Detective Agency of the Bizarre
Chapter 103 - 103 One hundred and three

103: One hundred and three.

Die wherever you go.

103: One hundred and three.

Die wherever you go.

Lu Li released Yang Chunxue, who immediately headed straight for the computer but was then distracted by the plastic bag brought back by Kong Nanqing.

Not everything Lu Li brought back was desired by Kong Nanqing.

She picked out some items, hiding and disposing of them in the trash can.

When she intended to throw away the photo album, Lu Li stopped her.

He still had some questions to ask.

Taking the album from Kong Nanqing, Lu Li pointed to the young man in the corner wearing a checkered shirt, “Do you still remember him?”

“Little Hu…

Song Hu, an employee of the company.”

“Do you know about the watch on his wrist?” His finger slid down, pointing to that wrist.

“Some…

impressions,” Kong Nanqing stared at the album, trying to recall past events.

“He was wearing that watch when he joined the company.”

“How long ago.”

“Two years ago…”

Liu Wenwei disappeared five years ago, and Little Hu was within the scope of suspicion.

“Do you have his contact information or address?” Lu Li asked.

After more than ten days, a new clue finally emerged.

Although the likelihood of the clue was minimal, Lu Li didn’t want to give up.

“All burned up,” Kong Nanqing shook her head.

She was referring to the address book and cell phone.

“Is there a problem with that watch?” asked Yang Chunxue, puzzled and foggy.

“It’s the same as Liu Wenwei’s watch.”

“Liu Wenwei is—”

The voice stopped abruptly as Yang Chunxue remembered who Liu Wenwei was.

“Is your company still in operation?” Lu Li asked again.

“It was when I died…” Kong Nanqing’s eyes flashed red.

Lu Li turned on the computer and searched the net for Kong Nanqing’s former company—the company was operating normally and even posting job ads.

Yang Chunxue leaned in and asked, “Are we going to investigate?”

Lu Li silently closed the screen, looking somewhat exhausted, “Let’s do it tomorrow, I want to rest.”

“You don’t look quite right…” Yang Chunxue noticed something keenly but her thoughts drifted elsewhere.

“Is it because of your missing girlfriend?”

“Sort of.”

Lu Li didn’t tell the full truth.

“Oh…”

Yang Chunxue showed a touch of sympathy but was too embarrassed to say words of concern.

With a humming and hawing, she trudged off to the bedroom and started playing video games.

A day passed with nothing much happening—at least for Shen Yuqiao it was like that.

As night fell, Shen Yuqiao, who had no strict working hours, returned home to find the two ghosts in his bedroom still engrossed in video games and TV dramas.

A night without words passed.

The next morning, after Shen Yuqiao had arrived, Lu Li left the house to visit Kong Nanqing’s company.

Hongguang Building.

The old Xiali entered the underground parking lot under the surprised gaze of the attendant.

Despite Yang Chunxue’s objections, Lu Li temporarily took her back into the Ghost Envoy Manual.

Having confirmed that other exorcists existed in the city besides himself, Lu Li naturally couldn’t swagger about with a ghost in tow as he used to.

Taking the elevator to the fourteenth floor, Lu Li pushed open the glass door and walked toward the reception desk.

Dazzling Culture Co., Ltd.

The wall behind the receptionist was adorned with the company name.

“Excuse me, is Song Hu an employee here?” Lu Li inquired.

The receptionist gently shook her head, “I’m sorry, but we don’t have anyone by that name.

Maybe you could check elsewhere?”

“He is your employee.” Lu Li took out the photo frame and handed it to the receptionist.

Leaning forward to look, the receptionist observed it for a few seconds and then showed an embarrassed smile, “I’m sorry sir, I’ve only recently joined, and I haven’t seen the person you’re talking about…”

“Looking for whom?”

A passing male employee holding a hand warmer cup approached the reception desk.

He stared at the photo frame intently and then exclaimed, “Oh~ Little Hu, yeah, he resigned, left about five or six months ago.”

“`

Lu Li asked thoughtfully, “Why did he resign?”

“Seems like he went back to his hometown to get married?”

“Where is his hometown?”

The employee opened his mouth, looked at Lu Li with a puzzled expression, and asked, “Who are you to him?”

Lu Li answered, “Detective, I’ve been hired to investigate Song Hu.”

The customer service and the employee both showed a “seems very impressive” look.

Most people’s impression of a detective is like Sherlock Holmes, or having ambiguous relations with the police.

It’s a mysterious occupation, akin to that of priests and archaeologists.

The employee cleared his throat and spoke the truth, “I only know that his hometown seems to be in Shao Yun Township, I’m not sure whether he moved away.”

“Thank you.”

Having gotten the answer, Lu Li thanked him and turned to leave the company.

Their conversation was cut off by the closed glass door.

“Who’s that pretty sister in the middle of the photo?

She’s so beautiful, I’ve never seen her before.”

“It’s normal not to recognize her.

That’s Sister Qing, our former manager.

Later her house caught fire and she was burned to death…”

…

Returning to the underground parking on the first floor, Lu Li sat in the car but did not hurry to start the engine and leave.

Shao Yun Township, a place he had passed by when heading to Shanjiao Village, was in the vicinity of Lingling City and within its jurisdiction.

The population of Shao Yun Township was nearly ten thousand.

Finding one person was not difficult but also not simple.

This was when Shen Qian’s usefulness became apparent.

If he hadn’t taken sick leave due to a negative energy entering his body, Lu Li would only need to wait at the Detective Agency for half a day or a day, and Song Hu’s exact address would be found out.

Shen Yuqiao was merely someone with connections.

Her only apparent uses now seemed to be running errands and watching the house.

And bothering the two ghosts at home.

Click—

Lu Li started the car and left the underground garage.

After several days of rampant rain, it finally eased today.

However, the sky remained gloomy and the temperature was still cold.

After leaving the city limits, traffic on the road diminished, revealing farmland and low residential houses.

Without turning on the radio, the old Xiali car moved quietly on the highway, approaching Shao Yun Township.

At 11 a.m., Lu Li neared Shao Yun Township.

Low residential houses and scattered buildings replaced the farmland as Lu Li slowed down and drove into the street.

There weren’t many pedestrians and most of the street shops also had their roller doors down, seemingly related to the continuous gloomy rain.

Stopping in front of a paint and flooring shop that was open, Lu Li got out of the car.

A cool breeze blew through, and a piece of yellow paper with a round outside and square inside fell at his feet.

Lu Li looked down and saw it was a piece of joss paper.

The same joss papers were scattered all over the desolate street, soggy from the accumulated water, forming a tragic lump.

Stepping over the joss paper, Lu Li entered the dimly lit shop where no lights were on.

The thick scents of paint and wooden boards failed to disperse, and the dark-skinned owner sat behind the counter playing with his cell phone.

Lu Li asked him about Song Hu.

Surprisingly, the shop owner knew him.

But the words he said weighed heavy in Lu Li’s heart.

“He’s passed away.

His family is holding his funeral rites now.”

“Dead?”

Lu Li recalled the joss papers scattered on the street.

The owner put down his phone and eyed Lu Li, saying, “Yesterday the funeral folks were just carrying his coffin past here.

Are you a friend of his from the city?”

“Yes, do you know how he died?”

“Suffocated,” the owner coughed a few times, his expression unclear in the dim light, “It’s been raining the past few days, right?

They burned coal at his place and didn’t ventilate properly, ended up getting suffocated dead.”

Lu Li remained silent.

The clues always seemed to break off at crucial moments…

Was it all just coincidence?

“`