"... Chief Han Meng."
The moment Chen Ling was called by Han Meng, a trace of guilt flashed in his eyes, but it quickly returned to normal. "What do you want from me, sir?"
"A Fusionist actually dares to sneak into the ranks of law - enforcers... You really have a lot of guts," Han Meng said slowly. "So, what's your purpose?"
These words landed in Chen Ling's ears like thunder!
Did he find out?!
No... It's impossible... The one I fought with last night was the Red Paper Monster. He never saw my face throughout! How could he recognize me at a glance?
"Ah?" Chen Ling's eyes were full of confusion. "Chief Han Meng... What are you talking about?"
"Don't you understand what I mean?"
"... I don't understand."
"Where were you last night?"
"I was sleeping at home."
"And before that?"
"I was practicing opera in the wild with my younger brother."
"What were you doing while your younger brother was practicing opera?"
"He's timid and needs me to accompany him."
"What opera were you practicing?"
Farewell My Concubine.
"What's the last line of the dialogue?"
"... Oh dear!"
"And the second - last line?"
"... Let this king take a look!"
Han Meng asked questions at an incredibly fast pace, not giving Chen Ling any time to react.
As Chen Ling answered, cold sweat was breaking out on his back. When it came to the last three questions, he almost couldn't resist turning around and running away.
Chen Ling had no exposure to the dramas of this world and didn't know what operas there were. He could only bite the bullet and mention the one he was most familiar with in his past life... He could only bet that Han Meng didn't understand drama at all!
As for the lines, it really didn't stump Chen Ling. There were often Peking Opera performances in the theaters of his past life. He had heard Farewell My Concubine no less than twenty times. He still remembered very clearly the scene where Xiang Yu turned around and found Yu Ji committing suicide.
As it turned out, Chen Ling's bet paid off.
After asking the last question, Han Meng stared straight at Chen Ling. Those eyes seemed to be able to see through his heart... After a few seconds of silence, Han Meng slowly said:
"Oh, then I might have been mistaken."
This guy was indeed bluffing me!
Looks like that clubbing last night was too light!
Chen Ling took a deep breath. "Chief Han Meng, if there's nothing else, I'll go back first."
"Wait a minute." Han Meng stopped Chen Ling. "Which street were you transferred to?"
"... Second District, Ice Spring Street."
"Don't go home. Just go there directly."
"Ah? Didn't they say we have three hours to prepare..."
"This is an order."
Han Meng's simple four words blocked all of Chen Ling's words.
Chen Ling and Han Meng stared at each other in the cold wind. Their cotton - padded robes and windbreakers fluttered respectively, and the world fell into a deathly silence...
I don't know how long it took before Chen Ling slowly said, "I understand..."
"It takes at most two hours to get from here to Ice Spring Street in the Second District. I'll confirm whether you've arrived there two hours later... Do you understand?"
Chen Ling gritted his teeth and said, "My legs are tired from walking. It'll take a bit longer."
"I'll hail a rickshaw for you."
"..."
Han Meng truly embodied the word "decisiveness" to the fullest. He stopped a rickshaw puller in the street. It was the very one who had talked to Chen Ling on the way there. Then he directly told the puller to send Chen Ling to Ice Spring Street on time, and that he would reimburse the travel expenses.
So, under Han Meng's watchful eyes, Chen Ling reluctantly got into the rickshaw and it drove straight towards the Second District.
Watching Chen Ling leave, Han Meng stomped out the burnt - out cigarette butt under his foot and gave a cold snort.
"Brother Meng, why are you singling him out?" Jiang Qin walked over, looking puzzled.
"Don't you think it's strange?" Han Meng replied calmly.
"The night the Gray Realm intersected, Li Xiuchun and Chen Tan went to the mass grave in the rain, saying they were going to pay respects to their son... The next day, a calamity just so happened to break into their house and killed the two law - enforcers who were tailing them, but spared the couple... And during this process, the two Chen brothers just happened to be not at home and had no alibis."
"But they've already explained about paying respects to their son. Many years ago, the couple had a child who died prematurely..."
"You're missing the point."
"Ah?"
"The point isn't about paying respects to the son, but going to pay respects in the early morning, in the middle of a rainstorm that's been rare in the Polar Light Realm in a decade... Do you think a child they didn't have much affection for is worth all this trouble?"
"Um..." Jiang Qin was left speechless.
"The prematurely - died child and the opera - practicing are all just Chen Ling's one - sided claims. There's no evidence," Han Meng patted Jiang Qin's shoulder. "As law - enforcers, we should see with our own eyes, not just listen with our ears."
"... I see, Brother Meng."
"Now that you understand, come with me to 128 Frost Cold Street."
"What for?"
"I've sent Chen Ling away... What's left is to interrogate Chen Yan." Han Meng's eyes narrowed slightly.
...
Dong - dong - dong...
The hammer rhythmically struck, driving the nails into the wall bit by bit.
As the wooden planks were neatly laid on the wall, the original large hole was gradually patched up. Chen Yan wiped the sweat off his face, secured the last plank in place, and then sat on a chair, panting.
He turned around and looked towards the living room. The man wearing silver - rimmed glasses was curiously sizing up the newly - laid planks, seemingly lost in thought.
"Doesn't even know to come and help..."
Chen Yan muttered softly.
Just as Chen Yan finished the work, the man slowly stood up and walked in front of the tightly-nailed wooden planks. He exclaimed in surprise:
"How did you do this...?"
"Fixing a house isn't hard. When I was a kid, my brother even took me to build a wooden house... Granted, it was for birds," Chen Yan raised his head proudly. "I heard that people in Polar Light City are very pampered. I bet they don't have such good skills in house-repair, right?"
Just as the man was about to say something, a series of urgent knocks on the door came.
"Law-enforcers asking questions. Open the door immediately!!"
Upon hearing these words, Chen Yan's face instantly turned ashen.
He didn't know why the law-enforcers had suddenly come to his door, but his gut feeling told him that their sudden appearance for questioning at this point in time definitely boded no good...
A thought flashed through Chen Yan's mind. He said to the man, "You open the door later and say there's no one home."
With that, he immediately hid in the bedroom, concealing himself.
"Law-enforcers...?" The man frowned slightly. After a moment's hesitation, he still went forward and opened the door.
Behind the door stood Han Meng and Jiang Qin.
Seeing a strange man open the door, Jiang Qin was taken aback. Glancing at the house number, he asked in confusion, "That's strange... We didn't get the wrong address?"
When Han Meng saw the man, his eyes constricted slightly.
"Why are you here?"
"I wondered who it was... It's you," the man raised the corners of his mouth, pushed his silver-rimmed glasses up, and said unhurriedly, "I should have expected it. The Third District is your turf."
Seeing the two start chatting directly, Jiang Qin leaned over to Han Meng's ear and whispered, "Brother Meng, who is he?"
"Chu Muyun, the divine doctor of Polar Light City."