Lu Fei's instincts screamed as he dodged aside from a reaching hand, only to see a familiar face.
"Tiger?!"
Lu Fei looked utterly astonished.
The tall man standing before him could be none other than Tiger, right? Though it had only been a few days since they last met, Tiger looked worn out, as if he'd endured another ordeal. He wasn't as thin as before, but fatigue was etched on his face.
"Tiger, are you alright?" Lu Fei asked with genuine concern.
He had just dealt with the Hungry Ghost curse, only to run into the tragedy at Duobaoxuan. The shop owner's whole family was gone, and Tiger had no choice but to leave; now, he didn't know where he'd go next to make a living.
"Ah! Why am I so unlucky!" Tiger's bloodshot eyes gazed at Duobaoxuan, filled with deep terror.
He would never forget the horrific scene he had witnessed that day.
"Tiger, my condolences." Lu Fei patted Tiger's shoulder and glanced back at the alley behind him.
The alley was empty, not a soul in sight.
Yet just now, he could have sworn he felt someone watching him from there.
It wasn't the first time he had sensed this. Could someone really be following him?
Who would be doing this, and why?
"Brother Lu Fei, could you help me with something?"
Tiger's pleading tone brought Lu Fei back from his thoughts.
"Go ahead."
"I have some clothes and belongings in Duobaoxuan, but I'm too scared to go in there alone. Could you come with me?"
"No problem, but..." Lu Fei hesitated, recalling the conversations he'd overheard earlier. It was getting dark soon, and if Duobaoxuan really was haunted, going in now might be unsafe.
So, he added, "You haven't eaten, have you? Let's grab a meal and rest well tonight; we can go fetch your things tomorrow."
"I've been sleeping in the small back room at Duobaoxuan. If I don't go back, I have nowhere else to stay..."
"No worries, you can stay at my place. Come on, let's get some food first."
Lu Fei led Tiger to a nearby noodle shop.
Each of them ordered a bowl of noodles and some marinated meat to go with it.
Tiger, clearly famished, didn't stand on ceremony with Lu Fei and devoured his food hungrily.
"Take it easy, Tiger. We can order more if you're still hungry."
If Lu Fei hadn't personally lifted the Hungry Ghost curse on him, he might have thought Tiger was still possessed by it.
After finishing a bowl, Tiger even drank the soup, and a little color returned to his face.
"It feels incredible to eat a full meal! I've been at the police station for the past couple of days, questioned over and over, couldn't eat or sleep well."
Lu Fei ordered him another bowl and asked, "You're not the killer, so why were they questioning you?"
"They wanted my cooperation with the investigation. I told you, I'm unlucky! Right after the curse was lifted, I was so happy that I spent the whole night in an internet café. The next day, Duobaoxuan still hadn't opened, and the boss didn't answer his phone, so I climbed the wall to get in..."
Tiger's rugged face twisted with bitterness.
"As soon as I went inside, I could smell something off. It was a strong, bloody smell, like a slaughterhouse."
"I walked further in and saw the boss sitting in the middle of the room, covered in blood."
At this, Tiger shivered.
"Beside him were the heads of the boss's wife and Qiang Qiang. Even the family dog, a Pekingese, its head lined up neatly in a row."
"I was terrified and bolted. But my fingerprints and footprints were all over Duobaoxuan, and I even had some blood on me, so the police had to investigate me."
"Luckily, the internet café has surveillance showing I was there all night, so they didn't suspect me. They just needed me to cooperate. But my boss's case… it's beyond bizarre."
"The officers handling the case said they had never seen anything so gruesome!"
"My boss denied he was the one who did it!"
Lu Fei exclaimed, "So he's not the killer?"
"Oh, he is! The police found the kitchen knife covered in the boss's wife's and Qiang Qiang's blood, plus the dog's blood. Only his fingerprints were on the knife. And the scene analysis and everything… It's definitely him. The police wouldn't falsely accuse him."
"With evidence so solid, why won't he admit it?" Lu Fei was bewildered, forgetting his food.
"Who knows? Maybe he doesn't want to die. Sure, he was a bit ruthless in business, but he treated his wife well. He was terrified of her, really, a total pushover. And yet..."
Tiger shook his head, looking equally puzzled.
Lu Fei speculated, "Maybe he'd been holding grudges because of how his wife controlled him, and finally snapped. But even so, why kill his own son?"
And not even sparing the family dog.
"Could it be… that his wife had been unfaithful, and the child wasn't his?"
Tiger shook his head again. "The police already checked that angle. They confirmed that Qiang Qiang was his biological son. His mental health is fine, too. He just insists he didn't kill them."
Lu Fei's eyes widened. "Then who does he say killed them?"
"He says..." Tiger gulped, his face pale. "He says it was his wife and Qiang Qiang who cut off their own heads."
Lu Fei stood there, stunned for a good two seconds. "That's impossible! A six- or seven-year-old kid? Even an adult couldn't cut off their own head. And the dog, too?"
"Exactly! But he insists that's what happened, even that the dog committed suicide. Who would believe that? The police even brought in micro-expression experts and put him through a lie detector. Guess what the results showed?"
"What?"
"The analysis indicated he wasn't lying!"
Lu Fei felt a chill run down his spine. "But all the evidence points to him!"
"Yeah, the police said he might just have incredible psychological resilience! And they told me, this kind of case… it'll most likely end in the death penalty."
An eye for an eye seemed only fair, especially since he had killed his own wife and child. Yet, Tiger still couldn't help feeling a bit conflicted, given that it was his employer after all.
But if he truly was sane, who would come up with such a ludicrous story to try and get out of trouble?
After a moment of silence, Lu Fei asked, "Tiger, did your boss recently acquire some kind of antique?"
"He picked up a lot of antiques. Which one are you talking about?"
"The one wrapped in black cloth, the one he wouldn't show anyone."
Tiger thought for a moment. "Yeah, I remember that. I don't know what it was. He was super secretive about it and wouldn't let me see."
"Is that thing still in Duobaoxuan?"
"I don't know. Remember, I was dealing with the Hungry Ghost curse and had taken time off, so I don't know if he sold it."
Tiger suddenly looked up at Lu Fei, his face tense. "Brother Lu Fei, why are you asking about this? Is there something wrong with that thing?"
"I heard that he might have acquired something unclean."
Tiger's eyes widened in fear. "You're saying… he didn't do it, it was something evil?"
"That's not what I'm saying. I'm just sharing what I heard. I trust the police know what they're doing." Lu Fei waved his hand.
Rumors on the street couldn't compare to the evidence the police had.
But Tiger had already taken it to heart. He lowered his head, chewing a piece of meat absentmindedly before looking up with a look of determination.
"Brother Lu Fei, there's one more thing I need to ask you!"
Lu Fei paused, sensing what Tiger was about to say.