Chapter 375 374: Inspecting the Construction Site

Mu Lin, Qiao Canhua, and Madam Qiao arrived at the construction site.

The site was cordoned off with yellow and black tape. Qiao Canhua, worried that another serious accident might occur, had not resumed construction.

Shortly after, two more parties arrived. One was a Patrol Captain named Meng Fang; Mu Lin had previously asked Captain Yun to contact him.

The other was a man with a long, snow-white beard and the ethereal air of an immortal. His name was Huo Changsheng, a name so grand it made one wonder if he could truly live up to it.

After all, if he were truly immortal, how could he look so old?

As Huo Changsheng stepped out of his car, Qiao Canhua rushed over enthusiastically.

"Master Huo! You're here at last!"

After exchanging greetings with Qiao Canhua, Master Huo said, "Chairman Qiao, I'm truly sorry to hear about your successive losses. You've always been a charitable man, which should have earned you great virtue. Why has it come to this?"

Qiao Canhua sighed deeply. He shared Master Huo's confusion, but felt an even greater sense of helplessness.

He had no idea what had gone wrong, or why things had to turn out this way.

"I must be slow-witted, because I truly don't understand! Please, Master Huo, I beg you to enlighten me!"

As if he had expected this, Master Huo stroked his beard and said slowly, "Chairman Qiao, fortune favors the virtuous. I will certainly take a thorough look for you and find the root of this malevolence!"

Qiao Canhua nodded eagerly, his voice filled with emotion. "Yes, yes! Thank you, Master Huo!"

Master Huo walked forward at a measured pace, cradling a Compass in his hands, his expression one of deep concentration.

Meng Fang also gave Qiao Canhua a simple salute. "Chairman Qiao, try not to worry. I'm going to survey the scene and see if there's any possibility of foul play."

Qiao Canhua replied gratefully, "Of course. Thank you for your trouble!"

Then, after watching Meng Fang depart, Qiao Canhua attentively escorted Master Huo as he continued his survey.

Madam Qiao followed beside them, her face etched with worry as she took in the scene.

"I hope Master Huo can find the problem. It would be wonderful if this could be resolved quickly. If something major were to happen... that would be just awful."

Mu Lin smiled faintly. "Madam Qiao, you're worrying too much. I'm here, am I not? Still, I don't believe this is a feng shui issue. I have my reservations about Uncle Qiao hiring this master."

Madam Qiao sighed, then a thought seemed to strike her. She looked at Mu Lin in surprise.

"Mu Lin, you know about feng shui, too?"

"Not really," Mu Lin said. "Just the basics. But I can still get a general sense of things."

"At least, I haven't found any strange signs. I suspect someone is using underhanded means to harm you."

The color drained from Madam Qiao's face. "Mu Lin, are you saying someone is doing this to us? How?"

After all, the medical examiner had performed autopsies on all the bodies and found nothing out of the ordinary.

So, insisting it was a conspiracy seemed a bit of a stretch.

Mu Lin said,

"You have a point, Madam Qiao. But remember when you were mentally manipulated? No one discovered that either, did they?"

Madam Qiao recalled her previous ordeal, and her expression instantly soured.

Mu Lin didn't press the issue, instead falling silent and observing from the side.

"Mu Lin, what do you think? How did the workers jump?"

"I don't know," Mu Lin said. "Why don't we go inside and take a look? Perhaps we'll understand after we see it for ourselves."

The others exchanged glances. The old saying "seeing is believing" had a point.

What Mu Lin suggested made sense.

Qiao Canhua looked up at the building, his expression sorrowful. Construction was almost complete. All that was left were the exterior decorations and some finishing touches before they could hand over the units.

But now, with these incidents happening one after another, the situation was incredibly distressing.

No one wants to live in a place where people have died. Qiao Canhua knew that once word got out, a large number of prospective owners would come demanding a price reduction.

But he couldn't hide it; his conscience wouldn't allow it.

With his wife newly pregnant, he felt he had to be transparent, if only to accumulate good karma for his unborn child.

'Sigh... if someone was pulling the strings behind the scenes,' he thought, 'then for me, this is an irreconcilable feud.'

'I can't just let this go.'

The most important thing right now was to find what was causing the workers to fall and eliminate it. Otherwise, they were completely stuck.

This was why Qiao Canhua had been in such a hurry to bring the Yin Yang Master to investigate. First, to find the cause, and second, to alter the feng shui so that future owners wouldn't be so averse to taking possession of their units.

The group headed upstairs, making their way to the floor where the incidents had occurred. Everyone had fallen from this exact same level.

It was too much of a coincidence.

"Master Huo, this is the place. The workers fell from right here," Qiao Canhua said. "As you can see, there are actually safety barriers, and warning signs, but they didn't do any good at all. It was all useless."

Just then, Meng Fang, who had been investigating outside, walked in with a baffled look on his face.

Mu Lin went over to him. "Captain Meng, did you find anything?"

Meng Fang frowned slightly and slowly shook his head. "It's strange. There's nothing. Heaven knows what's going on to cause something like this."

Mu Lin sighed.

"What were the workers like? Do you have their files? Can we find any commonalities between them?"

Meng Fang looked squarely at Mu Lin. He didn't refuse to answer, but he remained silent.

"Oh, you think I'm asking too many questions, is that it? If I were just an ordinary person, you'd be right. But..."

He pulled out an ID. "How about now?"

The moment Meng Fang saw the ID, he snapped to attention and saluted Mu Lin. "Captain Meng Fang of the Lanyang Patrol Team! So, Mr. Mu has such a distinguished background. This humble one was unaware. My apologies for the disrespect!"

"So you're the Mr. Mu that Captain Yun mentioned! I pictured an old gentleman in his sixties, I never expected you to be so young..."

Madam Qiao was also stunned. "Mu Lin, you're with the Military Suppression Bureau? When did you join?"

"I'm more of an external consultant, but with high-level clearance. You could say they gave me an identity of convenience; it doesn't mean I've officially joined the Military Suppression Bureau."

Mu Lin gave a vague explanation. To be honest, he didn't quite understand what it all meant himself.

Madam Qiao was just as confused.

"We'll talk about it later. Let me deal with this first."

Mu Lin turned back to Meng Fang. "Captain Meng, can you tell me now?"

Meng Fang nodded, still a bit stunned. "Yes, of course!"

Meng Fang began, "Actually, everything looks normal. It has all the signs of an accidental fall. The workers were usually lively, cheerful guys who liked to play sports. And Chairman Qiao is always very generous with pay, so it's not a labor dispute. That's why we're at a complete loss. We just can't find the real cause..."

Mu Lin interjected suddenly, "You said they all liked to play sports?"

"They were pretty tall," Meng Fang said. "The type among their coworkers who you'd expect to play sports."

"How tall, exactly?"

"Between five-foot-nine and five-foot-eleven, I'd say..."

Mu Lin's eyes darkened. He felt as if he had grasped a clue, but it was still too vague to make out.

He suddenly climbed onto the scaffolding, startling Qiao Canhua and Madam Qiao. But then they remembered his martial arts prowess and figured he would be fine, so they suppressed their unease and let him continue.

'It was ridiculous that a situation like this had gone on for so long.'

Mu Lin surveyed his surroundings. Suddenly, inspiration struck, and he understood exactly what was happening.

At that very moment, Master Huo also spoke up. "Chairman Qiao, I understand now!"

Qiao Canhua gave him his full attention. "Master Huo, please, tell me. What is the problem?"

"Chairman Qiao, the problem is the building's orientation! The angle is off. It should have been rotated slightly in this direction. If it isn't, people will keep jumping. Right now, it's workers, which is bad enough. But if it's homeowners in the future, you'll have a catastrophe on your hands!"

Qiao Canhua felt his head spin. "Master, are you saying... I have to tear down the whole building and start over?"