Chapter 84.2

Tan Wenbin nudged his old man with his elbow. Tan Yunlong glared back at him.

Then both of them laughed.

Just as they reached the dormitory entrance, they saw Lu Yi stepping out with a bag slung over his shoulder.

Tan Wenbin called out first. “Hey, going out this late?”

“Yeah, just nearby. The kid’s got piano and dance classes during the day, only has time at night.”

“Stay safe.”

“Don’t worry. You’re…?” Lu Yi glanced at the man beside Tan Wenbin.

“Oh, this officer asked me to show him the way.”

“Heh, alright then.” Lu Yi nodded, waved, and left.

Once inside the dorm building, Tan Wenbin pointed. “Dad, this is Ran Qiuping’s office.”

“No need to say the name so smoothly next time.”

“Got it.”

The window was shut. When they opened the door, they found someone standing inside.

Tan Wenbin’s eyes narrowed. He recognized the man—he’d told them stories in Shinan Town and had even done a session at Grandpa Li’s house. It was Yu Shu.

Farzi-ge had always been wary of his identity and preferred to steer clear of him.

Tan Yunlong recognized him too and took the initiative. “Mr. Yu, good evening.”

“Officer Tan, evening.” Yu Shu returned the greeting, then turned to Tan Wenbin. “Young man, we meet again.”

“Ah, yes, good evening, storyteller.”

“You’re a student here?”

“Yes, that’s right. Mr. Yu, are you performing at our school?”

“Heh, do you live here?”

“Yeah, I do.”

“Then let’s go to your dorm. I’m thirsty.”

“Sure, no problem.”

Yu Shu looked to Tan Yunlong. “What a coincidence—I had no idea your son studied here too.”

Tan Yunlong paused. Suddenly, his unexpected job transfer started making a bit more sense.

Tan Wenbin led the way. Yu Shu and Tan Yunlong followed. The other officers remained behind to carry out a routine inspection of Ran Qiuping’s office.

“Officer Tan, do you believe in fate?”

Tan Yunlong didn’t answer. Instead, he solemnly removed his cap and put it back on.

“Apologies, that was presumptuous. I only meant—your son seems to bring you luck.”

“That little brat—if he hasn’t killed me from sheer frustration, then I must be lucky.”

From up ahead, Tan Wenbin raised both arms, clearly annoyed. “My mom said there were auspicious omens when I was born. There was even a red glow in the night sky!”

“That was the cotton mill next to the hospital catching fire.”

Tan Yunlong did believe someone brought him luck. Just not his son. Someone else.

On the third floor, Tan Wenbin casually opened Lu Yi’s dorm room.

“Come in, have a seat. Don’t be shy.”

He grabbed a box of loose cigarettes from the little table and offered them to his dad and Yu Shu. Then he picked up a smoked sausage, snapped it into pieces, and shared it out too.

Aside from his own and Farzi’s room, this was the dorm he was most familiar with. He was practically the dorm guardian spirit here.

Yu Shu asked, “Why’s there only your bed? The others are all empty?”

“Ah, bad luck during assignments. Got stuck sharing a room with a sophomore. Right now, it’s just us freshmen on early entry—upperclassmen haven’t returned yet.”

Tan Yunlong could tell at a glance that this wasn’t his son’s dorm. The bedding and daily items could’ve been brought from home, but the settled dust on the storage bins and items told another story—this room wasn’t newly occupied.

He said nothing.

Yu Shu, not being a criminal investigator, didn’t notice the details. That wasn’t his domain.

Taking a bite of sausage, Yu Shu nodded. “Tastes authentic.”

“Of course it does. My buddy from the northeast gave it to me.”

Though the red sausage ghost hadn’t come by for a while, Lu Yi still kept up the offering habit. It wouldn’t go to waste anyway—whatever he offered during the day, he ate at night.

His parents worked at a meat processing plant back home and sent him packages regularly.

In short, no matter what, he wasn’t going to let the hometown ghost go hungry. You never knew when it might drop by for a nostalgic snack.

“Officer Tan, shall we?”

“Alright.”

“Then, Dad, Mr. Yu, I’ll leave you to it. I’ve got laundry to do.”

Once his father and Yu Shu had left the dorm, Tan Wenbin finally relaxed.

He definitely couldn’t bring Yu Shu to his and Farzi’s room. That place had door wards set up by Farzi—not to mention the high heels.

Outside the dorm building, Yu Shu popped the last bit of sausage into his mouth. “Officer Tan, the higher-ups are paying a lot of attention to this case. Got any leads?”

“I still think the key lies in the case from seven years ago. I suspect the real killer hasn’t been caught yet.”

Yu Shu nodded, though he didn’t much care about the case itself. He just responded politely. “Then follow that thread in your investigation. I’ll be heading off.”

Tan Yunlong gathered his new colleagues and headed to the next investigation site.

Meanwhile, Li Zhuiyuan was completely unaware that his “home base” had almost been compromised.

Of course, even if he had known, there wouldn’t have been anything he could do.

He’d come to fetch something from Ah Li, but Aunt Liu told him Liu Yumei wanted a word with him and had him wait in the study.

These days, every time he came over—after playing with Ah Li—Liu Yumei would call him to the study for a chat. And every time, she’d have him wait there first.

The first time they talked in the study, Li Zhuiyuan hadn’t thought much of it. The conversation had involved “walking the shade” and the “cursed book.”

But after a few more casual but pointed chats, if he still couldn’t figure it out, he’d be shaming every provincial-level exam top scorer, third-place medalist, and the whole host of “distinguished scholars” that followed.

That book, The Liu Clan’s Art of Observing Qi, was always placed front and center—and Granny Liu’s eyes would practically bore holes into it during their talks.

She wanted to take him as a disciple.

That book was the initiation gift.

Even once he understood her intent, Li Zhuiyuan still had to play dumb and avoid taking the bait.

Truth be told, he wanted to join the Liu family school. In fact, he’d already used their name a few times in the field.

It was just that the people he revealed the identity to ended up dead shortly after—otherwise, Liu Yumei might’ve already heard that someone from the Liu family had started walking the shade.

If he did become a disciple, he’d have to call Ah Li “senior sister,” wouldn’t he?

The boy even came up with a workaround: since Ah Li’s surname was Qin, she probably inherited from the Qin family. Even if it turned out she was Liu instead of Qin, it didn’t matter.

He’d already mastered both the Qin and Liu family secrets. Whichever Ah Li inherited, he’d just pick the other—he had to stay on equal footing.

He was willing, but there was still a process to follow.

His high school principal and others had already paved the way. Even though he was set on Haihe University, it didn’t mean he should turn down all the perks and bargaining chips.

In his eyes, joining a sect was like applying to university.

He wasn’t some Qin-Liu family native-born.

This was a mutual choice.

Whatever value she thought he was worth—she should name her price.

A children's edition of The Liu Clan’s Art of Observing Qi wasn’t enough for an initiation gift. It was a loss for him. After all, once he joined, he’d inevitably have to hand over the advanced version himself.

That’d be like paying for his own servitude.

Really, it wasn’t greed or pettiness. It was because he wasn’t alone—he had Runsheng, Wenbin, and Yin Meng behind him.

He might not need it for himself, but he had to secure some status and benefits for his companions.

For instance, he wanted Granny Liu to call Uncle Qin back to give Runsheng and the others private lessons—teach them some skills.

He really wasn’t much of a teacher himself, especially starting from the basics. At the very least, he needed to get them a proper set of “introductory materials.”

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