Chapter 42
On Xia Tian Shui’s list of Miss Hong Kong candidates, Xia Leyang saw many familiar names, many of whom would later become prominent stars in the Hong Kong film industry.
After searching through hundreds of preliminary candidate names multiple times, Xia Leyang finally found what he was looking for. Among those who participated in the Miss Hong Kong pageant with Wang Zuyu in the past, only one person’s name contained the character “Chu,” and this person made it to the final stage of the competition.
“Found it!” Xia Leyang exclaimed as he brought his iPad to the dining table. But as soon as he sat down and pulled out his chair, he jumped up again.
His butt was burning like fire, not the lingering sensation from eating spicy food but a piercing pain, like being pricked with needles whenever he applied force.
Xia Leyang usually sat down carefully, avoiding putting pressure on his backside, but he forgot in his excitement after finding the name that he was a victim of anal injury.
“Ouch!” Xia Leyang frowned and stood in place, complaining, “It’s all your fault!”
“Still hurting?” Shang Tingzhi quickly set down his bowl and chopsticks. “Let me massage it for you.”
“I’m not letting you touch it!” Xia Leyang grumbled, but he still walked over to Shang Tingzhi and sat in his lap. “I want to sit on the leather sofa.”
Shang Tingzhi chuckled, helpless. He watched as Xia Leyang held the tablet and asked, “Are you sure about the ghost’s name?”
“Luckily, only one person’s name contains ‘Chu’ among so many people,” Xia Leyang said, opening a video and pointing to a swimsuit model walking on the runway. “Look, it’s the ghost sister. Her name is Lin Wenchu.”
The video footage from thirty years ago wasn’t as clear as today’s, seemingly filtered with a Gaussian blur on each face. But at least the features were discernible. The person in the video had the same face as the photo by the urn, confirming it was indeed the ghost.
“Seeing her in the flesh feels a bit strange,” Xia Leyang remarked, pausing the video. “But it’s good for us to remember what she looked like. Maybe it’ll help us find clues.”
As Xu Zhiruo had found out, Zhou Runhua often visited construction sites on the hill, but there was no evidence that he had been to the construction site at Market No. 1 High School.
The surveillance cameras on Luoyi Mountain were only on the main roads. If someone was already on Luoyi Mountain, their movements would be hard to track.
“Zhao Ying is coming over later to discuss something with me,” Shang Tingzhi said. “She often stays near the cemetery, so I’ll ask her to help look for the urn.”
Zhao Ying was a Feng Shui master hired by Zhou Runhua. She had previously come to Shang Tingzhi once to discuss General Li’s tomb. Xia Leyang returned to the dining table and said to Shang Tingzhi, “After dinner, I’ll call the ghost sister out.”
Shang Tingzhi agreed, and Xia Leyang added, “Don’t forget you have a family.”
Shang Tingzhi smirked slightly. “I know.”
Before going to find the ghost, Xia Leyang made some preparations. He decided to start by asking if she knew someone named “Lin Wenchu” and gradually lead up to it, so as not to shock her all at once.
“Lin Wenchu?” The ghost, who had gone to curl her hair into big waves somewhere, thought for a moment, curling the ends of her hair as she said, “Why does that name sound familiar?”
“She participated in the Miss Hong Kong pageant before and eventually got seventh place,” Xia Leyang hinted slyly.
The ghost didn’t say anything else, indicating she was pondering.
Xia Leyang continued, “She probably, maybe, possibly fell in love with a guy from the mainland named Zhou Runhua, and she followed him from Hong Kong to the mainland in 1991.”
The ghost frowned slightly, her eyes fixed on Xia Leyang’s face, silently urging him to continue.
“So this Zhou Runhua actually had a family on the mainland, and he made his fortune through his wife. He didn’t dare to quarrel with his wife,” Xia Leyang said as he observed the ghost’s expression. Indeed, her demeanor became increasingly serious, completely different from her usual lazy demeanor.
“The city where Zhou Runhua is located has a famous haunted house, but Lin Wenchu doesn’t know about it. Zhou Runhua arranged for Lin Wenchu to stay in the haunted house and secretly met her there while pretending to be busy with business trips. But not long after, something unexpected happened.”
Xia Leyang paused for a moment, intending to continue, but unexpectedly, the ghost spoke up, “Lin Wenchu got pregnant.”
Xia Leyang swallowed hard, and the ghost’s expression became increasingly tense, completely different from her usual lazy demeanor. Adjusting his tone, Xia Leyang tentatively continued, “So Zhou Runhua…”
“He chose Lin Wenchu’s birthday to prepare a birthday dinner for her carefully,” the ghost said, her expression stiff, her eyes vacant, narrating her past events without any emotion, “He lied that he had a headache and insomnia, and asked Lin Wenchu to buy sleeping pills for him, but he put them in Lin Wenchu’s drink.”
Xia Leyang didn’t know about these things at all. He never expected that the ghost’s death anniversary, which he had commemorated before, was actually her birthday.
The ghost’s breath began to fluctuate, and Xia Leyang could visibly see a black mist rising around her. Recalling what Li Shan had said, afraid that the ghost would turn into a vengeful spirit, he quickly said to her, “Sister Ghost, rest assured, we will definitely help you catch the murderer.”
The ghost didn’t respond, so Xia Leyang continued, “Think about it, we’ve been having a good time lately. Don’t get angry because of that scumbag.”
Not getting angry was impossible, and Xia Leyang had no other choice but to try his best to persuade her.
“I see you got your nails done again and curled your hair. Seems like you’re having fun outside,” Xia Leyang said, feeling uncomfortable seeing her desolate look. “Your nails look really nice. Take me with you next time?”
“But you can’t go,” the ghost said disdainfully. “This is a beauty salon in the underworld. Unless…”
The ghost paused for a moment, then looked at Xia Leyang with a sinister expression. “Unless you come down and accompany me.”
Xia Leyang hadn’t been scared by the ghost for a long time, but he had to admit that this sentence almost made him run away in fear.
But the next second, the ghost suddenly burst into laughter. Looking at Xia Leyang, she said with a playful tone, “Poor little sister, how could I harm you?”
There was a hint of joking in her smile, but it was also tinged with bitterness.
Xia Leyang instantly relaxed, looking at the ghost seriously. “Good sister, trust me, I will definitely help you catch the murderer!”
The ghost waved her hand as if to say she didn’t insist. She floated back into the bathtub and disappeared. Seeing her lonely look, Xia Leyang felt very uncomfortable.
He hurried downstairs, intending to see if Shang Tingzhi had told Zhao Ying about finding the urn. As soon as he entered the living room, he saw Zhao Ying saying to Shang Tingzhi with a serious expression, “It is indeed General Li’s tomb under the construction site. Boss Zhou has blocked the news and is now transferring the cultural relics outside.”
