Chapter 663: Chapter 621: A Shadow, A Wolf’s Howl!
Something big happened in Jinling?
Hearing Li Qiuzhe drop his usual frivolity and speak with such a serious and earnest tone, Wang Dalu and the other two widened their eyes and perked up their ears. Although they weren’t the type to gossip, when faced with topics like this, no one wanted to miss out on the details.
"Spill it!" Qin Fan said, narrowing his eyes and arching his eyebrows.
"There have been some recent missing persons cases, and they all share a common trait—the victims are all young girls! Although the police are handling it, we were the first people they approached for help!" Li Qiuzhe said quickly, his expression slightly unnatural as he lowered his gaze.
"What do they want from you? Help with the investigation? Do they suspect you?" Qin Fan asked.
"No! They don’t suspect us. They know we have Chang Yuanyi backing us, so we couldn’t possibly do something so heinous. They want our help looking for clues! After all, a lot of the time..." At this point, Li Qiuzhe’s expression turned horrified.
Seeing the involuntary fear on Li Qiuzhe’s face, Qin Fan immediately frowned and pressed, "What did you find?"
"A scavenger claimed he saw a shadow flash past, heard a wolf howl, and then a girl just vanished into thin air! Big Baldy said the old man was crazy and talking nonsense, but my gut tells me it wasn’t just rambling. I saw pure terror in his eyes, and he was shaking so hard he couldn’t control it, even while he was speaking! Later, I checked the surveillance footage from the area and confirmed that the middle school girl did pass by a camera. But only one camera caught her. The rest found nothing! So I’m certain what the scavenger said wasn’t baseless!" Li Qiuzhe said, shuddering involuntarily.
After all, the bizarre and mysterious nature of the incident was truly chilling. A shadow, a wolf howl, and a person disappears? The mere thought was terrifying beyond belief. Thank goodness the surveillance footage was from broad daylight. If it had happened at night, Li Qiuzhe didn’t dare imagine how scared he would have been.
"Have you told the police about this?" Qin Fan’s heart lurched at the mention of a flashing shadow and a wolf howl, and he couldn’t stop his brow from furrowing.
"I spoke with their deputy chief on the phone. I gave them the scavenger’s location and the location of the camera that recorded the footage. Beyond that, I can’t get involved, nor do I want to," Li Qiuzhe said, an eyelid twitching. Though he walked the path of the Martial World, he would never pass up an opportunity to cooperate with the police. In fact, he would strive to do his best. After all, Li Qiuzhe’s ambitions went far beyond his status as Master Zhe of the Martial World. He knew Qin Fan’s hopes for him were not so shortsighted as to be limited to that path.
"When did this happen?" His frown deepened, and his voice unconsciously dropped to a lower pitch, though Qin Fan himself didn’t notice.
"The disappearances have been going on for a few days, but the surveillance footage I saw was from three hours ago. That means the girl vanished just three hours ago!" Li Qiuzhe said gravely, glancing at his watch.
Three hours ago? That was right when I got back to the dorm to sleep?
An idea began to form in Qin Fan’s mind. He couldn’t help but connect the phantom shadow, the wolf’s howl, and the missing girl to Jeremy and Norman. But he couldn’t be sure just yet.
COUGH, COUGH! COUGH, COUGH! "Big Brother, Master Zhe, can we please stop with the scary stories? It’s already dark. How about we call the waiter and get some food first?" Li Yunzhe interjected with an awkward, dry cough. He was feeling a bit antsy after watching Qin Fan’s brow grow more deeply furrowed in silence. Mainly, he was hungry. Really hungry.
"Fine, no more talk about it. Let’s eat. Old Wolf, call the waiter and have them bring the dishes," Qin Fan said with a wry smile, his train of thought broken by Li Yunzhe’s interruption. He decided not to dwell on it further and nodded lightly.
"Big Brother, I’ve been waiting for you to say that! I’m starving!" With that, Li Yunzhe shot to his feet, strode over to the door of the private room, and began giving instructions to the waiter outside.
"Number Four, you’re interested in this case, too?" With no outsiders present, Li Qiuzhe reverted to calling Qin Fan by his nickname. He had been mulling over Qin Fan’s series of questions and reactions.
"What’s there to be interested in? I was just asking. Anyway, let’s drop it. Just one thing, Big Brother: you can look for clues, but don’t you dare dig too deep or investigate on your own. This is a police matter and has nothing to do with you. Just dip your toes in these muddy waters, but no more than that! This whole thing is too strange and sinister. It’s not something you can handle," Qin Fan warned him.
If my suspicions are correct, then never mind Li Qiuzhe—even the police would bite off more than they can chew and suffer disastrous losses! It seems Jinling City is getting more and more lively, and all the fucking demons and monsters are getting more audacious.
"Don’t worry, Number Four. I get it even without you saying so. I just want to use this to build some connections with the officials, that’s all. I’m not about to go die for them. I’d never do something that risks my life!" Li Qiuzhe said.
"Mm." Qin Fan gave a faint smile and a nod, not wanting to continue the topic. Turning his gaze to the door as it was pushed open by a waiter, he said, "Let’s eat first! It’s rare for us brothers to get together like this. Let’s drink to our hearts’ content! If two thousand isn’t enough, we’ll have Comrade Old Wolf cover the rest!"
"HAHA! Don’t worry, Big Brother! Money is no object. I’ve still got thirty thousand!" Li Yunzhe laughed heartily.
Seven dishes and a soup were brought to the table as waiters came and went. Then, at Li Yunzhe’s extravagant behest, case after case of beer was brought in.
But against Master Zhe, a beast from the Northeast from a family of brewers, the beer was quickly decimated. Spurred on by Li Yunzhe’s boisterous mood, white spirits, imported liquor, and red wine all kept coming.
The meal lasted until eleven o’clock.
Forget how much they drank or how much money they spent; they shared stories that stretched from their earliest memories to the present day.
Amid their disoriented, tipsy state, Qin Fan, who couldn’t get drunk no matter how much he drank, became the most attentive listener. Although he had heard these stories countless times at gatherings in his past life, he was still deeply moved.
Finally, with the help of the restaurant staff, Qin Fan managed to get his friends—unconscious but still smiling—back to their dorm room. By then, the world outside had fallen silent.
Listening to the rhythmic snores, Qin Fan smiled and stepped out onto the balcony. At the same time, he closed his eyes, his mind free from all distractions.
His Divine Sense swiftly spread out.
Following the Divine Sense threads he had planted on Jeremy and Norman, his awareness covered them in less than three breaths, revealing exactly what the two were doing at that very moment.
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