Chapter 96: Three Battles with the White Bone Spirit
"A mound of white bones becomes a demon~, eating people and craving blood is its nature. It swallows wolves, worms, tigers, and leopards in one bite, comes and goes with the clouds and mist without a trace, its transformations many and ever new..."
The sound of gongs, drums, and clappers rang CLANG CLANG CLANG in her ears. The opera music resounded, and the THUMP THUMP THUMP of the drums hammered in time with her accelerating heartbeat.
Jiang Li opened her eyes. Before her, several people in opera costumes were performing passionately on stage, stirring the emotions of the audience.
Jiang Li watched the woman in the black and white costume. Accompanied by others dressed as a lion, a leopard, a wolf, and a tiger, she transformed again and again as the scene before them gradually accelerated.
Tang Seng and his three disciples came on stage. The scene was a dazzling blur of rising music, fluid combat, and seamless character changes.
Jiang Li watched, her head buzzing.
’Three Battles with the White Bone Spirit?’
The White Bone Demon fell, and with her, the dream ended. Jiang Li sat up, still feeling a throbbing ache. She shook her head abruptly.
She picked up her phone from the bedside table and glanced at it. There was a message from Ji Qinghe telling her to come down to the police station when she had time. The bonus had come through.
The word "bonus" instantly chased away her drowsiness. Jiang Li quickly got up, washed her face, and headed out.
Yu Huannian watched Jiang Li leave without eating again and frowned. Then he glanced behind him at Wu Ming, who had been sneaking food early in the morning.
Arriving at the station, Jiang Li was stunned to see it packed with people. ’Why are there so many?’
"These are all the people we brought back from the KTV last night," Ji Qinghe said, walking up to Jiang Li.
Jiang Li nodded. ’I can’t believe they caught so many people. It’s a good thing I didn’t act rashly last night, or I might not have made it out.’
"Zhao Shuo and the others found a hidden room behind the KTV. It must be where they conduct their transactions. They even caught three fugitives last night."
Ji Qinghe smiled at Jiang Li. ’She really is a lucky star for our station.’
"Really? That’s great!" Jiang Li looked at Ji Qinghe and asked in a low voice, "Officer Ji, about the bonus you mentioned..."
"About that, the mayor said he’ll issue it to you personally to speed up the process. For your safety, it’ll be handled just like last time—a direct transfer will do."
Ji Qinghe looked at Jiang Li. What she didn’t say was that with the mayor’s help, Li Ergou had already been taken away by the Gu Family. The higher-ups had also given the order to just find a reason to close the doppelganger case.
"Okay."
Jiang Li suddenly remembered something and handed the pinhole camera to Ji Qinghe. "Officer Ji, there’s something wrong with the wall in this private room, too. If you have enough people, you should check it carefully."
"Okay."
Ji Qinghe led Jiang Li to an office and knocked on the door. "KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK."
"Come in!"
Ji Qinghe pushed the door open and let Jiang Li enter.
Zhang Hongzhi looked at Jiang Li as she entered and broke into a smile. "Ms. Jiang, please have a seat."
Jiang Li sat down across from Zhang Hongzhi. While he was sizing her up, she was also secretly sizing him up.
"Ms. Jiang, thank you for your help during this time. You’ve enabled our comrades to apprehend these criminals so quickly. And last night, Ms. Jiang, you performed another great service!"
Zhang Hongzhi smiled at Jiang Li. "The bank account number is the same as last time, correct? I’ll have the finance department transfer the money to you."
Jiang Li nodded. "Thank you, Mayor."
Jiang Li looked at Zhang Hongzhi, unable to get a read on him.
"Don’t be nervous. I just called you here to thank you properly on behalf of the citizens and the victims."
Zhang Hongzhi looked at Jiang Li. "Of course, there is also a matter I’d like to ask you to keep an eye out for, Ms. Jiang."
Zhang Hongzhi’s assistant placed a file in front of her.
"Currently, we are secretly pursuing a criminal organization. Their activities are wide-ranging, they stop at nothing, and they’re everywhere.
I’d like to ask for your help in keeping an eye out for any related clues."
Jiang Li looked at the information in the file. Human trafficking, fraud, drug dealing... they’d done everything they weren’t supposed to do.
"A secret investigation? Does that mean you have a mole inside your organization?"
Jiang Li put down the file and looked at Zhang Hongzhi. ’Could this be the same group that’s been causing trouble for me?’
Zhang Hongzhi nodded with a grave expression. "Yes. The other party is very well hidden, but we can confirm that the people behind your previous two real estate cases were part of their group."
Hearing this, Jiang Li nodded. ’So it really is the same group. Helping him is helping myself.’
"Alright. In that case, Mayor, could you do me a favor as well?" Jiang Li looked up at Zhang Hongzhi.
"You’re too kind, Ms. Jiang. If you need any help, just say the word," Zhang Hongzhi said, looking at her.
"It’s simple. Guarantee my personal safety."
Jiang Li looked at Zhang Hongzhi, having ultimately changed her request. She felt uneasy.
"Hahahaha, of course. We’ll be counting on you then, Ms. Jiang."
"Well, Mayor, if there’s nothing else, I’ll be going."
Jiang Li smiled, stood up, and walked out.
After leaving and closing the door, she calmly walked to the side and sat down, thinking about the files Zhang Hongzhi had shown her.
Jiang Li took a deep breath. ’Who is the person behind that group?’
"Jiang Li, have you eaten?"
Zhou Fuhai saw Jiang Li sitting on the chair and greeted her with a smile.
"I’ve eaten." Jiang Li glanced at Zhou Fuhai. ’Is he from the Research Institute?’
"Hahaha, good, good. You’re a great hero to our station now. We can’t have you going hungry."
Zhou Fuhai looked at Jiang Li. He hadn’t expected this; he had underestimated her. In just one night, she had enabled them to catch so many people.
Zhou Fuhai recalled what Wu Jianzhang had said and couldn’t help but start studying Jiang Li. ’Could her strange successes be because she’s mentally ill?’
"Director Zhou, is there anything else?" Jiang Li looked up and met Zhou Fuhai’s gaze directly.
Zhou Fuhai met her eyes and snapped back to his senses with a jolt. "Ah, no, nothing. Just make yourself at home. If you need anything, just ask any of the officers here."
After speaking, Zhou Fuhai turned and left.
Jiang Li didn’t stare after Zhou Fuhai. She looked down, picking at her fingers. ’Zhou Fuhai, the Research Institute, Zhang Hongzhi, the criminal organization.’
Jiang Li stood up and walked outside. She suddenly didn’t want to be there anymore.
Du Wenhao watched Jiang Li’s retreating back, feeling it was exceptionally familiar. Just as he was about to step forward for a closer look, his name was suddenly called from inside.
Du Wenhao was a coward. Once he went inside, he obediently told them everything he knew.
After all, he wasn’t stupid. The KTV was definitely done for. If he confessed honestly, he might get a lighter sentence.
Lu Xingye and Zhao Shuo watched the video Jiang Li had submitted, and the corners of their mouths twitched. ’They were really having a good time.’
Lu Xingye watched the scenes and people in the video, his gaze then falling on the spot Jiang Li had mentioned. His mind instantly made a connection to a similar case from the past.
Luring young, beautiful college students to work as party girls.
Lu Xingye looked down at the information in his hands, filtering out the key details.
After coming outside, Jiang Li noticed someone in the distance, so she turned and took a different route.
"She’s out. Follow her!"