58: Chapter 58 The Urban Legend Returns

Longhu Mountain Villa.

No one had lived there for half a month, yet the villa remained spotless, and there was even a faint scent of sandalwood in the air.

The property management had clearly put in a lot of effort.

[Writing to this point, I hope readers remember our domain name, Taiwan Novel Website, which has many books and is available for reading anytime.]

After all, the owner of this house was now a legendary figure within the property management circles of the entire Jinghai City.

A ruthless man who bought a haunted house to suppress evil spirits.

Jiang Feng tossed his canvas bag onto the sofa and went to take a shower first.

Hot water washed away the dust from the Gobi Desert. He came out wrapped in a bathrobe to find Old Chen in the living room, maintaining the leather sofa worth a hundred thousand yuan.

"Boss, you're not eating at home tonight?" Old Chen asked.

"I'm going out for a bit." Jiang Feng changed into an inconspicuous gray hoodie. "No need to drive; I'll take a taxi myself. You take a break."

Old Chen was stunned for a moment. "You don't need me to follow? Your health..."

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

Jiang Feng picked up his phone.

The online buzz surrounding the "disappearance of the Divine Fortune Teller" had not yet died down.

Some said he had suffered divine retribution for leaking heavenly secrets, while others swore they had seen him sweeping floors in a certain Taoist temple.

The most ridiculous post claimed he had been recruited by the state to study aliens.

Jiang Feng gave that post a like.

This generation of netizens really guessed correctly sometimes.

Half an hour later.

In the Old City District, at a roadside barbecue stall.

Smothered in smoke and fire, the place was bustling with noise.

Jiang Feng immediately spotted Zhao Yi huddled in a corner.

He wasn't wearing his police uniform, just an old, pilled sweater.

He hadn't shaved for at least three days, and his dark circles were so deep it looked like he'd been punched twice.

Three empty beer bottles sat by his feet, and the table was covered in cigarette butts, save for a plate of barely touched peanuts.

"Captain Zhao."

Jiang Feng pulled out a plastic stool opposite him and sat down. "Are you experiencing life, or did you just get back from a refugee camp?"

Zhao Yi looked up, his eyes a bit unfocused.

The moment he saw Jiang Feng, he sat up straight as if seeing a lifeline.

"You're here."

Zhao Yi grabbed a beer bottle and poured a glass for Jiang Feng, the foam overflowing and spilling across the table.

"I knew you would come."

Jiang Feng didn't touch the glass; he just looked at him.

"Tell me, what kind of trouble could push the vice-captain of the Criminal Police Team to this state?"

Zhao Yi gave a bitter laugh and stubbed out his cigarette butt on the grease-stained table.

"Brother Jiang, do you remember what you told me last time?"

"Which part?"

"'The person who fired the shot is in this building.' Zhao Yi's voice was very low. 'You said there's a mole right by my side.'"

Jiang Feng nodded.

"I remember."

"I checked." Zhao Yi clutched his hair, his fingernails filled with dark grime. "For the last half-month, I've been checking like a madman. Case files, communication records, bank statements... I've dug into everyone's background in the team."

"And the result?"

"No result."

Zhao Yi's voice was trembling. "Or rather, every time I just get a lead, it breaks. Either a witness suddenly retracts their statement, or key evidence is accidentally destroyed. Even... last week, when I wanted to pull surveillance footage from three years ago, the archives room suddenly caught fire."

Jiang Feng raised an eyebrow. "An accident?"

"Accident my ass!" Zhao Yi growled, drawing glances from diners at nearby tables.

He quickly lowered his voice. "How could there be such a convenient accident? Right now, I feel like I'm standing naked under a spotlight. Every move I make, who I want to investigate, what I want to do—the other side knows everything."

Zhao Yi stared intently at Jiang Feng, the bloodshot veins in his eyes looking as if they were about to burst.

"Brother Jiang, you're a master. Since you could calculate that there's a mole, can you perform another divination for me?"

He reached out, wanting to grab Jiang Feng's sleeve, but then hesitated for fear of dirtying his clothes, his hand freezing in mid-air.

"Just tell me a name, just one name."

Zhao Yi's voice carried a plea. "As long as I have a name, even if I have to sacrifice this police uniform, I will dig out this tumor!"

Jiang Feng looked at Zhao Yi's face, which was etched with despair.

The system gave no reaction.

Now was not the task time, and this was not the task location.

[Causal Vision]?

But what would he have to touch to find evidence?

With only one trial-and-error attempt a day, even if he didn't go crazy, Captain Zhao probably would.

Right now, he was just an ordinary person; let alone calculating the mole's name, he couldn't even count how many peanuts were on this plate.

"Captain Zhao."

Jiang Feng pushed aside the overflowing beer and took a skewer of grilled mutton.

"There are some things in this world that the harder you stare at them, the less clearly you see them."

Zhao Yi was stunned. "What do you mean?"

"Look at you now." Jiang Feng took a bite of the meat; the cumin flavor was strong. "Your head is full of catching people and finding 'ghosts.' Your eyes are full of suspicion; everyone looks like a ghost to you. If this continues, before you catch any ghosts, you'll go crazy yourself."

"Then what should I do?" Zhao Yi said despondently. "I can't just watch my brother die for nothing."

Jiang Feng pointed to the spot on the table where Zhao Yi's service pistol would be, though it was empty now.

"When police look for someone, they focus on evidence. When we fortune tellers look for someone, we focus on... fate."

Jiang Feng slowly set down the skewer.

"Since you can't find the person, why not try finding an object?"

"An object?" Zhao Yi frowned.

"Exactly." Jiang Feng looked at him. "People lie, act, and destroy evidence. But objects don't. Some things are lost, and as soon as you find them, the person will naturally be revealed."

Zhao Yi seemed to have caught onto something, yet he didn't quite understand.

"But... what's been lost? I haven't lost anything."

The instant Jiang Feng mentioned the words "lost something."

Deep in his mind, that familiar mechanical voice suddenly rang out.

[Ding! Detected host triggered keywords: Lost Item/Search.]

[New task generating...]

Jiang Feng was delighted. Here it comes?

The system's trigger mechanism was becoming more and more intelligent, almost as if it were following his lead in the conversation.

[Task Issued]

[Location]: Jinghai City Metro Central Station - Lost and Found Center Lobby.

[Time]: Daily 16:00-19:00 (Evening Peak Hours).

[Method]: Pendulum Dowsing.

[Domain]: Lost/Found.

[Objective]: Receive three customers and successfully retrieve their "lost items."

Jiang Feng looked at the floating task panel in his field of vision, then at the bewildered Zhao Yi in front of him.

A pendulum?

Was this system planning to transition him from an "Eastern Mystic" to a "Western Medium"?

However, a metro station... with its high foot traffic, it was indeed a good place to fish in troubled waters.

"Captain Zhao."

Jiang Feng stood up and brushed the cumin powder off his hands.

"Go back, get some sleep, take a shower, and shave your beard."

Zhao Yi looked up at him. "And you?"

"I'm going to find a breakthrough for you."

Jiang Feng gave a mysterious smile. "Tomorrow at 4 PM, if you have nowhere else to go, you can come find me at the Metro Central Station."

"What for?"

"To see just how many things have been lost in this city."

After saying this, Jiang Feng didn't explain further and turned to blend into the night.

Leaving only Zhao Yi sitting alone at the noisy barbecue stall, staring blankly at the plate of peanuts.

"Finding things..." Zhao Yi muttered to himself. "What exactly are we looking for?"