# 215
**Chapter 215: The Bizarre Case**
The black van slowly pulled up in front of the villa. Lin Qiye and Hongying stepped out and pushed open the door.
The familiar living room, the familiar sofa, the familiar bedroom—everything was exactly as they had left it, unchanged.
“Go ahead and unpack. The captain’s side isn’t done yet,” Hongying said, glancing at her watch with a frown. “Didn’t they say it was just to get some information? How’s it taking all afternoon? Don’t tell me the captain’s stalling just to avoid cooking dinner?”
“Sister Hongying, are we eating at the office tonight?”
“Yeah. The captain prepped the ingredients last night, said it was to welcome you and celebrate your official joining of Team 136. Guess this dinner’s turning into a midnight snack.” Hongying sighed helplessly.
Lin Qiye nodded, dragged his suitcase back to his room, and started unpacking. About half an hour later, Hongying’s voice rang out from downstairs.
“Qiye, you done? Time to eat!”
“Coming.”
Lin Qiye stowed his Straight Blade and cloak in the room, kept his Coat of Arms on him, then hurried down the stairs and got into the car heading for the office.
A few minutes later.
Ding-dong—!
“Welcome!”
Lin Qiye pushed open the office door to find that, aside from Chen Muye busy in the kitchen, the rest of the team was already seated at the table. When they saw him walk in, smiles crept onto their faces.
Lin Qiye stopped at the entrance, took a deep breath, and announced:
“Lin Qiye of Night Watch Team 136, reporting for duty!”
Everyone exchanged glances, their smiles widening. Wu Xiangnan turned toward the kitchen and called out, “Captain Chen, the rookie’s here.”
The clatter in the kitchen quieted down. Chen Muye stepped out, looked Lin Qiye up and down, and chuckled, “Alright, we don’t stand on ceremony in Team 136. Sit, food’ll be ready soon.”
Lin Qiye took his seat. Wen Qimo beside him clapped his shoulder and said gently, “Good to have you back. Those big-city Night Watch teams are all rules and red tape, heavy missions, high casualty rates—nothing like our Cangnan.”
Leng Xuan met Lin Qiye’s eyes and said calmly, “One setback doesn’t matter. Real gold shines eventually.”
Lin Qiye blinked, half amused, half exasperated.
The whole team still thought his training-camp grades had been poor and were trying to cheer him up… He’d better set the record straight.
Just as he opened his mouth, Hongying beat him to it.
“Wu Xiangnan, what’ve you guys been doing all afternoon? Why only just finished?”
Everyone’s attention shifted—after all, a Human Apex showing up in Cangnan was huge news.
Wu Xiangnan gave a bitter smile. “The debrief took ten minutes. The rest of the time the old man kept us chatting over tea… Who knows what he was thinking.”
He shot a meaningful glance toward Chen Muye in the kitchen.
During the final ten minutes of that chat, Chen Muye had deliberately sent Wu Xiangnan away. He suspected the old master had lingered over tea all afternoon just for those ten minutes.
But… what could one of the five Human Apexes possibly have to discuss with an ordinary Night Watch captain from a small city?
Wu Xiangnan was puzzled, but he said nothing and asked nothing. If Chen Muye could tell them, he already would have. For now, he acted as if it had never happened.
“So has he left Cangnan?” Hongying pressed.
“No idea. That old man’s whereabouts aren’t for us to guess.” Wu Xiangnan shrugged.
“Glutton.”
“…?”
While the two locked eyes, Lin Qiye turned to Wen Qimo and asked, “By the way, I heard another Mystery appeared in the city?”
“Still unclear.” Wen Qimo sighed. “This morning someone reported finding a corpse in the backyard of a tavern on the east side. The victim’s ten fingers were cut off, body nailed to the wall. Died in terror, face frozen in extreme fear.”
Lin Qiye nodded thoughtfully. “That alone is thin evidence it’s a Mystery…”
“Problem is, this is the fourth victim this month. The first three had no connection to each other or to this one—no pattern at all—yet the cause of death and the expression on the face are identical. Police have investigated for ages with no leads. What finally convinced them something supernatural was involved was this morning’s case.”
Wen Qimo’s brows knit. “From the cops: the night it happened the tavern was holding a celebration. The owner filmed it, forgot to turn the camera off, and left it on the bar pointed at the door to the backyard—right where the body was pinned.”
“Caught the whole thing?”
“That’s the eerie part—it did. But… the footage is just too bizarre!” Wen Qimo took a sip of tea. “No second person appears. The victim simply floats up, nails fly off the ground and spear into his limbs and heart, then his fingers look like they’re being gnawed away—gone in seconds.”
Si Xiaonan shuddered, little face paling.
“No wonder… Doesn’t sound humanly possible,” Wu Xiangnan agreed. “Any progress today?”
“None. It’s too weird—I don’t even know where to start,” Wen Qimo said, scratching his head. “Plus we’ve got to watch for the Corpse-Thief.”
“Corpse-Thief?” Lin Qiye asked.
“Didn’t I tell you? Every time we wipe out a Mystery, part of its body vanishes,” Hongying explained. “So far he’s stolen pieces from four Mysteries. We’re calling him the Corpse-Thief.”
“Still not caught?” Lin Qiye exclaimed.
“Nope. Six months ago he snatched a lizard Mystery’s corpse. Later we cleared a River Realm frost vine; the transport team was ambushed, everyone knocked out. When they woke, half the vine was gone.”