Huang Xiumin said fiercely, “I bet it’s because he didn’t confess everything, so the ghost infant keeps tormenting him!”
“Comrade Huang Xiumin, mind yourself! You’re in socialist New China!” Lin Wan laughed.
Huang Xiumin rolled her eyes, “You sound like Captain Li, but plenty at the city bureau believe it.”
Lin Wan shook her head, “No way to disprove it, but why only Liu Yifan?”
Lu Zheng blinked, chiming in, “Because he’s too bad?”
Huang Xiumin chuckled, “What a good boy you are. I’ve seen worse, kid.”
Lu Zheng asked, “So what’s the deal with Liu Yifan now?”
“What else? We start gathering evidence, see what else we can dig up.”
Lu Zheng narrowed his eyes, “Didn’t they say Liu Yifan’s family has pull?”
Huang Xiumin scoffed, “That’s because he hid well. With evidence, and murder cases at that, no amount of influence will save him!”
Lu Zheng grinned, “Death penalty?”
“Who knows, that’s up to the court.”
…
With Huang Xiumin there, Lin Wan couldn’t cook, so they ordered takeaway and ate at home.
After lunch, Huang Xiumin left, and Lin Wan leapt up, punching the air.
“Long live the ghost infant!”
Lu Zheng, “…”
“I was planning my own revenge, but before I could act, he caved.”
“He only confessed to minor cases,” Lu Zheng reminded her.
Lin Wan’s eyes gleamed, “You underestimate us. With a breakthrough, it’s basically a done deal.”
“That fierce?”
“Just watch, now that he’s turned himself in, he’s not getting out!”
That afternoon, buoyed by Liu Yifan’s news, Lin Wan had Lu Zheng on the sofa for another two hours.
So, the afternoon’s training plan was scrapped again.
…
That evening, Lu Zheng stepped out, went home, and retrieved a sealed qi-seeking talisman, activating it.
Following its guidance, he soon arrived outside a detention centre.
Having scared Liu Yifan with the ghost child and later cursing him, Lu Zheng had collected plenty of his qi for just this purpose.
He trusted Lin Wan’s confidence that Li Jinglin’s team could dig up Liu Yifan’s crimes.
But Lu Zheng had no time to wait for investigations, evidence, and a verdict years later.
He’d use the ghost infant to scare Liu Yifan into confessing everything, then push for a swift trial to see the outcome.
…
If it were just Lu Zheng, he’d have dealt with it directly, no fuss.
But Lin Wan was a cop, and this was mainly about avenging his girlfriend, so it had to go through legal channels, letting Liu Yifan face justice.
As for later, if a lenient sentence came from his surrender…
After procedural justice, it’d be Lu Zheng’s turn to decide.
“Should I help you out, end your suffering early, or let the nightmare curse haunt you for life, making you wish for death until you can’t take it and end yourself?”
“No rush, I’ll think it over, but you’re not sleeping tonight.”
Lu Zheng strolled to a nearby city park, pulling out a brass bell.
“Jingle, jingle, jingle…”
…
In the detention centre, Liu Yifan’s face was ashen, heavy dark circles giving him a sinister look.
Gaunt, unsteady, and weak, he seemed afflicted with rickets.
His current state was worlds apart from the vibrant rich kid at Lin Wan’s birthday. If Lu Zheng relied on face recognition, he might not have recognised this ghostly figure as that cocky heir.
Liu Yifan sat alone on his bunk, eyes vacant, expression dazed. No one, not even fellow inmates, dared approach him.
They weren’t scared of him but of the ghost in his dreams.
Though he’d been there only a day, Liu Yifan’s story had spread through the centre.
At a foreign-owned luxury hotel, he’d encountered a ghost. With his heavy karma from evil deeds, it latched onto him, first appearing physically, then invading his dreams.
The inmates, all with their own crimes, feared their own karma might draw the ghost to them if they got too close.
So, Liu Yifan was a pariah, kept at least two metres away by everyone. Even the guy in the next bunk preferred to squeeze in elsewhere than sleep there.
This, ironically, spared Liu Yifan from prison bullying.
He glanced at the others, lost in thought.
“Why? Is it really because I didn’t confess everything?”
“But if I confess it all, that’s the death penalty! Did I surrender just to die?”
“Damn it, you’re a ghost, how do you know so much? You can sense my karma and call me bad, fine, but how do you know all my crimes?”
“And I’ve already surrendered! I’m in detention! With all this bad karma here, how are you still following me?”
Liu Yifan was about to explode with rage.
He was a rich heir, with endless money, games, and women!
All because of a stay at the Waldorf Hotel, he’d fallen to this wretched state.
While abroad, his family had contacted the hotel repeatedly, but they denied any fault, refusing even a verbal apology to protect their reputation!
Worse, after his situation leaked, the hotel claimed he’d brought the ghost himself!
If it’s not your fault, is it mine?
Foreigners think they’re superior, huh?
If his family didn’t have business in the US, he’d have burned that hotel down!
“Lights out! Sleep!”
A shout came from the corridor, and the room’s lights went off.
Sleep, a pleasure for others, was torture for Liu Yifan.
Lying in bed, he pulled up the blanket, eyes wide.
He was exhausted but dared not sleep.
Suddenly, a cold breeze swept through, the air dropping several degrees.
“Huh? The room’s sealed tight with heating, where’s that chill from?”
Before he could react, his blanket bulged, and something cold pressed against him.
Liu Yifan froze, then a corner of his blanket lifted.
“Surren…der…”
“Ah!!!!”
