Chapter 469: My Everything

"The survivor's condition is highly unstable. Besides, he's a crucial witness. It's probably not appropriate for you to go over there," Wu Meng flatly refused, placing the officially signed document in front of me. "Gao Jian, we all know what you're capable of. If this isn't handled well, the fallout will be disastrous. So just be honest. Why did you go to the Northern Suburb Subway Station the night before last? What was your objective? And what did you see there?"

Surrounded by a room full of criminal police, it would be a lie to say I didn't feel the pressure. I spread my hands flat on the table and offered a bitter smile. "The real economy is in a slump right now, and my little shop is about to go under. I figured I'd try something trendy. I heard livestreaming is pretty lucrative these days, so I wanted to do a supernatural livestream, mostly to explore the city's hidden urban legends."

Tie Ningxiang and the others had repeatedly spotted me carrying a Black Leather Suitcase full of livestreaming equipment in and out of major murder scenes, so they had already guessed my side job.

"And that's your reason for heading to the subway station late at night?" Several of the detectives were far from convinced.

"That's right. There are legends about the subway station floating around online, and people keep committing suicide there lately. I just wanted to do my part for the harmonious development of Jiangcheng. That's why I risked my life to explore the Northern Suburb Subway Station at night." My expression was solemn, my tone absolute.

"Since when did your civic awareness get so high?" Tie Ningxiang shook her head. "Gao Jian, we won't hurt you. We just hope you'll cooperate with our investigation. Lives are at stake here, and you have to bear legal responsibility for every word you say."

She waved at Zhao Bin. He pulled out a body camera, turned it on, and aimed it at me. "I'll ask the questions from here on out, and you will answer. Don't try to pull any tricks."

Tie Ningxiang organized her collected evidence. "The subway station's security cameras captured you at ten o'clock on the night of October 28th. After you entered the station, you never came back out. Aside from that survivor, you should be the only one who knows exactly what happened in there that night."

I was just about to deliver my fabricated excuse when Tie Ningxiang waved her hand. Seeming to know my personality all too well, she continued, "Don't be in a rush to answer. I have a second question. The cameras never caught you leaving the subway station, but your second appearance was in Henshan, several kilometers away. Based on your description, Wu Meng led a team to Suolong Village yesterday afternoon. They extracted Old Wei's remains and fabric fragments from your clothes from that water well. This proves you weren't lying yesterday. However, this creates an impossible knot—how did you travel from the Jiangcheng Northern Suburb Subway Station all the way into the Depths of Henshan overnight?"

Everyone's gaze focused on me. They were all incredibly curious as well.

Knowing I couldn't brush this off, I simply told the truth. "Actually, there was one final train at the subway station at midnight. I rode that train straight into the Depths of Henshan."

The criminal investigation room went completely silent at those words. After a long while, Wu Meng finally spoke. "Are you crazy too? The Northern Suburb is the terminal station. Further north, the tracks haven't even been fully laid yet. Even if there was a final train, how could it possibly drive over there?"

I shrugged. "Didn't you find a survivor? You can take a statement from both of us at the same time, then compare them. You'll know whether I'm crazy or not."

The detectives were completely at a loss with me. Finally, after my repeated requests, they agreed to take me to see the survivor.

After I mooched a free lunch at the Municipal Sub-bureau, Tie Ningxiang and Zhao Bin took me to the First People's Hospital.

"Mind your tone. The patient just passed the critical phase. Whatever you do, don't agitate him." Tie Ningxiang pushed open the hospital room door. A thick scent of disinfectant wafted out from inside. "Come in."

She and Zhao Bin boxed me in from the left and right, and the three of us stood two meters away from the hospital bed.

"Is there really a need to be this tense?" I used the Judging Eye and easily made out the patient's face. His features looked somewhat familiar. "So it really is him."

"You knew each other before this?" Tie Ningxiang shot Zhao Bin a look. Understanding implicitly, he immediately started recording my every word.

"Unexpected, yet it makes sense. I thought his soul had completely scattered. I never expected him to come back to life like this." I gradually raised my voice. "Speaking of which, I'm his savior."

Hearing my voice, the man in the hospital bed woke up. He opened his eyes wide, stared at me, and stammered out, "Mr. Lu!"

"Mr. Lu?" Tie Ningxiang and Zhao Bin both looked at me in confusion.

The survivor raised his only movable arm and pointed at me. "He's the man named Lu Xing that I told you about!"

"Your name is Lu Xing?"

Tie Ningxiang gave me an odd look, but I paid it no mind. "Feng Minglong, I saved you. If you don't want to show gratitude, fine, but you're actually selling me out? Biting the hand that fed you?"

"Boss, the police are here, I definitely didn't dare lie." Feng Minglong seemed to have found his savior. He waved his hand at Tie Ningxiang and said, "Officer, this Mr. Lu experienced everything with me that night! A train full of dead people, and a train attendant who turned into an eight-foot-tall spider—he saw it all! Later on, in that little mountain village, the villagers forced us to carry a coffin, and there was a naked woman sitting in a red-and-white sedan chair! My god! At the very end, a whole village of dead people formed a procession and fought an intense, neck-and-neck battle with a blood-red fox!"

"Don't get so worked up. Control your emotions. Calm down." Zhao Bin gently rubbed his forehead. "He's starting to spout nonsense again. Exactly what kind of shock did you suffer that night?"

"Every word I've said is the truth! Why don't you believe me?" Feng Minglong's upper body was completely wrapped in bandages. In his anxiety, he tried to sit up, instantly tearing his wounds. Blood soaked through.

"This is bad, hurry and call a doctor!"

Soon, the three of us were kicked out. Sitting on a bench outside the hospital, I revealed a thoughtful expression. 'Why did he alone survive? Could it be because his physical body was in the Yang Realm, so when his soul returned from the Yin-Yang Boundary, it burrowed straight back into his flesh?'

Standing by the door, Zhao Bin looked helpless. The doctor had rejected his request to re-enter, citing the severity of the patient's injuries. "This kid is truly tough to kill. Two penetrating wounds to the abdomen, with his internal organs shifted and bleeding. He managed to pull through the night and is actually still breathing. Anyone else would have died countless times over."

I overheard Zhao Bin's unintentional complaint. 'A person who should have died actually came back to life. When the task was tallied, I received a notification from the Underworld Live Show saying I had saved a person who should have died, and they even deducted twenty merit from me for it. This person has to be Feng Minglong.'

Passing through the Deep Well, Feng Minglong had gained a new lease on life. Out of the three of us, only Wang Shi had vanished without a trace. 'Feng Minglong's physical body in the Yang Realm hadn't completely died yet, so after he returned, his consciousness immediately reentered his flesh. Wang Shi died on October 26th. His corpse must have rotted a long time ago. Even if he returned to the Yang Realm, he should have become a wandering ghost.'

I subconsciously glanced down at my wrist, and immediately made a major discovery.

The fourth jade bead on the Ghost Ring was glowing with a faint light. It seemed like there was something contained inside it.

'Could Wang Shi be hiding inside the Ghost Ring?' I originally only had three ghosts. Now that the fourth bead was glowing faintly, I truly couldn't think of a better explanation.

I didn't dare use the Ghost Ring right in front of Tie Ningxiang. We waited outside the hospital room for half an hour, but the doctor never came out. Checking the time, I tactfully reminded Tie Ningxiang that I had to go see off Daoist Priest Xianqing at three o'clock that afternoon.

Based solely on the information they currently had, they couldn't confirm I was a criminal suspect. Tie Ningxiang didn't say much; she just told me not to leave Jiangcheng over the next few days and to be ready for a summons at any time, then let me go.

Upon leaving the ward, I went straight into the hospital restroom with the heaviest Yin energy. It was daytime, and the Yang energy between heaven and earth was at its peak. Summoning a ghost anywhere else would likely damage its spirit.

It looked like the wiring in here was under repair. An electrician's toolbox and a warning sign were sitting by the door, saying something about aging circuits and a temporary suspension of use, but I paid them no mind.

"Yin-Yang Has an Order!"

I injected a wisp of Yin energy into the fourth jade bead. Soon, a mature and steady middle-aged man appeared before me.

"Wang Shi..."

He shielded his eyes with his hands, instinctively shrinking into the shadows. He looked at me and kept speaking, but I couldn't understand a single word.

He quickly realized we couldn't communicate. Turning on the faucet, he dipped his finger in the water and began writing on the restroom mirror.

"Number Twelve, save me. I am willing to use my everything to repay you!"