Looking at the dazed Chu Nuan, the bodies on the ground, and an old man waving his cane happily around the bodies, Xie Luochen sighed.
Stepping up next to the nearest body, he lifted one of the officers by the arm. Dragging him to the nearest bench, he sets him down gently before dragging another. Until all three of them are slumping on the bench with their arms around each other. Afterwards, Xie Luochen loosened the tie of one officer, threw the hat of an officer down on the ground, and unbuttoned the uniform of the last officer. Discovering a few leftover beer cans lying next to a trash can, he picked them up with mild scorn before showering them with liquor. Littering the cans around them as evidence, Xie Luochen nodded his head in satisfaction before turning back to Chu Nuan.
"Let's go." He said, as he made his way towards the public restroom.
"That...is it okay?" Chu Nuan asked uncertainly.
Nodding in reply, he said. "There's no camera around here."
"....." Where you like this before?
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A heavy stillness seems to pervade from the inside of the men's restroom. Only two officers guard the entrance in case of intruders. Other officers and forensic specialists have already left after collecting the evidence they needed, leaving a chance for Xie Luochen and the others to do their part of the job.
"Have you found anything?" Chu Nuan asked as she entered after Xie Luochen. Her sight landed on the crouching Lei Lin and Hong Wen.
Standing up from the ground, the both of them greeted Chu Nuan with a smile. "Envoy Chu." Hong Wen said, "I heard some commotion outside. Was there some kind of trouble." He glanced briefly at the obedient old man behind Chu Nuan.
"Ah, nothing much.." Chu Nuan answered vaguely as she walked near the bathroom stall in the middle.
Trying to change the topic, Chu Nuan started to focus on the body sitting on top of the toilet. A man in his mid-thirties, wearing a casual grey shirt and blue pants. He is slumped against the seat of the toilet, a gaping wound on his stomach shows heavy bleeding. Blood stained almost every corner of his shirt and pants, running down to the floor.
Blood? Chu Nuan wondered. Different from others, this person is bleeding massively. There are no apparent signs of his blood being taken. What makes this man different from the other victims?
"Hm?" He is holding something in his hands.
Putting on gloves Lei Lin offered, Chu Nuan carefully pried open the fingers of the dead man. Inside his palm is a scrap of green cloth. Judging from the texture and embroidery of the fabric, the owner seems to be a well off.
"That fabric!" Feng Ling shouted in surprise as he held onto Chu Nuan's hand. He attentively scans the piece of cloth with shaky eyes while drawing his face closer to Chu Nuan.
"I'm sure of it!" Muttering under his breath, his eyes start to mist over from his overly excited actions. "This fabric is from the dress Cui Lian was wearing before she went missing! I remember this because the dress was custom made by me. Scented herbs were specifically used to dye the dress, leaving a faint odor of medicinal herbs behind. No one but me knows the method."
Hearing his explanation, Chu Nuan drew closer as well. Indeed, a faint whiff of fresh herbs enters her nose. "Indeed, this-"
Before she could finish her sentence, Chu Nuan felt a hand covering her forehead. Abruptly, a force from behind pulled her backwards, causing her to fall into a warm chest. Eyes widening in surprise, she looks upwards from her position, only to see Xie Luochen's clenched jaws.
"What-"
"Talk properly."
"Huh?"
"If you need to talk, then talk properly. What are you doing, leaning so close?"
Hearing these slightly sullen words, Chu Nuan's eyes immediately shined bright. "Could you be…."
"Hmph." Xie Luochen walked away without looking at Chu Nuan, the edges of his ears turning slightly red.
Seeing him act so rude to Chu Nuan, Hong Wen hurriedly came forward. "Envoy Chu. Luochen is still young, so he might be immature at times. Please, don't mind too much." He then glared at the immature brat standing a few feet away. "Hey! Come apologize!"
How can he act like this to an envoy. Are envoys existences you can push around? Of course not! One finger is enough to send him walking past the Bridge of Forgetfulness.
Of course, on many occasions, it's Chu Nuan that seems to be pushing him around. But, that's perfectly fine! What can he say? The other party's fist is bigger than theirs, even if envoys are restricted in what they do here. The important thing is, what if one day they die? What if envoy Chu decides to have them reincarnate into animals for their next life? He strongly refuses this ending!
"It's okay." Chu Nuan said in a daze. Blinking her eyes a few times, she looked at Hong Wen with a big smile as she gave a thumbs up, "I like my man a little shy."
"....." As expected of an envoy. Even their tastes are peculiar.
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"Ahem!"
Coughing in awkwardness, Xie Luochen focuses back on the task in hand, his sight landed on the fabric in Feng Ling's hand. "What to do?"
"Easy!" Chu Nuan answered as she took the fabric from Feng Ling's hand. Wrapping the cloth inside a piece of paper, she blew gently on it before throwing it to the ground.
Immediately, the ball of paper glimmered with an indigo light. Slowly, it took on the shape of a purplish turtle the size of a small plate. Stretching his neck for a moment, the turtle abruptly turned towards the exit. "Follow after it." Chu Nuan said as she leisurely went out the door.
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"Captain! You have to believe us! We really didn't slack off! There was this woman and an old man."
"Oh really? What did they do?" The captain asked with raised brows.
"That woman distracted us while the old man attacked us from behind!" Turning his face, one of the policemen shouted with joy as he saw the group exiting the restroom. "There! Captain! It's the two of them!" Another one of the officers said as he quickly pointed at Chu Nuan's group.
Surprised by the sudden yelling, Chu Nuan and the rest stopped in their tracks, accidentally making eye contact with the three policemen from before.
"Ah." Forgot about them, Chu Nuan thought.
"It's the two of them Captain! They were the one who attacked us a while ago!"
The Captain's sharp eyes observe the group in front of him. He recognized the three men in front of him, the members of the supernatural unit. They met each other a few hours ago and have informed him that another group member might arrive later.
Thinking so, his sight moved specifically onto the woman and the old man in the group. Observing quietly, he looked at Chu Nuan's thin arms and pale skin that doesn't seem to have absorbed much sunlight. Then at the trembling body of an elderly hunched over his walking cane. The old man's body rattle so much, it seems as if a light touch can cause all his bones to dislocate immediately.
Afterwords, he turned his face sideways to examine the three policemen by his side. Strong healthy young men with unbuttoned clothes, missing hats, and loosened ties. There is even a faint scent of alcohol coming off their messy bodies.
"....."
"Captain….." One of the officers probed carefully.
Straightening his back, the captain gave a polite nod to the group before leaving. "The three of you are suspended until I see a 50 page essay on why drinking while on duty is improper."