Chapter 047: The Unanswered Call

My grandfather’s name is Jiang Shan. Now that I think about it, it seems that ever since I can remember, no one around him has ever known his real name. The neighbors either called him Old Jiang or Master Jiang. Though Jiang Shan was my grandfather’s name, to me it felt almost like a taboo.

I recall one time when my father and grandfather argued about my schoolwork. My grades were poor, and my father blamed my grandfather, saying he kept me from studying and insisted I learn the wild Maoshan arts from him instead. At parent-teacher meetings, my father would be scolded by the teachers. At first, my grandfather said nothing, like a child who’d done wrong, letting my father berate him. But then, my father got heated and called out my grandfather’s name. Instantly, my grandfather erupted, threw my father out of the shop, and even whipped him with a belt.

I was in fourth grade at the time, old enough to remember things. In the end, my father was punished to kneel all night just for uttering my grandfather’s name. Whether taken apart or together, the name Jiang Shan never seemed inappropriate to me. Maybe it was just my grandfather being superstitious; after all, surely he wasn’t the only Jiang Shan in the country.

I sighed, closed up the shop, packed my bags, took a shower, and lay in bed ready to use my phone—only to find it out of battery. That was when I remembered the phone call I missed before boarding the plane, apparently from Captain Cui. I plugged in my phone and set it aside, thinking about the ominous note Yu Nie had given Captain Cui: "Death within seven days." The days since the airport had already passed.

Because of the Tong family’s affairs, I hadn’t contacted Captain Cui these past few days, and had no idea how he was doing. Now, he suddenly called me, and I had a bad feeling about it. When the phone powered on, I eagerly checked my call log and found only one missed call—from Captain Cui. When I called back, it said the phone was switched off. It was two in the morning, so perhaps he’d just turned it off to sleep.

I didn’t dwell on it. I’d been exhausted these days and hadn’t had a good night’s rest. Nowhere is as comfortable as my own bed. Within three minutes of lying down, I was sound asleep.

When I woke up, it was already noon the next day. The first thing I did was check my phone for any missed calls. Unfortunately, there were none. While brushing my teeth, I tried calling Captain Cui again, but his phone was still off. Was his phone broken?

I opened the shop door and saw a familiar young man posting flyers outside. "Hey, Jiang Huai! Why aren’t you at school? Where’s your grandfather?" he asked.

I stretched lazily and looked at him with a half-smile. "What’s up? Someone in your family passed away? Looking for my grandfather’s business?"

He snorted, "Kid, your mouth is still as sharp as ever."

We knew each other well, so he didn’t mind my words. "Enough joking. Tell your grandfather to close up early these nights. Something big’s happened here!"

The best information network, in my opinion, is the word-of-mouth among neighbors. Like this young man, weaving through the city’s streets and alleys every day, he seemed to know everything.

"What happened?" I asked.

"You haven’t heard?" He became animated, stopped posting flyers, came over, and offered me a cigarette.

I politely declined. "I don’t smoke, you go ahead."

He didn’t mind, lit his cigarette, and said, "A few people have died around here, including a police officer. The killer’s said to be a vicious monk. Who knows if he’s been caught yet—better be careful."

A police officer? A monk?

Captain Cui? Yu Nie?

A wave of unease rose in my chest. I hurried inside, grabbed my scooter keys, locked up the shop, and set off. I reminded the young man not to post flyers on my shop door as I left.

I rode to the police station, parked my scooter, and went in, stating I wanted to see Captain Cui. They told me he was out on a case and hadn’t returned yet, asking me to leave my name and wait at home for him to contact me.

Out on a case?

I quickly asked, "Was it last night’s case?"

"Sorry, I can’t tell you that. If you’re in a hurry, you can wait here," the officer replied.

Waiting around wasn’t my style. Just as I was about to head to the ancient Baolian Temple in the south of the city, a familiar voice called out, "Jiang Huai?"

I turned and saw it was none other than Wang Zihao, who had questioned me alongside Captain Cui before. "I was looking for you! You’re finally back!" Wang Zihao ran over, ignoring the curious looks of others, grabbed my arm, and pulled me into his car.

Before I could speak, Wang Zihao fastened his seatbelt and started the engine. "I called you last night, but your phone was off. I searched for you all night, and Captain Cui’s phone was dead. I was about to check your shop when you showed up."

"Officer, what’s happened? Was it you who used Captain Cui’s phone to call me last night?"

I was puzzled.

Wang Zihao glanced at me deeply as he drove. "The demon monk Yu Nie... committed a crime..."

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Chapter 047: The Missed Call