The Yu Brother’s Case Book - S2: Book 5 Prologue + : Chapter 1

What promises have you made before?

Blood slowly spread out from her body.

From beginning to end, she had never understood the world of adults, never understood how the adults would always say this and that couldn’t be done. They would solemnly vow things left and right, yet never abide by them.

Everything – on television or the internet – were mistakes that adults had made first.

“It’s 1:13 AM. That was a broadcast request from listener Little Sheep. DJ Sanchia also loves this song. How is everyone doing at the moment? Hopefully all of you are doing well.”

The soft and gentle voice played from the radio just as it did every night.

She really liked it. This zǐzi’s voice was relaxing to listen to.

If only she had a zǐzi like this too.

“Next, Sanchia will play a song she personally likes. Before it though, Sanchia will first tell everyone a funny story from experience. There was a time when Sanchia wanted to watch the sunrise on New Year’s. Because of some minor misunderstandings with a boyfriend, Sanchia gained an inexplicable amount of nerve to drive the boyfriend’s car away in the middle of the night to run into the mountains alone….it was really frightening. Luckily, a passerby offered help and became a new friend~ But what Sanchia really wants to tell everyone is that in the future, don’t ever risk your own safety in a bout of anger. It’s very dangerous. And if you have anything on your mind, make sure to properly communicate them with those around you. Sometimes, resolving misunderstandings will make you realise that they were really not a big deal. All of you should treasure yourselves closely no matter what.”

Melodious music was played once again.

She watched and listened.

But she still did not understand.

If one received punishment for doing wrong, then shouldn’t adults be unpardonable too?

She didn’t understand.

She refused to accept it.

She could not accept it.

***

“Yes, no problems over here.”

With the cellphone held up by his shoulder, he placed his things in his backpack as he said, “I did, I got the photo. It’s really great that everything went smoothly. I think you guys should be receiving the congratulatory gift soon…Mhm, Xiao Hai helped pick it out…it’s good if you like it. I’ll pass the thank-you onto her.”

He walked down the stairs as he listened to the other person’s somewhat heartfelt words.

“No, for the time being, it’s best to keep things the way we originally planned. I like this place very much and don’t plan on leaving at the moment. It has nothing to do with you, don’t worry too much. It’s very nice here.”

After exchanging a few more words, he ended the call and took the helmet from the male waiting for him at the door.

“I won’t be returning tonight. All of you should just rest early.” As usual, he swung his backpack onto his back and leaned against the doorway to wait for his friend.

He had clearly already stated that he was fine driving himself, yet for a while now, simply gripping the handle would result in a bunch of people fussing over nothing. It didn’t matter if it was at home, school, or even gatherings. The instant anyone saw him walking towards a parking lot or put a hand on a motorcycle, they would panic and find various excuses to push him away.

He chuckled somewhat helplessly. They really are a group of worrywarts.

“There was a call from that place in the morning,” the male said in a reverent tone. “To ask for the details about your current living conditions.”

“Hm?” So they had actually called to question others too…

“Everything is as usual.” The male said this without batting an eyelid, having said the same words to deceive the hired delegate this morning.

“Thank you.” The black helmet he was playing with had printed silver-lined art on it. It was something that Ah Fang had gotten not long ago. Since he had thought it was quite good-looking, he had directly used his own to swap as a trade.

It was just as before, when the other party had used his position at school as an exchange. They did not find anything wrong with this.

“They hope that you will quickly defer your studies and transfer over to their side to live.”

“I believe that my current life is better for everyone. Besides, I do not wish to change. If they ask again next time, just say that I’ll discuss these matters with them after graduation.” He stared off at the lights gradually getting closer to the entrance. Then he nodded at the male next to him. “That’s it then, see you tomorrow.”

“Please be careful on the road.”

The beautiful house in the darkness, the people that helped sort out his everyday life, and his family members that were far away on the other side of the world.

He chuckled again and walked over the motorbike stopped right outside the house.

“Sorry, I was dragged into helping Xiao Hai when I was heading out.” His friend that he had arranged to meet with spoke in a slightly embarrassed tone.

“It’s fine, I only just stepped out.” He put on the helmet and easily jumped onto the backseat.

“To the same place as usual?”

“Yes.”

“Time to set off then.”

“That one there…”

“What is an officer doing eating together with a judge…”

There were many people animatedly chatting with each other outside the court.

The warm air mixed with the stifling atmosphere. Some had rushed over here from very far away, some were complete strangers. Every single person waited outside for results and complained in dissatisfaction.

“Unfair and unjust…”

He was there, watching.

He…he would eventually find it one day.

***

“Jiu Shen!”

“Uwahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh—”

It was early morning. Ah Liu, who had kindly stepped into the break room to wake the other person up, widened his eyes in fright at the sharp scream. He just barely managed to keep the cup of hot coffee in his hand stable enough to not pour all over the face of a certain person that had been sleeping like the dead on the floor. After tightening his grip on the coffee, he swatted his friend’s head in exasperation. “Wake up, you nearly scared me to death. If you’re always like this when you get up, I won’t call you next time.” Getting hit by this kind of sound wave attack first thing in the morning will seriously be the death of me.

Jiu Shen shrank back and only truly woke up a few seconds later. He somewhat shakily climbed up from the ice-cold ground. “Er, ah, sorry. Weird, how did I fall asleep on the floor…” He clearly remembered having laid down on the nearby sofa last night. Moreover, he had been wearing a jacket. He eyed the sofa and saw that the jacket was draped over the back of the couch for some reason. He had no idea how he had slept last night.

“It’s not good for you to keep going like this. There’s a bed for you to sleep in, yet you choose to sleep on the break room sofa every day since you’re tempted by the closeness. Now you’re even sleeping on the floor. Be careful of getting sick.” Ah Liu passed over the coffee to his friend and shook his head, slightly worried about his colleague’s physical condition. “I must say, aren’t you going a bit too hard? No matter how much overtime you work, your salary won’t increase much. It’s fine if you put off the cases that can wait, right?” Every one of them had a long list of things to deal with and items waiting for test results. They could only take them in sequential order or based on urgency. It was impossible to complete every task as soon as it was received.

“Ah…I’m not. It’s just that I forget the time as I’m working. Work has been relatively more relaxed recently.” Jiu Shen rubbed his face and took a small sip of the hot coffee, quickly driving away the chills on his body. “I have the day off today…the director said that if I don’t go back to sleep, he’d kick me out. So I’ll be heading home to sleep in a bit and won’t come back until tomorrow afternoon.” It was because he had been thinking of today’s day off that he had wanted to quickly make a certain amount of progress on all his work…but in the end, he had been busy the entire night.

“Then you should’ve just gone back to sleep last night after work,” Ah Liu retorted. Then he stuck his head into the workroom and caught sight of the paper on the table. “Someone sent something over this morning?”

“Yeah, it was transferred. What did you receive, Ah Liu?” Jiu Shen yawned again. He had fallen asleep right after signing for the transfer earlier.

“Investigating an engine serial number.” Ah Liu sat down and opened his breakfast before handing over half to his colleague. “You know how a few months ago, the issue of many young bikers street-racing had gotten very severe? Tong went to support that case, but the occurrences later dropped so it was temporarily just being observed instead. In the end, there was a report two weeks ago that a brawl between youths had broken out at a deserted temple on the mountains. When we arrived at the scene, there was only a large amount of blood and a single bike. The bike didn’t have a license plate, so it might be a stolen vehicle. Most important was the amount of blood; it was to the extent of being fatal.”

“Ah, I know, I saw it on the news. So that one belongs to you guys?”

“It was just transferred over two days ago. I don’t know why, but the inspector that originally accepted it said there were some issues, which was why it was given to me.” He did not know the reason either. It was clearly just a very ordinary inspection, yet there was something wrong? It had not been explained clearly over the phone. In the end, Ah Liu had taken it regardless and was planning on finding time to deal with it. At the same time, he could repay the favour he had inquired from the other person last time for a rush result.

“…Some-something wrong?” Jiu Shen shuddered.

Ah Liu cocked his head to the side in thought. He patted his friend’s shoulder and carefully said, “You’ve been too high-strung recently, always thinking about every scenario in the wrong direction. It’s better for one’s life perspective to be positive and progressive. You really should adapt yourself, especially since our profession is always under a large amount of pressure.”

Jiu Shen stared at his friend in deep pain before finally answering, “Ah Liu, I’m not feeling pressure from work…seriously.” He just felt that the unscientific things were becoming too frequent these days, making him feel as though he had done something wrong in life.

Was it like this before?

His everyday lifestyle should have been very ordinary! Get out of bed in the morning, eat, work, then get off work, eat, sleep. There was absolutely nothing out of place! But why were there suddenly so many things that shouldn’t appear popping up in front of him now?!

Ah Liu flicked Jiu Shen’s forehead and stood up after he had finished eating. As he stretched, he said, “In any case, it is what it is. Just be good and go home to rest up. Don’t overthink things, loosen up and relax. Once Prosecutor Li returns, everything will be starting back up, and you won’t be able to rest by then even if you wanted to.”

“Yeah, I’ve made arrangements already.” Jiu Shen nodded and curled his hands into fists. “After I finish sleeping in the afternoon, my mom and I have agreed to meet up at night to request for a protection charm and get a soul-summoning¹. We’ll also be dropping by Tachia and Lukang, so I’ll buy some cream pastries to bring back!” He had already planned everything! All the charms that had broken last time would be replaced with new ones this time!

For a second, Ah Liu felt as though his expression could not be more deadpanned. “You’re even more superstitious than my godson.” The kid would always talk about people inviting things at school or whatever, and that was annoying enough. Yet in the end, his colleague’s conduct was the exact same.

“It’s not a question of superstition, it’s really very important.” Jiu Shen’s mental state was already nearly at its limit due to the recent events. He seriously added, “If I don’t go soon, I’ll have to write a transfer application again…” The last time he had written one resulted in it being tossed back at him, then having the director chew him out about whether he felt like he had a lot of time to waste, or if he just wanted to get on the news. It had been quite hurtful. Why can’t wanting to transfer into a more scientific position be an acceptable reason? Why?!

“Yes, yes…just go the extra mile and get two soul-summonings.” Strictly speaking, Ah Liu believed that soul-summoning and praying belonged to the same “unscientific” category his friend spoke of. Yet Jiu Shen could accept something as unscientific as soul-summoning and not unscientific ghosts floating in the air. What exactly is the reason for that? It was a truth that people chose their own scope of knowledge that they were willing to accept. “Oh right, I’ve always wondered this, but why are you so afraid of ghosts? And strange things?”

Jiu Shen shuddered and shot a terrified look at his friend suddenly bringing up this question. “This place shouldn’t have any at the moment, right?”

“It’s not like I’m Ah Yin, how would I know.” Ah Liu spread his hands. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard you talk about it.”

After a beat of silence, Jiu Shen’s brain felt a flash of pain. Shaking his head, he hurriedly replied, “There isn’t a reason…I’m just scared…like how people are scared of cockroaches…” It was like how he couldn’t understand why there were people that would jump out windows just to flee after seeing a cockroach. In the past, someone had even leapt out from the third floor because they had spotted a roach, eventually getting stuck on a canopy only to require rescue from alerted officers.

“But when we watched a horror film last time, you didn’t seem afraid.” Ah Liu crossed his arms and asked, his interest in this question suddenly piqued. Truthfully speaking, there were not that many people in this line of work that would be so excessively terrified like this. While most would undoubtedly be frightened at the beginning, they would grow used to it over time. For someone like Jiu Shen to have persevered for this long was no simple feat.

“That’s not the same since I know it’s just a movie. Moreover, that was a homicidal maniac, a type of human – not a ghost. That day, we were the only ones in the theatre, discussing the means of death while watching. And the way they died was impossible from a normal perspective; those organs and wounds weren’t very realistic either. The murderer pulling out the intestines wasn’t that scary, since the intestines looked very off…I think the crime scenes that Boss previously dragged me to were more horrifying! Crime scenes in films don’t have odours either, it’s all just the smell of popcorn. Besides, the movie translations were a bit weird too. How could I be afraid of that?” Jiu Shen very earnestly responded to the question about the last film they had watched. He tilted his head and added, “But if you wanted me to watch a ghost movie, I wouldn’t go.” Regardless if the ghosts were real or fake, he would have to politely decline.

Eating popcorn dispels the scariness? This guy was clearly eating it himself though! Ah Liu suddenly thought that he really should plan a way to get this guy to go watch a ghost film as he huffed back, “The way you differentiate these things is what’s actually unscientific.”

“Huh?” Jiu Shen stared blankly.

“Forget it, just hurry back home.”

***

“Senior Jiu Shen~”

After submitting his report, Jiu Shen was just about to head home when he heard someone call out his name at the far end of the hallway. When he turned his head, he saw Xiao Wu jogging over with a huge paper box in his arms. “Senior, are you off work now?”

“Mhm, do you need something?” Xiao Wu, who was one of the newer recruits, was currently running all over the place with Yu Xia. He had previously gone to the eastern sector to wrap things up too. But that case needed to wait for some of the bodies to be claimed, so their progress in closing the case was a bit slow. Jiu Shen tilted his head in thought before adding, “Or does Boss need something?”

“No, no, I just called out to you since I spotted you. My girlfriend bought a lot of food when she went to Zhanghua with her colleagues yesterday. She brought everything over to visit just earlier and wanted me to bring some in.” He gestured for the other person to look at the paper box, pointing at the large pile of longan cakes. “There’s some savoury mochi at the bottom too. Does Senior Jiu Shen want to bring a box back home to eat? They’re quite delicious.”

“Thank you!” Jiu Shen gratefully accepted the food filled with his colleague’s kindness. “Did you give any to Boss?”

“Boss seems to be off today.” He had originally wanted to offer it to his superior first, but when he had gotten the chance to ask others, he found out that the director had angrily called Boss this morning to reprimand him and tell him not to come in today. Thus, Xiao Wu could only save a portion for now and hand some to Yu Tong later. “Oh right, Senior Jiu Shen, there’s something I’ve always really wanted to ask you…”

“What is it?” Jiu Shen bit into a cake, surprised to see Xiao Wu’s expression turn very serious.

“Why was I directly sent to Boss’s unit the instant I entered?” Actually, when Xiao Wu had reported in, he hadn’t even completely understood the conditions of the new position before he had been swept into Yu Xia’s unit. There were a few other classmates that had entered together with him and had reported in at around the same time. However, most had been placed in less important positions to slowly learn. Thus, he had been feeling very doubtful: why exactly had he been placed in this unit with such important cases despite having only slightly above average scores? He had not been one of the top excelling students in the academy either.

“…Did you encounter Xia when you first reported in?”

“Now that you mention it, I really did bump into Boss when I first arrived! And I even asked him where to go to report in! But honestly speaking, his face looked a bit unfriendly that day.” Xiao Wu struck his palm with a fist and raised his head, only to freeze. “Eh…er…Senior-Senior Yu Tong?”

Jiu Shen fearfully stared at one of the twins had suddenly popped up out of nowhere.

“Then how did you ask him at the time?” Yu Tong pushed his glasses up as he smiled at Xiao Wu, who had taken two steps backwards.

“Although I wasn’t sure if he was a related person, I caught sight of his pistol and it seemed like he was heading out to work. So I think I asked something like: ‘Senior, may I ask if you know where I should report in?’.” Despite being somewhat intimidated, Xiao Wu still gave an earnest answer. “Does that have any relation?”

“Do you know how your classmates asked for directions that day?” Yu Tong was still smiling.

“How did they ask?” Xiao Wu actually hadn’t inquired those that had joined the same time as him. However, he had felt that those classmates had acted strangely that day. All of them had looked like they had eaten something bad, with horrible complexions as they had clutched their stomachs. When he had asked if they wanted stomach medicine, they had only shot him withering looks.

“They didn’t ask. But they did say: ‘The student over there, high schools should be having class right now, shouldn’t they? Why aren’t you in class? Don’t just wander around aimlessly around here.’.” Yu Tong’s smile remained unchanged.

“Xiao-Xiao Wu, it’s just how things worked out. You should hurry and go somewhere else.” Jiu Shen hurriedly pushed Xiao Wu as he shot a terrified look at Yu Tong.

“Pfft.” Xiao Wu had definitely witnessed Yu Xia beating quite a few rude speakers, so he was amused by this. However, his doubts were not yet dispelled. “But what does that have to do with me being dragged into Boss’s group?”

“Because the group was lacking people at the time. The higher-ups said that Xia had to choose someone or else they wouldn’t dispatch him. You were the only one among the candidates that wasn’t that foolish.” Yu Tong looked at Jiu Shen, who was trying to cover Xiao Wu’s mouth, and chuckled. This made Jiu Shen break out into more cold sweat.

“So that’s what it was! Good thing I didn’t actually say it that day. Honestly, when I first saw him, I wasn’t sure if Boss was a student or not either. At first, I also wanted to ask why there was a student wandering around!” Once the realisation dawned on him, Xiao Wu grinned and said, “But Boss really does look young! Ah Yin practically looks older! In a few years, people might start referring to him as Ah Yin’s younger brother…”

“Uwaaaaaaaa!” Jiu Shen directly cut off the other’s words with a wild shout. He was incomparably frightened as he tugged on Xiao Wu, “Hurry up and bring the food somewhere else! Don’t waste Tong’s time!”

If you don’t go soon—

You’ll be killed for sureeeeeee!

This “Tong” is wearing prescription-less glasses, ahhhhhhhh—

Jiu Shen, who had noticed this fact from the very beginning, was beyond terrified for his reckless, 7.5-month old duckling junior.

“Huh? Ah? That’s true, sorry for disturbing…” Xiao Wu was completely lost, unable to figure out why Jiu Shen’s expression had changed so drastically. He picked up his souvenirs and continued off to search for other colleagues.

When Jiu Shen turned his head, he saw “Yu Tong”’s face undergo a 180-degree change. “Why didn’t you let him continue? What did you interrupt him for? Hm?”

“Sor-sorry…sorry…” Jiu Shen hurriedly backpedalled and trembled in fear. He nearly blurted out something like “Master, please don’t behead me”.

“If you have nothing to do then scram back home to rest.” Seeing how poor the other’s complexion looked, Yu Xia couldn’t be bothered to discipline him. Instead, once he finished handling some of his work, he would go find that idiot Xiao Wu to teach him a lesson.

“Boss, please make sure Xiao Wu is still breathing. He’s a good person…really…” Would Xiao Wu still be here when Jiu Shen came back tomorrow? Jiu Shen was very concerned for his colleague’s safety.

“If you continue wasting your breath instead of getting lost, you’ll stop breathing before he does!”

“Sorry!”

When he escaped from the station, it was still early.

Jiu Shen yawned as he somewhat dispiritedly walked towards the nearby parking lot.

Hang in there, just hang in there for a bit.

He patted his own face and took in a deep breath.

Prosecutor Li will officially return to work in a few days. When that happens, Boss and the others will definitely get busy again, and I can’t be the one dragging them down. The matters Ah Liu had previously mentioned to him indicated that there was already a major case, so he had to do his best to maintain his best condition. He couldn’t go on thinking about other miscellaneous things.

My work is in the lab, right…ahaha…

“Arghhhhh why did the gods have to give me this job! It’s so conflicting!” He really loved the people here and also loved the work. However, he did not like the ghosts that came with it! Ahhhh! I really want to transfer to a position without those floaty things! Why is Boss’s annihilation system ineffective against ghosts!

No matter what today, he would have to request for a divination to ask about the prospects of his future fortune!

“Aren’t you the one from the labs…?”

As Jiu Shen was cradling his head and crouched down in the corner of the wall, he heard a slightly familiar voice. He raised his head and was surprised to see the very smart child standing in front of him. “Ah, did you come looking for Boss and the others?” He jumped up from the ground. Jiu Shen had not seen this child the last incident, and had only heard bits and pieces of information from others that the boy had been brought home by their parents. Now, the boy’s complexion appeared to be significantly better than before. It seemed that he was still being properly taken care of at home.

“I’m not.” Dong Feng clicked his tongue as he glanced behind him. He had been forcibly dragged here. “My…my mom wants to find Officer Yu and the others for something.”

Jiu Shen followed the boy’s gaze and really did spot a woman wearing a suit get out of a sports car in the distance. Although her manner of dress was very plain and simple, one could tell that the clothing’s quality and design were quite good, likely this season’s newest product. Upon closer look, the female’s facial outline was a bit similar to Dong Feng’s; she was a beautiful woman. “Your mom is very pretty.” For that matter, if this boy ate and grew properly, he would probably be very good-looking too. It was a pity that this face belonged to a boy. If it belonged to a girl, it might have even been the type that he liked – big eyes, pale skin, looks a bit refined. However, he still preferred if they had a bit more flesh. Girls were the best when they had some flesh on them, as it made them look healthy and well.

“That has nothing to do with me.” Dong Feng shifted his eyes away to stare at the ground next to them. “Shouldn’t you hurry back home when you’re on vacation?”

“How did you know I was on vacation?” Jiu Shen coughed as he was dragged back from his wandering thoughts, then asked this question in confusion.

“From your expression, your clothes, the items you were carrying…I won’t say anymore.” When the woman began walking in their direction, Dong Feng immediately shut his mouth.

After the woman approached them and exchanged self-introductions and name cards with Jiu Shen, the latter finally realised that Dong Feng’s family background was not anywhere close to poor. Aside from the fact that his mother had personally created a digital company, his father was the chairman of a major hospital that had retired a few years ago. However, because he had gotten restless, he had begun serving as a consultant for multiple companies and had a large amount of savings. He also had investments on various things, most of which earned back a decent amount. He had bought multiple assets in different locations, with one of them being a very famous biotechnology company that had been thriving extremely well in the last two years.

“Dong Feng was difficult to locate after he moved. I am truly grateful for all of you to have taken care of him this time.” The woman smiled with a positive and intimate attitude, then saluted him. “We really can’t do much about him. In the past, we once learned of his whereabouts just because a university had sent materials to our home…we hadn’t even known he had applied to university. It was the same when he later quit school; we heard everything from Zi Hong.”

“Eh, it was us that received a large amount of help….”

After exchanging some conventional greetings, the woman indicated the reason for her visit. In actuality, it was because she had wanted to express her gratitude towards several related people. In the end, she told Jiu Shen that she would be temporarily staying here for a few days to confirm Dong Feng was completely fine before going back to work. In addition, she welcomed him to visit for a meal if he had the time.

Jiu Shen saw the mother and son off and then stretched his muscles.

As expected, having family really is great. It was just like how he would often call up his dad and mom. Even while living away from home, there were still others worrying about him. This was especially motivating for work.

On that topic, he had recently heard from Boss and the others that ever since Zheng Zhong Hui’s incident had passed, Ah Yin seemed to spend most of his time locked up in his room to work on his graduation exhibit. He obediently went to school and his part-time job as well. He had also become very taciturn and did not attend any friend hangouts, only occasionally chatting with Yu…I hope he’s alright. I’ll request a charm for him tonight too! Then I’ll find some time to pay him a visit.

Truthfully, Jiu Shen could more or less understand the other’s complicated mindset. The boy had been frequently running over to pass on messages from ghosts for a long time now. Sometimes it was with feelings of unfading joy, sometimes it was with happiness from being able to help, and they always seemed to progress pretty well afterwards. However, as the violence and severity level of the crime’s details had become increasingly more complicated and serious, the older boy had eventually discovered that he could no longer continue dabbling here and there in a relaxed manner.

In addition, the more he got involved, the more pressure he would feel. The number of people or things targeting him would grow as well. While running away for the rest of his life could work, everything that had accumulated would eventually burst out.

…Just like how he didn’t want to face floaty things.

Moreover, it was not just him saying these things. They had all noticed ages ago that the frequency in which these things would come knocking on their door had increased. After helping once, they would appear more frequently. Their degree of yearning and disturbances would not be as easily resolved as before either.

That was basically how everything summed up.

He, Boss, and the others had passed this hurdle long ago. Knowing what was important, what one should do, how one should position themselves, and when to draw the line.

These were all aspects that ultimately needed to be realised by the individuals themselves.

***

“Xiao Jiu, open up!”

Despite having arranged to meet at night, Jiu Shen’s mom came knocking on his apartment door a few hours after Jiu Shen had buried himself in his bed.

Jiu Shen sleepily opened the door, and a slightly chubby woman strode in carrying various sized bags. “There was an earlier ride, so I just came over first. These are things that your aunts wanted to give you. Have you not slept enough? Why are your dark circles so bad? Why don’t we go pray another day?”

“I have, I have, I’ve slept enough.” He rubbed his face hard and quickly helped carry the hefty bags of items. He was a bit surprised that his mom had been able to run over while carrying such heavy bags. If he had known ahead of time, he would have driven over to pick her up. Lugging around so much weight honestly wasn’t very good for the body…But he had previously told her this multiple times in the past and it had been of no use. “Are my cousins doing well?”

“That bunch of troublemakers are still the same as always. Your aunts’ jobs have been doing pretty well. You didn’t come back for the family reunion meal over New Year’s this time, but they were even betting how many times you would have to request for a transfer before you succeeded. Ah right, this bag was something they wanted me to give you. Originally, they were going to get it delivered, but I told them not to waste that money. Since I was already going to come over, just bringing it was enough.” The woman opened the bag that was filled with different flavoured puffed corn snacks. “I have no idea what they’re trying to do.”

“…” While he really did want to transfer, Jiu Shen suddenly did not want to submit an application after hearing these words. His older cousins would always play around with him for their own amusement. If he really did successfully transfer, he might end up being teased for many years. This premonition only grew stronger as he stared at the dozen or so bags of puffed corn snacks. If had thought of this earlier, he wouldn’t have told his family about the unscientific events that had occurred…now they were all just making fun of him.

“Oh yes, these are for the very thin child that you previously mentioned.” The woman pulled Jiu Shen to bend down as she opened the remaining bags one after the other. “The neighbourhood warden also has a relative like that, only ever eating a bit at a time. And when you try to make the child eat a bit more, they just throw it all back up. That’s why they’re also looking for many different cookbooks for meal replacements and such. I asked them for some to see if it would be of any use. A few of these are for Ah Tong’s group. You can give them to him – he’ll know what to do with them. This bag is meat from a wild boar that Ah Song just killed today; it’s very fresh and different from anything you can buy at the market. Keep it in the fridge for now so that it doesn’t spoil. Also, this is the lard they made…”

After sorting out all the different bags, Jiu Shen mentally started calculating how many insulated bags he would need to find tomorrow as he changed his clothes to go out.

“Xiao Jiu, you aren’t injured anywhere else, are you?” The woman sat next to the short table to drink tea as she watched her son. “You…the last time you were shot, you didn’t even tell us. You have no idea how worried everyone was…” When her child had previously gotten shot because of work, it had not been on the news nor had he notified them. Thus, they had only learned of the matter afterwards, and they had all been extremely concerned.

“Nah, that was an accident. He hadn’t purposely fired at me either.” Jiu Shen touched the scars on his stomach and his hand as he put his clothes on. He suddenly began to wonder if he should find time to pay them a visit one day. After all, they had been colleagues in the past. It was a bit sad to not have anyone visit, and their relationship had not been poor before. It had simply been a wrong notion that had led to regret; truly a pity. “It’s not normally like that. Usually I’m always in the lab, enjoying the AC. It’s more dangerous for Boss and the others.” As long as no floaty things drift in, my work environment is actually paradise, sigh….

“Hmph. You’re usually spacing out dumbly so you should just keep away from danger. You have no idea how distressed everyone at home is to see how there’s danger here and danger there on the news when watching TV. Everyone worries about you getting injured. If the chief sends you somewhere dangerous, lay low so you won’t get shot. If there’s really no other way, we can still support you if you came home – it’s fine even if you just end up selling fried chicken cutlets. At least that way, you won’t constantly be getting into trouble.” The woman sighed as she patted her child’s arm.

“I’ll hide very far away,” Jiu Shen automatically replied. He was somewhat glad that he had begged for the others not to inform his family that time, so that he could tell them himself only after he had mostly recovered and left the hospital. At least that way, he could instantly eliminate majority of their concern…and the possibility of getting struck by danger. Afterwards, Yu Tong had made some time to cook many nutritious foods for him, and there hadn’t been any serious repercussions from the incident either, a sign of fortune among the misfortune.

Plus, the nutritious meals that Tong makes are seriously delicious.

The moment Jiu Shen recalled the beyond luxurious, high-quality food, he even started to drool a bit. Naturally, his mom had visited afterwards and made him plenty of food to recover as well. He had gained nearly 2.5 kilograms during that period. Sometimes, it was very difficult to tell if getting injured was actually a good thing or a bad thing.

“You…”

“I know, I know. Let’s just quickly head out. We still need to go to several places. We can talk more on the way.”

***

Upon leaving, Jiu Shen drove to a temple on the mountain per his mom’s directions.

While it was not the famous and large temple that they would be visiting later, it was a bit similar. There were some peddlers gathered outside like some other temples. Lit-up candles gave off thin trails of smoke that carried a faint fragrance as it coiled through the air.

After paying respects, the woman dragged Jiu Shen over to perform a poe divination for requesting an amulet.

Jiu Shen was very familiar with the entire process as well. As he internally chanted: Please, let me properly live the rest of my life without interacting with anymore unscientific things, he threw the poe.

Usually, he would get a definitive response from the gods after a few tries. However, he kept getting the laughing response no matter how many times he tossed the poe.

Whyyyyyy—

Jiu Shen stared at the smiling wooden god statue on the platform, and very fearfully continued throwing a few times. Yet he still did not get a single , and he kept receiving the laughing response. Then he continued, and continued again, spending nearly half an hour. Even the master of the temple walked over to take a look.

“Xiao Jiu, did you show disrespect towards the gods?” The woman that had stood next to him to watch for a while now suspiciously raised this question.

“No, I’m super sincere…!” He was on the verge of tears by now.

It’s not like I’m praying to win the lottery!

My only meagre wish is for the gods to bless me with peace for the rest of my life!

He tossed it many more times, but it still gave him the same laughing answer.

Jiu Shen was starting to feel his spirit on the verge of collapsing. He seriously had no idea what he had done wrong. Don’t tell me that it’s because I shouldn’t have eaten too much mochi before sleeping? As he repented in his heart for eating too much, he tossed the poe once again. But what happened afterwards just made him want to slam his head into a pillar.

The thrown poe collided into each other and somehow landed to show a standing answer.

“The gods have spoken. Go ahead and request for a divination.” The master standing next to him suddenly spoke up. After putting his palms together to pray, the master grabbed a new pair of poe and handed them to Jiu Shen. “Ask the gods if they want to tell you something.”

“Huh? Ah? Ok…” Could it be that the gods were really telling him to go sell chicken cutlets? He was a bit suspicious and creeped out, but since he had already gotten the standing poe, Jiu Shen could only obediently ask if something was wrong. Then he threw the poe, and the result nearly made him jump back.

The poe were lying on opposite faces [in divine answer] in front of him.

“The gods really do seem to have something to tell you. Xiao Jiu, keep going.” The woman grabbed onto her son’s clothes. Even without looking, she knew that her son wanted to run away, so she made sure to forcibly keep him trying.

After receiving a divine answer thrice in succession, Jiu Shen was starting to find today terrifying. Then he was forced to try drawing bamboo sticks, and throwing dice after that. Every single one gave him a divine answer. Even the losing lottery ticket he had previously bought had not given this accurate of a result.

Upon having him match a lot with a corresponding poem, the master led them to the service counter to sit them down for an explanation of the lot.

“The gods have indicated that they cannot give you a charm now. They want you to settle a debt. It is about time for you to carry out a promise to someone. Everything in this world has its own opportunities, and your chance has arrived. You cannot hide from it, or else retribution will follow you into your next life,” the master solemnly stated after carefully reading the information on the poem.

“Re-retribution…” Jiu Shen was about to burst into tears. He had no idea what kind of opportunity was supposed to appear or whatever! Did his current life not have enough grievances? I have plenty of grievances alreadyyyyyy!

“The mysteries of heaven cannot be revealed. It is simply as the gods have spoken.”

That’s not it! It should be clearer! Oh Gods, what if I die from fright here? Wouldn’t I end up being affected by the sin in my next life for dubious reasons then?!

“We thank the gods for their guidance.” The woman that was firmly gripping her nearly-crying child yanked him backwards and then pushed a red packet towards the master. “This is to light incense for the gods…”

Jiu Shen hugged his head as he fearfully walked out of the temple gates, unable to make heads nor tails of it all.

I really don’t get it.

I really don’t get what it means.

Why do the gods always speak so succinctly! What’s wrong with clearly explaining?

Right before his entire brain crashed, he suddenly felt something extremely off about his surroundings. There were many people facing him…and pointing above him. There were even successive shouts reaching his ears.

Then, he felt something sticky on the hands cradling his head. It was a bit wet.

He lifted his hands in front of his face and saw that a black fluid had appeared on his palms. It carried a somewhat choking yet very familiar stench…Based on its appearance, it was probably…probably many days old already…

Before his consciousness could continue instinctively analysing what this represented, he reflexively raised his head. At the exact same moment, he heard screams come from the crowds around him.

A certain, huge black object fell from the temple’s roof, smashing down precisely onto him. The impact sent him tumbling into the steps with a crash. The heavy rotten odour immediately diffused outwards, causing quite a few onlookers to vomit on the spot.

Once the sharp pain passed and he recovered his vision, he got a clear view of what exactly had crashed onto him. With a boom, only one word appeared in Jiu Shen’s mind—

“Re-retribution…”

^{1. There’s a belief that your soul can escape the body through natural causes (ie. shock, fear, etc.) or unnatural causes (ie. curses). Considering the context, Jiu Shen likely thinks he lost his soul from all his terrifying experiences and wants to ask a temple master to call his soul back into him. ↑}