that was why Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang mingled together. It was difficult for others to fit in with them from childhood all the way to adulthood.

Bai Yutang knew that by the time Zhan Zhao was ten years old, he had mastered three languages ​​proficiently and could read very thick and heavy old books. Zhan Zhao knew that when Bai Yutang was ten years old, he could break twelve bricks with a bare foot and could lift an uncle who was several times larger than him in the police station. In other words, if there had been no Zhan Zhao beside Bai Yutang and no Bai Yutang beside Zhan Zhao, then their childhoods would have been lonely. It would have been difficult for them to find other friends.

However, in this world, not every gifted child is fortunate enough to have a talented childhood friend. For example, Bai Chi, and for another example, Zhao Yan.

Zhao Yan's mother was French, so he was born in France. When he was almost ten years old, he returned to China with his father. When he returned to China, Zhao Yan couldn't speak Chinese yet, so... he had no friends. In order to relieve his young son’s boredom, Zhao Yan's father gave him the little white lion called "Lisbon". Since then, Lisbon had become Zhao Yan's only friend.

Bai Chi's childhood was even more unfortunate, because a scholar (1) was born into a wealthy family of upright officers (1). A white rabbit was born into a pride of lions.

From the time he was small to when he was fully grown, Bai Chi had lived under the strict requirements of his parents and in the shadow of a cousin who he had never met before. Bai Chi ran very slowly, had poor balance, and wasn’t very brave. The only things about him that might be considered good were that he had a good memory and calculated things quickly... But all that was not appreciated in the Bai household. Therefore, the lonely Xiao Bai Chi became cautious about everything and he had no friends.

Xiao Bai Chi's favorite activity was to go to the library to borrow a book that adults couldn’t digest and then hide in places where no one could find him, but where he could get sunlight, see flowers, and read with interest. He had many small, secret bases that belonged to him. One of his favorite ones was in the small yard behind the library. The janitor at the gate would kindly invite him in for snacks.

This went on for a long time, day after day. Suddenly one day, a very cute big white "cat" climbed over the low wall.

It seemed to be hungry. Bai Chi invited it to eat his dessert, glutinous rice dumplings. After that, the one person and one "cat" established a strong relationship.

For the next while, Bai Chi would bring some food from home every day after school. The "cat" would definitely arrive on time, and Bai Chi's purpose of coming to the library had also changed from reading books to simply playing with the "cat". Until one day, a beautiful little boy calling out "Lisbon" found the yard. The boy was Zhao Yan.

Zhao Yan has been obsessed with magic since he was a child. This may have been inherited from his famous magician grandfather. And his grandfather had also found out that this grandson was extremely talented, so Zhao Yan had three hours of magic practice every afternoon. Originally, the little "Lisbon" slipped out to play because Zhao Yan had to practice and didn't have time to accompany it. Gradually, it became fond of staying with Bai Chi, and the time it went home got later and later until Zhao Yan found out that it was regularly missing and went to find it.

Seeing Lisbon, who was having a good time with Bai Chi, Zhao Yan felt a sense of betrayal. He decided to teach a lesson to this "little guy" who had taken away his good friend.

Children are different. They may all only be as high as your knees, they may all be afraid of the dark, and they may all like snacks better than staple foods... but there are still big differences between individual children. For example, Zhan Zhao was the kind of little angel who would pick up injured little animals on the roadside and raise them. Bai Yutang was the kind of little devil who would put caterpillars in the teacher's chalk box.

By analogy, Bai Chi was a dazed little angel, and Zhao Yan was a bad little devil.

Zhao Yan became friends with Bai Chi by looking for Lisbon. He was surprised to find that the little kid even spoke French. Then, after he gained Bai Chi's trust, Zhao Yan fiercely—lied to him.

That day, Bai Chi went to the library to find his "cat" and play with his new friend as usual.

Zhao Yan proudly told Bai Chi that he would do magic.

When Bai Chi didn't believe him, Zhao Yan performed a magic trick that he had learned recently. He turned a pigeon into a frog. In the previous few days, Zhao Yan had learned that Bai Chi was most afraid of frogs.

Finally, Zhao Yan patted Bai Chi's shoulder three times and said that he had cast a spell on him. As soon as Bai Chi spoke, he would become a frog.

The frightened Bai Chi ran away in tears. Zhao Yan hugged Lisbon and returned home. In the blink of an eye, he had forgotten about it.

A month later, Bai Chi's mother appeared in front of Zhao Yan's house. At first, she only came to ask about the situation since Xiao Bai Chi had never spoken since he returned from the library that day.

Only then did Zhao Yan find out that Bai Chi really believed in his tricks. After he told Bai Chi that he had helped him release the magic, Bai Chi began to stutter.

Xiao Bai Chi's stammer was not good, but Lisbon had become his best friend. He often slipped out and didn’t return as if Bai Chi was his real master. Because Zhao Yan felt guilty, there was no repeat incident... but the stammer made Bai Chi's already bad childhood even more desolate. At school, children laughed at him; at home, his parents always looked at him with a kind of pity and regret... he became even more timid and did not like to talk.

A year later, Zhao Yan took Lisbon back to France... He did not bid farewell to Bai Chi. Although Bai Chi had ignored him since he had lied to him, Zhao Yan knew in his heart that Xiao Bai Chi would become even more lonely if Lisbon left. He was afraid to see Xiao Bai Chi crying with small, rabbit-like red eyes.

In fact, Zhao Yan had never forgotten this. Because of it, no matter where he was living, Zhao Yan liked to go to the local library... He hoped to meet Xiao Bai Chi. However, the child in his memory was a timid little stutterer... Now, Bai Chi was more than a stutterer. He was also a policeman.

It wasn't until he saw Bai Chi holding Lisbon and happily rubbing him that Zhao Yan had recognized the outline of that child—he had also called him a swindler... it really was true!

After listening to the butler's narrative, Bao Zheng and the others felt like both crying and laughing.

Zhan Zhao blinked at Bai Yutang, meaning "He was worse than when you were young!"
Bai Yutang nodded, "This is true. It is unforgivable!"

Then, both of them looked at Zhao Yan with contempt at the same time and said in their hearts, "He is, indeed, Zhao Jue’s nephew. Genetics!"

Then the two of them suddenly thought about how, when Bai Chi was really nervous or afraid, he would stutter unconsciously... the crux of that matter was here.

They gave Bai Chi a sympathetic look; "This is a lifelong victimization~~ It's terrible~~"
"Hai, hai.” Zhao Yan coughed. No matter how thick his skin was, it still felt a bit unbearable. He switched topics. “Uncle Bai, you said earlier that you wanted my help?”

…………

Then, everyone remembered that there was serious business. Zhan Zhao took out the photos of the magic arrays from the file folder and showed them to Zhao Yan, asking, "What are the special meanings of these pictures? Do you understand them?"

Zhao Yan took the pictures and looked at them carefully. As he looked through them one by one, his brows also became more and more furrowed. After looking at the photos, Zhao Yan removed the cups on the coffee table and divided the photos into two piles.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang looked curiously at his movements.

After Zhao Yan was finished, he leaned on the sofa and asked, "The white human outline in the middle... was it a corpse?"

The photos brought by Zhan Zhao are all of the magic arrays left after the bodies were removed. After all, Zhao Yan was not a police officer. The photos of the dead bodies were not good to look at. When he was asked, he nodded.

Zhao Yan smiled and said, "The patterns on these photos were not drawn by one person."

Bai Yutang looked at the two piles of photos on the table and asked, "You divided them into two piles. Is it two people?"

"No, I can't be sure of that," Zhao Yan said, shaking his head. "I can only be sure that these patterns are correct, and this bunch is wrong."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang looked at each other with faint surprise.

"You know what these patterns mean?" Zhan Zhao asked.

"En." Zhao Yan nodded and said, "The real origin of these patterns is the totems of a primitive tribe. Originally, they were very irregular. Later, with the popularity of alchemy, people classified these patterns and they gradually evolved into a fixed style. "

"Alchemy?" Bai Yutang frowned. "Is it so mysterious?"

Zhao Yan said, "The alchemy diagram has a simpler structure, and what stands out here are the constellations and the elements... these pictures, you see." Then, pointing at the photo, he said, "Eyes, gender, snakes... They are no longer simple abstract symbols but are concrete objects. "

Zhan Zhao nodded, "In other words, it has been developed?!"

"Clever." Zhao Yan said with a smile, "Everyone says that you are a genius, and it is true... indeed, these have been developed from the alchemy maps."

"What are they then?" Bai Yutang asked.

"... Curses!" Zhao Yan said, "These are all curses representing heavenly condemnation."

"Heavenly condemnation?" Everyone looked surprised.

"Yes! Heavenly condemnation!" Zhao Yan repeated, "The eyes are the eyes of the god of death. They will cause the cursed person to die for wrongdoing he once committed. The sexes represent the unclean relationship between men and women. They cause the cursed to die. It is sinful sex, which is generally used to curse prostitutes or mistresses. The snake represents lies, and it is his own deception to the world that will cause the cursed person to die... "

"Then, when you said earlier that some of the pictures are wrong... what did that mean?" Zhan Zhao was puzzled.

Zhao Yan said, "In fact, you should show me pictures of the dead body. They will be more accurate... because these pictures are directly related to the cursed."

"You mean, there are rules for what kind of images should match different people?" Zhan Zhao said.

"Haha~~" Zhao Yan laughed, "Talking with you is pretty easy, just a little bit... Yes. These pictures are drawn correctly, just like by a professional magician, but these...… " He picked up the other pile, "They’re rough. Obviously, the people who painted these don't know anything about the curse itself."

Bai Yutang picked up the photos, and the color of surprise on his face grew stronger. He pulled out the picture from Xu Jiali and said, "You said that this is not the same as the previous ones?"

Zhao Yan groaned and nodded, "You can say that."

Zhan Zhao looked at the two recent cases and picked up the photos from Zhang Zhenzhen and Sun Qian, "These two are from the same person?"

Zhao Yan shook his head with a smile. "I can only say that these two pictures were drawn by professional people. Are they the same person? I don't know... but..."

"But what?" Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang looked at him.

Zhao Yan picked up the photo from Sun Qian’s scene and said, "The person who painted this picture was the best. Do you know why?"

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang glanced at each other and said at the same time, "Because a child was killed. It had never occurred before, but he painted it right!"

"Good!" Zhao Yan said applaudingly, "It's easy to deal with smart people!"





Translation Notes:

(1) The words used are references to minister gods who are represented by stars in the big dipper. The first (Bai Chi) is Wenquxing, or the “god of literature,” and the second (Bai family) is Wuquxing, or the “god of wealth and martial arts.” When referring to households, Wuquxing can indicate wealth or military/police/officer lineage.




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S.C.I. Mystery Vol. 1, Ch. 49

T/L note: Happy Valentines Day!

As I will always do, if you wish to skip the steamy scene, there's a "................"
 page break you can scroll down to.

Magic Murderer 4: Boodline

The light in the room was dim and ambiguous. Bai Jintang looked down at the man in the bathrobe on the bed and softly relaxed. He bent his head down to kiss Gongsun, whose hair was still slightly damp. Gongsun extended his finger and lightly blocked Bai Jintang's lips. He grabbed Bai Jintang’s tie with his other hand, slowly caressing. The misty phoenix eyes stared at Bai Jintang, revealing a slightly playful smile.

Taking in a breath of air, Bai Jintang cursed "Enchantress" in his heart. Unexpectedly, Gongsun’s finger that had been pressed against his lips began to trace downwards, lingering around his Adam’s apple, gently scratching and teasing. It was like the lightest flutter wings, but the almost imperceptible existence was a great stimulus. Bai Jintang's throat shook, and he tipped his head to hold Gongsun's fingers in his mouth. His wet tongue wrapped around the two long, fair fingers, licking the pale texture of their knuckles.

Gongsun withdrew his fingers, drawing out a thin silver thread of saliva. He put it between his lips, stuck out a small pink tongue, and licked it tenderly...

With Gongsun's action, Bai Jintang's throat groaned, low, like the roar of a small beast. His breathing sped up and his eyes gradually became sharper, glinting dangerously. Gongsun felt a subtle reaction from underneath his leg, and he gently twisted his body slightly, rubbing it lightly~~

"He~~~" Bai Jintang took a deep breath and pressed down his rising mania. He reached out and grabbed Gongsun's hands and pressed them to his ear. Then, he bowed his head to kiss Gongsun’s temples. The warm breath exhaled onto Gongsun's neck tickled slightly.

Gongsun chuckled and turned to look at Bai Jintang.

He couldn't help it anymore. Bai Jintang bowed his head and caught Gongsun’s parted lips, kissing him fiercely. Gongsun deliberately turned his face away from him.

"He~~" Bai Jintang was burned by Gongsun, and his whole body was fiery with frustration, but he was still patient and did not dare to show even a trace of violence...

Nodding in satisfaction, Gongsun wrapped his hands around Bai Jintang's neck. He raised his head and said in his ear, "A reward for you." After that, he kissed him.

His mind went blank. The only remaining sense within Bai Jintang was that of Gongsun’s breath, the soft and cool lips, and the delicate and smooth limbs beneath him.

Then, Gongsun leaned sideways and forcibly turned Bai Jintang, who had been pressed on top of his body, over. The two had switched their positions. Gongsun sat astride him and looked down at Bai Jintang.

"I want to be on top!" Gongsun went up and said.

Bai Jintang looked at him with fascination, at the bathrobe hanging around his shoulders, at the charming Gongsun. He nodded and said okay.

Gongsun sat down with satisfaction to loosen Bai Jintang's shirt collar. Bai Jintang's hand passed through the hem of the bathrobe and touched Gongsun’s bare thigh.

"Nn~~" Gongsun grabbed Bai Jintang's hand impatiently and gave him a stern glance.

"Hehe..." Bai Jintang smiled slightly and reached up and grabbed Gongsun's buttocks. His fingers slid into the slight crevasse. His middle finger pressed the soft hole through the thin cotton underwear...

"Ah!" Gongsun exclaimed quietly, looking at Bai Jintang a bit angrily. He bit his lower lip, supported his shoulders with both hands, and tried not to throw himself into the man's arms. However, as Bai Jintang's fingers moved, Gongsun's arms began to tremble slightly, so he gritted his teeth and hit Bai Jintang’s chest with a fisted hand. "Do not touch... we have a deal~~ I’m~~ on top... ah!" The fist hitting the chest became soft and weak. His originally fierce tone, even to Gongsun’s ears, sounded flirtatious and inviting.

Bai Jintang's hand found the gap on the side of his underwear and dug into it. He grasped Gongsun's already-elevated desire and tenderly caressed it. His fingers were skillfully sharp or slow, sometimes pressing the softness of the back end and sometimes scratching the weakness of the front end.

Gongsun couldn't support himself anymore and fell onto Bai Jintang's chest.

"Do you admit defeat?" Bai Jintang raised the corners of his mouth and smiled evilly, sticking out his tongue and licking the inside of the folds in Gongsun’s ear. The thin walls of the ear were so red that they were practically bleeding. Gongsun only had the strength to pant, his body trembling with the teasing of Bai Jintang's fingers and tongue... But Bai Jintang deliberately accelerated and intensified the rhythm of his fingers and stretched out his other hand too, slowly rolling around the hole behind Gonsun, pressing from time to time...

"Do you admit defeat?" As he asked again, Bai Jintang clasped Gongsun's chin with one hand, licking and kissing his lips. The other hand kept moving. Feeling Gongsun's slight shudder, he accelerated his kneading...

"En... no..." Gongsun shook his head buried in Bai Jintang’s neck a few times. "Stop... ah..."

"You would be sorry if I stopped now." Bai Jintang whispered softly, and at the same time, his fingers trickled along the sensitive skin on the top and along the slight folds...

"Ah~~~"

As Gonsun twitched, Bai Jintang’s hand was covered in sticky juice... He chuckled and applied the lubricating juice to the soft hole. He spun his fingers and entered, maliciously scratching the sensitive, soft and hot skin on the inner wall, feeling the hot, damp, writhing fire. He wrapped his fingers around tightly... He had reached the limit.

"Plot..." The voice was mixed with unbearable huskiness and restlessness... Bai Jintang lifted the dazzling Gongsun who had no force to resist and could only stare at him with half-opened, wet eyes. He took them to the bed, and they quickly removed each other’s clothes. Bai Jintang grabbed Gongsun once again, twining his hands around his neck and lifting one of his smooth legs onto his waist... Slowly, he put his long-filled desire into Gongsun's body. It was gentle, but also irresistible after full contact. Accompanied by Gongsun's almost broken moans and sobbing gasps, Bai Jintang possessed this person with all his heart, taking him into a dream.

There was same passion as before, but it had a completely different feeling. There was no humiliation, only endless pleasure and a breaking climax.



………………..



Ma Han's phrase "here we go" successfully attracted everyone’s attention and also shocked Bai Chi behind him. He subconsciously grabbed Ma Han's jacket and shrank behind him, then curiously poked out his head. Looking about, he whispered, "Where?"

Ma Han pointed in the direction of the entrance of the construction site, and Bai Chi looked in the direction he pointed. He saw a stealthy figure walking towards the construction site in a panic. It was a woman with long hair holding a white plastic bag in her hand.

"Boss, do you see that?" Ma Han picked up the walkie-talkie and asked Bai Yutang.

"I see it!" Bai Yutang watched the woman's actions and said, "Don't move first. See what she is going to do!"

"Yes!" Everyone was hiding in the dark, watching.

Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao quietly got out of the car. When the woman entered the construction site, they followed her in.

The woman walked through the rubble piled around the site, climbed down the concrete pipe, and stood next to the magic array. She knelt down in front of the bloody pattern, which was even more eerie under the darkness of night.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang carefully got on top of the cement pipe and watched her move.

They saw that she was a woman who looked to be about thirty years old, not very young. Perhaps it was due to her very plain clothes. She knelt there, looking at the pattern on the floor for a while, then pulled something out of the plastic bag in her hand.

They heard the sound of a lighter’s flintstone, and flames ignited... She lit a long strip of paper in her hand. By the light of the fire, Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao saw that it was a paper with strange patterns, like a talisman.

Bai Yutang, who had excellent eyesight, was surprised to see that it had the words "evil spirit" on it~~

The woman waved the burning piece of paper. Her mouth trembled, and she chanted again and again, "Someone is responsible for every grievance~~ Jiali~~ If you want revenge, go to the source. Don't harm the innocent... "

... Jiali?? ... Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang quickly looked at each other. The last victim of the serial murder of the Magic Murderer was Xu Jiali... What was the connection here?

The woman kept saying, "I have a child. He is innocent, and I have been having a hard time in these last few years..." and so on.

The "ritual" lasted for almost twenty minutes, and then the woman put away her things and got up to leave.

When Bai Yutang was looking at the walkie-talkie, just about to say "grab her", he heard Ma Han shout softly, "Boss, there’s someone else!"

……what? ... Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao were startled. They turned their heads and looked back. They saw in the distance that a figure in a black pullover had come to the construction site and looked inside. When they saw Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang they suddenly turned and ran.

Bai Yutang cursed "Damn" in his heart, picked up the walkie-talkie, and said, "Action!"

Zhan Zhao followed him closely. Wang Chao and Zhang Long rushed out and caught the frightened woman.

The black figure flickered and ran into the alley. Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao chased a few steps, but they couldn't find anyone...

They helplessly turned back. The woman had been escorted into the car by Wang Chao.

"Let’s get out of here." Bai Yutang frowned and ordered everyone to return to the police station.



In the S.C.I. office.

Bai Yutang asked Zhan Zhao, "Kitty, what do you think of this person?"

Zhan Zhao thought for a moment, "Did you hear what she said?"

"You mean about Xu Jiali?"

"En." Zhan Zhao nodded. "This may really be related to the case back then... I think we had better start from there."

"How is her mood?" Bai Yutang asked Wang Chao.

"A bit anxious," Wang Chao replied.

Zhan Zhao groaned for a moment and said, "She should be married, and she might have a child at home."

Everyone nodded.

"Yes, that's exactly what it feels like," Bai Yutang said. "At her age, the child should be small."

"Let's do this," said Zhan Zhao, "Don't interrogate her and let her wait. We have the right to detain her for 42 hours, right?"

Bai Yutang nodded. "You mean, let her worry first?"

"Yes!" Zhan Zhao nodded, "Also, it's better to find out her identity and the relationship between her and Xu Jiali first, so that our interrogation will be more proactive!"

Bai Yutang asked Wang Chao to check on her identity, and the others went home to rest.

After the others left, Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang went over to Jiang Ping to see the information about the magic array that she had compiled that day.

Zhan Zhao suddenly asked Bai Chi, who was so sleepy and nodding, "Aren't you going back?"

Bai Chi blushed and said, "I... I'm not sleepy."

Bai Yutang stared at him for a while and asked with a smile, "Are you scared? Are you afraid to go back alone?"

"No... no~~" Bai Chi's voice was getting quieter.

Zhan Zhao said with a smile, "We'll take you back later."

"... En..." Bai Chi nodded, his face flushed.

Jiang Ping rubbed her sore neck and said, "Boss, these pictures are too hard to find. I have been searching for an entire day, but I can't find them all."

"It's true that these pictures are a bit peculiar and it’s hard to figure out what they mean." Zhan Zhao nodded, saying, “Who’s better at this…”

"Who’s better at what?" The door pushed open, and Bao Zheng came in.

"Chief Bao?" Bai Yutang looked surprised, "You haven’t left yet?"

"Oh, I was waiting for you. I have a friend that I want you to meet." Bao Zheng said.

"Friend?" Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao were puzzled. "That you want us to meet?"

"You could be considered to have some relations, and... your recent case... he should be able to help."

...? ...

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang looked at each other, their eyes full of doubt.

"Bai Chi, you come too." Bao Zheng said suddenly.

"Me?" Bai Chi was puzzled and a little nervous. This was the first time Bao Zheng had talked to him~~

"Let's go." Bao Zheng didn't say much and called for everyone to leave together.

While driving the car, the four of them arrived in a villa area on the outskirts of S city and stopped in front of a small villa with a strange shape.

Bao Zheng rang the doorbell.

The thin old man who came to open the door greeted Bao Zheng and others with enthusiasm and said with a smile, "You are late."

"Oh, wait a little for a few kids. What about the other guy?" Bao Zheng asked with a smile.

"Master is in the studio." The old man led everyone back and went up to the second floor.

The door on the second floor was hidden, and the old man opened it. As soon as Bao Zheng entered, he was stunned by the sight: the vast room was surrounded by mirrors with boxes and sheets of cloth piled on the ground, and there were metal hangers lined with clothes. The most peculiar thing was that a huge white lion was lying in the center of the room. From its movement of looking up at the crowd and shaking its head and tail, it was definitely a living white male lion... Not locked in a cage, but just lying on the ground.

A man was lying down on top of the lion’s body. He had a large white shirt and slim black pants... he seemed to be asleep, lazily slouching on the lion's soft stomach.

When they first saw the man, Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang nearly cried out, and they looked at Bao Zheng in shock: Although this man was young, that temperament and the feel of his facial features... it was like—Zhao Jue!

"Chief Bao... he?"

"Oh..." Bao Zheng smiled at the two and said, "He is the only nephew of Zhao Jue."

...! ...

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang looked at each other. No wonder Bao Zheng had wanted to say that this person had a relationship with them.

By that time, the old man had stepped forward and nudged the man's shoulder, "Master, Master. Director Bao came."

"Um~~" The man frowned slightly, gradually waking up. He opened his eyes and looked at the old man next to him in a daze.

After he opened his eyes, the deeper contours than ordinary people made Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao feel as though he was familiar... To be honest, except for his temperament and feeling being similar to Zhao Jue when he was asleep, his looks were not very similar... They thought that he was familiar because the person in front of them was that Zhao Yan who they had happened to meet on the plane that day.

It took Zhao Yan a few seconds to wake up. When he turned his head and saw Bao Zheng, he immediately showed a bright smile, "Uncle Bao."

He got up lightly from the ground and walked in front of everyone.

Bao Zheng introduced them. Although Zhao Yan was friendly and easy-going, but Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang, though they did not know why, could always see Zhao Jue's shadow from him. It made things a little awkward. When Xiao Bai Chi was introduced, Zhao Yan laughed even more. Bai Chi really regretted coming with them.

At that moment, the white lion suddenly stood up and stretched out towards the crowd.

It seemed a little curious, smelling Zhan Zhao and smelling Bai Yutang. It was not a good feeling to be smelled by such a big carnivorous beast. Zhao Yan quickly said, "Don't worry, it grew up with people from an early age and it won't hurt them."

"Really?" Zhan Zhao looked at the huge feline curiously, with a little interest~~

When the lion smelled Bai Chi, it seemed to be a bit bewildered and smelling him again. Then it used its huge furry head to poke at Bai Chi.

Bai Chi stared at it for a while, then squatted down, and looked at it again. Then he wrapped his arms around it and cried in surprise, "Lisbon?!~~ weren't you a cat? How come you are so big?"

The lion, called "Lisbon," made a few noises of pleasure and nuzzled against Bai Chi's neck.

The crowd watched in astonishment as the lion rubbed away lovingly.

Even Zhao Yan opened his mouth in shock, "How do you... how do you know his name is Lisbon? You are..."

Bai Chi glanced at the lion, then turned his face, and stared at Zhao Yan fiercely, "Swindler!!"

... It took a long time for Zhao Yan to speak, his face stunned, "I... I remember who you are..."

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S.C.I. Mystery Vol. 1, Ch. 48

Magic Murderer 3: Ghost

December 12, 8:30 a.m., Police Department S.C.I. Office.

The conference room was filled with grim faces, and the bloody crime scene photos on the table stimulated everyone's nerves.

Gongsun came in last, holding Sun Qian's autopsy report in his hand. His face was somber.

"How was it?" Bai Yutang anxiously asked him when he sat down. Everyone was now paying close attention. They were concerned that what Zhan Zhao had said was true—that the crimes committed that day and the day before had been done by two different people!

Gongsun rubbed his eyebrows and said, "It was two people."

Although everyone trusted Zhan Zhao's judgment 100%, they had still clung to a last ray of hope that the outcome wouldn’t be so terrible. However, the forensic conclusion was iron-clad evidence.

"The incision on Zhang Zhenzhen's corpse was cut from the bottom left to the top right. That is, the murderer used his right hand." Gongsun gestured slightly in the air, then said, "Sun Qian's wound extends from the bottom right to the top left, meaning that killer was left-handed. Also, the depths of the two cuts were different. "

"That means the two people’s strengths are different?" Bai Yutang asked.

"Yes!" Gongsun nodded. "Zhang Zhenzhen's wound is shallow, while Sun Qian's wound is deep.

"What does that mean?" Said Wang Chao. "Do the killers have different physiques?"

Gongsun shook his head and said, "In fact, there are many factors that can cause different depths of wounds. Moreover, Sun Qian is a small child and is easier to subdue than Zhang Zhen..." He paused. "However, I personally prefer Xiao Zhao's point of view. The first murder is a novice, and the second one is experienced. "

"Why?" Zhao Hu asked puzzledly. "He hasn’t committed a crime for so many years, and suddenly he appears again. And on top of that, he killed a small child?"

Bai Yutang thought about it for a while, then said, "Right now we have too little information. Let’s break up and collect clues first. Wang Chao and Zhang Long, go to the school to see if there were any witnesses. Ma Han, you go to check the scene. Zhao Hu, go with Xu Qing to visit the families of the victims and investigate their social relations. Gongsun, find all the autopsy reports from the previous cases and compare them. Kitty and Bai Chi, find the old cases this afternoon. Jiang Ping, you should research the meaning behind the magic array. I will go to the police officers who were responsible for these cases in the past to ask about the situation. We’ll split up today and reconvene tomorrow morning to compile the information, understand? "

"Yes." Everyone left after taking their orders.

Jiang Ping buried her head in her computer and banged on the keyboard; Gongsun rushed to the reference room; Zhan Zhao and Bai Chi plunged into an ocean of books and newspapers and began to browse the text at a rate that any human would be envious of~~

Bai Yutang looked left and right and found that nothing was out-of-line, so he slipped downstairs.

The first floor of the police station was where ordinary cases were handled: civil disputes, promiscuous incidents, drug addiction, theft...

"Uncle Wen." Bai Yutang walked into a chaotic office and patted an old man who was making transcripts of interrogations.

"Oh! Xiao Bai!" The old man, known as Uncle Wen, hurriedly stood up. "You’re so busy. Why are you here?"

"Are you busy?" Bai Yutang asked with a smile.

"I’m not busy, and even if I was busy, I would put it aside regardless of how much work I had, right?" Uncle Wen cheerfully brought in a police officer to continue his work and invited Bai Yutang to sit in his office.

"What's wrong? What do you need this old man’s help with?" Uncle Wen asked as he poured tea.

"Oh~~ I wanted to ask, who investigated the magic serial killings ten years ago..."

As soon as Bai Yutang's words fell from his mouth, he heard a "Dang Dang" as the cup in Uncle Wen's hand fell to the ground and hot water splashed all over.

"What's wrong? Uncle Wen." Bai Yutang hurried forward to take the electric kettle from his hands and helped him sit down. He noticed that Uncle Wen's face was pale, and his hands were shaking slightly.

"Alas... I'm okay. It’s a shame, but I'm too old to handle the excitement." Uncle Wen calmed down, and his face improved significantly. "It's been more than a decade."

"Uncle Wen, why are you reacting so strongly?" Bai Yutang asked tentatively.

"Oh..." Uncle Wen pointed at him with a smile, "You’re just like your old man!"

Bai Yutang smiled and said nothing, waiting for Uncle Wen to continue.

"The policeman named Wei Yong... he chased that serial killer for several years. His fiancée was also killed by him, and then, ah, he chased day and night like crazy, but ah, well, the murderer evaporated a decade ago. Because Wei Yong's behavior was a little bit extreme... in the end, he left the police force." Uncle Wen said, "The case lasted a long time, and the other police officers were either replaced partway through or were inattentive like me. In short, the only one who chased him from beginning to end was Wei Yong. "

"So where is he now?" Bai Yutang asked.

"..." Uncle Wen was silent for a moment, then said, "I'm not very sure about that. I only know that he has set up a detective agency by himself and has still been tracking him down."

"Oh..." Bai Yutang nodded his head. He was thinking about what to say next, but he heard a commotion outside the door.

Uncle Wen stood up and went out.

In the vast office, several policemen were pressing a brat with blood all over his head into a chair. He was constantly scolding the other party. On the other side was a young woman dressed in casual jeans. She seemed to have drunk too much and was yelling at the man. Two younger girls next to her were struggling to pull her back. Bai Yutang knew the two girls. They were Qi Le and Chen Yu.

"What are you doing?!" Uncle Wen yelled, and both sides quieted down.

"This crazy woman was drunk and hit me!" The man said as he covered his head, "I was walking and minding my own business when she sprung out and smashed my head in with a bottle! I will sue her for personal assault!"

"Be honest!" One of the police officers pushed him back again. "You didn’t mess with her, and she beat you for no reason?!"

"Sergeant, you haven’t seen her drunk..." The little punk turned around while arguing noisily and suddenly saw Bai Yutang standing to the side. He immediately went quiet, coughed lightly, and sat primely upright.

Qi Le also saw Bai Yutang.

Bai Yutang raised an eyebrow at her, and asked, "Weren’t you changing for the better? Why are you still hanging out like this?"

"You’ve got it wrong!" Qi Le retorted quickly, then whispered, "What goes around comes around. She is my roommate. She didn't come back last night, so we went to Bar Street to find her."

Chen Yu next to her nodded quickly, "Yes! We were afraid she would suffer, so we followed her to the police station."

Bai Yutang nodded and looked at the punk, "How are you?"

"No... I’m okay..." The hooligan laughed quickly, "I’m to blame for not walking carefully... haha."

Qi Le and Chen Yu were surprised, but the other police officers understood. They weren’t foolish. Even the older brother did not dare to offend Bai Yutang, let alone these younger brothers.

Then, the punk got up and walked away, "It's okay, sisters. It’s a misunderstanding, misunderstanding... bye."

"Wait a minute." Bai Yutang stopped him, saw his face grow pale, and laughed, "What are you afraid of?" After that, he handed him a few banknotes, "Take them for treatment."

"Oh~~ Thank you..." The punk took the money and ran off.

Qi Le's face was awkward, and she whispered, "I'll give it back to you."

Bai Yutang turned back and saw that Uncle Wen was already busy with other things. He felt keenly that Uncle Wen seemed to be unwilling to talk about things from that year.

At that time, the woman who was being supported by Qi Le and Chen Yu suddenly stared at Bai Yutang and laughed. She drunkenly pointed her finger at Bai Yutang and said, "Oh... good... good man..."

"Li Xu, don't make trouble!" Qi Le was afraid that Bai Yutang would be angry and quickly grabbed her, but Li Xu broke away. She continued pointing at Bai Yutang and saying, "Menace! I can tell with one glance that he’s a scourge... haha ​​... Going to take a life for a life! Look! Retribution is coming... it’s all because of you! "

Bai Yutang frowned slightly. Qi Le quickly blocked Li Xu and turned back to Bai Yutang before saying, "Don't mind her. She drank too much..."

In fact, Bai Yutang had paid attention to Li Xu's words about taking a life for a life. After he’d thought about it for a while, he said to Qi Le, "You help her to the door. I will take you back.”

"Ah? Don't..." Before Qi Le had time to finish her words, Bai Yutang had turned to go get the car.

After driving for about 15 minutes, they arrived at the house Qi Le was renting. Along the way, Bai Yutang and the two girls had chatted casually. Qi Le was more introverted, but Chen Yu was very talkative. Bai Yutang inquired about the drunk woman and gained a rough understanding. Her name was Li Xu, and she was a stage designer. She was often drunk. However, when she was sober, she was easy to get along with. When she wasn’t, she was crazy, always saying that perfectly good men were evil. Perhaps she’d been badly dumped before...

When they arrived, Bai Yutang stopped Qi Le, who had turned to help Li Xu upstairs, "Cell phone."

Qi Le didn't quite understand, but she still placed her phone on Bai Yutang's outstretched hand.

After quickly entering a number, Bai Yutang returned the phone to Qi Le, "Contact me if you have any questions."

After a while, Qi Le nodded, turned around, and turned back again, "I... I don't take drugs anymore."

Bai Yutang nodded with a smile and drove away.

Watching the car drive out of sight, Chen Yu pushed Qi Le in surprise, "Oh my God, is he interested in you?"

"..." Qi Le glared at her, "What are you thinking about?"

"Then why is he so good to you?" Chen Yu asked as she walked inside with Li Xu.

Qi Le naturally understood that Bai Yutang had killed Qi Lei, and because of his death, he felt that he should take some responsibility for her current state of lacking support... He was a good person.

"He has a treasured lover." Naturally, Qi Le couldn't explain the truth to Chen Yu. She could only fudge an answer.

"A treasured lover? What does she look like? I wonder what kind of woman he’s interested in~~~" Chen Yu asked with interest.

"You’re foolish." Qi Le took out the key and opened the door.

"Tell me, elegant and beautiful?" Chen Yu asked curiously.

Qi Le helped her bring Li Xu in, and sighed helplessly, saying, "... More than beautiful..."

She closed the door.

At the corner of the alley outside the door, a lurking man leaned half his body out, his eyes staring maliciously at the door that had just closed.

Bai Yutang drove back to the police station. He called Xu Qing and asked him to check out Wei Yong and Li Xu.

Years of experience in handling cases and good instincts made Bai Yutang faintly realize that there were a few oddities.



The S.C.I.'s office was piled high with a magnificent mountain of documents. Zhan Zhao and Bai Chi sat in the middle of the heap, browsing. They exchanged a few words from time to time.

Gongsun came into the office with a few documents. When he saw the two of them, he shook his head and sighed~~

"Where's Xiao Bai?" He asked Jiang Ping, who was typing on the keyboard.

"The captain said he was going downstairs. I don't know why he hasn't returned yet." Jiang Ping replied without looking up, then pointed at the screen and asked Gongsun, "Is this picture the same as the one under Zhang Zhenzhen's body?"

Gongsun leaned over, "Yeah!" He opened the information and looked at the photo, "It's exactly the same!" What was it?

"I found it on the website of a foreign witchcraft enthusiast." Jiang Ping selected a comment for Gongsun. "The pattern of the eyes is called ‘Atkin’ in the spell, which means that evil can never escape from the eyes of the god of death. Everything will be settled. It’s a punishment from the gods."

"Where's the one under Sun Qian's body?" Gongsun took out the photo and showed it to Jiang Ping.

Just then, Lu Fang knocked on the door, "Xiao Bai..."

Jiang Ping looked up and shouted, "The Boss is out, and he will be back in a while."

"Well..." Lu Fang was a little bit embarrassed, and then he heard the person behind him say, "It doesn't matter, I’ll just wait inside."

Gongsun felt like the voice was a little familiar and looked up. He saw Shen Qian come in.

"Hey, Gongsun, we meet again." Shen Qian greeted him familiarly.

Gongsun looked at Lu Fang in doubt. Lu Fang said, "Oh, Mr. Shen is the owner of the site where the second body was found. He will cooperate with the police investigation."

Gongsun and Jiang Ping glanced at each other, Jiang Ping laughed, "What a warm-hearted citizen."

Shen Qian shrugged with a smile and said to Gongsun, "In fact, I just wanted to see where you work."

Gongsun turned to Jiang Ping and said, "When Xiao Bai comes, call me. I have something important to tell him."

"OK." Jiang Ping nodded.

When Gongsun turned to leave with the file, Shen Qian quickly stepped forward and said, "Would you mind letting me visit the forensic room?"

"I mind," Gongsun said with a sneer, "I only like to have the company of the dead when I work."

After that, he left.

Shen Qian stood there a little awkwardly. Jiang Ping hurriedly lowered her head and smiled as she continued coding.

At that moment, Bai Yutang pushed the door open and came in.

"Boss! Gongsun said he had some important things for you." Jiang Ping said quickly.

"Call him. I also found some things," Bai Yutang said as he walked towards Zhan Zhao's office, but he saw Shen Qian and paused briefly.

"Oh, hello, I am..." As soon as Shen Qian wanted to speak, Jiang Ping said it for him, "That construction site is his."

Bai Yutang nodded and asked Shen Qian, "What are you doing here?"

"I’m here to see how I can cooperate," Shen Qian said.

Bai Yutang glanced at him and said, "No, for the time being, we will contact you if we need anything. Thank you for your cooperation."

By this time, Gongsun had received a phone call from Jiang Ping, and Wang Chao and Zhang Long had hurried back, shouting, "Boss! There’s a situation!"

"Let’s go inside and talk." After that, Bai Yutang left Shen Qian behind and entered the conference room with everyone.

Glancing at Shen Qian outside the door, Bai Yutang asked Jiang Ping, "What do you mean by that?"

Jiang Ping shrugged, frowned at Gongsun, and said softly, "He seems to have ulterior motives."

Bai Yutang nodded his head and looked at the pile of materials in the room. He asked Zhan Zhao, "Kitty, how’s it going?"

Zhan Zhao and Xiao Bai Chi looked up together, "Almost done."

"What's the situation?" Bai Yutang immediately asked the excited Wang Chao and Zhang Long.

The two looked at each other, and Wang Chao said, "Boss, we asked people near the school and found nothing, but the school security said... the school was haunted last night!"

"Hah?" When they heard this, everyone stopped their work and looked up at them in surprise.

"Haunted?!" Bai Chi exclaimed quietly, leaning against Zhan Zhao.

"Yeah!" Zhang Long said, "The school security came out around ten o'clock in the evening to make a circle round the area and said that in the classroom that had the corpse there was green ghost fire and the figure of a long-haired woman shaking in front of the window. He was frightened and ran away.”

The crowd looked dubious. Zhan Zhao looked at Bai Chi, who was clutching his clothes tightly, "Are you afraid?"

"En!" Bai Chi nodded earnestly, attracting everyone's chuckles. He looked back at them with a blush, "You... aren't you afraid?"

Zhang Long squatted down and patted his head. "You are a policeman; how could you believe in this?"

"Then, what's going on?" Bai Chi whispered.

"Had you noticed that the classroom windows are green?" Gongsun asked Bai Chi.

"En." Bai Chi nodded.

"Thus, someone was burning something in it," Bai Yutang said, "a woman with long hair... if the security guard was not mistaken."

"She went there to burn..." Bai Chi looked at Zhan Zhao.

Zhan Zhao nodded, "It’s either the murderer or someone who knows something."

Bai Yutang nodded and said, "Everyone hurry up and take a break. Let's go to the construction site tonight to see if we can catch a big fish!"

"Gongsun, what did you find?" Bai Yutang asked Gongsun.

"These are the previous autopsy reports," Gongsun said, "Only the last victim was a child. The others were adults."

Zhan Zhao picked up the newspaper that was just beside him and said, "Yes, it was Xu Jiali, a little girl, 13 years old."

Bai Yutang looked at the autopsy report and newspaper and asked, "What's the problem with that?"

"The other victims were sliced by a knife to cut the carotid artery and were killed directly. Only the back of her head had a traumatic injury, which was caused by being hit by a blunt object." Gongsun said.

Bai Yutang frowned, "This…what does this mean?"

"The murderer's technique changed." Zhan Zhao said, "It doesn’t make any sense according to behavioral analysis!"

"Why do you say that?" Everyone looked at Zhan Zhao in puzzlement.

Zhan Zhao said, "This murderer's magic array has a particular meaning, and he draws it very carefully. He is a perfectionist, and the lines of each of his pictures start from the neck wound and are drawn around the body. In drawing it like this, the whole picture is quite complete! However, if there is bleeding in other places, the integrity of the whole picture will be destroyed, which would be absolutely intolerable to people of his type. "

"What does that mean?" Bai Yutang frowned. "He didn’t do this case?"

Zhan Zhao nodded and said, "That is one possibility, and the other is that something changed when he committed the crime."

"Perhaps it was this change that led him to stop committing crimes for the next ten years?!" Bai Yutang said.

"Right!" Zhan Zhao nodded approvingly.

"Ok! Everyone prepare for tonight!" Bai Yutang said, and went to help organize the newspaper.

Bai Chi suddenly said to Zhan Zhao, as if he had made up his mind, "I will go to catch the ghost, too!"

……………………

The crowd laughed and Zhan Zhao rubbed his head, "Everyone told you it wasn't a ghost!"

In the evening, everyone in the S.C.I. went to catch the "ghost" with great interest. Gongsun was naturally not interested. He went downstairs. Earlier, Bai Jintang had called to tell him he would take him to dinner and asked him to wait at the police station.

But in front of Gongsun there was a white BMW.

"Are you free to eat a meal?" Shen Qian appeared again, sitting in the car and opening the door.

Gongsun looked at him helplessly. At that moment, Bai Jintang's black Mercedes-Benz stopped behind Shen Qian’s BMW. The door opened, and Bai Jintang got out of the car. He walked over to Gongsun. "Did you wait long?"

"I just came down." Gongsun smiled.

"What a coincidence, President Bai." Shen Qian got out of the car and stood in front of Bai Jintang. Gongsun again decided that the two were not comparable. Bai Jintang's presence was absolutely stronger than that of Shen Qian. He wasn’t sure why, but Shen Qian appeared to be looking for trouble...

"Let's go." Gongsun pulled Bai Jintang and left with him. Shen Qian grinned, sat in the car, and smiled coldly. "These brothers are the same. They are so good that it’s disgusting. It’s pretty eye-catching."

He drove away.



After returning home after dinner, Gongsun came out of the bath and saw Bai Jintang sitting on his sofa with his legs crossed, still drinking his wine.

"Your comforter hasn't been brought back yet?" Gongsun asked as he brushed his hair.

"The comforter is gone," said Bai Jintang, "I will stay here."

Gongsun sat next to him, "Shouldn’t you be able to afford a comforter?" He said and took a drink from Bai Jintang’s glass of wine.

Bai Jintang breathed a sigh of relief as he watched Gongsun's actions, grinning, "Gongsun, do you not treat me as a man?"

"...? ..." Gongsun looked at him puzzled, "I can't see where you could seem like a woman... Ah~~"

Bai Jintang had reached out to hug Gongsun and pull him into his lap. "You wore loose pajamas, bared your pretty neck in front of my eyes, sat next to me, and drank the wine in my glass. You know that I like you. It's an invitation for any man. "

"But I don't want to," Gongsun said with a smile in Bai Jintang's ear. "Do you dare to try?"

Bai Jintang said bitterly, "Do you have to torture me like this? Aren’t you getting too much revenge?"

"You have to learn to be patient~~" Gongsun whispered into his ear, "Patience is also an expression of love."

"How nice~~" Bai Jintang laughed suddenly, "I have an idea..." Then, he reached out and gently dragged Gongsun's hips toward him. Bai Jintang was sitting with his legs crossed, so Gongsun felt that his crotch had touched a hard object, as if something was in the pocket of Bai Jintang's pants... a mobile phone?

Bai Jintang raised his corner of his mouth. He held Gongsun's waist firm with one hand, and picked up a phone with his other hand...

Gongsun felt his intention in advance and quickly struggled to stand up, but Bai Jintang wickedly pressed lightly on his waist... Gongsun's waist softened and fell down, and Bai Jintang quickly caught it and said with a smile, "If, if you want it... then I don't have to bear it?" Then, he called the phone.

The cell phone in his pants pocket immediately buzzed and shook. The position was lethal. Gongsun was so shocked that he wanted to run away, but Bai Jintang grasped his waist at the right moment and deliberately pressed him down so that his most sensitive weakness was in close contact with the vibrating cell phone through the thin cloth.

"En~~~" Gongsun slumped into Bai Jintang's arms, reaching out to grab the phone in Bai Jintang's hand.

Grasping Gongsun's hand, Bai Jintang gently moved his leg.

"Ah..." Gongsun couldn't help but groan and waved his hand, "Asshole! You've been planning... Ah~~"

Bai Jintang grabbed his hand and kissed him, feeling that Gongsun had already reacted to the torture of his mobile phone. Bai Jintang smiled and licked the ear of the man in his arms, "It seems like you want it now..."

"Rascal!" Gongsun stretched out his hand to slap Bai Jintang, but it was caught. Bai Jintnag rolled them over and pressed Gongsun onto the sofa, then said softly, "Gongsun, let's start again, okay? One more time... I will be gentle."

Gongsun was speechless and could only stare at the man in front of him. No rejection was tantamount to the best encouragement. Bai Jintang, who had always belonged to the active type, picked up the already weak Gongsun and entered the bedroom.



Unlike the sensual experience over there (1), everyone in the S.C.I. was lying in wait in the cold wind around the construction site.

It was ten o'clock in the evening, and there was still no movement. Ma Han, Zhang Long, and the most timid Bai Chi stood at the tallest point of the construction site and looked down; Zhao Hu and Wang Chao were hidden behind the site.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang sat in the car, staring at the entrance to the construction site.

"Kitty, is it cold?" Bai Yutang asked.

"Mmm~~" Zhan Zhao shook his head.

"It will be Christmas in a few days," Bai Yutang said suddenly, "Would you like to go to the mountains?"

"The mountains?" Zhan Zhao was puzzled.

Bai Yutang took out a bunch of keys and shook them, "Zhaohui gave them to me, saying that my brother recently built a hot spring resort cottage in the middle of the mountains... Would you like to come with me for Christmas?"

Zhan Zhao was slightly surprised, but blushed and nodded.

Bai Yutang was a little nervous, and confirmed again, "Well, are you really willing to go with me? Just the two of us... overnight."

Zhan Zhao's face turned redder, and he turned away, but he nodded with an “en”.

Bai Yutang flew up with joy and kissed him, "Great, Kitty!"

"~~Dammed mouse!" Zhan Zhao stared at him, his face even more red.

At that moment, the radio rang. Bai Yutang quickly pressed the answer button, and listened to Ma Han as he said, "Boss, here we go!"





Translation Notes:

(1) Actually a phrase from a poem The Everlasting Regret that describes the good feeling of a person who slept with someone last night.



<- Previous Chapter | Next Chapter ->

S.C.I. Mystery Vol. 1, Ch. 47

T/L note: I'm back!  Apologies for the delay.

Magic Murderer 2: Return

Bai Chi walked around the city library a few times, looking through it one shelf at a time. He piled the books high on one of the tables.

"Do you want to borrow all of these?" The administrator was surprised. "The number of books you can borrow is regulated."

Bai Chi shook his head and showed him his police officer ID card, saying, "I’m not borrowing them; it's police expropriation! I'll pay you back."

The administrator looked suspiciously at the person in front of him. How could this man be related to the word "police"? He said helplessly, "Okay, but I need to register it. It may take a long time. We will send them to you at the police station after we do so. "

"Okay... okay, thank you." Bai Chi nodded and turned to leave, but he saw a few archaic archives by the door... and curiously walked up. It was an old-fashioned data cabinet. It was filled with small drawers one by one in alphabetical order. When they were opened, you could see a stack of cards in each drawer, which recorded the type, name, and location of the data. When Bai Chi walked up to one of the cabinets, he saw the word "Newspapers" on the label.

The catalogue of the city library had been classified and managed using computers. Bai Chi has searched all of them just now, but because there were too many newspapers, only the ones from the past two years had been sorted out. Other old ones would be here. Upon opening the drawer, Bai Chi was pleasantly surprised to find that there were as many as thirty years of newspapers, so he patiently flipped through the cards one at a time. He wanted to turn out all the cases from the past two decades~~~

"Hi!" A person suddenly popped up and tapped him. It startled Bai Chi, and he turned his head in fright and frowned.

It wasn’t a stranger who tapped Bai Chi, but it was Zhao Yan, who they had met on the plane that morning.

He turned back around, ignoring him... and continued looking.

Zhao Yan figured that he had never been so ignored in his entire life and smiled awkwardly. He came up and asked, "What are you looking for, coming to the library as soon as you got off the plane?"

Bai Chi looked up, gave him a cold glance, and said, "You... forget it!"

"Hey!" Zhao Yan took off his glasses. "Have I offended you before? Why do you hate me so much?"

"Swindler!" Bai Chi rolled his eyes again and lowered his head to look for information. He leaned to the side, pulling a bit away from Zhao Yan.

... Zhao Yan gave Bai Chi a stern glance and suddenly uttered, "Ah!"

Bai Chi looked up in surprise and saw Zhao Yan pointing into the distance. He instinctively turned his head to look—there was nothing at all~~~

"Bai~~ Chi~~" Zhao Yan smiled, "Good name~~"

Bai Chi turned back and noticed that Zhao Yan had taken his police ID card away...

"Gi... give it back to me!" He immediately reached out to grab it, but Zhao Yan escaped with the police badge, "S.C.I.~~ Oh?"

"Give it!" Bai Chi snatched it fiercely and put it back in his pocket. Then, he turned around and listened as Zhao Yan said, "Eh?? You were born in K City?? I was in K City when I was a kid."

Bai Chi was startled and looked back. This time, he saw that his wallet was also in Zhao's hands. He was looking at his ID card...

"You give it back to me! I’ll arrest you!" Bai Chi was furious. He snatched his wallet and yelled fiercely.

"Ok! Take it slow, I'll... leave. See you later." After that, Zhao Yan turned quickly and walked away. Who knows when he grabbed the bunch of keys with a little duckling charm that said—Bai Chi~~

At around five o'clock, Bai Chi returned to the door of his apartment with a thick bundle of old newspapers, and he took out his keys~~ Huh? Keys??

He put the newspaper on the ground, and thoroughly felt through all his pockets but still couldn’t find them... Why was today so unlucky?!!

Who would have thought that at that moment the door would open.

"You're back? Why are you so late?" Standing in the door was Zhao Yan, holding an apple in one hand and a book in the other.

"You... you..." Bai Chi was so shocked that he couldn’t speak, and he rushed through the door angrily. "Why are you in my house?"

Zhao Yan shrugged and threw the bunch of keys to him. He said, "Oh~~ I just picked up a bunch of keys and wanted to return them to the owner. I didn't expect them to be yours."

"How did you... how did you know that I live here?" Bai Chi put the key ring into his pocket, staring at Zhao Yan sternly.

"Hehe~~" Zhao Yan smiled brightly. "The keys told me. I am magical."

"A swindler! Get out!" Bai Chi stretched out his fingers.

Zhao Yan sat down on the sofa and continued to eat the apple. He looked at the book in his hand.

"You... what are you looking at?" Bai Chi was surprised and felt as though Zhao Yan's book was familiar.

"Oh~~ your diary." Zhao Yan turned and admired it, "It's wonderful."

"... Yaa~~~~~" Bai Chi rushed to grab it, "How could you do this! How could you read someone else's diary!!!"

Zhao Yan quickly avoided him, "I want to figure out why you hate me so much."

"No reason!!! Give it back!" Bai Chi lunged after it.

"Speaking of which, your childhood was really miserable. How could you be bullied?" Zhao Yan said, hiding, "I have never seen anyone who has more of an inferiority complex than you..."

When Bai Chi heard that, he suddenly looked blank and stopped chasing Zhao Yan. He stood in a daze.

"Hey! What's wrong?" Zhao Yan grabbed the diary and walked back a few steps to look at Bai Chi.

Looking down, Bai Chi acted as though Zhao Yan didn’t exist. He turned around and went back out to carry the bundle of newspapers in. Then, he sat down at the coffee table and took out a notebook. He began to read the newspapers intently, taking notes.

"What's wrong?" Zhao Yan walked over to squat beside him, "Are you angry?"

Bai Chi ignored him and continued to read the newspaper.

"Look, I’ll give it back to you." Zhao Yan put the diary in front of Bai Chi and reached out and shook his hand in front of Bai Chi's eyes, "Are you still angry?"

Bai Chi took the diary back, put it behind him, and continued to read the newspaper.

"You, you went to L Elementary School in K City when you were a kid?" Zhao Yan asked and leaned forward, "I was a few years older than you, but... it seems like you were there when I was studying... What year are you, eh? "

Bai Chi lowered his pen and bowed his head without talking.

Zhao Yan got closer again and said, "But I really don't have any impression of you. Where did I offend you... can you tell me?"

DIDIDIDIDIDIDI～～～～～

The phone rang, and Bai Chi hurriedly picked it up. Bai Yutang had called. "Hey, Brother~~ ah, okay."

After he hung up the phone, Zhao Yan felt like Bai Chi's mood was getting better. He tidied up the newspapers and sorted them as though he was going out.

Bai Chi's mood had naturally gone from overcast to sunny because Bai Yutang had told him that the S.C.I. was going to have a celebration that night and welcome him into the group. In light of his outstanding performance in the last case, he had successfully passed the trial period. He was official.

When Bai Chi was ready, he went to the door and looked at Zhao Yan. He motioned with his eyes, "Get out!!"

Zhao Yan stood up helplessly and walked to the door. "Where are you going? I have a car and I can see you off."

Bai Chi reached out his hand, "Give me three yuan."

"Ha??" Zhao Yan was surprised. "Since when do I owe you three yuan?"

"Money for the apple!" Bai Chi stared at him. "It's expensive!"

"Why are you so stingy?" Zhao Yan frowned. "You even care about me eating your apple?"

"Why should I let you... did you ask?" Bai Chi said righteously, "I only invite my friends to eat!"

"You!" Zhao Yan breathed a sigh of relief, "Okay! You are difficult to deal with." After that, he pulled out ten yuan and put it in Bai Chi's hands. "Keep the change!" Then he turned and left.

After taking a few steps, he heard Bai Chi call out to him, "Wait a minute!"

Zhao Yan turned back with a smile and said in his heart, who can resist my charm?? But he felt two unknown objects hurtling towards his face, whistling with the wind...

He quickly reached out and caught one but was hit hard in the head by the other with a “ping.”

"Ahhh~~~" He covered his head, then saw an apple in his hand and an apple on the ground... and looked up.

Bai Chi glared at him sternly, "We should never owe one another!" He threw a coin over, and it landed in the middle of Zhao Yan's forehead... "Yaa~~~"

When Zhan Yan got out of the apartment, he got into his car and took a fierce bite out of the apple in his hand. He touched the two bumps on his head and ground his teeth, "Dammed kid! I'm so furious!"



Zhan Zhao looked at the box Bai Yutang had picked with respect and really felt the urge to write a eulogy for him—it was the only children's box from the S City Hotel~~~ it was meant for children’s birthdays and was completely covered in Micky Mouse and Donald Duck.

"What are you thinking in your head?" Zhan Zhao asked Bai Yutang.

"I didn't pick it. It was the Ding family's twins!" Bai Yutang quickly clarified, "But then again, it is quite appropriate..."

At 7:00 p.m., everyone had arrived, but the number of attendees was much larger than expected. In addition to the S.C.I., there was also the serious cases division, Qi Le and her band, as well as the Ding family's twins and Bai Jintang. The room was crowded, and the group of young people went wild until the middle of the night.

Gongsun escaped first. His temples were sore, and his ears were buzzing.

"Tired? Should I take you home first?" Bai Jintang, who followed Gongsun, asked from close to his ear as he reached out to help him massage his temples.

"Hmm..." Gongsun nodded, dizzy as if he had drunk too much.

The two walked into the elevator. Bai Jintang put his coat on Gongsun's shoulders and said, "I'll get the car. Wait for me at the door."

After stepping out of the hotel's door, the cool night breeze made Gongsun sober.

"Can I help you?" A voice came from behind him. Gongsun turned around in surprise and saw a very smart and capable-looking man standing beside him. He seemed concerned while he asked. Gongsun looked at him and felt as though he had an air similar to Bai Jintang, an elite air...

He shook his head. Gongsun didn't like the eyes of this person very much. Although they were very attentive and friendly, he couldn’t hide the calculation behind his gaze. In fact, Gongsun didn't like to deal with businesspeople very much. Bai Jintang could be regarded as a special case. Even apart from being Bai Yutang’s elder brother, he still had a special status. His eyes never looked hypocritical and sometimes they even looked like those of a puppy. Direct and somewhat innocent—a big puppy.

"You don't seem very comfortable." The man asked again, "Are you all right?"

Thinking about it, Gongsun realized that Bai Jintang was a bit cute. With a slight blush on his face he turned coldly to the man, "No need."

"My name is Shen Qian," the man politely reached out.

Gongsun didn't reach out in return and just stared forward, "I'm not interested."

"But I'm interested in you." Shen Qian said with a smile.

By that time, Bai Jintang had driven over and seen the person standing with Gongsun from a distance. He raised his eyebrows slightly.

Gongsun also saw the familiar Mercedes-Benz and no longer cared about the person next to him. He quickly walked over and sat in the car. Shen Qian waved to him, "Goodbye, Gongsun..." Before he finished his sentence, Bai Jintang drove away.

"... Does your head still hurt?" After a while, Bai Jintang could not help but break the silence.

Gongsun looked at him with amusement, "I thought you would ask who I was with just now."

Bai Jintang was silent for a while and said, "His name is Shen Qian, the boss of the Shen Group. He’s my competitor."

"Oh~~" Gongsun nodded, "No wonder."

"No wonder?" Bai Jintang asked casually, but his eyes were focused.

"No wonder." Gongsun deliberately refused to say what he ment. He could feel Bai Jintang's uneasiness and found it interesting. Recently, the originally domineering man was even more obedient than a dog. He was always careful, as though he was trying to learn how to get along with him.

"He said he was interested in me." Gongsun looked at Bai Jintang with a smile. "What will you do next? Find someone to kill him?"

Bai Jintang sighed in his heart, "This enchantress..."

The car drove into the underground parking lot of Gongsun's apartment. Bai Jintang stopped and turned to look at Gongsun, "Are you still angry with me?"

Gongsun raised an eyebrow and shook his head.

"Gongsun." Bai Jintang turned to stare at Gongsun. "You have been tormenting me for a month."

"How could I?" Gongsun laughed harmlessly.

Bai Jintang sighed, "Get out of the car. I'll take you up."

"Why are you just sending me up?" Gongsun wondered. "Don’t you live there?"

"..." Bai Jintang widened his eyes unbelievably at Gongsun. "You... you mean I can move back?"

Gongsun got out of the car. "That house is yours. What does it have to do with me whether you live there or not?"

"I’ll stay! I'll stay tonight!" Bai Jintang closed the door and caught up with Gongsun. "Let me borrow a bed comforter first. Mine is at the company."

(T/L note: isn’t that just across the street, Jintang….)

"I don't have extra quilts."

"Then should I sleep with you?"

"In your dreams!"

"Gongsun..."

"Hands off!"

"Okay..."



Zhan Zhao was also taken home by Bai Yutang. Although Bai Yutang had blocked most of the wine from reaching him, Zhan Zhao, who had poor alcohol tolerance but loved wine regardless, was still extremely drunk. He had become completely intoxicated after just a few glasses. He had been lying on the sofa, falling asleep with flushed cheeks. Bai Yutang had no choice but to take him first.

He put Zhan Zhao on the bed and unbuttoned his coat...

"En~~" Zhan Zhao reached out and hugged Bai Yutang's waist. He rubbed against him and mumbled incoherently, "Luban~~"

…………

Luban was the Burmese rag doll cat that Bai Jintang had brought for the two of them when he came back. However, because they were both very busy and that breed of cat did not like being lonely, Zhan Zhao had no choice but to very reluctantly gave it to Mrs. Zhan and Mrs. Bai to raise.

Bai Yutang removed Zhan Zhao's hand from around his waist and helped him take off his jacket. Zhan Zhao turned over, grabbed Bai Yutang's arm, and nuzzled, "Luban..."

Taking a deep breath, Bai Yutang drew his hand back with great force, warning himself to calm down. He reached out to help untie Zhan Zhao’s tie, but Zhan Zhao unexpectedly clung to his neck again, "Luban..."

Bang~~~ Bai Yutang felt his reason leave him...

Lowering his head, he caught Zhan Zhao’s slightly open lips and kissed him... After the lingering kiss, Zhan Zhao semi-consciously nuzzled him again and gently called out, "Yutang..."

Bang~~~ Bai Yutang's reason flew back again.

He sighed, looking at Zhan Zhao lying unguarded in his arms right before his eyes. Bai Yutang shook his head with a bitter smile. The Kitty trusted him, and he must not let him down. Although he wanted it, now was not a good time. It would not be fair to the Kitty.

He took another deep breath and calmed himself down. He took off his own jacket and settled into a more comfortable sleeping posture, taking Zhan Zhao into his arms and pulling up the covers... Kitty, sleep well~~

Two hours later, Bai Yutang turned on the light and thought seriously—Zhan Zhao's tone for calling "Yutang" just earlier seemed to be the same as the tone he used for calling "Luban” beforehand~~

He turned off the lights—keep sleeping.

In the early morning of the next day, Bai Yutang was woken up by an urgent telephone ringing.

"Hello?" He looked at his watch—five o'clock?

Zhan Zhao also woke up and looked up.

As he watched Bai Yutang listening to the phone, Zhan Zhao saw his face grow harder and then he closed the phone without saying a word, frowning.

"What's wrong?" Zhan Zhao asked.

Bai Yutang looked at him. "The child in the kindergarten yesterday who was the first to find the body, Sun Qian... her family reported that she disappeared yesterday."

"What?" Zhan Zhao sat up in surprise, "How?"

"Her dad said he told her yesterday that he would pick her up 15 minutes late and she should wait at the door, but he couldn't find Sun Qian when he arrived. He thought she had gone to a friend's house or her grandma's house, but he couldn’t find her anywhere." Bai Yutang was a little uneasy. "Kitty, would you... "

"I want to go to the scene!" Zhan Zhao quickly got up and dressed.

Half an hour later, the two arrived at the kindergarten. The school had ordered a suspension of class. All the teachers were dispatched to look for the girl. Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang came to the gate of the kindergarten and saw Xiao Lu Zhen standing there, his head bowed as though he were looking at something.

"Lu Zhen?" Zhan Zhao patted him, "Why are you here?"

Lu Zhen turned towards them, his face a little white, and said, "I said goodbye to Qianqian here yesterday. I went home. She was waiting for her father to pick her up..."

Bai Yutang observed the surrounding environment. In front of the school entrance was the road and opposite it was a convenience store. He walked over to the convenience store to ask for information.

Lu Zhen pulled Zhan Zhao's hand: "I want to... find her with you."

Zhan Zhao nodded as he squatted down and asked, "Do you like Qian Qian very much?"

"En." Lu Zhen nodded. "I only waited with her yesterday because she kept crying... I was a bit annoyed..." His voice gradually lowered, full of self-blame.

Rubbing his head, Zhan Zhao comforted him, "It's not your fault."

Bai Yutang ran back and said, "The shop owner across the street said he didn't pay much attention."

Zhan Zhao stood at the place pointed out by Lu Zhen and slowly turned 360 degrees in place. He looked around, "This is a busy city. If you forcibly take away a little girl, it would be impossible to not get noticed."

"Did she leave by herself?" Bai Yutang wondered, "Where would she go?"

Zhan Zhao's eyes suddenly fell on a point not far away and asked Lu Zhen, "Did Qian Qian like Teacher Zhang very much?"

"En." Lu Zhen nodded.

"If you wanted to give something to the dead teacher Zhang, what would you choose?" Zhan Zhao asked.

"... Flowers?" Bai Yutang said without hesitation, "And put them at the entrance of the classroom."

Zhan Zhao asked again, "She is just a child, she has no money to buy flowers... What will she do?"

"Go pick some?" Bai Yutang started searching around, "Such as in flower beds... parks..." His eyes fell on a flower bed not far from the side of the road, where Zhan Zhao was staring. There were a lot of little white chrysanthemums...

The two looked at each other and quickly walked towards the flower bed. There was a corner behind the flower bed... There was a fence, and behind it was a demolished house—a construction site.

With a bad hunch, the two went around the fence and walked into the abandoned site.

As they continued to go forward, there were several high-rise cement pipes. They stepped up onto the pipes and looked down. The two of them were stunned~~~

They saw a strange circular, red pattern in the open space under the cement pipe. It was the familiar magic array with a small corpse lying in the center of it with a bloody hole gaping in its neck. Bai Yutang called the S.C.I., and then he jumped down. He walked to the side of the body and his hand clenched into a fist. Xiao Lu Zhen, who came down with him, said, "If I had waited with her yesterday..."

Bai Yutang squatted down and held Lu Zhen, who was desperately holding back tears. He hugged him and patted his back to comfort him, "It's not your fault."

Looking back, he saw Zhan Zhao standing still on the concrete pipe, staring blankly. The expression on his face was horrified...

"Kitty?" Bai Yutang walked back to him. In the distance, they heard sirens and a large number of policemen ran over, followed by the schoolteachers, the distressed parents, and the media that heard rumors in the wind...

Zhan Zhao stood silently, as if everything else had nothing to do with him, without saying a word.

"Kitty!" Bai Yutang shook him gently, "What happened to you?"

Zhan Zhao turned to look at him and said, "He is back!"

"What?" Bai Yutang was puzzled.

"That Magic Murderer." Zhan Zhao took a deep breath. "This is not the same as yesterday's case. This is what the original did... He’s come back, as if awakened by yesterday's case."

"Are you sure?" Bai Yutang asked.

"En." Zhan Zhao nodded. "Look, feel it!"

Bai Yutang turned and looked intently at the corpse and magic array at his feet... It indeed had a completely different feeling from the scene the day before. Excitement, enjoyment, intoxication... He shuddered.



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