Chapter 215 They’re Here, They’ve Chased Us Here

Jiangchuan, Luohan Bridge.

Jiang Chaosheng stopped at the doorway of the detective agency and looked up at the sign.

White Cat Detective Agency.

‘This must be the place.’

Jiang Chaosheng stepped inside.

It was a small, two-story building, its interior simple and clean.

No one was inside.

Jiang Chaosheng walked toward the desk.

The desk was situated in the corner by the staircase.

On the wall in that corner, numerous newspaper clippings were pasted.

The newspapers were mostly in English.

Jiang Chaosheng’s English was average, but he could still understand the content.

“Justice may be late, but it is never absent!”

“Mysterious Detective ‘White Cat’ Strikes, Bringing Fugitive ‘Penguin Man’ to Justice!”

“Famed Detective ‘White Cat’ Triumphs Again! Serial Killer Brought to Justice!”

“White Cat, the Greatest Detective of the Century…”

It was clear that Peng Guanhai had used the Homing Mirror to crack many major cases abroad.

Just then, the sound of footsteps rang out.

A gentle voice reached Jiang Chaosheng’s ears:

“Who are you looking for?”

Jiang Chaosheng turned to look.

It was a beautiful woman of mixed heritage, wearing a blue shirt and jeans.

She was holding a wooden box filled with files and books.

Jiang Chaosheng said:

“Is Peng Guanhai here?”

The woman hurried down the stairs, holding the wooden box. She placed the box by the sofa, then turned to look at Jiang Chaosheng and brushed her hair back.

“Grandpa’s in the hospital.”

Jiang Chaosheng asked:

“What happened to him?”

The light in the woman’s eyes dimmed, but she quickly masked it.

“If you need something, you can talk to me. Please, have a seat.”

The woman walked ahead of Jiang Chaosheng, leading him to the sofa. As they walked, she asked:

“Are you here to buy the building? Who referred you?”

Jiang Chaosheng sat on the sofa and accepted the bottle of mineral water the woman offered him.

“I’m not here to buy the building.”

The woman paused.

“Oh, you’re not here to buy the building?”

She looked at Jiang Chaosheng again, her gaze filled with renewed surprise.

‘If he isn’t here to buy the building, then he must be looking for a detective’s help?’

‘Is he trying to catch a cheating spouse or find a missing person?’

‘But none of that matters now. The White Cat Detective Agency is closing in a day or two anyway.’

The woman said apologetically:

“I’m sorry, but we’re not taking on new cases. I’m afraid you’ve made the trip for nothing.”

Jiang Chaosheng set the water bottle aside and said:

“We’re old acquaintances. I’m here to see him about a different matter.”

The woman blinked.

‘Old acquaintances?’

‘This gentleman looks like he’s only in his early twenties.’

‘How could he be an old acquaintance of Grandpa’s?’

The woman scrutinized Jiang Chaosheng.

‘His black shirt and trousers look quite expensive. They must be high-end custom tailoring.’

‘The watch on his wrist looks like an antique.’

‘He also has an indescribable air of nobility about him.’

The woman had learned a great deal from her grandfather; she was a genuine detective in her own right.

Normally, she could size someone up with a single glance, telling what they did for a living or their social standing.

But the man before her didn’t seem like a government official, nor like a typical wealthy man. He was a mystery.

The woman grew more wary of Jiang Chaosheng.

“Grandpa’s not doing well. Even if you do manage to see him, you’ll only be disappointed. He’s in no condition to receive visitors.”

The woman was suspicious of Jiang Chaosheng’s identity.

‘Could he be one of Grandpa’s old enemies?’

‘Grandpa made a lot of enemies back in Meiqi Country.’

Jiang Chaosheng said:

“I won’t disturb him for long. I just want to borrow one of his mirrors for a moment.”

“A mirror?”

The woman’s eyes lit up.

“I know who you are! Grandpa told me about you.”

Jiang Chaosheng raised an eyebrow in surprise.

“You know of me?”

The woman pulled a chair over and sat down in front of Jiang Chaosheng.

“Grandpa has a very beautiful antique mirror. He treasures it. He said he got it from a friend, and that… eventually…”

As she spoke, a flicker of sorrow crossed her expression. She paused for a moment before continuing:

“that after a while, the mirror’s true owner would come to take it back. He told me to wait here in Jiangchuan for the owner to come.”

The woman looked up at Jiang Chaosheng, her expression relaxing slightly.

“You must be a descendant of the ‘friend’ my grandfather mentioned, right? It’s wonderful that you’re finally here. Now I don’t have to keep waiting in Jiangchuan. Once I sell this little building, I can go to Meiqi Country.”

‘The woman figured that her grandfather’s ‘friend’ must be very old by now and couldn’t possibly come to Jiangchuan to retrieve the mirror in person.’

‘Jiang Chaosheng didn’t look much older than she was; he was probably the friend’s grandson or someone similar.’

‘He didn’t seem like a government official or a common rich man, so he had to be the scion of some great, established family.’

‘That antique mirror is priceless, so its owner must belong to one of those great families.’

‘It all fit together perfectly.’

Still, to be cautious, the woman thought for a moment before asking:

“My grandfather’s friend had a title. Sir, do you happen to know what it is?”

Jiang Chaosheng, of course, knew what she was referring to. He replied:

“Manager.”

This time, the woman was completely at ease. She stood up and said:

“In that case, please follow me.”

With that, the woman gestured for Jiang Chaosheng to follow her upstairs.

As they passed the corner of the staircase, the woman looked at the newspaper clippings on the wall, her eyes filled with admiration.

“My family used to live in Meiqi Country. Back then, Grandpa was a very famous detective there. The police department, underground powers, celebrities, tycoons—they all sought my grandfather’s help. Grandpa was incredible. Any case that came his way was solved in no time. Grandpa was especially good at finding people. He used to say there wasn’t a single person in the world he couldn’t find.”

The woman glanced back at Jiang Chaosheng, a bright smile on her face as she spoke:

“He said the mirror was his good luck charm. With it, he was invincible. Grandpa really loved that mirror. Every day, he would secretly take it out in his workshop just to look at it.”

Jiang Chaosheng listened, nodding politely.

‘Of course Peng Guanhai was good at finding people.’

‘The Homing Mirror could find any living being in the Human World. When it came to finding people, it was even more powerful than the Queen’s Magic Mirror.’

Jiang Chaosheng followed the woman upstairs and asked:

“You lived in Meiqi before? Why did you come and settle in Jiangchuan?”

The woman pushed open the door on the second floor, glanced back at Jiang Chaosheng, and sighed.

“Because of some… sad events.”

Jiang Chaosheng followed the woman onto the second floor.

The second floor was laid out as a three-bedroom apartment. It was very clean, but also very empty.

The woman had mentioned that the small building was for sale.

Jiang Chaosheng could sense that the Homing Mirror was in the room to the east.

That must be Peng Guanhai’s workshop.

The woman took a key from her pocket, unlocked the workshop door, and said apologetically:

“It’s a little messy.”

Jiang Chaosheng saw the scene inside, and his eyes narrowed slightly.

‘The famous detective’s workshop wasn’t what he had imagined.’

‘In fact… it was a far cry from it.’

Hanging all around were various kinds of Talisman Paper, as well as Garlic, a Cross, and a Peach Wood Sword—all things meant to ward off evil.

Of course, these were all mundane objects, containing not a single shred of supernatural power.

It was as if Peng Guanhai had been trying to hide from some kind of Ghost.

The woman walked into the room and crouched in front of a safe. As she turned the combination dial, she said:

“I don’t know where Grandpa hid the mirror. I asked him a while ago, but he was already in no condition to answer questions. I’ll have to search for it.”

Jiang Chaosheng’s gaze was drawn to one of the walls.

He drew closer to the wall.

On it was a piece of calligraphy, written by Peng Guanhai.

“A Mage and a detective are no different. A Mage uses Magic to find the Truth; a detective uses logic.”

This piece was written in a neat, orderly hand.

But below this calligraphy, other words had been scrawled directly onto the wall in a frantic, messy hand.

“They’re here! They followed me!”