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Seeing that Ishikawa Kaoru had fallen completely unconscious, Beichuan Si shook his head and withdrew the dark aura floating in the air.
The writhing shadow disappeared, and the chilling atmosphere was dispelled. Everything around returned to normal.
This murderer was unexpectedly timid, completely lacking the maniacal brutality Beichuan had imagined.
That's right, Ishikawa Kaoru's mind was clear, and he answered questions logically.
"And since Ishikawa Kaoru behaves like a normal person, it strongly suggests that 'Sakura Yuki' really still exists in this world. And this Sakura Yuki is extremely dangerous."
What kind of good person could drive a murderer like Ishikawa Kaoru to take pleasure in killing?
Could it be that Sakura Yuki could truly come back to life?
Beichuan Si pondered for a long time without coming to a conclusion.
As mentioned before, if Sakura Yuki really had extraordinary powers like Beichuan Si, she wouldn't need to send someone like Ishikawa Kaoru to do the killings.
Moreover, there was still one survivor from the major fire ten years ago.
And as long as that survivor was found, the truth of the past events could be uncovered.
All the clues now pointed to the one survivor from Yashan City ten years ago.
And—
The system alert came again:
'Chain Task in Progress (Three).'
'The city might harbor a crazed and brutal murderer, someone skilled, cunning, and proficient in surgery. He brings countless women pain and is everywhere. He could be the young girl you are talking to or the police officer you trust. You are getting closer to the truth of the matter, but you vaguely realize that perhaps everything from back then was not as simple as you thought; everything seems shrouded in mist—'
'Task Completion Condition: Find this insane murderer, capture them or—kill them.'
'Task Completion Reward: Spiritual Dagger Jian Ding.'
Looking at this third task that popped up,
Beichuan Si furrowed his brow in thought, and just as he was lost in his musings, Gangye Yoshiko finally appeared, panting.
She hadn't expected Beichuan Si to chase the killing psychopath so far.
"Are you alright, kid?" she asked as she saw Beichuan Si standing unscathed by the roadside.
"I'm fine." Beichuan Si shook his head calmly, then pointed at the unconscious murderer on the ground. "Ishikawa Kaoru."
"Ishikawa Kaoru?" Gangye Yoshiko was mentally prepared, but even so, the confirmation from Beichuan Si still surprised her.
Looking at Beichuan Si's calm demeanor, she couldn't help but ask, "You actually went after knowing he's a murder maniac?"
"In fact, he couldn't beat me. It's that simple." Beichuan did not boast about subduing the criminal; his tone remained the same as usual.
This brat!
Gangye Yoshiko almost wanted to take out a cigarette.
But it wasn't the time for smoking; she quickly called the police station, reported the situation in detail, and requested immediate dispatch.
To be fair, Gangye Yoshiko was a trained professional, and her report was concise yet covered the situation thoroughly.
"Remember to call an ambulance." Beichuan Si interjected from the side, "I was a bit heavy-handed."
Heavy-handed?
Gangye Yoshiko suspiciously walked over and examined Ishikawa Kaoru's body.
Ribs were broken; the odd shape of the lower leg indicated it didn't escape unscathed either.
Not to mention Ishikawa Kaoru occasionally screamed in his unconsciousness, as if caught in a nightmare.
This made Gangye Yoshiko quip,
"Who exactly is the murderer, you or this guy? I get the feeling if I leave you on your way, you'll be a handful in the future."
"That's slander, Gangye Police Officer." Beichuan Si said calmly and matter-of-factly, "The opponent was large and attacked me unilaterally; technically, this is self-defense."
"I don't want to hear about it!" Gangye Yoshiko was a bit amused.
Honestly, in her years as a police officer, this was her first encounter with such a situation.
A notorious killer was chased through the streets by a seemingly harmless student wielding a baseball bat.
If she hadn't witnessed it herself, she probably wouldn't believe it.
If word got out, this kid would be hounded by the media.
Eventually, titles like 'The Hope of the Nation,' 'Protector of the Empire,' or 'Formidable High Schooler at 16' might be attached to him—not as exaggerated as that, but the media would surely hype up the topic.
And Gangye Yoshiko knew Beichuan Si's character.
He was the kind to prefer peace and quiet, and unless necessary, he wouldn't step into the limelight.
Compared to the turmoil in Gangye Yoshiko's heart, Beichuan Si was very calm. He took out his phone to check the time and found that after the nighttime chase, the digits on the screen had flipped to ten o'clock.
Beichuan Huili should be home by now.
With this in mind, Beichuan Si had no intention of lingering here any longer. He immediately said,
"Should I assume there's no need for any statements tonight? Things are just as you saw them, Liangzi. The person jumped out to attack me and was then subdued by me."
"Got it, got it! Just get out of here!" Gangye Yoshiko pouted.
This kid just wanted to leave her to clean up the mess.
The problem was, she had no choice but to clean it up.
After watching Beichuan Si leave, Gangye Yoshiko turned her attention to the still-unconscious Ishikawa Kaoru on the ground and couldn't help but mumble to herself:
"If this really is Ishikawa Kaoru, then catching this kid is quite a gain, isn't it?"
The Ishikawa Kaoru case caused a huge uproar back then, and capturing him now, thanks to Beichuan Si, was a boon.
After all, it also helped stabilize the gradually untrusted police department.
"Tsk." Gangye Yoshiko searched her chest and finally found a cigarette box.
She tapped it and lit a woman's cigarette.
After a while, she suddenly burst into laughter.
"That darn kid..."
...
Beichuan Si didn't spend much time returning home.
He moved quickly and in two or three minutes saw the incandescent light of the porch lamp in front of his home.
Beichuan Si first took out the key to unlock the iron gate and then opened the front door.
The scene at the entrance made him pause slightly.
Shen Gu Mirai was kneeling at the door, and upon seeing him, she exclaimed in delight, "Mr. Temple!"
"...Why are you sitting at the door?" Beichuan Si stepped inside, taking off his scarf as he asked.
The temperature had warmed up a bit, but it was still very cold overall; kneeling on the cold wooden floor like that couldn't be good for her health, no matter how you looked at it.
Seeing Shen Gu Mirai not answering him, Beichuan Si frowned and continued, "Let me remind you, sick or not, I won't waive the 35,000 yen you owe me."
Uh—
This sentence halted Shen Gu Mirai, who was about to leap excitedly toward him.
It took her a long while to react, and when she did, Shen Gu Mirai looked at Beichuan Si with a gaze full of resentment:
"...I was worried you'd get hurt chasing that guy alone, yet Mr. Temple, you say something like that..."
She was speechless.
Did she seem like someone who wouldn't pay back?
Shen Gu Mirai was such a simple girl. The more she thought about it, the angrier she got, and the angrier she became, the more she thought.
Finally, just as she was about to continue speaking, she sneezed loudly in Beichuan Si's face.
"..." Shen Gu Mirai.
"..." Beichuan Si.
Beichuan Si blinked.
Shen Gu Mirai blinked too.
They stared at each other.
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