S.C.I Mystery Series Volume 5 Chapter 157

Special Files – Witches 04 – Response

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Chen Feng's sudden move caught everyone off guard. When Bai Yutang saw him run, he instinctively reached out and grabbed his cloak. However, the boy slipped away like a slick eel and darted into the Feng Shui curtain.

Bai Yutang, speechless, had no choice but to chase after him. Ma Han and Zhao Hu exchanged glances and exited through the front door.

This commercial street was a maze of interconnected alleys. If Chen Feng escaped through the back door, he would definitely be running through the alleys.

The two ran to the back door just in time to see Bai Yutang chase Chen Feng into a small alley. They split up to outflank him from both sides.

Zhan Zhao, on the other hand, strolled around the crystal store.

Behind the Feng Shui curtain was a passageway, next to which was an office with a desk piled high with documents.

As Zhan Zhao walked in, he felt something furry brush against his foot and heard a soft "meow".

Zhan Zhao looked down.

At his feet, he saw a plump, pure black kitten with large pale green eyes staring up at him, with a small triangular red scarf tied around its chest.

Zhan Zhao picked up the cat. The man and the cat stared into each other's eyes for a moment, recognising they were kindred spirits.

Holding the cat, Zhan Zhao continued to inspect the room.

Glancing through the documents on Chen Feng's desk, Zhan Zhao thoughtfully stroked his chin, then he looked to the side... next to the wall was a sofa, where Chen Feng had probably been napping earlier.

......

Bai Yutang chased Chen Feng into the alley. Chen Feng ran quite fast and looked back as he ran.

Of course, Bai Yutang was even faster.

As he ran, Chen Feng shouted, "I used to be on the track team! Give up!"

Naturally, Bai Yutang wouldn't give up. As he was about to catch up, Chen Feng burst out of the alley and tried to cross the street, only to see Zhao Hu charging over from the main road.

Chen Feng made a sudden sharp turn, grabbed a nearby railing, and climbed onto the roof of a small building with agile movements.

As he jumped up, he called out, "I do parkour!"

But Bai Yutang had already leapt onto the roof behind him.

Startled, Chen Feng ran faster.

Zhao Hu pointed at the roof across the alley to Ma Han.

Ma Han ran up and saw Bai Yutang on the roof chasing after Chen Feng.

Chen Feng was chased by Bai Yutang and had no place to hide, and nearly fell off the roof. He finally jumped into a factory-like building, darting into the workshop to hide.

Bai Yutang also entered the workshop but couldn't find Chen Feng.

By then, Ma Han and Zhao Hu had also caught up.

The three split up to search. Zhao Hu squatted down and saw two feet sticking out from behind a machine, and signalled to the others.

The three of them ran to the machine and found two shoes on the ground.

Bai Yutang laughed, this kid was quite clever.

Opposite the machine was a window. The three of them climbed out the window into the alley and continued their pursuit in different directions.

After the three had left, Chen Feng crawled out from inside a large pipe on one side of the workshop. Dusting himself off and putting on his shoes, he muttered, "This is my turf."

He slipped out of the workshop entrance but barely took a few steps before someone patted him on the shoulder from behind.

Startled, Chen Feng turned around to find Bai Yutang standing right behind him.

"Heh." Chen Feng gasped and quickly darted into a nearby alley.

He had barely entered the alley before running back out, with Zhao Hu emerging from within.

Chen Feng had nowhere to run. He wanted to escape to the main road, but Ma Han was blocking the path.

Just then, a buzzing sound came from above.

Chen Feng looked up to see a drone hovering overhead, and Zhan Zhao's voice came from it, "Ai, turf king, parkour track star, do you know Zhao Jue?"

Chen Feng blinked in surprise and asked Bai Yutang and the others, "Zhao Jue sent you guys? Why didn't you say so earlier!"

Zhao Hu and Ma Han frowned at him.

Chen Feng casually patted Bai Yutang on the shoulder, "If I'd known, I wouldn't have run..."

Before he could finish speaking, his wrist was cuffed with a click.

"Aiya... ouch, ouch, ouch." Chen Feng yelped, "No need to be so rough, it's all a misunderstanding!"

Bai Yutang ignored him and pushed the slippery character back.

At the entrance of the crystal shop, Zhan Zhao retrieved the drone and put it in the car.

On the roof of the car, the little black cat licked its fur and wagged its tail at him.

At this moment, Bai Yutang returned with Chen Feng in tow.

"Ah ah ah Ah!" Chen Feng panicked upon seeing Zhan Zhao holding the black cat, "No! Don't touch my Sesame Paste!"

Zhan Zhao looked down at the little black cat, "Your name is Sesame Paste?"

The black cat wagged its tail and turned to Zhan Zhao, "Meow~"

They took Chen Feng into the shop. Zhao Hu went to close the back door and stood by the Feng Shui curtain while Ma Han stood by the front door.

With both exits blocked, Bai Yutang told Chen Feng to sit down on a chair.

Chen Feng pleaded pitifully, saying it was all a misunderstanding and asking if they could take off the handcuffs.

Bai Yutang glanced at Zhan Zhao.

Zhan Zhao nodded.

Bai Yutang unlocked Chen Feng's handcuffs.

As Bai Yutang put away the handcuffs, he looked at Zhan Zhao – How is he connected to Zhao Jue?

Zhan Zhao took out his phone, opened Mia's social media, and pulled up a photo.

In the photo, Mia was holding a little black cat in the yard.

Putting the photo next to Sesame Paste... it was the same cat.

Bai Yutang stared at Sesame Paste for a long time – Too cute!

Zhan Zhao casually handed the cat to Bai Yutang.

Bai Yutang took the cat, while Chen Feng watched nervously, fixated on the cat.

Zhan Zhao dialled Zhao Jue's number.

When the call connected, Zhao Jue's voice came through, "Kitten."

Zhan Zhao asked, "Do you know someone named Chen Feng?"

There was a brief pause on Zhao Jue's end before he asked, "What's happened to him?"

Zhan Zhao looked at the card, then at Chen Feng, and said expressionlessly, "He's suspected of murder."

Chen Feng's mouth dropped open as he vigorously shook his head – No! It's a misunderstanding!

After a moment of silence, Zhao Jue said, "I doubt he's the murderer."

Zhan Zhao looked at Bai Yutang.

While petting the cat, Bai Yutang asked, "Evidence?"

Zhao Jue replied, "Because he's a coward."

Chen Feng nodded repeatedly.

"That can't be used as evidence." Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang both shook their heads.

"He's a cat slave."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang continued to shake their heads.

"He's Xiao Black's informant."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang stopped shaking their heads, then asked in unison, "What?"

"He was introduced to me by Bao Xiao Black. He's been helping me investigate something these past few days."

Zhan Zhao looked at Bai Yutang.

Bai Yutang took out his phone and called Bao Sir.

When Bao Sir heard Bai Yutang asking about Chen Feng, he said, "Chen Feng has been an informant for the police for many years. Though he's a bit slippery, he has a strong sense of justice. Zhao Jue recently asked me to find someone well-informed to help with his investigation, so I introduced Chen Feng to him. Chen Feng's main business is selling crystals; on the side, he's a fortune-teller and software developer, and his hobbies are track and field and parkour."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang both silently glanced at Chen Feng – So he really was on the track team?

After hanging up, Bai Yutang asked him, "Why did you run when you saw the photo?"

Chen Feng felt wronged, "I was helping Zhao Jue investigate this, then you guys showed up with a photo of a corpse, so of course, I ran first. I thought I'd hide and ask Zhao Jue and Bao Sir about the situation before doing anything..."

As he spoke, he asked Bai Yutang for the cat.

Bai Yutang handed the cat back to him, and Chen Feng quickly cradled it in his arms, "Ah... Sesame Paste! Don't be scared!"

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang both retorted, "If you were in danger, you'd still abandon it and run yourself!"

Hugging Sesame Paste, Chen Feng swayed, "Sesame Paste, they used you as a hostage!"

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang both rolled their eyes at him.

Placing the cat on the table, Chen Feng went to close the shop door and drew the curtain. Then he went to the study and brought out some documents. From the documents, he took out a photo and handed it to Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang took the photo, and Ma Han and Zhao Hu curiously looked over.

The photo was of a well-painted oil painting depicting a bonfire with a pillar above it. Hanging upside down from the pillar was a man's corpse.

The figure in this oil painting looked exactly like the body Zhan Zhao and the others had found.

Surrounding the corpse, there were four symbols: a sun, a snake, a mountain, and something resembling a whirlpool.

"What's this painting?" Bai Yutang asked.

"This is a partial image, part of a whole painting." Chen Feng explained, taking out another photo to show everyone.

It was a picture of a different style, resembling an illustration from a fantasy novel.

In the picture, a wizard wearing a black cloak was holding a crystal ball, presenting it to someone dressed as a queen. The queen held a magic wand and was casting a spell at the person holding the crystal ball, who was a wizard. A group of small animals hid behind the queen, with flowers blooming behind the queen and a dark forest behind the wizard.

The image in the first photo could only be seen with a magnifying glass, hidden inside the crystal ball held by the wizard in the second picture.

Zhao Hu and Ma Han were perplexed.

Chen Feng asked, "What do you think?"

Hu Zi suggested that the image inside the crystal ball was photoshopped.

That statement surprised Chen Feng, who stroked his chin and assessed Zhao Hu, "Wow, you're good at grasping the key points!"

Hu Zi looked at Ma Han in confusion – What did I say?

In fact, Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang also felt that Zhao Hu's expression was quite accurate. It seemed like this painting had digitally combined two images because the larger painting outside resembled an illustration from children's literature, with a naive brushstroke and a cute style, as if telling a fairy tale. However, the image inside the crystal ball, perhaps influenced by seeing the body earlier, gave off a sinister vibe. It wasn't cute or naive; the brushstrokes seemed to be the work of a very skilled painter, with a dark and gloomy style.

Chen Feng explained, "Zhao Jue gave me this painting. It was a piece from an elementary school art competition twenty years ago, but the author is unknown. Zhao Jue said he wanted to find the artist of this painting. Because many elements in it are related to crystal fortune-telling, he asked me to find it."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang frowned at him – So what about this card? And those two deceased?

"Zhao Jue asked me to investigate this painting last month, as you both know..." Chen Feng grimaced, "Master Jue doesn't have much patience. After searching for half a month with no leads, he actually had someone kidnap Sesame Paste! Then he threatened me, saying if I couldn't find anything, he'd send Sesame Paste for neutering."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang could imagine Zhao Jue threatening Chen Feng with Sesame Paste...

"I had no choice, so I came up with a plan, printed out some cards and distributed them everywhere, hoping to get some clues." Chen Feng explained, "After all, there aren't many people in this circle. Those two people arrived after I sent out the cards. Our shop is a bit niche, except for those who happen to stroll by, most of our customers are referred by regulars. But these two came with the cards I distributed, saying they wanted fortune-telling."

"What did they want fortune-telling for?" Zhan Zhao asked.

"They... how should I put it? I don't think they understood the whole crystal fortune-telling thing. They treated me as if I were some kind of witch who could cast spells." Chen Feng sighed, "They both claimed their spouses were cheating and asked if there were any crystals that could make their partners change their minds."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang both frowned – Crystals could do that?

"Of course not, isn't that just looking for trouble?" Chen Feng said with exasperation, "I asked them who referred them, and they said someone had slipped the card under their door."

Seeing Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang's puzzled expressions, he shook his head, "It certainly wasn't me! I just gave a few to acquaintances, saying they were discount coupons or something."

Zhan Zhao frowned slightly, suddenly realising – these bodies might be some kind of response from the killer to indicate they knew someone was looking for them...

‿︵‿︵ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ・❉・ ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ‿︵‿︵

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Translator Notes

Please feel free to comment any mistakes I made so I can improve and do better as I go through the book.

Translated: May 28, 2024 by Angel

Edited: December 6, 2024 by Soojin