The distance between the two groups was just over fifty meters. The group on the other side didn't want the Xie family to get too close, nor did they want to communicate directly. All messages had to be relayed by the hotel general manager. This manager, named Zhang Rantian, had a tough job; after running back and forth seven or eight times, he finally got both sides to agree to a compromise. The Xie family would remain in place. Without explicit instructions from the Deputy Mayor, no one was to approach the dock. But there was one piece of good news: a rescue fleet had already been organized on the mainland and was expected to arrive in about half an hour.
After delivering the final message, the exhausted manager squatted on the ground, gasping for breath. Guo Xiaoni walked over and handed him a bottle of mineral water she had brought from the hotel. Hao Zhengyi and Sun Fatty squinted at the scene. Suddenly, Sun Fatty let out a strange chuckle, glanced up at me, and muttered under his breath, "That bastard finally slipped up. Lazi, keep an eye on her. If anything's off, shoot."
Just then, someone with sharp eyes pointed toward the mainland and shouted, "They're here! The rescue fleet is here!" He waved frantically toward the horizon. I followed his gesture and indeed saw the silhouettes of several ships drawing closer. As they came into clearer view, someone near me screamed, "They're here! We're saved!"
The one shouting was Xie Pang. His voice had turned nearly hysterical. He pointed wildly toward the approaching ships. His eyes were bloodshot, face deathly pale, and foam dribbled from the corner of his mouth. Then, without warning, he bolted toward the sea. Xie Mochou tried to hold him back, but the seventy-something-year-old Xie Pang flung her away with surprising force. Sun Fatty shouted at me, "That's it! It's her! Lazi, shoot!"
Guo Xiaoni. That was my first instinct. As soon as Sun Fatty's words left his mouth, I had already drawn my pistol and aimed it at Guo Xiaoni's head. But my target choice made Sun Fatty jump. He quickly slapped down my gun barrel and drew his own weapon. Without warning, he fired a shot—right into the leg of the dumbfounded general manager, Zhang Rantian. With a sharp crack, Zhang dropped to the ground, clutching his bleeding thigh, writhing and screaming in agony. Guo Xiaoni, terrified, collapsed to the ground beside him.
Wait… him? Not her? The general manager was the one trying to wipe out the Xie family? But his reaction seemed so genuine—it couldn't be this easy, could it?
After firing the shot, Sun Fatty rushed forward, pulled Guo Xiaoni away from Zhang Rantian, and kept his gun trained on the injured manager. If Zhang so much as twitched, Sun Fatty looked ready to put another bullet in him. His confidence was absolute. I didn't have time to second-guess him, so I also kept my gun aimed at Zhang.
A short distance away, Hao Zhengyi watched us with a puzzled expression. Crow wanted to come over, but Hao Zhengyi stopped him and gestured toward Xie Pang's rapidly retreating figure. Crow nodded and pulled a small straw figurine from his breast pocket.
Watching Zhang Rantian writhe and wail, doubt crept into my heart. I glanced at Sun Fatty. "Da Sheng, you sure about this? One shot and he's down—feels too easy. Doesn't seem like he could mastermind a plan to wipe out the Xie family."
Sun Fatty grinned and jerked his chin toward Zhang's shoes. "Lazi, take a good look at his shoes. See what's on them? That's not just grime. That's Ghost-Detecting Ash. Hao's big brother laid the bait, and guess what—he actually caught a big turtle."
That reminded me. I looked again and saw a faint layer of gray powder on Zhang Rantian's shoes and pant legs. At first glance, it looked like dirt, but I suddenly realized—it was Ghost-Detecting Ash! Everything clicked. This was Hao Zhengyi's trap all along. Yesterday, Crow had scattered Ghost-Detecting Ash nearby—not to reveal anything immediately, but to set a snare. The ash reacts to even the slightest trace of ghostly energy. If the hidden manipulator used any spiritual technique nearby, the ash would cling to them.
Scattering the ash wasn't hard, but being able to predict exactly where the enemy would act—that took real skill. Still, Sun Fatty's sharp eyes and instincts were even more terrifying. Hao laid the trap, but he couldn't hide anything from Sun Fatty.
The shot surprised both Xiao Heshang and Director Hugo, but as soon as they noticed the gray powder on Zhang's clothes, they understood immediately. Once Zhang Rantian was immobilized, both of them bolted after Xie Pang.
Meanwhile, Xie Pang had reached the crowd around the Deputy Mayor. Hundreds of people scattered like they were avoiding the plague. Several nearby women screamed bloody murder—the kind of soul-piercing shrieks that could rival even Nyeh's cries. No one dared stop Xie Pang. He was just about to hurl himself off the dock when he suddenly stumbled and fell mid-sprint. Curled up on the ground, he began frothing at the mouth. His left calf twisted at an impossible angle, as if it had been smashed by a blunt weapon.
Xie Mochou rushed over, collapsing onto her father and sobbing uncontrollably. Xiao Heshang knelt and began performing emergency aid, pressing pressure points and checking his condition. After a while, Xie Pang slowly opened his eyes—he had regained consciousness.
At the exact moment Xie Pang fell, a faint chill of ghostly energy radiated from his body. I had a hunch, and looked toward Hao Zhengyi. There, beside him, Crow was holding the same straw figurine—but now, one of its legs had been snapped in half. On its forehead was a charm, torn into a humanoid shape—it looked exactly like the talisman we had swapped onto Xie Pang after his choking incident.
With Xie Pang temporarily out of danger, Xiao Heshang stood up angrily and marched toward Hao Zhengyi and Crow. He stared at the straw doll in Crow's hand. "Did you really have to break his leg?"
Hao Zhengyi stepped forward and blocked Xiao Heshang's path. "Better a broken leg than frozen or drowned. If we hadn't stopped him in time, Mr. Xie would be dead by now."
Xiao Heshang snorted and said no more. He turned back and joined me and Sun Fatty, now directing his gaze at the wounded Zhang Rantian.
Seeing that Xie Pang was out of danger, and with Zhang Rantian under the barrels of our guns—plus Xiao Heshang already here—he had no chance to make any sneaky moves. Only then did Sun Fatty turn to me and say, "Lazi, not to nitpick, but if you're not sure who the suspect is, maybe ask first. You nearly shot an innocent just now."
I wasn't entirely convinced by that and replied, "Da Sheng, next time could you at least make your instructions clear? If I had shot the wrong person, half that life would be on your hands. Weren't you the one who kept watching Guo Xiaoni like a hawk this whole time, saying there was something suspicious about her? Then just now, you suddenly shouted 'shoot'—if I wasn't supposed to aim at her, who was I supposed to shoot?"
Sun Fatty's expression turned a bit awkward. He glanced toward Guo Xiaoni in the distance and mumbled, "I meant she looked kinda cute…"
His reply left me speechless. Seriously? After everything that's happened—after a day of death and mayhem yesterday—he still had the mood to check out girls?
When the gunshot went off earlier, it had startled the crowd across the dock. But thanks to Xie Pang's sudden outburst, no one had the time to focus on us. Now that things had calmed down a bit, nearly everyone across the water was staring at Sun Fatty and me. The Xie family wasn't too fazed—they'd been teetering on the edge of death since yesterday, so this kind of disturbance didn't really shake them. Besides, they probably already guessed something was up.
But the rest of the crowd began to grow nervous. People started pointing and gesturing in our direction. In the end, it was my grandfather and third uncle who stepped in to explain that Sun Fatty and I were officers from the Ministry of Public Security, currently executing official duties. As for the general manager—well, he might very well be an online fugitive. Only then did the tension in the crowd begin to ease, though no one dared approach us to ask what had really happened.
A few minutes later, Zhang Rantian had started to get used to the pain from the gunshot wound. Luckily, the bullet hadn't hit any major arteries. Although the pool of blood around him looked terrifying, he had managed to staunch the bleeding by applying heavy pressure. Trembling, he managed to sit up, looked at the blood covering his hands and pants, and said with a miserable expression, "You guys shot the wrong person, didn't you?"
Sun Fatty grinned, though his gun remained pointed directly at Zhang. "Your acting needs work. You just got shot, nearly died, and you react like this? That's not normal. Even if you didn't have the guts to fight us, at the very least you'd be cussing us out. That'd be more in line with what someone in your shoes would feel. Not saying you're talentless—after all, you did fool us for over a day. In terms of acting, you've got some promise. But still a bit lacking. If you survive this, maybe go read The Actor's Self-Cultivation—might help you improve your craft."
Zhang Rantian gave a bitter smile. "You're pointing a gun at me and expect me to curse you out? Expect me to fight you? Getting shot was bad enough—throwing my life away on top of that would just be extra stupid. Listen to me, you've really got the wrong guy. I'm just a regular citizen, managing a small hotel for my boss. Sure, maybe I've taken a few kickbacks or fudged a few reimbursements, but that's hardly a reason to get shot, right?"
Xiao Heshang crouched beside him, face-to-face, and said, "Then do us a favor and explain—what's all that on your shoes and pant legs?"
"My shoes? What about them?" Only then did Zhang notice the thin layer of gray powder on his shoes and cuffs. He froze, utterly confused, and said, "This… probably brushed against something somewhere? Wait a second… just because of a little dust on my pants, you shot me? What kind of law is that? If you went to a construction site, would anyone there even survive?!"
His voice rose with every word, and by the end, he was practically yelling.
Watching Zhang Rantian get worked up, Sun Fatty still smiled and said cheerfully, "Now that's overacting. This emotional outburst? Way over the top. Quit faking it. Just admit it already, and we can get this over with."
Zhang didn't respond. He sat on the ground, breathing heavily in frustration. Not far away, Hao Zhengyi and Crow stood silently, watching the situation unfold. But Hao's gaze was fixed more on Sun Fatty than on Zhang—seemed like Sun Fatty interested him more than the supposed culprit. Only Crow stood there frowning, staring at Zhang Rantian's innocent expression.
To be honest, if it weren't for the Ghost-Detecting Ash on his shoes and pants, I really couldn't see how Zhang Rantian could be someone capable of nearly wiping out the entire Xie family. But with so many people watching, we couldn't just call him out on it. Zhang seemed to realize this too, and he was clearly betting on our reluctance to act publicly. He clenched his jaw and played dumb all the way through. At this point, we had no choice but to send him to the Bureau of Paranormal Investigation—let Gao Liang deal with him.
We spent over half an hour at the dock, and finally, the rescue ships sent from the mainland appeared on the horizon. The entire dock erupted in cheers. The Xie family wept tears of joy. A few of the older members even dropped to their knees, crying out the names of the loved ones they had lost yesterday. It was a heartbreaking scene, but all things considered, fairly normal.
Then something strange happened.
Several members of the Xie family, for reasons unknown, ran to the edge of the sea barrier and began waving frantically at the approaching ships, cheering as if salvation were already in hand. The barrier's outer edge was lined with three thick iron chains, each as wide as a man's arm. Their position wasn't in immediate danger of falling into the sea.
They jumped and waved with abandon—until, without warning, the ground beneath their feet began to tremble violently. In the blink of an eye, a sharp crack rang out, followed by the sudden collapse of the sea barrier beneath them. The four or five people standing there had no time to react; they screamed as they plunged into the sea.
Some of them flailed and screamed for help—but then, a second collapse followed. Massive blue-stone slabs, along with sand and bricks, came crashing down from above, striking them directly. After that second collapse, aside from the crashing waves and rocks, no other sound came from beneath the rubble.
The entire dock went dead silent. Everyone stood frozen in shock. No one rushed to rescue them. Almost simultaneously, the whole crowd began backing away, retreating from the dock, leaving the large platform completely deserted.
This can't be. Zhang Rantian was right under our guns. I had eyes on his every move. At the exact moment of the collapse, he hadn't made a single gesture—no hand signs, no lip movements. There wasn't even a trace of spiritual activity. And what's more, he had been the closest person to the collapse site. The moment it happened, his face turned pale, and he scrambled over to us in a panic. He moved so wildly that his leg wound reopened. Blood burst from it again, and sweat rolled down his face like rain.