Chapter 61: Immortal and Ageless!

The next morning, Xiao Fen touched his forehead. The fever had completely subsided, but his spirits were still low, and he lacked energy.

He opened his phone, and there was a little red dot on the pinned chat.

It was a message sent after he had fallen asleep last night.

“Sorry.”

What was he apologizing for out of the blue?

He checked the records and only then remembered losing his temper at him last night.

Judging by the timestamp, he must have learned the full story by then.

Huh? Xiao Fen thought he himself had been inexplicably petty and unreasonable. He wouldn’t think that too, would he? And yet he still apologized?

Planting a spy, then kicking out the capable one from the group, sowing discord among the members—if Xiao Fen were a vice squad officer, he would have done the same.

Fang Si Ting’s actions only made Xiao Fen admire his capabilities and methods.

That made him feel even more petty for accusing him last night, like a sore loser.

“Got a bit emotional last night.”

He sent it, then immediately withdrew it.

What was there to get emotional about?

“Last night,” he typed into the chat box. He pondered it until he finished washing up, but still couldn’t figure it out.

He had felt no stir in his heart seeing those messages in the group chat or Ou Yu’s concerned words. So why had a single question mark from Fang Si Ting made him feel aggrieved?

His brain must have been fried from the fever.

It was definitely that guy’s “oh” that was to blame. Just looking at it pissed him off.

Xiao Fen scrubbed his face hard and went downstairs for breakfast.

“Little Fen, Ou Yu is here,” Sister-in-law Jinlan called from the doorway.

Xiao Fen had just bitten into an oily dough stick when he saw Ou Yu dragging a suitcase inside.

“You’re moving in?”

“Yeah.” Ou Yu said, “From now on, it’s just you and me against the world. No more teaming up with them.”

He had been upset all night and hadn’t slept.

“There are no empty rooms here.”

“I’ll sleep with you, on the floor if needed. That okay?” Ou Yu chuckled lightly.

“No need for the floor. The bed’s big enough—we can just share it. We can chat before bed without needing our phones.”

Ou Yu saw him say it so casually, and the mole under his eye twitched. A trace of disappointment flashed in his eyes.

【Brother Fen, you’re so dense. Who would just chat under the covers after seeing Ouyou’s moonlight-level beauty?】

【Can’t you see Ouyou’s heartbroken? Hurry up and comfort him.】

【Straight guy pig trotter.】

【Brother Fen belongs to my Inspector Fang. No one can steal him.】

That person listed evidence one, two, three, four, sneering disdainfully at the arguing crowd.

【Mine is the orthodox one. You lot are all heretical ships.】

“Forgot to tell you yesterday—I’m investigating the real murder case now.” Xiao Fen broke off half his dough stick and gave it to him. “Wanna join?”

Ou Yu was stunned for a moment. “Sure, I’ll be your assistant.”

Just then, Sister-in-law Jinlan called from outside again. “Little Fen, someone’s here for you.”

What was with today? So lively.

As Xiao Fen wondered, Fang Si Ting walked in carrying a lunchbox.

The low-ceilinged kitchen suddenly felt cramped.

“Brought you breakfast.” He handed over the lunchbox.

Xiao Fen opened it: freshly ground soy milk, dough sticks, steamed buns, and the local specialty sesame paste pancakes. All handmade by town folk, with a rich, fragrant aroma wafting out.

“You knew I love this stuff.” Light sparked in Xiao Fen’s eyes. He grabbed a pancake with his mouth, held the box with both hands, and looked around for a bowl to pour the soy milk.

Ou Yu had eaten here several times at Sister-in-law Jinlan’s and smoothly fetched him a bowl.

Xiao Fen excitedly pointed at the sesame paste pancakes, gesturing for him to try some.

Ou Yu smiled helplessly. “Whenever there’s something tasty, you immediately think to share it with me. What’s the rush? No one’s gonna steal it from me.”

As he spoke, he sized up Fang Si Ting. “Right, Inspector Fang?”

Fang Si Ting acted like he hadn’t heard, eyes fixed on Xiao Fen, ignoring him.

Ou Yu poured the soy milk for him first, picked up a sesame paste pancake, then put it back.

“Too greasy. I haven’t finished my dough stick.” His expression was indifferent as he wiped his hands with a napkin.

Xiao Fen’s porcelain-pale cheeks bulged with pancake. He chewed away, took a sip of soy milk, and contentedly narrowed his eyes.

“Inspector Fang, the sun must’ve risen from the west. Bringing me breakfast—is this your apology?” Full and satisfied, Xiao Fen had time to tease.

Fang Si Ting cleared his throat and looked away to the side. “Breakfast for my partner.”

“You’re so stubborn.” Xiao Fen said, “What if I really got mad? What then?”

Fang Si Ting immediately looked at him, words on the tip of his tongue but held back.

“Just kidding.” Xiao Fen laughed. “Last night was no big deal. Why would I?”

This ice block was pretty fun to tease.

Ou Yu chuckled from the side. “After all, you and Inspector Fang have different identities and positions, so you think differently.”

Xiao Fen glanced at him.

“What?” Ou Yu asked.

Fang Si Ting looked over too.

“Let’s go work the real case.” Xiao Fen suddenly grinned, grabbed Ou Yu beside him, and headed out.

“I haven’t finished my dough stick…”

“Eat it on the road.”

Staying longer would make him unbearably uncomfortable.

————

The three of them went with Zhang Jian to the home of the missing Lu Kaiyu.

Before they even reached the gate, they saw a middle-aged woman who had just parked her electric bike and was opening the door to let her grandson inside.

Lu Kaiyu was seventy-two this year. This was his third wife, Wang Wenfang, just over forty, with heavy makeup and flashy dressing.

Ou Yu told her the news gently, laced with guilt.

Wang Wenfang jingled her keys and said she knew.

Xiao Fen and Fang Si Ting exchanged a glance.

Wasn’t this reaction a bit too calm?

Xiao Fen said, “It’s real death. Yesterday, everyone fished Mayor Guo’s predecessor, Guo Dongying’s body, out of the Substitute Life Well. And yesterday, your husband’s shoe was in the well too—you confirmed that.”

Only then did Wang Wenfang freeze in place.

“You… aren’t you filming a show?”

“No. Your husband has truly gone missing. Guo Dongying has truly died.” Ou Yu said slowly and earnestly, his voice carrying a soothing gentleness, though it clearly failed at a time like this.

Wang Wenfang’s body swayed unsteadily, her mind dazed.

“Yesterday, people from town came to the village to tell me. I thought… I thought…”

She wanted to cry but had no tears.

The Lu family house was a modest bungalow with average renovations. After they entered, Wang Wenfang slumped in a chair nearby, still not recovered.

Xiao Fen and the others sat quietly beside her, waiting.

“I said not to break the seal on the Substitute Life Well. Now something’s happened.” After a long while, Wang Wenfang shook her head, tears flowing as she spoke. “That Guo bastard didn’t just kill himself—he doomed everyone in our town! What a sinner. Tell me, why mess with that thing for no reason?”

“I heard the wooden boards sealing the well were rotted from age, so worn you could see down into it. They hadn’t worked for ages. Whether Mayor Guo removed them or not made no difference.” Xiao Fen said. He had heard this from Tang Qin Xin and verified it with Sister-in-law Jinlan.

“What do you know!” Wang Wenfang glared angrily. “Those boards were blessed with talismans by the shaman. Even rotted with age, nothing happened for all these years. The ghost-repelling power hadn’t weakened a bit.”

Impossible to reason with someone like this.

No matter what they asked, it was all: Lu Kaiyu was a great man, flawless character, kind to everyone, happy family, the best guy in eight surrounding villages.

“Do you still keep in touch with his first two wives?” Ou Yu asked, suspecting emotional entanglements.

“One died a couple years ago, the other visits occasionally. Relations were good with both. Even the deceased one got along great with us while alive.” Wang Wenfang wiped her tears. “How could someone as good as Old Lu just be gone?”

“If it’s the Substitute Life Well acting up, someone still had to lure him to the well’s edge. Who do you think could’ve done that?” Xiao Fen followed her train of thought.

“Impossible. He’s nothing like that knife-stabbing bastard Guo Dongying… Right, I remember someone came making trouble once.”

This perked everyone up.

Wang Wenfang thought carefully and spat out a name they all knew. “Zhong Houwang.”

Fang Si Ting and Xiao Fen exchanged a glance.

“He studied in the city before—our town’s first college grad. Later, Guo Dongying called him back to teach at the middle school. When he ran into some trouble, Old Lu kindly sold him a talisman. But he acted all educated and grumbled it was useless, came to our house making a scene, demanding his money back. If not, he’d tell the whole town we were swindling people.” She said, “He slammed a kitchen knife down at our house, demanding compensation. No money? Then pay with my husband’s life.”

Zhang Jian looked at her in shock. Yesterday he had sworn so confidently, and now he was slapped in the face so quickly.

“Later Old Lu talked him down, he didn’t spread it, and the matter fizzled out.” Wang Wenfang sighed.

“How much did you scam him for?” Ou Yu asked.

“Scam?” Wang Wenfang snapped angrily. “Our talismans and artifacts—I get them from the shaman every time.”

Xiao Fen chuckled at her use of “scam.” Even funnier was Wang Wenfang’s defensive knee-jerk reaction.

“You mean the shaman living in that Red Pillar House in Purple Gold Village?” he said.

“That’s right. No one knows his name, but everyone knows he’s incredibly skilled—divination, feng shui, strange arts, all at his fingertips.” She said, “He’s mysterious himself. The elders say even from their great-grandfathers’ time, they heard about this gentleman looking a certain way. And to this day, he still looks the same.”

“How old is he then? Over a hundred?” Ou Yu marveled.

“That guy who identified the stranger’s body in the well was 104—super long-lived.” Xiao Fen said. “Maybe it’s the local water and soil.”

“No, not that kind of longevity.” Wang Wenfang said. “He’s immortal and ageless, always looking thirty or forty, body and face unchanged. For over a hundred years, just like that.”

“If there’s really such a divine figure, he’d be an immortal by now.” Xiao Fen was surprised too.

【How’d it suddenly turn all fantastical again?】

【If that’s true, I’d totally go worship him.】

【That’s superstitious nonsense. There’s definitely something fishy.】

【The world’s full of wonders. Without this livestream, would you even know? Don’t judge with common sense. What if immortals really exist?】

【Everyone’s views weren’t like this before. Immortality’s allure is huge.】

“The shaman is always joyful in good deeds, accumulating virtue, earning merit that forged his immortal golden body. Normally, it’s hard to even get a talisman from him, but once you do, everyone says it works wonders. No way fakes exist.” She said. “Zhong Houwang went off to college for a few years, became a teacher, thought he was cultured, and started doubting the shaman’s powers.”