"...No need."
Chen Yifei sheathed his short knife and took a deep breath. "Let me think about it first."
Chu Muyun leaned back in his chair, seemingly unsurprised by this response. He didn't try to persuade him, only saying calmly,
"No problem. When you've decided, come find me at Xiaofang's Grocery Store anytime... I'll be here waiting for you all day."
Chen Yifei rose to leave, and Chu Muyun pulled a small silver cube from his pocket, holding it out to him.
"What's this?"
"A gift from my superior," Chu Muyun replied calmly. "With it, you might understand us a little better..."
Chen Yifei took the small cube, examined it for a moment, and nodded slightly.
"Okay, thank you."
"Also, be mindful of your mental state. Don't let the distorted Shinto affect you... Your path is quite unusual."
Chen Yifei didn't respond. He had noticed that since embarking on that path, his emotions had become somewhat strange...
He needed to calm down and think.
Leaving the room, Chen Yifei ascended the stairs until he reached a small grocery store. The woman behind the counter, who had been sleeping, lifted her head to glance at him before falling asleep again.
Chen Yifei vaguely remembered this Xiaofang's Grocery Store. Although it was far from Hanshuang Street, it sold things very cheaply. During previous New Years, he would occasionally bring Chen Muyu here to buy something... He couldn't imagine that this place was actually a base for Chu Muyun's organization.
Without intending to chat with the woman, Chen Yifei pushed the door open and left.
The heavy snow hadn't stopped with the end of the first act; it continued to fall thickly, accumulating to a depth that now exceeded his ankles, making walking increasingly difficult.
Chen Yifei ascertained his direction and headed straight for Hanshuang Street... He didn't know why he was going back; there was nothing left there for him.
But where else could he go, besides Hanshuang Street?
Chen Yifei didn't know that the small house on Hanshuang Street was his only shelter in this world, even though this shelter hadn't left him with any fond memories...
"Chen Yifei!!"
As Chen Yifei approached his home, a voice called out from nearby.
Wu Youdong appeared, moving swiftly and lightly through the snow to reach him. "Chen Yifei, where have you been? Are you feeling better?"
"Why are you here?" Chen Yifei looked at Wu Youdong in surprise. Just a few hours ago, he had been walking with a crutch and barely alive, but now he was moving freely and looked radiant.
"I came to thank the divine doctor!" Wu Youdong exclaimed excitedly. "That man who was staying at your house, he's amazing! I remember talking to him, and suddenly everything went black. When I woke up, my leg was healed!
The doctor at the clinic said I needed to rest for half a year, and there was a high chance of permanent damage... But he cured me instantly!
Before, when I did heavy work, I would suffer knee and joint pain during rainy days, but now I don't feel anything. And most importantly...
I feel like I've grown taller!"
Chen Yifei observed Wu Youdong and noticed that he was indeed taller... Before, his head only reached Chen Yifei's chin, but now it was nearly at his nose.
Is Chu Muyun so powerful?
"He's already left," Chen Yifei paused for a moment, then added, "And most likely, he won't be coming back."
Wu Youdong faltered, his disappointment evident on his face...
"Alright, then I'll go back."
After watching Wu Youdong leave, Chen Yifei arrived at his doorstep, intending to push it open, but his hand, suspended in mid-air, suddenly stopped.
He looked at the old door eaves, his eyes narrowing as a faint glint flashed in his pupils.
His [Secret Eye] ability, which granted him extreme observational skills, instantly focused on the minute snow stains on the door eaves.
This is wrong...
Someone had entered the house while he was away.
And most likely, he hadn't come out.
Chen Yifei cautiously retracted his arm and silently stepped back two paces in the snow. At this moment, a voice slowly emerged from inside the house.
"Good observation. Come in," said Han Meng, his voice as low as ever, "You don't think you can stay away from home forever, do you?"
Seeing that his whereabouts were exposed, Chen Yifei's brows furrowed. After a moment of hesitation, he forcefully pushed open the door.
"What are you doing in my house?" he asked Han Meng, who was sitting at the dining table, in a deep voice.
"Investigating."
"What's the difference between you and a burglar breaking into an empty house?"
"Law enforcers have the power to enforce and investigate the law. Do I need to explain this to you?" Han Meng lightly tapped the table with his fingertips, "Besides, even if I just came in to investigate, what could you do if I burned down the house?"
"..." Chen Yifei's gaze turned even colder.
"However, I didn't expect that you would know Chu Muyun... How did you meet?"
"Is it any of your concern?"
"I'm questioning you now as the Chief Law Enforcer of the Third District, Chen Yifei. Watch your attitude," Han Meng's gaze slightly condensed, and a sudden, inexplicable sense of oppression enveloped the living room!
Chen Yifei locked eyes with him for a long time before slowly speaking,
"Dr. Lin from the clinic on the street corner introduced us."
"Why did you go to the doctor?"
"I wasn't feeling well at that time."
"Feeling unwell? And you needed to ask Chu Muyun? Were you physically unwell, or... was your mind polluted by the Gray Realm?" Han Meng's gaze suddenly became sharp, like an eagle that could see into people's hearts.
"I..." Chen Yifei's heart trembled. In front of Han Meng, he suddenly felt like he couldn't hide anything.
"On the night the disaster occurred, you talked to Jiang Qin and said your younger brother was squatting on the street corner, but I was investigating Bingquan Street in the Second District today and found that your younger brother, Chen Muyu, had all his organs removed and died a violent death a few days ago. So, who was the younger brother you mentioned that night?"
"..."
"I searched the entire house, and there were only traces of two people living here, one is you, and the other is Chu Muyun, but why are there three rice bowls in the sink? Who is that bowl for?"
"..."
"Before coming here, I talked to Wu Youdong, and he said you were alone in the house, lighting candles, and then..."
"Enough!!"
Chen Yifei suddenly stood up, his eyes full of bloodshot veins,
"Yes! Am I crazy, is that it?!"
"My brain is messed up! I can see Muyu! I feel like he's around me!!"
"Just a while ago! He was still making a snowman at the door! Blowing out the candles with me in the house! He said he wanted to go back to school and sing on the New Year's Eve party! To me, he's a living person!"
"He's just a normal kid! He's sick! He wants to get better! He wants to stand on stage and perform one day! What's his fault?!"
"Han Meng! You're aggressively questioning me here now, but where were you when those people on Bingquan Street killed my brother?!"
"Where were you when they colluded with law enforcers to drive ordinary people to their deaths one by one?!"
"Where is your power to investigate?! Where is your power to enforce the law?!!"
Han Meng's body suddenly trembled.
Chen Yifei's chest heaved violently. He stared fixedly into Han Meng's eyes... Han Meng's originally calm eyes slightly contracted, unconsciously avoiding Chen Yifei's gaze.
He sat there quietly, his head lowered, like a sculpture.