# 1157
Chapter 1158: Residence
Linjiang City.
A plane slowly descended.
Lin Qiye and the others, dressed in civilian clothes, had just walked out of the airport and were standing by the roadside preparing to hail a cab when Baili Pangpang picked up his phone:
"Hello? Secretary Sun? Yes, we've arrived. Come over."
After hanging up, a stretched Lincoln quickly pulled up to the roadside, and a middle-aged man with graying temples stepped out of the car, giving Baili Pangpang a slight bow:
"Sorry to keep you waiting. Please, get in."
Lin Qiye spoke with surprise: "You arranged another car? How do you have cars everywhere you go?"
"Not really. It just happens that our Baili family's branch office is also here in Linjiang City, so I borrowed the general manager's car." Baili Pangpang grinned.
"It's not that I'm too proud to take a taxi. It's mainly that I never carry cash on me, and it's too much trouble to settle every fare by acquiring the taxi company."
Lin Qiye: ……
Lin Qiye and the others got into the car, reported an address, and the vehicle slowly started moving.
Baili Pangpang leaned back in his seat, turned his head to stare at the overcast sky outside, and furrowed his brows.
"Do you guys feel it... this city seems a bit off?"
Baili Pangpang's sudden question startled everyone in the car. An Qingyu peered out the window and looked around, puzzled:
"What's off?"
"Just... the yin energy seems a bit heavy?"
"Yin energy heavy?" Cao Yuan was stunned. He carefully examined the roadside for a moment, then suddenly realized. "Indeed, Linjiang City has quite a lot of beauties, and they dress quite coolly."
Baili Pangpang's mouth twitched. "I'm not talking about that kind of yin energy. I mean in terms of feng shui!"
"When did you become knowledgeable about Daoist feng shui?" Cao Yuan asked suspiciously.
"...Just messed around with it on my own."
Baili Pangpang gave an evasive answer.
Lin Qiye closed his eyes, opened them slowly after a few seconds, and shook his head:
"Within the range of my spiritual perception, there's nothing unusual in the city... not a single 'Mystery.' Could you be overthinking this?"
Baili Pangpang gazed out the window, his brow furrowed even tighter. He withdrew his gaze and fell into deep thought.
His cultivation and fruits of enlightenment hadn't yet returned... Could he have seen wrong?
"This period, the weather in Linjiang City has indeed been不太好." Secretary Sun, seated in the driver's seat, timely reminded them. "I've prepared umbrellas for everyone. Please remember to bring them."
After getting off the overpass and driving for about an hour, the vehicle stopped by a remote street.
Lin Qiye took the umbrella and stepped out. Before him lay a cluster of low-rise residential buildings. Geographically speaking, this should be the outskirts of Linjiang City.
Baili Pangpang and the others followed behind Lin Qiye, their gazes sweeping over the surroundings:
"This is it? It feels like all abandoned old houses..."
"A month or two ago, this area was designated as a demolition zone by the Li Corporation. The residents have been moving out one after another. I'm not sure if the person you're looking for is still here." Secretary Sun provided a timely explanation.
"Demolition? Did we arrive too late?"
"Possibly... Qiye, where's Brother Zhuai's address?"
"In the alley." Lin Qiye recalled the档案 he'd seen. "Number 83, East Altar Lane."
"Everyone tidy up your appearances. When we meet Brother Zhuai's family, don't slip up. Understand?"
"Don't worry, we're his comrades from the same battalion." Baili Pangpang patted his chest. "We won't blow our cover. Let's go."
Lin Qiye and the others followed the worn-out house numbers, walking along the muddy path of the alley, and finally stopped before a rusted iron fence gate.
Their gazes swept over the erected signboard, and everyone froze in place.
"Qiye, are you sure this is correct? You didn't make a mistake?" Baili Pangpang asked with wide eyes.
"...It shouldn't be wrong."
"Hanshan Orphanage?" A look of confusion spread across Cao Yuan's face. "Why would it be an orphanage? Didn't Brother Zhuai tell you... to go see his family for him?"
"Wait, let me make a call to confirm."
Even Lin Qiye, who had always been confident in his memory, wasn't so sure anymore. He walked to the side and pulled out his phone to contact the Night Watch Archives Department.
A few minutes later, Lin Qiye walked back with a complicated expression.
"That's correct." Lin Qiye spoke slowly. "On Brother Zhuai's Night Watch file, his registered address is here. According to the clerical staff who reviewed the files back then, he really was an orphan. When Brother Zhuai told me to go see his family for him, it was probably just an excuse to trick us into leaving Hell."
Hearing these words, silence descended upon the alley.
After a long while, Cao Yuan finally asked: "So what do we do now?"
Lin Qiye glanced at the signboard at the gate, whose name had nearly rusted away beyond recognition. He fell silent for a moment, then sighed deeply:
"No matter what, this is where Brother Zhuai grew up. Since we've come and there's someone inside, let's go take a look."
Seeing that no one objected, Lin Qiye reached out and shook the iron gate. The rust rubbed together, producing a harsh creaking sound.
"Who's there?"
"I don't know... I'll go check!"
"Could it be those thugs again?"
Several childish voices came from the courtyard inside the gate. A little girl in a red jacket with rosy cheeks carefully poked her head out from behind the door. Her gaze fell on Cao Yuan, and she immediately burst into tears:
"It's a ruffian! Those ruffians are back!! And this one looks even meaner than the ones before!"
Cao Yuan: ?????
Soon, an old man in his sixties, wearing reading glasses and hunched over, shuffled out of the old house, a metal rod in hand. He wore a stern expression and looked quite formidable:
"Didn't I tell you?! We're not moving! Why are you back? You think old man is easy to bully?!"
As he finished speaking, he raised the metal rod and slammed it hard against the iron fence.
With a dull thud, the old man's hand holding the rod trembled, his expression instantly stiffened, and he quietly tucked his hand behind his back.
"I'm warning you, old man here is getting on in years. Touch me and I can squeeze you dry!" He defiantly raised his head.
"...Old sir, please don't misunderstand. We're not bad people."
Lin Qiye pulled the脸色难看的 Cao Yuan behind him and asked as gently as he could: "Excuse me, do you know Shen Qingzhu?"
Upon hearing the name Shen Qingzhu, the old man's eyes slightly contracted.
"Who are you people?" He furrowed his brows, eyeing the strange young people before him with suspicion.
Seeing the old man's reaction, Lin Qiye knew he had come to the right place. He recited the prepared explanation:
"We're comrades from the same battalion as Shen Qingzhu. We're on vacation from camp and came by to offer some condolences on the way."
"Little Shen小子's comrades?"
The old man's brows rose, his demeanor clearly softening considerably. After hesitating for a moment, he reached out and opened the iron gate:
"...Come inside and talk."