31 Mother Liu and Father Liu

Liu Lang wanted to reach out to the Wind King to report the situation, but the call would not go through.

Perhaps he should contact his parents first. It had been so long since they last spoke; they must be worried sick. If he told them he had been accepted into Tsinghua University, they would surely be ecstatic.

He dialed the phone number that was etched firmly into his memory.

"Hello? Son? How have you been? The college entrance exam is only a few days away, and your father and I haven't dared to call you for fear of distracting you," came his mother's familiar voice on the other end.

The college entrance exam—how familiar, yet how strange. Hadn't the exam been postponed? Or was it only in Min Province?

"What! You're in Tianjing now?"

"What! You've been admitted to Tsinghua University? The exam hasn't even started yet, what kind of admission—"

"Oh, oh, an early admission? No, that can't be right! Why would they offer you early admission?"

Panicked, Liu Lang's mother called for her husband; she suspected their son had been scammed. Losing money was one thing, but to be swindled during such a crucial study period—and with the exams only days away—he had actually been lured all the way to Tianjing!

The couple ran a wholesale fruit business in Tianjing, operating out of a storefront where they lived in the back. Though the work was grueling, the income was enough to make their relatives back home envious.

Despite their anger at their son being deceived and wasting his precious study time, the moment they saw him, both parents' eyes welled with tears. They had been so busy with business over the past two years that they had spent very little time with him.

His mother hugged him tightly, momentarily casting the college entrance exam to the back of her mind. Being reunited as a family was worth more than anything else.

"Husband, look at this admission letter. Is it real?" his mother asked.

His father was busy chopping bones, intent on stewing a pot of pork ribs for his son. He wiped his hands, took off his glasses, and peered closely at the letter. "It looks legitimate, but it must be fake. Do you have any special talents? Why would they give you early admission, and to Tsinghua at that?"

Liu Lang smiled helplessly, realizing he had no talent for persuasion.

His father dialed the admissions hotline for Tsinghua University and asked if there was an early-admission student named Liu Lang. After verifying his name, hometown, and ID number, it turned out his son really had been accepted.

"My goodness! The ancestors of the Liu family must be blessing us from beyond!"

***

There is no need to dwell on how excited his parents were. Liu Lang was surprised that they knew nothing about what had happened in Min Province, even though it was such a major event.

It was also highly unusual that, upon confirming his admission, they didn't call any friends or relatives to announce the news. When he pressed them, they realized with confusion that they hadn't felt the urge to call home for two months, nor had they even scrolled through social media; they had been completely absorbed in their work.

It must have been an interference by supernatural powers, Liu Lang thought as he drank his pork rib soup. He could understand the need to maintain stability. He decided not to say anything; it would be meaningless now and would only cause his parents unnecessary worry.

His mother pulled down the metal shutter, closing the shop for the day so the family could enjoy a meal together.

"Come to think of it, things have been quite chaotic lately," his father said, opening a bottle of wine and taking a small sip that made him squeeze his eyes shut from the sting.

His mother nodded. "Xiao Lang, stay for a few days to relax before you go back to take your exams. Be careful when you go out."

It turned out that several people had gone missing from the nearby wholesale fruit market, including a wealthy businessman.

"They say they just ran away, but I don't think so," his mother said. "Boss Li came to chase us for payment just before he disappeared. Who runs away without collecting the money they're owed?"

His mother leaned in, whispering mysteriously, "I also heard that a body was found in the Yang family alley nearby—a body with no facial features..."

"Ignorant woman, you believe such ghost stories!" his father scolded.

"It's not a ghost story! Someone even saw a little girl in a Western-style dress!"

His parents began to bicker. Liu Lang’s expression gradually turned cold. This case was much closer to his parents than he had realized! He had to eliminate this threat.

He still couldn't reach the Wind King, and Qin Chuan and the others simply didn't believe him. If it really was Tu Ning, he couldn't handle it alone; he needed to mobilize more resources. Evidence—they wanted evidence. How could he find it?

His parents, having had quite a bit to drink, fell asleep early. Liu Lang walked out. He went to the Yang family alley, which was still cordoned off with police tape. He paced back and forth several times but found no valuable clues. "If only Dongfeng were here," he thought. "He calls himself the Prince of Criminal Investigation; he would surely have found something."

***

A little girl in a Western-style dress appeared in the alley, her back turned to Liu Lang.

"Little sister, why are you here alone so late? You should go home," Liu Lang said, sensing something was wrong but offering a kind warning.

"Big brother, my doll fell on the ground. Could you help me pick it up?"

"Why don't you pick it up yourself?"

"I'm afraid of getting my dress dirty. My mother will scold me."

Confident in his abilities, Liu Lang walked over despite his misgivings. Under the streetlight, the little girl's shadow stretched long, and a doll lay at her feet. As he approached, she turned to face him.

The girl's face was just like the back of her head—a large, braided ponytail.

An ordinary person might have been terrified, but Liu Lang was nearly accustomed to heads and faces being swapped; this was at most a minor surprise. He picked up the doll and handed it to her. "Here."

She didn't reach for it, as if surprised that he wasn't afraid.

"No face, but do you have hands?" Liu Lang drew his gleaming dagger. "Little sister, let big brother help you trim the hair on your face!"

This monster definitely had something to do with the case. He would capture her and show her to Qin Chuan!

With a swift strike, the girl's body collapsed, and the Western-style dress fell away. It wasn't a body at all, but a coat rack with only a head balanced on top. The head tried to fly away, but Liu Lang had anticipated this. With a flash of cold light, the dagger flew out, pinning the head to the wall.

Liu Lang called the police and slowly approached the head. "Are you from the Eight-Foot Kingdom?"

"What is the Eight-Foot Kingdom? Big brother, you're hurting me."

No matter what Liu Lang asked, she would only repeat, "Big brother, you're hurting me."

Hearing the sirens approaching in the distance, he gave up on the interrogation. He would leave this to Qin Chuan. He began to look forward to how Brother Qin Chuan would interrogate this head, and at the thought, the corners of his mouth curled into a slight smile.