Datang Foot Spa.
First-floor lobby.
A man’s shrill screams echoed continuously through the lobby, sounding abrupt and strangely eerie in the quiet, deep rainy night.
After a long moment, under the dim lights, he crawled up from the floor, revealing a face smeared with blood and twisted in terror. He reached toward the sofa where Qin Hua sat.
“Third Brother… Third Brother… It really wasn’t me… I didn’t kill that guy…”
Qin Hua rested his elbow on the armrest, his index knuckle pressed against the bridge of his nose. With his eyes lowered, he spoke faintly. “What about that thing?”
“What… what thing? Third Brother… I really don’t know… I didn’t take anything…” The man trembled in fear.
A-Zuo grabbed the man’s collar without another word and leaned in close. “The night before last, besides Yellow Hair, you were the only one who went into the basement. Yellow Hair already admitted it. You still want to lie? Huh? Spill it! Where’d you hide the thing?”
The man was yanked backward by A-Zuo. He barely clutched A-Zuo’s arm to keep his head from smashing into the ground. He begged for mercy. “Brother A-Zuo, I really didn’t take anything. I went down to the basement to… to chat with Yellow Hair. After we chatted… I went upstairs to sleep. I swear I didn’t take anything…”
“Fuck! You’re begging to die!” A-Zuo flung the man away. The man’s head cracked against the edge of the table, blood pouring from the wound.
The table was a new one—solid wood that wouldn’t break from a hit like that.
The man clutched his forehead and howled, his cries grating on everyone’s nerves.
“Fucking shut up!” A-Zuo, seething with rage, slapped the man again. His head smacked into the table once more, turning his screams into sharp gasps.
This time, the man’s pleading gaze turned to Yu Bai on the other single sofa.
“Sister Yu, save me! It wasn’t me who killed him. I didn’t take his stuff either. I don’t even know the guy…”
As he spoke, his bloodstained hand brushed Yu Bai’s pant leg, leaving a smear on the white suit pants.
Yu Bai’s eyes dropped to the soiled spot on her pant leg. She narrowed them slightly.
A-Zuo’s fury boiled over, and he raised his hand for another slap.
“A-Zuo.” Yu Bai raised her hand lightly and stopped him in a low voice. Her gaze shifted to Qin Hua. She spoke calmly. “Third Brother, we won’t get anything out of him this way. The body wasn’t found in the Foot Spa City. No one saw whether Miao Deng took that thing out. Now the police are investigating, and no one’s going to admit a thing.”
“Then what do you say we do?”
Ever since yesterday, when A-Zuo’s men had learned at the Dock Warehouse that the police were investigating Miao Deng’s murder, Qin Hua had confined everyone here—including the Foot Spa Girls and Massage Therapists. Yu Bai had lost contact with the outside world as well.
Yu Bai drew in a deep breath and met Qin Hua’s eyes. “The thing is missing, so let’s report it to the police. Cooperate with them.”
“Fuck, you crazy bitch? Always itching to bring the cops here?” Uncle Jiu shot up from the sofa and lunged at Yu Bai. Only Qin Hua’s warning glare made him sit back down.
“Yu Bai, speak.”
Yu Bai shot Uncle Jiu a glance, then lowered her eyes and lit a cigarette. She took two slow drags amid the swirling smoke before speaking calmly. “Since we can’t find the killer, why not go to the Police Bureau ourselves and file a report? On one hand, we can gauge the police’s progress. On the other, if the thing has already fallen into their hands, we can test the waters without being too passive.”
“Good. This time, we’re siding with the cops.” Qin Hua’s gaze shifted to Uncle Jiu. “Uncle Jiu, it’s been fifteen years. Time to break that oath.”
“Break my ass! Third Brother, you’re actually buying this bullshit?” Uncle Jiu’s anger reignited in an instant. He glared viciously at Yu Bai, grinding his teeth. “Stupid bitch, always cozying up to the cops. You want me to work with them? Try it in your next life!”
Yu Bai narrowed her eyes and flicked her ash. She sneered. “Loan sharks chasing you down the streets, the killer who murdered Miao Deng nowhere in sight, and you won’t make a single dime. Then they hack off your hands and feet and leave you dead in the gutter. Good luck with that next life.”
Smack—
A sharp slap landed across Yu Bai’s face.
“Fuck your mother’s cunt! You cheap whore!”
Uncle Jiu, fuming with rage, leaped up and slapped her before Qin Hua could intervene.
Qin Hua said, “You…”
Yu Bai touched her slapped cheek and drew in a slight breath. She narrowed her eyes at Uncle Jiu and spoke coldly. “You’re really set in your ways, huh? Dead set on walking that one-way bridge to the end? Fine! You’ve got guts.”
Her eyes flickered with shifting light and shadow as she sneered coldly. “However, Uncle Jiu, when you end up a corpse on the street someday, don’t blame me, Yu Bai, for not warning you. This guy—if he doesn’t know his place, he only has one path: death. Remember my words; even on the road to reincarnation, you’ll have to thank me!”
“Fuck your mom! Yu Bai! You fucking… ow! Fuck…”
Uncle Jiu bristled at Yu Bai’s words and lunged to strike her again, but just as he rose, Qin Hua shoved him back onto the sofa. He tumbled over, landing flat on his back with all four limbs flailing in the air.
“Enough.” A cold glint flashed in Qin Hua’s eyes behind his glasses. “Uncle Jiu, have you caused enough trouble? I approved the cooperation with the police. Are you planning to slap me too?”
“Third Brother, I…” Uncle Jiu scrambled up from the sofa in a disheveled heap. Under Qin Hua’s piercing gaze, he wilted and let out a frustrated sigh, fuming silently but holding his tongue.
The chill in Qin Hua’s eyes eased slightly. When his gaze shifted to Yu Bai, it softened completely. He glanced at the red mark on her left cheek and patted her shoulder gently. “Should I have Sister Lin bring an ice pack for you?”
Yu Bai pressed a hand to her face, her eyes closed in a cold laugh. Her expression remained frosty. “No need. If I say one more wrong thing and Uncle Jiu slaps me again, it’ll just put Sister Lin out.”
Qin Hua sighed helplessly. “Yu Bai.”
She kept her icy expression, her half-lidded eyes locked on Uncle Jiu. He shivered under her stare but, with Qin Hua right there, didn’t dare make a move.
After three or four minutes of this, Yu Bai shot up from the sofa without a word and strode toward the door.
Qin Hua blinked in surprise, jumping up to chase her and grab her arm. “It’s the middle of the night—where are you going?”
Yu Bai halted, pivoting on her high heels to face him. Her gaze slid from Qin Hua’s face to Uncle Jiu, and she wagged a warning finger at the man. “I’m heading to the police bureau to file a report. Let them deal with this lunatic.”
“Don’t make a scene.” Qin Hua rubbed his temple with a budding headache.
“Aren’t we cooperating with the police?” Yu Bai stood with her arms crossed, dead serious. “I’ll go file that report right now!”
Qin Hua was at a loss for words. “No need to rush into it!”
“Why not? Let’s wrap this case up quick!” Yu Bai snapped, barely containing her anger. Ignoring his attempts to explain, she turned for the door. “Once the case is closed, keep this mad dog away from me—or I’ll beat him on sight.”
Uncle Jiu exploded behind her, hopping mad. “Damn it, you bitch! You can’t go! Stop right there—”
Yu Bai didn’t give him the time of day. She flung the door open without a backward glance.
A raging thunderstorm greeted her outside. Black clouds pressed low, blotting out any hint of light from the horizon. A bone-chilling gust blasted the two figures at the Foot Spa City entrance.
Yu Bai had no intention of lingering even a second longer, but the downpour was ferocious. She retreated inside for an umbrella before braving it again.
Just as she moved to shut the door, the silent rainy night erupted with flashing red-and-blue police lights. They streaked down the street toward the Foot Spa City before pulling up sharply at the Datang Foot Spa door.
“Police! Freeze!”
Zhou Hui leaped from the patrol car, her eyes locking instantly on Yu Bai and Qin Hua at the entrance. Her brows knit together in a tight frown.
~~~
