Chapter 73: Lu Xing's Murderous Scheme

But heaven didn't grant my wish. It felt as if some unseen force were manipulating everything from the shadows. Jiang Fei and I were on the sixth floor, and the elevator was stuck on the fifth, refusing to come up.

"The Red Cord of Marriage... is it forcing an opportunity out of nothing?" I had a ton of things on my plate and no time to mess around with Jiang Fei. If the elevator wouldn't move, we could just take the stairs.

I strode away, but I had only made it a few meters when I heard Jiang Fei call out behind me, "The elevator is here. Where are you going?"

I turned to look. The elevator doors had just opened, so I walked back. Before I even reached it, however, the doors shut again and the car went straight up to the seventh floor.

"Screw you!" I slammed my fist against the alloy doors. Once again, I was standing right next to Jiang Fei.

"I didn't touch it. It went up on its own," Jiang Fei said, finding it equally baffling. 'Could it really be this coincidental? Is it destined that he can't leave my side?' she thought.

Resigned, we went back to waiting for the elevator. Jiang Fei quietly studied my profile for a long moment before asking, "What's your relationship with my sister-in-law? How did she recognize you instantly from behind?"

"Why? Are you afraid I have designs on your sister-in-law?" A woman's intuition was truly terrifying. I gave her a noncommittal response.

"Obviously. She's young, beautiful, and just married into the family. Besides, my unlucky second brother is apparently still stuck in the hospital. I heard someone crashed his wedding, and he was so furious he suffered internal injuries."

"Furious enough to suffer internal injuries? I'm amazed you could come up with that." After a minute of agonizing waiting, I gave up on the elevator and headed for the emergency stairwell.

"Is that not what happened? Did you attend his wedding too?" Jiang Fei asked, naturally following right behind me.

"Go back and keep your sister-in-law company. Don't follow me." I turned around, grabbed her by the shoulders, and organized my words, using the simplest terms possible to tell her the truth. "I was the one who crashed your brother's wedding that day. I am Gao Jian."

Leaving a dumbfounded Jiang Fei standing in the corridor, I took the stairs and left the New Drug Research and Development Center.

"This Red Cord of Marriage really tied a massive headache to me," I muttered.

I bought a few meat buns on the way, planning to head back and share them with Bai Qi. Suddenly, my phone chimed. It wasn't a call, but a voice message from an unknown number.

"I've been a magnet for women lately. Don't tell me it's another fangirl?"

I opened the message and held the phone to my ear. After listening to it once, I threw away my buns and sprinted toward the Municipal Police Sub-bureau.

The voice in the message belonged to Xiaofeng: "The sixth person Lu Xing wants to kill is Tie Ningxiang!"

At the entrance to the sub-bureau, a new guard stopped me. "Do you know where you are? You think you can just waltz in here?"

"I'm looking for the captain of your criminal investigation team, Tie Ningxiang. Hurry! It's an emergency!"

The guard swaggered out of his booth. "Lots of people want to see our goddess. Don't think I'll let you in just because you pretend to know her."

This guy had a screw loose, acting like a lovestruck fool at the mere mention of Tie Ningxiang. "Anyway, it's working hours right now. Give it up."

"You're in the way!" I pulled out my phone and dialed Tie Ningxiang's number. "Hey, Senior, where are you?"

"Gao Jian? I'm out on a mission. Whatever it is, we'll talk when I get back."

I raised my voice sharply. "Did you go to arrest Lu Xing?"

"How did you know? We just got a tip from an old farmer in the suburbs this morning."

"Stop the car right now! Wait for me! He exposed his location to you on purpose!" I was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan. Lu Xing was incredibly difficult to deal with; he was very likely the apprentice or spokesperson for the Two-Faced Buddha. Their scheme was massive. He wouldn't make such an amateur mistake.

"Relax. We dispatched over a dozen officers and police dogs. Even if Lu Xing could flip the heavens, he wouldn't be able to escape."

"I'm not worried about him escaping! It's a trap! He intentionally left a flaw to lure you in!" I couldn't explain everything in a few words over the phone, so I just forwarded Xiaofeng's voice message to Tie Ningxiang. "Lu Xing killed five people at the Anxin Hotel! The first was his underage sister, and the last was Xiaofeng. But there's a missing person in the middle—and that person is you! Lu Xing wants to kill you!"

I was practically shouting. Tie Ningxiang didn't say anything immediately after hearing it.

"Are you listening? Stop the car and wait for me. You guys really can't handle him."

"Gao Jian, we are the police. If even we can't handle him, then I definitely won't drag you into this," Tie Ningxiang said earnestly. "Wait patiently. I will bring Xiaofeng back."

With that, she hung up.

"Hello? Hello! Senior! Tie Ningxiang!" I shoved the phone back into my pocket and glared at the dumbfounded guard in front of me. "Where did Captain Tie go for her mission?"

"You actually have Captain Tie's private number? Seems you have quite the relationship with our goddess."

"Tell me where Tie Ningxiang went!" My patience completely exhausted, I grabbed the guard by his collar. A red light flashed in the depths of my eyes, my expression twisting into something fierce and savage.

"Pine... Forest Cemetery," the guard blurted out, visibly shaken.

I let go of the pale guard, flagged down a taxi, and left the Municipal Sub-bureau.

"Driver, I need to go to Pine Forest Cemetery. Please step on it."

"It's not Tomb-Sweeping Day. Why are so many people going to Pine Forest Cemetery?" the driver muttered as he started the car.

I caught onto his words immediately. "Someone else went to Pine Forest Cemetery besides me?"

"Yeah. I had a fare this morning. Some weirdo wearing a black robe."

"A weirdo wearing a black robe?" Combined with what the driver said, I suspected it was Mr. Gu. "Where did he get the news?"

An hour later, I arrived at Pine Forest Cemetery in Jiangcheng's Northern Suburb. Surrounded by mountains and rarely visited by people, it was a perfect resting place for the dead.

"Should I stop here? I see a few police cars up ahead. Don't tell me there's been a murder." The driver slowed down, preparing to pull over.

"Don't be afraid. Follow them!"

"Follow the police?! That's just asking for trouble!"

"Cut the crap and drive!"

The taxi trailed behind the police cars up the winding mountain road, eventually stopping at the back of Pine Forest Cemetery.

Layers of forest stretched out like barriers, with towering pines and cypresses standing tall on the cliffs. Without a local to guide the way, anyone venturing a few kilometers deep into the mountains would get completely lost.

"Lu Xing deliberately chose a place perfect for hiding. He must be lurking in the dark. The moment Tie Ningxiang drops her guard, she'll lose her life before she even realizes it." The cemetery was already fraught with yin energy. Pines and cypresses were not divine trees that warded off evil. On the contrary, people with the "Pine and Cypress Wood" destiny were more prone to encountering ghosts and evil spirits. Many people who experienced sleep paralysis actually possessed that specific destiny.

"I just hope she hasn't gone into the mountains yet." Deep forests and old mountains were full of demons and evil spirits. Given Lu Xing's special background, he was undoubtedly skilled in wicked methods and ghost arts. The enemy held the advantage of time and terrain, simply waiting for Tie Ningxiang to deliver herself to his doorstep.

My brain raced, trying to come up with a countermeasure.

The driver sat up front, not daring to utter a single word. It was his first time seeing a madman bold enough to tail a police car.

"Tie Ningxiang absolutely cannot die. The other party is trying to complete some sort of ritual. If Tie Ningxiang dies, Xiaofeng's life will certainly be forfeit." I paid the fare and walked toward the police cars.

Two officers were setting up police tape. Seeing someone approach, they raised their hands to stop me. "We're pursuing a fugitive ahead. No entry."

I paced back and forth with a frown. Suddenly, I spotted a familiar figure inside the perimeter. It was a police officer I had seen at the Anxin Hotel.

"Hey! Brother!"

The man recognized my face and hesitantly walked over. "You're... Captain Tie's junior?"

"Yeah. My name is Gao Jian. We met at the Anxin Hotel."

"I'm Zhao Bin. You can just call me Xiao Zhao." The pale-skinned man standing before me was the very detective whose secret crush on Tie Ningxiang I had noticed back at the hotel.

"Xiao Zhao, has your Captain Tie gone into the mountains?" There was no time for pleasantries, so I cut straight to the chase.

"They went in an hour ago. We're the second batch of reinforcements. The search radius is massive..."

"Crap!" I didn't wait for Zhao Bin to finish. I pulled out my phone and played Xiaofeng's voice message on speaker. "Your Captain Tie is in danger. This is a death trap meticulously designed specifically for her! You have to take me to her. I'm the only one who can save her!"

"That's not appropriate. This is a police operation. If I bring you in..."

"Think about Tie Ningxiang! I have no reason to lie to you!" I raised my voice, staring intently into Zhao Bin's eyes. "Are you willing to watch her die right in front of you?"

Zhao Bin gripped the police tape tightly, thinking for a long moment. "Alright. I'll take you into the mountains."