[Cloud City · Major Crimes Unit Office]
Yin Wuwang sat at his desk, three files spread before him.
He forced himself to pull his attention away from that "Han-ge" spoken in the car half an hour ago and focus on the case at hand.
The first file was Zhang Yunxiang's confession—he thought he'd killed Chen Wan with a bottle, but the actual cause of death was mechanical asphyxiation. Someone had strangled an already unconscious man after he'd left.
The second file was He Jinsong's alibi—left the back alley at 10:35, appeared at the convenience store at 10:42, surveillance the whole way, no doubling back. He wasn't the killer. But he'd seen a figure in the shadows. Not tall. Possibly female.
The third file was Su Xiaoqing's testimony—she hadn't cheated. Everything that "woman with the pleasant voice" had told Zhang Yunxiang was a lie. Someone had meticulously planned this murder, exploiting a man's most primal possessiveness over his wife.
Three files, three threads, pointing in three different directions.
But there had to be an intersection point between them.
Yin Wuwang mentally rearranged all the fragments once more.
Chen Wan—bar manager. Warm smile but empty eyes. A residence too shabby for someone managing a bar. 5.6 million in repayment records. Transferred the bar to Long Wei Trading five years ago.
Long Wei Trading—legal representative Liu Long. Had gambling-related records.
Yin Wuwang scoffed internally. Whether it was underground gambling dens in the cultivation world or loan sharks in the mortal realm, these bone-picking enterprises were fundamentally no different.
That woman—pleasant voice, knew who Zhang Yunxiang's wife was, knew Chen Wan's work schedule, knew the bar's back alley had no surveillance.
These fragments seemed completely unrelated. But Yin Wuwang had lived three thousand years; he'd seen too many seemingly unrelated things ultimately strung together by a hidden thread.
The question was: where was that thread?
"You're thinking again."
Xie Qingyan's voice came from across the room. He sat at his own desk, holding an evidence inventory, but his gaze passed over the edge of the list to look at Yin Wuwang.
Yin Wuwang snapped back to attention. "The clues are too scattered. Each one seems like a dead end."
"They're not dead ends." Xie Qingyan set down the evidence list. "We just haven't found the right entrance yet."
He stood, walked to Yin Wuwang's desk, and rearranged the three files—not by chronological order, but by character relationships. Zhang Yunxiang and Su Xiaoqing on the left, Chen Wan in the middle, He Jinsong and Long Wei Trading on the right.
"Look." Xie Qingyan drew a line across the files with his finger. "All the clues pass through the same point—Chen Wan."
Yin Wuwang looked down at the rearranged materials.
Indeed. Zhang Yunxiang killed Chen Wan. That woman framed Chen Wan. He Jinsong went looking for Chen Wan. The bar was transferred to Long Wei Trading by Chen Wan.
"Chen Wan is the core." Yin Wuwang said.
"Correct." Xie Qingyan's finger stopped on the "Long Wei Trading" file. "But we don't understand Chen Wan deeply enough yet. His residence was too shabby, his bank statements show 5.6 million in repayments, he transferred his own bar five years ago. These three things must be connected."
He paused, his gaze falling on the mug on Yin Wuwang's desk—one of those white-with-blue-text public mugs from the station's break room. The water inside had gone completely cold.
"Your water's cold." He said.
Yin Wuwang glanced down. Indeed it was. He'd been so absorbed in the case he'd forgotten to drink.
"Doesn't matter."
"I'll get you a refill." Xie Qingyan said, then picked up the mug and walked toward the break room.
Yin Wuwang froze for a moment.
Xie Qingyan. The world's greatest Sword Sovereign. Volunteering to refill his water.
He watched that white-shirted back disappear through the break room doorway. For an instant, his mind went completely blank on the case.
Little Deer Assistant spoke in his mind: "Master, the current relationship progress is—"
"Shut up."
"...Understood."
When Xie Qingyan returned with the refilled hot water, Yin Wuwang had already made a phone call.
"Captain Lin." He spoke into the speakerphone. "Last time you said you'd look deeper into Liu Long's background—any results? What are the specific terms of the transfer contract between Long Wei Trading and Chen Wan? It doesn't look like a normal equity sale."
Captain Lin's voice came through the phone, tired but still sharp: "You guessed right. I had someone pull a copy of the contract yesterday. It's not a sale—it's a mortgage. Chen Wan mortgaged both the bar's operating rights and property rights, but he personally continued as manager, handling daily operations."
Yin Wuwang and Xie Qingyan exchanged a glance.
"What were the mortgage terms?" Yin Wuwang asked.
"The contract states a debt of ten million. Ten-year repayment period, eight percent annual interest." Captain Lin's voice took on a heavy quality. "Over five years, following the normal repayment schedule, he's already paid back roughly 5.6 million. About 4.4 million remaining."
5.6 million.
Perfectly matching the numbers in Chen Wan's bank statements.
Yin Wuwang connected this thread in his mind—Chen Wan lived in a ten-ping studio, ate expired convenience store meals, greeted customers with a smile every day while running a bar that no longer belonged to him. All his income went toward repaying that ten-million debt.
"Captain Lin," Xie Qingyan spoke up, "was this debt Chen Wan's own?"
Silence on the other end for a few seconds.
"I can't tell that from the business records. The debtor on the contract is Chen Wan himself, but ten million... A young man in his twenties, opened a small bar—how could he owe a gambling operation ten million?"
Yin Wuwang and Xie Qingyan exchanged another look.
"Paying it off for someone else." The two said almost simultaneously.
Captain Lin paused on the other end. "You two... never mind, I'm used to it. I'll look into Chen Wan's family background, see where this debt originated."
"Thanks, Captain Lin." Yin Wuwang said.
"Mm. Also—" Captain Lin's tone grew serious. "Liu Long—be careful dealing with him. He's not some vicious criminal, but he's very shrewd. If you're going to talk to him, give me advance notice."
"Understood."
The call ended.
[End of V2_Chapter 33]
Next: Ten million spirit stones versus ten million mortal currency, and a debt that wasn't his to carry.