[That kind of face—turns out, it was fake]

Huo Zhenye took Da Tou with him to the Ritz Hotel.

Although he was a consultant, there were still many places he couldn’t search. But bringing along Da Tou, a patrol officer, changed things. With a bit of cash on top, Huo Zhenye smoothly got his hands on the guest registry.

“Bai Zhun.”

Huo Zhenye silently mouthed the name. The handwriting was lazy and boneless, yet carried a touch of elegance—rather like the man himself.

He curled his lips into a faint smile. Now that he had the name, the next step was to find the address—and that part, he’d have to handle personally.

Da Tou asked, “Young Master Huo, are we looking for this person?”

Huo Zhenye shook his head. “Bring in the staff member who was on duty that day and in charge of the rooms. Interrogate him again. Someone was paid off—to sell my room number.”

Jin Dangui, Liu Da, and now Su Manli—Huo Zhenye hadn’t expected that he himself would become the center of attention.

He hadn’t mentioned any of this in his prior statement, so Da Tou assumed it was a new lead and immediately set out to take care of it.

Meanwhile, Huo Zhenye guided the driver to the old city, returning for the second time to the Han family’s small courtyard.

The gate was ajar. The window of Liu Da’s room faced a flower rack; he lay in bed recuperating, while Liu Er moved back and forth inside the house.

Upon seeing Huo Zhenye, Liu Er froze. “Why are you back again?”

“I’m here to see Mr. Liu.”

Liu Da was still preoccupied with Bai Zhun’s comment about Jin Dangui possibly coming to see him. But since Bai Zhun hadn’t said more, he didn’t dare ask. He quickly nodded, “Please, Young Master Huo, come in and sit.”

He had completely forgotten how just recently he’d been bitter over Jin Dangui trying to cozy up to Huo Zhenye.

Han Zhu had already prepared the food. She carried in a bowl of black fish soup and smiled politely when she saw Huo Zhenye. Turning to Liu Da, she said, “Junior Brother, go ahead and drink the soup now. If it cools down, it’ll taste fishy.”

Liu Da said courteously, “Young Master Huo, why don’t you try some of the soup my Senior Sister made? She’s a great cook.”

As he spoke, he tried to pass his bowl over to Huo Zhenye.

Before Huo Zhenye could decline, Han Zhu beat him to it: “This bowl was made especially for you. It has medicinal herbs in it, good for healing. If Master Huo wants some, I’ll bring you a bowl without the herbs.”

Huo Zhenye glanced at the bowl—sure enough, it had some pale boiled herbs floating in it. The soup smelled delicious, but his housekeeper Aunt Liu had already stuffed him full before he came. He shook his head, “No need, I’ve already eaten.”

Han Zhu gave a gentle smile and exited the room, joining Liu Er to eat.

Huo Zhenye glanced at the dining table set in the courtyard. On Liu Er’s side, there were several meat dishes, but in front of Han Zhu, there were only vegetables and tofu.

Liu Da explained, “My senior sister is observing mourning for our master.” Then, fearing Huo Zhenye might misunderstand, he added, “My junior brother and I usually perform at teahouses and restaurants—if we eat only vegetarian, we don’t have enough strength.”

Huo Zhenye smiled faintly, but didn’t call him out. If Liu Da truly respected his master that much, he wouldn’t have been scared out of his wits by that “spiritual visitation.”

His smile faded as he turned sincere and said to Liu Da, “I wish to pay a visit to Seventh Master Bai—would it be convenient for you to tell me his address?”

Liu Da’s fingers instinctively pressed on the envelope under his pillow. Huo Zhenye caught the glance and said casually, “Seventh Master Bai gave me an envelope too—but I already used it last night.”

Liu Da was undeniably handsome, but right now he didn’t have a trace of composure. He asked cautiously, “Young Master Huo, what exactly did you encounter?”

Huo Zhenye gave a small smile and simply replied, “I don’t know Miss Jin, nor do I know if the woman from the dream was her. I just hope Mr. Liu will kindly give me Seventh Master Bai’s address—I want to ask him for another envelope.”

Liu Da hadn’t seen Jin Dangui’s corpse. The killer had arranged them in a face-to-face position, but Liu Da had drunk too much that night, and the wine had been drugged. By the time he opened his eyes, Jin Dangui had already been taken away.

Liu Da didn’t believe she had returned for revenge. He thought she would come back—to tell him who the killer was.

He had given her real affection. For her sake, he had been willing to cast aside his sect and senior sister. How could she possibly come back just to kill him?

Huo Zhenye glanced toward Han Zhu in the courtyard and said, “Miss Han is gentle and virtuous—a fine choice for a wife.”

Was Liu Da truly blind, to have fallen for someone like Jin Dangui? That woman only had money in her heart. And in terms of looks—she wasn’t even that beautiful. Otherwise, why would she be considered the bottom tier among the contestants?

Liu Da thought of something and looked toward Han Zhu sitting outside the window. His senior sister was wonderful in every way and clearly devoted to him. But… her looks were just too plain.

Liu Da recalled the first time he saw Jin Dangui.

She had tracked down the Han family’s small courtyard after watching Liu Da and Liu Er perform their tricks at a teahouse. She had simply pushed open the door and walked right in.

Liu Da and Liu Er were shirtless in the courtyard practicing martial arts. When they looked up, they saw a burst of vivid color. Liu Da was stunned—he had never seen, never even touched, that kind of woman in his entire life.

Liu Er didn’t think Jin Dangui looked like a proper woman. He asked bluntly, “Who are you looking for?”

Jin Dangui’s eyes circled between Liu Da and Liu Er, then settled back on Liu Da. Her gaze swept up and down his shoulders and waist—he was far more handsome and strong than those ballroom men she’d been around.

She sashayed over, placing one hand on Liu Da’s shoulder, her fingers brushing away a bead of sweat from his chest. “Master Liu, do you take on apprentices?”

Liu Da couldn’t tell whether he was panting from the training—or from the softness of her fingers.

And after that, he became a man with her.

“Of course, Senior Sister is a good person,” Liu Da came back to his senses. But the rest of the sentence, he swallowed back.

Huo Zhenye chuckled. “Jin Dangui’s real name is Wang Qiufang. Her double eyelids were cut, her nose was padded, and even the corners of her eyes were surgically altered.”

Even a dance hostess had to be beautiful to have business. The moment Jin Dangui had a bit of money, she went to a clinic to get surgery—first double eyelids, then a nose job, then eye corner reshaping—slowly “growing” into the kind of woman Liu Da liked.

Liu Da was in disbelief. He refused to accept that a face like that—was fake.

Huo Zhenye glanced out the window at the senior and junior sister sitting beneath the flower trellis. A man like Liu Da wasn’t worth anyone’s sincere affection.

Now that Huo Zhenye had gotten Bai Zhun’s address, he didn’t feel like speaking with Liu Da any further. As he left the Han family’s small courtyard, his eyes swept past the climbing hooks and ropes hanging by the low wall.

He smiled, full of cheer, and went off to find Bai Zhun.

Inside the Bai family’s small house, all was quiet. The hibiscus chicken from Tianxiang House had long gone cold.

Bai Zhun was trimming fine bamboo strips with his hands, fashioning them into the frame of a cone-shaped hat, which he then covered with black paper. His hands didn’t stop, and Ah Xiu could only stand quietly outside the room, watching.

*Knock knock*—two soft knocks came from the door.

Ah Xiu opened it a crack and saw Huo Zhenye standing outside, holding several packages.

“I’m here to see Master Bai.”

Ah Xiu shook her head, indicating that Bai Zhun didn’t want to see him.

Huo Zhenye added, “It’s about a case I’m working on. I was hoping to get Master Bai’s thoughts.”

Ah Xiu still shook her head. This was Bai Zhun’s way of saying no—if he wanted to, he could see and hear everything through Ah Xiu.

Huo Zhenye raised the cake box in his hand. “I brought drunken cake from the Ritz Hotel.” If he could pay money to find out Bai Zhun’s name, naturally, he could also pay to learn about his preferences.

That night, Bai Zhun had barely touched the wine and dishes sent to his room—but he’d sampled nearly all of the pastries.

After Huo Zhenye finished speaking, he noticed Ah Xiu’s gaze fixed on the cake box, as if she were considering something.

The cake was definitely something Bai Zhun would eat. He’d lived in the old city for years and hadn’t often tasted Western pastries from the concessions. That one time at the Ritz Hotel, he’d found it very much to his liking.

Huo Zhenye fiddled with the ribbon on the cake and went on, “This drunken cake from the Ritz Hotel is quite famous. I was in a hurry, so I could only bring these. There’s also Italian sorbet from Lao Dachang and chestnut cream from Kaisiling. Hopefully Master Bai will try them sometime.”

Bai Zhun had been busy most of the day and was indeed craving something sweet. Besides, he had saved Huo Zhenye’s life—what harm was there in accepting a box of cake?

Giving himself that excuse, Bai Zhun instructed Ah Xiu to accept it.

Huo Zhenye held out the box. As Ah Xiu reached for it with both hands, he swiftly slipped through the door.

As soon as he stepped inside, Huo Zhenye was stunned.

Outside was the bustling, smoky world of people and cars; inside, the room was hushed and serene. Hanging from the beams were paper lanterns of all shapes and sizes—pagoda-style, lotus-style.

Arched gateways were arrayed along the walls, and paper figures stood in orderly rows.

In the square courtyard stood two more figures—one dressed as “Mu Guiying,” the other as “General Yue Fei ^[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yue_Fei ,” both in full armor, as if ready to go on stage. Yet no drums or gongs sounded, and neither moved.

Only after Huo Zhenye took a few steps closer did he realize—they were also made of paper.

He had seen Bai Zhun’s paper-and-wood cangue ^[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cangue before and already found it exquisitely crafted. Though it was made of paper, even the linked chains could move. But now, looking at these opera-scene paper effigies, he understood that the cangue had just been a small trinket.

Bai Zhun came out from the inner room. The scent of milk reached his nose—Ah Xiu had already opened the cake box, set it on the table, and handed him a small spoon typically used for sweet dumplings.

Bai Zhun didn’t stand on ceremony. He scooped up a big bite.

The drunken cake melted in his mouth with a hint of liquor. Bai Zhun let out a satisfied sigh and gave Huo Zhenye a glance—one filled with approval.

Huo Zhenye had never tried to butter someone up like this—not even his older brother—yet being acknowledged by Bai Zhun gave him a secret sense of pride.

Bai Zhun ate half the drunken cake and then moved on to the salted buttercream one. Huo Zhenye seized the opportunity and said, “The one who killed Su Manli was Liu Er.”

If it had really been some ghost coming for revenge, there wouldn’t have been footprints and claw marks left on the wall.

Bai Zhun didn’t even lift his eyelids. Unless a new ghost came to make a report, it wasn’t his concern.

Seeing how indifferent he still was, Huo Zhenye asked, “Did you already know?”

After eating two more small cakes, Bai Zhun started to feel it was too rich. Ah Xiu brought him tea.

“Are you full with nothing better to do?” Bai Zhun took a sip of tea, finally feeling a bit more comfortable. He thought this green tea paired well with Suzhou-style sweets, but for Western desserts, black tea would’ve been better.

“I’m just curious—how are you going to catch Jin Dangui? With talisman? With spells?” Huo Zhenye dragged over a chair for himself and sat beside Bai Zhun.

Bai Zhun had never been stared at so intently by a living person before. He gave Huo Zhenye a sideways glare, thinking about how to get this man out of his house.

Seeing he still hadn’t provoked a reaction, Huo Zhenye leaned back with his hands behind his head, grinning smugly. “Oh right—looks like Liu Da won’t be using your envelope. You’ll have to come up with another plan.”

No sooner had he spoken than two paper figures lifted him—one on each side—and carried him to the door.

And just like that, Huo Zhenye was thrown out by the paper servants.