Yun Chaohai shuttled back and forth until he finally decided to stay in the temple, having the younger officers run errands to bring lab results, evidence, and analysis for him to work on there. Whenever he had free time, he wandered aimlessly around the temple. The constant tension had visibly aged him.
He seemed deeply troubled, sometimes even kneeling before the Buddha statues to pray earnestly. Eventually, he started summoning the young monks one by one for questioning, hoping to uncover any leads. The brute-force approach actually worked.
During the evening interrogations, they found something interesting—someone had indeed seen the woman in black. She was remembered because she resembled the Snake Demon from *Calabash Brothers*.
Around 2 a.m., she had entered the room of Shi Yuantong, a visiting monk from Shaolin Temple, and didn’t leave until dawn.
As soon as Yun Chaohai got this information, he took two young officers to find Master Yuantong, disregarding the late hour and the disturbance it might cause. I accompanied the entire interrogation process, dozing off briefly while Yun Chaohai left to bring Master Yuantong back for questioning.
Just as I was nodding off, a *whoosh* sounded—a throwing knife embedded itself in the wall with a white note attached: *”If you want to know where Xie Lingyu is, chase me now.”* Without hesitation, I dashed out the door in pursuit. A trail of footprints in the snow led southeast into the temple grounds.
I ran fast and soon spotted a figure clad entirely in black standing by a corner wall. “Are you Xiao Qi?” the person asked in a strangely distorted voice, as if using a voice changer.
“Yes. Who are you?” I replied.
The black-clad figure chuckled. “I sent you several emails about Xie Lingyu. Don’t you remember?”
“It’s you. I gave you an address—why didn’t you send me the materials?”
Previously, someone with a random string of letters for a name had emailed me—first in Tiger Leaping Gorge in Shangri-La, then again a month later in Jiangcheng. They claimed Xie Lingyu was a spirit fox but didn’t know who she was searching for, only that they had some documents to mail me for analysis.
Then, silence—until now, when they suddenly appeared at Famen Temple.
“Don’t blame me for not keeping my word. We never had a contract. Besides, I’ve already solved Xie Lingyu’s mystery—I know exactly who she’s looking for. Frankly, I’m more worried about *you*. What will she think if she finds out you’ve been investigating her behind her back?” The figure’s laughter dripped with malice.
“Where is Xie Lingyu now? Who are you?” I demanded.
“You believed I knew her whereabouts just because of a note. That ghost must mean a lot to you. Have you ever considered how this will end? Humans and ghosts don’t belong together.”
“Fuck you and your riddles!” I snapped.
The figure smirked. “Let’s make a deal. I’ll tell you everything about Xie Lingyu—guaranteed to be worth your while. How about it?”
“What’s the price?”
“Whatever Master Yuantong says, just nod and agree.” With that, the figure grabbed a rope hanging from the wall and flipped over it, vanishing.
A flashlight beam suddenly shone behind me. “Who’s there? Freeze! Don’t move, or I’ll shoot!”
I immediately raised my hands and stayed still. “It’s me, Officer Yun. Weren’t you supposed to be fetching Master Yuantong? What are you doing here?”
Yun Chaohai lowered his gun at the sound of my voice. “Master Yuantong has been murdered. I was tracking a black-clad figure when I ended up here.” He eyed the rope dangling from the wall.
“Did you see anyone?” His tone was odd.
Suddenly, he snapped handcuffs onto my wrists. “No more running.”
I stared at him, baffled. “What’s going on? Why are you arresting me?”
“You little bastard. I almost fell for it. Master Yuantong’s last words were: *‘The one who killed me is named Xiao Qi.’*” After cuffing me, Yun Chaohai kicked the back of my knee, forcing me to kneel in the snow.
The black-clad figure had told me to agree with whatever Master Yuantong said—was this part of the deal too?
I stayed silent.
Two young officers caught up. “Sir, you caught the killer! It really is him. I’ve heard murderers often linger at the crime scene after killing someone.”
*Bullshit. If I’d killed someone, I’d be long gone by rocket.*
Yun Chaohai glared at me. “Anything to say? Confess how you killed those people, set the fires, and put heads on snowmen. And most importantly—where is Abbot Donggua?”
After the interrogation, he locked me in a room with a pack of Golden Monkey cigarettes, telling me to think hard and confess. He left a rookie officer to guard me while he stepped out to smoke.
The black-clad figure’s scheme was too clever. The earlier victims were nobodies, but Master Yuantong was a renowned Shaolin monk. Why kill him?
“Did they find anything near the monk’s body? Metal objects?” I asked the young cop.
“Confess, and it’ll go easier on you. Otherwise, you’ll regret it.”
I’d been to the station enough times to know this kid was green.
“If you want to talk, just tap the floor,” I said, almost pitying him.
The cop tensed—then suddenly doubled over in pain, clutching his stomach before frantically knocking on the ground.
“Speak,” I commanded, easing the spell.
Sweating profusely, he stammered, “Five copper coins were placed on his chest. His body was pale, the room reeked of blood—it was horrible.”
“Not me. Someone’s framing me. What else about the coins?”
“Just common ones—Kangxi, Qianlong era. Weird thing was, besides the coins and the gag, he wasn’t restrained. How could someone just lie there bleeding out unless you used dark magic?”
“Damn it, I didn’t kill him! Any other marks?”
“Two holes on his neck—about fang-sized.”
I froze.
*Five coins on the chest—metal suppression. Blood drained, but fang marks?*
“Shit. We’ve got a problem. Take me to the scene—the roads are snowed in, so the body’s still here, right? Hurry!” I activated the spell again, making him wince in pain.
He uncuffed my ankles but left my wrists bound.
The cop was young and clean-shaven—the kind you’d see on TV PSAs. Teasing him wasn’t my intention.
But this was serious.
*Very serious.*
Those neck wounds looked like *vampire* bites. Why the coins? What kind of corpse-fiend would target a dried-up old monk?
The snow crunched underfoot as we hurried to Master Yuantong’s room—a high-grade guest chamber now cordoned off. Yun Chaohai and his team were still examining the scene.
When he saw me, he rested a hand on his holster. “Behave.”
The blood on the bed had dried, emitting a foul odor with an unnatural dark tinge. The five coins remained untouched on the corpse’s chest. Hopping closer, I confirmed the two puncture wounds on the neck.
*Definitely a vampire bite.*
“Found some band-aids here…”
“Bag the coins—check for the charlatan’s prints,” Yun Chaohai ordered.
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