“Liu Daming, male, 59 years old, ID number 3XX… He’s been living in H Province all along. He flew in from there last night, arrived in S Province on a late flight, reached Shangyang Village in the dead of night, and came up the mountain this morning…”
An older cop and a younger one stood between Chen Ji and Liu Daming, scrutinizing the older man’s identity and travel records. “Liu Daming, you don’t even know Chen Ji. You flew hundreds of kilometers to burst into a stranger’s home and scatter paper money? The guy doesn’t know you from Adam—why on earth would you do that?!”
“This is… this is…” Liu Daming stammered, repeating “this is” for what felt like forever without managing to get another word out.
Chen Ji spoke up confidently. “That’s right, I don’t know him at all. Never laid eyes on the man. He shows up at my door asking for some Master Chen. I figured with a rare surname like mine, I must be the only one around these parts. Before I could even ask what he wanted, he flung a handful of paper money right through my front door! Talk about bad luck!”
The two officers exchanged a glance. The younger one felt a bit of sympathy for Chen Ji and asked, “Could you have offended him somehow without realizing it?”
“No way, right?” Chen Ji replied in disbelief. “I only moved back a little over a week ago—barely half a month, all told. I’ve hardly been down the mountain at all, and when I have, it’s just to the village. We’re worlds apart. How could I have offended him?”
The middle-aged cop nodded and pulled up Chen Ji’s activity log. “You’ve been living in J Province until recently… Yeah, no real chance you two would know each other…”
Liu Daming glanced at Chen Ji, who looked equal parts furious and wronged, then at the stern-faced officers. He shuffled his feet in the dirt and suddenly seemed to remember something. “Officers, this is all just a misunderstanding! A real mix-up! I didn’t mean any harm. I heard the Mountain Lord Temple here is especially efficacious, so I wanted to come pay my respects and add some incense fire. But I grabbed the wrong thing… This paper money was meant to burn for my old man at the temple. Honest mistake!”
The officers’ expressions softened a touch. If it was truly an honest mistake, then it was just that—a misunderstanding. “You really grabbed the wrong stuff?”
“Absolutely, I swear!” Liu Daming insisted urgently.
Before anyone could say more, Chen Ji pulled out his tablet. He didn’t utter a word, but his actions spoke volumes: Take a look at the footage.
The screen replayed Liu Daming scattering the paper money and bolting without so much as a word. Then Chen Ji dashed forward, grabbed him, and called the cops right away—the audio confirmed it was a legit emergency call.
The old guy might look honest and harmless, but he was clearly lying through his teeth.
The middle-aged cop’s face darkened. “If it was a mistake, why’d you run? Why not just explain yourself to the man?”
Chen Ji nodded vigorously. “Exactly! If you messed up, just apologize to me. Why run off like that?”
The younger cop, brimming with righteous indignation, said, “Looks like we should head back to the station to sort this out. What you did counts as disturbing the peace. If you don’t want to settle it here, that’s at least seven days in detention—and you might face civil liability too!”
Liu Daming panicked at the mention of detention. He hadn’t realized scattering paper money at someone’s door could land him in jail. That meant a real court case—people pointing fingers every time he stepped out!
He eyed the serious-faced officers, then glanced at Chen Ji nearby. Steeling himself, he said, “When I realized I’d thrown it in the wrong place, I got scared he’d hit me. That’s why I took off…”
The younger cop turned to Chen Ji and murmured, “You willing to let this slide? Have him apologize, and we can call it even.”
Chen Ji frowned. “It’s not that I don’t want to. But what he did is seriously inauspicious! I’m the last of my line—no family left but me. Scattering paper money like that? It’s practically cursing me to die early!”
“Some extra compensation, then?” the younger cop ventured, catching the hint.
Chen Ji didn’t hesitate. “It’s not about the money. I don’t need his cash.”
The other officer turned to Liu Daming. “You hear that? The guy’s not short on funds. What you pulled was downright low. He’s young and level-headed, so he called the cops instead of decking you. Now apologize! No deal? Straight to the detention center with you!”
Liu Daming opened his mouth to speak, but Chen Ji cut in. “No dice.”
The older cop turned back. “Kid, what’s your bottom line, then?”
Chen Ji frowned. “I don’t care about the rest. No need for apologies or compensation. But he has to clean up every last scrap of his paper money and take it with him. Not a single sheet left behind!”
Both officers nodded. That was a fair demand. You couldn’t just mouth a sorry and leave the young man to deal with a yard full of fluttering trash, right?
Liu Daming’s face drained of color at those words. He let out a dry laugh. “How about I pay you instead? These old bones of mine…”
Chen Ji just held up the tablet silently. The footage showed Liu Daming sprinting off like an Olympian.
The older cop frowned too. “Come on, man. The kid laid out clear terms and isn’t even asking for money. It’s your mess—you clean it up. You think his place is a dump? Toss whatever you want inside?”
The younger cop chimed in. “Forget it, Brother Wang. Let’s just take him back to the station.”
Liu Daming started to protest, but then he spotted a sleek brown-yellow weasel popping up on Chen Ji’s shoulder. Golden tips shimmered on its fur, and its dark eyes gleamed with almost human intelligence, full of lively mischief. He recoiled instinctively. The two officers jumped too. “…What’s that?”
Chen Ji glanced sideways at the weasel, a hint of relief softening his features. “No worries. Lots of wild animals up here in the mountains. I feed them when I can, so they drop by to hang out.”
Second Master Huang cocked his head, eyeing the group. 【Whoa, Chen family kid, your place is a real circus today!】
Chen Ji pulled out an egg yolk pastry and held it to Second Master Huang’s mouth. The weasel had been about to say more, but the sight of the treat wiped his mind clean. He snatched it in his teeth, leaped down from Chen Ji’s shoulder, and scampered aside to devour it.
The older cop watched the weasel bolt to the side and tuck in heartily. One look and it was clear the critter was tame. Years on the force had honed his instincts. This young man had clear, honest eyes and an air of scholarly refinement. He didn’t strike him as the type to hole up in the mountains for shady dealings. And the system records lined up—young folks these days loved that “back to the land” lifestyle, right? This guy was probably one of them.
The older cop cleared his throat. “Alright, here’s the deal. Kid, where’s your broom? Liu Daming, quit standing around—get sweeping!”
The younger cop spotted a broom leaning by the temple door and asked Chen Ji if he could use it. Chen Ji fetched it and thrust it toward Liu Daming. All three sets of eyes bored into him. Sweat beaded on his skin despite himself. He had no choice but to take it.
With Liu Daming sweeping, Chen Ji’s brow eased a fraction. His gaze stayed locked on the man. The younger cop was about to say something when an orange-and-white kitten trotted up, balancing two bottles of soda on its back. It let out a cute little mew. Chen Ji bent down, grabbed the drinks, and handed them over. “Sorry about this. If it wasn’t so inauspicious, I wouldn’t have called you out here all this way.”
The younger cop took a bottle first—he was parched after the steep climb. He nodded. “We get it.”
Chen Ji gave them an apologetic smile before heading into the temple to keep watch on the sweeping. The younger cop blinked, surprised. He’d figured Chen Ji would chat more. The older cop took a swig from his bottle. “I know about him. Folks in the village mentioned it. His family used to be temple keepers here at the Mountain Lord Temple. Deep roots—makes sense he’d be touchy about this stuff.”
Even without that history, plenty of people were superstitious.
The younger cop got it. “Want me to keep an eye on things?”
The older cop raised his bottle. “Yeah, go ahead.”
The younger cop followed him inside. The paper money wasn’t much—a stack was about a hundred sheets, and with the light wind, it hadn’t spread far. None had even blown outside. Liu Daming swept with a sour face, dragging his feet until he spotted the younger cop. Then he picked up the pace a bit.
Chen Ji said softly, “Faster.”
His voice carried an eerie chill. Goosebumps prickled across Liu Daming’s skin.
Soon enough, Liu Daming had most of it swept up. Grimacing, he asked, “Can I go now?”
Chen Ji’s gaze drifted lightly over the dustpan, then to a stray red sheet still lying on the ground nearby. “Take it away the same way you brought it… Pick up that red paper too.”
The younger cop urged him on. “Hurry it up. It’ll be dark soon.”
Liu Daming had no choice but to snatch up the red paper and sort the dustpan.
The younger cop was admiring the view when he noticed one last sheet in the corner. Seeing how much Chen Ji minded, and thinking he’d be patrolling this area someday—Shangyang Village had few young folks left, most off working elsewhere—he figured he could lend a hand. Might be a nice spot to visit. But as he approached without bending down yet, Chen Ji barked, “Don’t touch it!”
The younger cop froze and turned. Chen Ji strode over, grabbed his arm, and pulled him aside. “Let him get it. Don’t move it.”
“I was just trying to speed things up. It’s only paper money—we’re not superstitious.” The younger cop was puzzled, but Chen Ji shook his head. “Everyone cleans up their own mess. It’s not about superstition.”
His eyes pierced past the younger cop’s shoulder, fixing on the hazy red shadow lingering just outside the temple door.
He didn’t know what it was, exactly. But it sure wasn’t anything good. That old codger had tried to dump it on him and make a clean getaway, figuring Chen Ji wouldn’t touch the stuff in time. He hadn’t counted on Chen Ji refusing to lay a finger on it, grabbing him instead, calling the cops, and forcing him to clean it himself.
Liu Daming said weakly, “It’s just one sheet. I’ve got the rest bundled…”
Chen Ji replied, “You’d better pick it up.”
The young police officer suddenly sensed something strange. For some reason, a chill crept up his spine. All of a sudden, he felt a tug at his pant leg. When he looked down, there was the yellow weasel that had just been gnawing on the egg yolk pastry, staring up at him with an irresistibly cute expression. He glanced over at Chen Ji, who simply raised a hand and said, “Give it a try. If he likes you, he’ll climb right onto your shoulder.”
“Really?” the young officer replied, delighted.
As he spoke, he crouched down. Second Master Huang wasted no time, scrambling straight onto his hand before darting up to his shoulder in a flash. The young officer couldn’t help but laugh. Unable to resist, he tilted his head to look, only to see the yellow weasel standing upright just like a person—one paw on his hip, the other jabbing toward the door. It was utterly hilarious.
“He can even stand on his hind legs!”
Chen Ji, however, heard Second Master Huang shouting at the door: 【Hey, kid outside! Every grudge has its source, every debt its debtor—this whole turf is under Second Master Huang’s protection, so get a good look before you make your move!】
The Red Shadow outside flickered for a moment before responding lazily: 【Oh~ I’ll just keep looking for a bit.】
Second Master Huang: 【What’s that? You trying to start something?!】
Red Shadow replied, utterly baffled: 【…Is it a crime to sneak a few extra glances at a handsome guy?】
