Chapter Thirty-Nine: The Pace Quickened

"Smack!" A resounding slap echoed from inside the detention center. A man, stunned, clutched his cheek and stared at the woman before him. "Mom!? You hit me!?"

"Have you forgotten how you ended up in the hospital last time? You nearly died of exhaustion, and had to be carried in on a stretcher!" The woman was in tears, her face a picture of bitter disappointment, as she struck him again.

"I—!" The man looked utterly aggrieved. "Why won’t you let me explain!?"

A pang of pain shot through the woman’s heart. "Explain? You can explain yourself to your father when you get home!"

With a clang, the iron door swung open. A guard appeared, handing some documents to the woman. "Liang Lingzhi can leave now. He’s a repeat offender. If he gets caught again, it won’t just be a detention."

Anger flared in the woman’s eyes. She crumpled the documents and hurled them at Liang Lingzhi. "Go home! You’ve disgraced us!"

With his cheek burning, Liang Lingzhi followed behind his mother. As he glanced back, he saw the group of men detained for soliciting prostitutes eyeing him solemnly. With a swift motion, they all saluted him.

A heat welled up in Liang Lingzhi’s chest. "Looks like I’ve already become a seasoned veteran in their eyes! To think I’d become the leading figure in the world of soliciting, and so popular among men!"

Once inside the family’s luxury car, Liang Lingzhi dared not utter a word to his mother. After all, their family was well-known locally, and being caught in such a disgraceful scandal was, to be honest, a hard blow to their reputation.

During his days in the detention center, Liang Lingzhi had figured it out. This had to be a trap set by Officer Li. "That old fox Officer Li, what a vicious snare he’s laid for me. He must want my reputation ruined so I can infiltrate the tomb-raiding gang?"

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. "He called it a plan tailored just for me! If I had really been soliciting, I’d admit it. But now I’m carrying the blame for a crime I didn’t commit, and who knows if Nianxue even knows the truth? Looks like my life is pretty much ruined."

"Pull over," Liang Lingzhi said, in a foul mood, asking to get out on the roadside.

His mother’s anger flared again. "Where are you going? Aren’t you going to give your father an explanation?"

Liang Lingzhi shook his head. "Forget it. It’s already done. I’ll come home later. I’m sorry."

His mother’s heart clenched. "I know you’re hurting because I hit you just now, but I’m hurting even more. Tell me, why on earth would you go looking for a prostitute? With our family’s status, you could have any girl you wanted. But you—ah, forget it. Maybe it’s best to wait until your father’s calmed down before you come back."

Liang Lingzhi’s eyes grew hot. "Alright, enough nagging." He slammed the car door and strode off alone down the street.

"If you want my name ruined, that’s simple enough," he muttered. He found a café, asked for paper and pen, and filled an entire page with a list of names.

"I’ve wanted to teach everyone on this list a lesson for a long time." Liang Lingzhi grinned. "Li Xiaopang—on the third day of kindergarten, you pulled my pants down and flicked me. You thought I forgot? Just wait, your time is coming."

"Chen Daoyun—on the third Wednesday of the third month of grade school, you stole my lollipop. And it was durian flavor, my favorite! If I don’t get even, I’m no longer Liang Lingzhi."

"And Zhao Ziping was the worst—second semester of grade eight, you thought I didn’t know you took my dirty magazine? Nothing angers me more than a thief, especially one who steals my treasures!"

He picked up his phone and found Li Xiaopang’s contact in the class group. "Xiaopang, remember me? Liang Lingzhi."

"What’s up? Young Master Liang, so busy and important, what brings you to chat with a commoner like me?"

"Don’t say that, we’re old classmates after all. It’s good to catch up."

"From kindergarten, you mean."

Liang Lingzhi cursed under his breath. "He’s still on guard, huh?"

He tapped out another message. "Friendships from those days were the truest."

"I was only in your class for one semester, then you transferred to the international school. Don’t tell me you’re still hung up on me pulling your pants down? It’s been years, man—"

Liang Lingzhi fumed. "Glad you haven’t forgotten your heroic deeds." He half-coaxed, half-tricked him: "It’s been so long. I also invited Wei Meng’an—she’ll be here soon, at Yaan Café."

Wei Meng’an was their kindergarten beauty, as lovely as she was charming.

"Really? I’ll be there in half an hour. Wait for me!"

Liang Lingzhi sneered. "There really aren’t many men in this world who can resist a beauty trap. Ye Dong couldn’t, I couldn’t, and Li Xiaopang definitely can’t."

...

"Achoo!" On the other side of town, Ye Dong suddenly sneezed. "Who’s thinking about me? Could it be Huiyan?" He vaulted over a spinning wooden post and rolled to dodge a trap.

Xiaobao chuckled. "You’re so besotted with her, I bet you can’t even tell Yayi and Huiyan apart anymore."

Dachun, crawling low, burst out laughing as he passed through a series of staggered poles. "I bet it’s the pack of mutts behind us that’s thinking about you!"

"Woof! Woof woof!"

Hearing the excited barking, a chill ran down Ye Dong’s spine. "Enough about that—Officer Li is insane. More dogs, harder obstacles—he’s gone too far!"

Not even the rain could halt their special training; they simply moved to an indoor course to play their war games with the vicious dogs.

Meanwhile, Officer Li was busy as well. After days of investigation, Xiao Yang had finally uncovered detailed information on Miaomiao.

Officer Li flipped through the documents, his brows knotted. "Give these to Master Chen. Let him handle it."

Xiao Yang couldn’t help asking, "But Master Chen is our trump card. Isn’t it overkill to have him take care of Miaomiao’s case?"

Officer Li shook his head with a smile. "You’re mistaken. According to him, the hardest ghosts to deal with are two types: vengeful spirits—those who remain in the world out of hatred—and spirit infants, usually the souls of aborted or stillborn children. Master Chen is our safest bet for this."

Xiao Yang was enlightened. "I never knew. You really do learn something new every day. I’ll pass the documents to him right away."

Once Xiao Yang left, Wang Huiyan hurried in. "Master, bad news! Xiaobao got mauled by the dogs and now he’s hiding in his room, crying and refusing to come out! What should we do?"

Officer Li stifled a laugh. "What about Ye Dong and the others?"

Wang Huiyan replied, "They ran fast and escaped, but their pants got ripped off."

Officer Li finally couldn’t hold back his laughter. "Ahaha, what a shame!"

Just then, Xiao Li, who hadn’t been seen in a while, rushed in. "Boss, bad news! Liang Lingzhi’s in trouble!"

Officer Li shot to his feet. "What happened?"

Xiao Li handed over a document. "He—he attacked a police officer!"

Officer Li opened the file to see a photo of Li Xiaopang in uniform displayed prominently on the front...