Kunming to Lijiang wasn’t close. The usual train was an overnight ride. Even by car, arriving tonight meant close to midnight.
Luo Ren got up. “Then I’ll see you off.”
“No need,” she said. “Uncle Zhang already found us a minivan—it’s waiting downstairs. We’ve also got train tickets held by a friend at the station. Should be right on time.”
As if on cue, a car horn honked downstairs.
Must’ve been Yan Hongsha getting impatient.
Luo Ren said, “If you keep coming and going like this, I won’t recognize you next time.”
Mu Dai laughed and slipped out of his arms. “I have to go. Hongsha’s probably already laughing at me.”
Luo Ren watched her leave, then walked to the window overlooking the street and pushed it open.
A white van sat below. Mu Dai was climbing in with her head down. Yan Hongsha stuck her head out the window and yelled, “Luo Ren! I’m stealing your girlfriend!”
He waved at her.
The van pulled away, its tires clacking over the cobbled street.
A moment later, his phone buzzed with a WeChat message from Mu Dai:
“Check under your pillow.”
Under his pillow? His heart skipped a beat.
He walked over, lifted the pillow, and found a black velvet pouch wedged by the bed frame.
Just by touch, he already knew what it was.
Cold, hard, sleek—a blade.
He opened the pouch: a straight-edged steel knife, very similar to his old one. Black leather sheath, with a small embossed mark on the strap.
Luo Ren held it up to the light to inspect it.
The mark was a tiny pouch, cinched with a string.
He traced the symbol gently for a long moment, then suddenly smiled.
As usual, he went to the room next door where the murder slips were kept.
The computer screen had gone dark. A random touch brought it back to life.
Seven photos were lined up across the screen. The differences between them were obvious.
Luo Ren stood silently, then turned to look at the fish tank.
What did this change mean?
He sat down on the single sofa, deep in thought.
The sofa was low. From there, he was almost looking up at the phoenix statue. Through the water, he could faintly see a blurred map on the wall.
A map?
His heart stirred.
To verify something, he grabbed a laser pointer, went behind the tank, and experimented with angles.
Finally, he found the right spot.
The laser beam traced straight from the phoenix’s beak and landed on a glowing point on the map.
Normally, he’d need to walk over to check the coordinates.
But not this time—he’d already pinned a blue thumbtack there to distinguish it from the red ones marking murder slip locations.
Guizhou. Sizhaili.
To double-check, he shifted the tank slightly. The water sloshed side to side before settling.
He aimed the laser again—same result.
No matter where the tank was placed, the phoenix’s beak pointed in exactly one direction.
Luo Ren sent a message in the group chat:
“Any unusual findings or oddities with the murder slips lately?”
Yan Hongsha replied first: “Nope.”
Then came Cao Yanhua and Yi Wansan. Nothing.
Mu Dai didn’t reply at first. Luo Ren thought maybe Yan Hongsha had answered for both of them. Just as he was considering this, her call came through.
He heard background noise—sounded like she was on a highway bus.
“Hold on,” she said. “It’s quieter in the back.”
She moved to the last row by the window and explained what had happened the night before.
“I turned on the light and looked, but nothing seemed strange, so I didn’t think much of it. I figured I must’ve been half-dreaming and misremembered.”
Luo Ren asked, “Can you describe the shape? Roughly?”
This was difficult for Mu Dai—unlike Yi Wansan, she wasn’t great at noticing fine lines or shapes.
“Don’t worry,” he said. “Take your time. Close your eyes.”
The bus jolted slightly. Mu Dai closed her eyes and reached forward, touching the seat back in front of her.
She tried to recreate what she had felt the night before.
Luo Ren guided her. “Roughly what shape was it?”
“It seemed like a person. But I couldn’t tell if it was male or female.”
“Ancient or modern?”
Hard to say. The clothes weren’t flowing robes. Let’s say… modern?
“What was the person’s arm position?” he asked. “Were they hanging naturally, stretched out, or doing something?”
Mu Dai thought hard. “One arm was down, holding something long. The other arm… was holding something…”
What was it? She’d tried to figure it out the night before. It had felt round—
Suddenly, it hit her: “A basket!”
“A basket?”
Luo Ren blurted, “Then the thing in the other hand—was it shaped like a broom?”
A broom?
Yes. Long handle, triangular at the end. A broom.
Mu Dai frowned. “How did you know?”
Luo Ren was puzzled too. Why had he immediately said broom?
An image in his mind slowly took shape.
A young country woman. Apron, a blue floral headscarf. A broom in her right hand. A basket on her left arm. A small bundle hanging from her elbow.
That was from…
Lian Yan’s vision.
Meow meow On TPH Chapter 26.1