"Tell us about Hao Zhengyi," I said on behalf of Sun Fatty. Back in the Tomb of the Arcanobeast, the moment Hao Wenming heard his brother's name, he seemed like a different person — even willing to fight Yin Bai for Huang Ran's sake. Both Sun Fatty and I were very curious about his older brother. There was no way to get anything out of Director Hao himself. Hao Zhengyi seemed to have been with the Bureau of Paranormal Investigation before, but when I secretly checked with Ouyang Pianzuo and combed through the Bureau's personnel records, I couldn't find any information on Hao Zhengyi. Now, taking advantage of this chance, of course, I wanted to get the full story from Xiao Heshang.
"Hao Zhengyi…" Xiao Heshang murmured, repeating the name as if lost in some memory. After a long pause with no sign of him coming back, I added, "Old Xiao, that's our Hao's older brother, Hao Zhengyi." This finally snapped Xiao Heshang out of his thoughts. He took a deep breath and slowly said, "Hao Zhengyi and Hao Wenming are twins. He used to work in the Special Case Handling Office, even arriving a year earlier than Hao Wenming. When he was recruited into the Special Office, Xiao Sanda and I went together to review him, but the final decision was made by Gao Liang. You could say the three of us brought him in together."
At this, Xiao Heshang held up two fingers, making a reversed "V" sign for victory. I was momentarily stunned, but Sun Fatty caught on quickly, pulled out a cigarette, slipped one between Xiao Heshang's fingers, and lit it for him. Xiao Heshang took a drag and continued, "At that time, Hao Zhengyi's skills were outstanding among his cohort. The three of us even considered him as our successor. If he had stayed until now, he probably would have been the Bureau Director. Gao Liang is getting on in years too, and likely will retire soon to become a consultant alongside me."
Before Sun Fatty could speak, I interrupted, "What do you mean 'if' he had stayed? Why did he leave?" Xiao Heshang gave a bitter smile and said, "When he left the Bureau, I was at your hometown running Lingyun Temple. I missed his departure, but from what Gao Fatty said, Hao Zhengyi vanished suddenly. He didn't tell anyone, and when he reappeared, it was abroad. Gao Liang even set up a trap to lure him out in Hong Kong, but at the last moment, Hao Zhengyi saw through it and slipped away. Gao Fatty still can't figure out why he abruptly left the Bureau."
No wonder Huang Ran was so eager to pull Hao Zhengyi into the Religious Affairs Commission. Who would have thought our Director Hao had an older brother who almost became Bureau Director? That was all Xiao Heshang knew about Hao Zhengyi. No matter how much Sun Fatty and I pressed, Xiao Heshang had nothing more to say.
Xiao Heshang tried again to leave but was pushed back into his chair by Sun Fatty, who said bluntly, "Old Xiao, that's enough. There's just one more question. You've told us so much already — what was Min Tianyuan doing this morning? You said it wasn't about Huang Ran, so what was he here for?"
Xiao Heshang bit his lip a little at this. He had just explained the Dragonborn Divination Shell, but when it came to Min Tianyuan's reason for coming to the Bureau, he clammed up. After some persistent coaxing from Sun Fatty and me, Xiao Heshang finally hesitated before saying, "This matter is very serious. Not a word can leak out. If it did, not just the three of us, but the entire Bureau would be in deep trouble."
Sun Fatty nodded quickly and poured another drink for Xiao Heshang. "How about another cup? Relax a bit and tell us." Xiao Heshang took the cup, drained it in one go, and, after reminding us to keep it absolutely confidential, continued, "Recently, Gao Liang has been planning a major operation to send the souls of those who died unjustly collected over the past year into the Underworld. Souls who died unjustly can't pass through the Spirit Gate because the Underworld Officials monitor it strictly. This must not be leaked. A similar operation was done back in the Special Office days, but it was too careless and was discovered by the Underworld Officials. As a result, the Spirit Gate was closed for a whole year. Not just those who died unjustly, even those who died naturally couldn't pass through. For an entire year, spirits had to stay in the living world, growing full of resentment. The streets were full of vengeful ghosts. Both of you have Heavenly Eyes, so imagine what it was like at night — even our Special Office people didn't dare to go out alone…"
Xiao Heshang only spoke the beginning of the Bureau's big operation and refused to say more, no matter how much Sun Fatty and I tried to provoke him. Eventually, we gave up. Xiao Heshang ate a few more bites, then tried to get up, but Sun Fatty blocked him again. "Old Xiao, there's still so much food left — that Eight-Treasure Duck hasn't even been touched, the shrimp dish was all heading towards the lobster just now and no one's eaten any, and that pork knuckle… I'm just saying, wasting food is a sin."
Before Xiao Heshang could react, Sun Fatty stood up and said, "Old Xiao Master, I've told Old Jin to pack these dishes up for you as a late-night snack." As soon as he finished speaking, Sun Fatty pushed open the door and walked out, shouting from outside, "Old Jin, pack up the untouched dishes inside, and get a bottle of Wuliangye for Advisor Xiao to take away…"
Xiao Heshang and I sat in the private room. I poured him another glass of wine, but Xiao Heshang waved his hand and said, "Really can't drink anymore. Things have been busy lately — don't want to drink too much and mess up." As he said this, he let out a burp. After a short pause, he suddenly looked at me and said, "Little Lazi, not long ago I went to see your grandfather. Stayed overnight at his place. While chatting, he mentioned you — said that your old Shen family has such a great director like you. He told me that if I ever have trouble in the capital, I should come find you, and you should take care of me like I'm your grandfather. If only you had seen how happy your grandfather looked when he talked about you — his eyes practically became a slit from smiling."
Hearing Xiao Heshang say this, and thinking about his relationship with my grandfather, I began to feel a little guilty toward him. It was one thing to borrow his words, but to even trick him into coming over to pay the bill — Xiao Heshang wasn't the kind to be generous. Who knew how mad he might be after tonight? While I was lost in such thoughts, suddenly Xiao Heshang covered his mouth with both hands. His Adam's apple bobbed up and down as if he was trying to suppress a vomit reflex. After a moment, he barely held back the rising nausea and swayed to stand up. He said to me, "I'm going to the bathroom to throw up. I'll be right back." When I tried to get up and support him, Xiao Heshang pushed me back into the chair and said firmly, "I'm going to vomit — it's no good. Why would you come with me? Just sit and wait. When Fatty gets back, tell him to cancel the Wuliangye and just pack up the food for me. No need for the wine — drinking alone isn't any fun." Then the nausea surged again, and before he could say more, he covered his mouth and hurried toward the bathroom. The private room was left with only me sitting there, waiting for Xiao Heshang and Sun Fatty to return.
Not long after, the door opened again, but it wasn't Sun Fatty or Xiao Heshang who came in. Instead, it was Old Jin, the head chef from the cafeteria. "Don't wait anymore. Those two have already left," he said. Looking at me with a sympathetic gaze, he continued, "I understand what's going on, but all I can do is sympathize quietly. Still, the bill has to be settled."
My mind went blank for a few seconds before I realized and asked, "Sun… Sun Dasheng? Did he… leave too?" Old Jin snorted disdainfully. "Right after leaving the room, he kept spouting nonsense and was gesturing for me not to speak. Then he just took the stairs down. Advisor Xiao took the elevator. Forget them, we're about to close anyway. You settle the bill first — with two bottles of Wuliangye and a 15% service charge, it's a total of 9,200 yuan (RMB 9,200 [≈ USD 1,288])."
I hadn't expected things to turn out this way. Xiao Heshang was one thing — strictly speaking, it was self-defense. But Sun Fatty! At least give me a heads-up when you're leaving! Besides, we agreed this afternoon that I would retreat first, and he'd cover the rear. I immediately took out my phone and called Sun Fatty. A woman's voice came from the other end: "The number you dialed is powered off…"
Seeing Old Jin's increasingly unfriendly look, I swallowed hard and pulled out my wallet. "Do you accept cards here?" I asked.
When I got back to the dorm, I found Sun Fatty squatting by the door. Before I could get angry, he grabbed me and said, "I knew you'd manage to get out…"
"Of course I did! I paid the bill — who would dare stop me? Sun Dasheng, I'm beginning to suspect you and Xiao Heshang teamed up to trick me today!"
After hearing everything, Sun Fatty swore it was just a coincidence and even insisted on paying half the bill. Seeing him really pull out his wallet and start counting the money, my old military instincts flared up and I said, "Forget it, I'm not short on cash. Let's just say today's meal was on us, treating Xiao Heshang on behalf of my grandfather." But as Sun Fatty neatly put the cash back in his wallet, I began to regret it — maybe I'd been too impulsive…
The day after that meal, Xiao Heshang suddenly disappeared from the Bureau of Paranormal Investigation, along with Section Chief Ouyang Pianzuo from Room Five. When they reappeared about a week later, they looked as if they'd just crawled out of the dirt — covered head to toe in yellow mud, with dirt falling off them as they walked. Once back at the Bureau, they went straight to Gao Liang's office. The door closed behind them, and the three of them talked for more than three hours — by lunchtime, they still hadn't come out.
When news of Xiao Heshang and Ouyang Pianzuo's return spread through the Bureau, I thought something big was about to happen — probably related to the major operation Xiao Heshang had mentioned. But day after day passed, and Gao Liang gave no sign of movement. Just as the minor New Year festival was approaching, and I was about to forget the big operation Xiao Heshang had talked about, the biggest incident of the year finally began to unfold.