Chapter 9 Double Ninth Festival

  Ma Zhitian said to Ge Yufeng with a serious tone: "Yufeng, these three cases are not simple and can't be solved in a short time. You'd better let other police officers handle the Hu Fei and Xia Li cases. Local cases shouldn't be investigated by you. The Blue Jade Crystal disappearance is due to your inadequate protection, although it's not entirely your fault, but this case still needs to be personally investigated by you to retrieve the artifact. Also, since you have dealt with those people before, it will be more convenient for you. I'll also assign a team to assist you. The theft of the crystal must have been premeditated by an organized crime syndicate and not just a sudden idea, so be careful in your actions."

  Ge Yufeng said in a low voice, "Uncle Ma, Hu Fei and Mu Shu Ke have a relationship. I feel that the person who killed her is related to the Water Crystal case, and Xia Li also has some connection with this case. I've been observing Mu Shu Ke all along, so I hope these three cases can still be handled by me. It may take some time, but I will definitely find the real culprit. As for the South Gate Tunnel case, let's leave it to other police officers. I'm the first eyewitness and also a suspect, so it's not convenient for me to get involved."

  Ma Zhitian sank into thought, these three cases were all without a clue. Yu Feng was clever and might be able to quickly handle them and find the real culprit. He nodded and said: "Alright, I'll give you full authority, but when you're short-handed, just say so, and I'll support you at any time."

  Ge Yufeng didn't decline either, "Then let Xu Fan and I investigate together."

  "Uh-huh."

  On the road, Ge Yu Feng and Xu Fan walked together. Ge Yu Feng said to Xu Fan: "Tomorrow night, you go to Qi Nan, find an old woman named Qiu Yong Ta, in a small house at the end of Hua Xi Road. Remember, don't disturb anyone, bring her over, remember to protect her well, don't let others discover you."

  Xu Fan saw that he was so serious and didn't dare to be careless, turned around and flirted with him, "Recently you've been paying a lot of attention to Mu Shu Ke, contacting her so frequently, even visiting her when she's sick? Are you... hmm?" The tone rose at the end, sounding like he was teasing him. Ge Yu Feng gave him a cold glance, Xu Fan immediately shut up. He didn't have time to think about these things, he just wanted to figure out the truth of the matter, including Mu Shu Ke and Qi Xue. For some reason, he always had a feeling that this series of events were connected, and this was only the beginning. How powerful was the mastermind behind the scenes? Was it him who turned Mu Shu Ke into Qi Xue?

  "Musu! You can't escape! You'll never get out of my grasp! If you run, your whole family will die! You're Ye Qi Xue, you can't shake me off! Haha---haha---!"

  "I'm not, I'm not." Mu Shuqiang suddenly opened her eyes, panting heavily, and her cold sweat had soaked through her clothes. She touched her forehead, and the fever had already subsided. Looking out the window, she saw that it was already dark outside. Mu Shuqiang lay in bed, feeling a chill run down her spine, even though this dorm room was shared with only one other person. She glanced at Zhao Xinyu sleeping soundly beside her, but still felt a sense of unease lingering around her.

  On the second day, Musu went for a walk in the afternoon as usual. She had been staying in her dormitory for several days and if she didn't go out to get some fresh air, she would become moldy. Today was also gloomy with a light drizzle. She thought that Ye Ye had already been killed by her, and they should have found out about his disappearance by now, but so far there was no movement at all, which was really abnormal.

  She unknowingly walked to the place where Hu Fei's body was found, and due to the cleaning worker's sweep and the fine rain's flush, all the traces had disappeared. The raindrops got bigger and wet her clothes. Mu Shu Zhen was about to turn back when she suddenly caught a glimpse of a figure out of the corner of her eye. She quickly turned around and followed it. Mu Shu Zhen noticed that the surroundings were like a factory that had stopped, and the figure had gone somewhere. Mu Shu Zhen should have been Qi Xue, darting between the machines in the factory. As she went up the stairs, a figure quickly flashed past her eyes. Qi Xue said coldly: "Who are you?"

  She was furious for the first time, quickly followed to the top floor, didn't see anyone, and said in a cold voice: "Who are you? Stop pretending! You just wanted to lure me here, didn't you?" The voice wasn't loud, but it echoed in this empty place.

  "Hehe......" A crisp female voice sounded, but no one was visible, making it seem even more eerie.

  A blue figure suddenly appeared behind Qi Xue, Qi Xue's eyes turned cold as she looked back at her, her body trembled slightly, with a hint of disbelief in the depths of her eyes. But it was only for an instant, and she quickly regained her composure, her eyes now filled with icy calmness. A voice as cold as ice escaped from her lips, "Who are you?!" The chill emanating from her made the woman smile eerily.

  "Hehe, long time no see, Qi Xue, I'm Jiu Xi. Don't you recognize me? I'm so heartbroken, I've been thinking about you every day and wanting to see you." The woman lowered her voice and put on a sad expression.

  If there were others present, they would definitely widen their eyes in surprise, because the person who was supposed to be asleep had tightly closed lips, yet his voice still reached Qī Xuě's ears.

  "Jiuxi is dead!"

  "I came to find you, aren't you happy? I'm really heartbroken." Suddenly there was no sound, Qī Xuě (Seven Snow) watched her vigilantly, Jiǔ Xī (Nine Evening) closed her eyes, then suddenly opened them, her eyes were a dull gray, staring quietly at Seven Snow. The person watching felt a chill run down their spine. Seven Snow looked at her steadily and said softly: "Jiǔ Xī?" Jiǔ Xī's body flashed towards Seven Snow with a "whoosh".

  "What's going on?!" Ge Yu Feng furrowed his brow and asked in a low voice.

  "I don't know, Mu Shu didn't come back after resting in the afternoon!" Li Yanghua worried: "I thought you would be together, she won't get into trouble, will she?"

  "Ge Yu Feng said to her, "Don't worry, maybe she has other things that delayed her, I'll go find her now.""

  After finishing speaking, he didn't know where she would go. It shouldn't be that she was caught by others, with so many people around, it should be that she left on her own. But the class break was short, and she chose to leave, which means she must have encountered something that made her unable to ignore it. Where could she have gone? If someone lured her away, it should be someone she knew, and they would go somewhere with fewer people... Suddenly, a thought flashed in his mind - the empty place nearby was the factory!

  "Who are you, really! Why are you pretending to be Jiuxi!" Qī Xuě coldly interrogated, while fending off her attacks. She didn't dare counterattack, in case it was actually Jiuxi. Although she knew Jiuxi was dead, she still hoped this was the real Jiuxi. If she hurt her, what would happen? She couldn't bring herself to do it, and could only awkwardly dodge her attacks.

  Jiuxi's face was as expressionless as dead wood, continuously striking her with combos, just like a soulless puppet being manipulated. Qixue thought of this possibility and hesitated for a moment, Jiuxi suddenly pounced on Qixue, stabbing at her with a dagger. Qixue curled up her legs to kick her away and shouted: "Jiuxi!"

  Jiuxi continued to launch attacks as if she hadn't heard anything, each move sharp and ruthless. One punch landed on the wall behind her, creating a deep dent. Qixue furrowed her brow, standing still where she was. What did she want to do? Use Jiuxi to kill me? Whose orders were these?

  Jiuxi pounced on her again, not intending to kill her, but instead bit down on her pale neck. Qixue blocked with her arm, and Jiuxi ended up biting her wrist. Fresh blood flowed from the wound, and Qixue felt Jiuxi drinking her own blood, understanding something.

  Qī Xuě raised her other hand and gently stroked her head, her face growing paler and more transparent like a snowflake. She whispered softly, "Why? Will you wake up if you drink my blood?" Her voice was as gentle as if she feared waking a sleeping infant.

  "Thud, thud——" The heavy and urgent footsteps, Qī Xuě was still staring at the greedy drinker, feeling her blood rapidly flowing out in large quantities. She didn't push him away, maybe this way, she could make Jiǔ Xī come back. Due to excessive blood loss, Qī Xuě's face turned pale and frightening, her breathing became rapid, her eyes blurred, and she was about to faint. At this time, Gě Yù Fēng arrived, he looked at himself with great anger. Qī Xuě felt a layer of fog covering her eyes, unable to see him clearly, in her daze, she vaguely heard a remorseful voice, "Can't you just rely on me for once?"

  Gentle hands held herself, urgent and warm voices called out to herself. This name, Qī Xuě (Seven Snow), was one she had chosen for herself, but it was the first time, hearing someone else call her name made her feel so at peace. Before Qī Xuě fainted, her lips moved slightly a few times, her voice too small to be heard even by herself.

  Ge Yu Feng furrowed her brow in concern, staring intensely at the woman who was drinking Seven Snow's blood as if she didn't exist. She had an urge to kill the woman and then strangle the unconscious one, but Seven Snow had said not to harm him before passing out. So, she could only inexplicably knock the person out. It was unexpected, like she just wanted to drink blood. Then, Xu Fan came over to deal with the person, and Ge Yu Feng picked up Seven Snow, preparing to send her to the hospital. Her eyes widened in shock as she stared at Seven Snow's deep blue-colored blood, standing there frozen.

  Qī Xuě's eyes moved slightly, and she opened her eyes to look at his bewildered expression, her whole body weak, and said softly: "Don't go to the hospital."

  Ge Yu Feng came back to his senses, looked at her weak appearance, furrowed his brow, and when Xu Fan arrived, Ge Yu Feng took off his coat to cover her. The bloodstains on the ground had already been erased by him, and he let Xu Fan take the woman in blue clothes lying on the ground back home with him.

  When they arrived home, Xu Fan put Jiuxi on the bed in one of the rooms and left. Before leaving, he complained, "Seriously, you knew I was going out tonight but still called me! You're really something!" Ge Yufeng was too lazy to pay attention to him, especially when he looked at him with a strange gaze before leaving, although Jiuxi was covered by clothes and Ge Yufeng deliberately blocked his line of sight.

  After he left, Ge Yufeng locked the door of the mysterious and dangerous woman's room, walked into another room, and put Qi Xue on the bed. Her body was so cold! She was originally so slender and light, just like holding a little child. Looking at her pale face, he couldn't help but sigh, neither angry nor speaking, waiting for her to recover a bit before talking.