Just as Sun Fatty finished speaking, a black sedan rolled up to the curb. He gave me a few last reminders—especially to keep a close eye on the Sixth Division—then got into the car and disappeared in a cloud of dust.
With his instructions in mind, I headed straight to the Sixth Division. Strangely, all the usual suspects were gathered in the office today. Director Wu was still buried in the same copy of The Nether Codex he'd been reading for two years without finishing. The Two Yangs were each at their desks: Yang Jun had his feet up, eyes half-shut in what looked like a meditative nap.
Yang Xiao, meanwhile, had spread an old, yellowed Bagua Diagram across his desk, along with a traditional abacus. He held a few ancient copper coins in his hand and kept casting them onto the diagram. Every time they landed, he'd watch their positions intently before rhythmically flicking the abacus beads in a clatter of "pa-da pa-da."
Just three days ago, Yang Xiao had been seriously injured, but thanks to those eerie white hairs of his, you'd never be able to tell now.
Apparently unsatisfied with the results, he scooped up the coins and tossed them again. Another burst of rapid abacus flicking followed. Despite the noise, Yang Jun didn't flinch—it was as if he hadn't heard a thing.
Judging by the tension on Yang Xiao's face, he was clearly divining something important. He didn't even acknowledge my entrance. I didn't dare interrupt and simply waited in silence until he finished his third toss.
After one final round of coin-casting and calculating, Yang Xiao jotted down a string of numbers on a sticky note. His expression finally eased a bit. At the same time, Yang Jun cracked open one eye and asked:
"Got your numbers?"
Yang Xiao gave me a knowing smile before waving the sticky note."Have someone born in the year of the Horse buy the ticket at noon. These seven numbers? I'd bet ten to one they'll hit."
His words caught me off guard."Wait," I said, staring at him, "you've been divining… lottery numbers?"
Yang Xiao smiled faintly."Just passing the time. I studied a bit of this back in the day. No idea if it'll still work."
Having spent this much time with him, I'd learned to read between his lines. Yang Xiao never did things he wasn't confident in. If he was declaring these seven numbers, then odds were… they were legit.
I grinned sheepishly, rubbing my hands together."Hey, uh… Yang Xiao, I was wondering—just hypothetically—what if I, y'know, pitched in a share? Would that be possible?"
Before I could even finish, Yang Xiao flipped the sticky note face-down on the desk and said calmly:"Anything else is negotiable, but not this. Shen La, your Eight Characters don't align with windfall wealth. If you join in, this thing will tank for sure. Sorry. When I win, I'll treat you to a nice meal."
That shut me down cold. There was no room for negotiation in that tone. All I could do was force a smile and play it off, but deep down I was stewing. Then a thought struck me—what if I used that "Ancestor Divination Shell" I got from the Tomb of a Transcendent Beast two years ago? Who knows what it might say about the numbers…
With that little episode behind us, I stuck around the Sixth Division all day, only leaving for lunch. I didn't dare mess with Wu Ren Di, so I just made idle chatter with the Two Yangs.
All current Bureau operations had ground to a halt as everyone focused on preparations for Gao Laoda's burial tomorrow. A few of Xiong Wanyi's boys stopped by to ask for a hand with something, but when I turned them down, he muttered under his breath:"So now that you're Deputy Director, you don't even recognize your hometown brothers anymore?"
I stayed in the Sixth Division until dusk, when Wu Ren Di and the Two Yangs finally left their offices. With no good excuse to follow them home, I called Sun Fatty to check in. His phone rang several times but only returned busy signals.
Those three were all cunning as foxes—tailing them back to their residences was pure fantasy. With no better option, I bunked down at the Bureau for the night. If anything happened, I'd at least be able to notify Sun Fatty right away.
Thankfully, nothing stirred all night.
By the time I dozed off in the Sixth Division's office chair, it was nearly 6 a.m. when my phone rang again, jarring me awake. This time, it was Sun Fatty calling.
He skipped all pleasantries and went straight to business:"Lazi, get Wang Lu on the line. Tell her to gather everyone in the main conference room immediately. Tell them I've got a major announcement. I'll be there in about forty minutes. When I arrive, I want everyone present—Wu Ren Di and the Two Yangs included."
Before I could respond or ask questions, he hung up.
Sun Fatty's voice on the phone was nearly drowned out by the background noise—sounded like airplane engines. That meant he had just landed. But where had he been this past day and night?
I didn't have time to dwell on it. I immediately called Secretary Wang to relay his message. After hanging up, I rushed straight to the conference room and, seeing that no one had arrived yet, slumped into a chair in the corner to sneak in a few more minutes of sleep.
Since most of the Bureau had stayed up all night preparing for Gao Laoda's funeral, everyone was running on fumes. Sure enough, people began arriving one by one not long after, each looking as worn out as the next. No one said a word—they just found seats and immediately dozed off again.
A while later, as I was drifting in and out of a light nap, I suddenly felt like I'd fallen into an ancient glacial pit. My whole body jolted from the chill, and I snapped awake.
Standing silently in the room was Wu Ren Di, staring directly at me with a face cold enough to freeze water.
No one else had woken up—it was like I was the only one under his gaze. Judging by the chill in his expression, whatever he was about to deliver wouldn't be good.
Then, inside my head—without his lips moving—I heard a cold voice:"You and Sun Fatty, what a fine mess you've made."
It was Wu Ren Di's voice. I was sure of it. But how had he spoken into my ear without making a sound?
Before I could make sense of it, Yang Jun and Yang Xiao entered the room one after the other. Judging by their puzzled expressions, they were just as in the dark as I was.
More people filed in, and Wu Ren Di finally sat down in the front row after giving me one last glance. His presence alone stirred the entire room. Everyone who entered afterward spotted him and instinctively lowered their voices, clustering in hushed little groups.
This was the first time Director Wu had ever appeared in the conference room.
Naturally, whispers rippled through the crowd.What kind of bombshell had dropped to bring Wu Ren Di out of his office?
From the moment he walked in, the room transformed from dead silent to thick with tension.
Thinking back to the look he had given me earlier, a chill ran down my spine. What on earth had Sun Fatty done to make Wu Ren Di this angry?
Just then, the last of the personnel arrived. Clearly uneasy about Wu Ren Di's presence, people were fidgeting in their seats. Even Ximen Lian sidled up next to me and whispered,"Lazi, what's going on? What kind of mess stirred up the Director himself? Don't pretend you don't know—you're the golden boy for both Wu and Sun."
Before I could respond, the door opened again. It was Secretary Wang Lu. She did a quick headcount, then addressed the room:
"Everyone, quiet please. Deputy Director Sun will be here shortly. He has something very important to announce."
No sooner had she finished than the door opened once more, and Sun Fatty appeared, dressed in the same outfit he wore when he left yesterday. He locked eyes with Wu Ren Di the moment he walked in—and then, without a care in the world, grinned and bared his teeth at him.
Then he spotted me."Lazi, what are you doing sitting all the way back there? Come up front. Sit right next to Director Wu."
Every eye in the room turned to me. With no way out, I forced myself to get up and walk over to Wu Ren Di. Thankfully, the Director no longer seemed interested in me—his eyes remained coldly fixed on Sun Fatty.
Sun Fatty acted like nothing was amiss and casually strolled to the lectern. He cleared his throat and addressed the room:"Thanks for coming in so early, everyone. I'll keep this brief—two announcements today."
"First, today marks the final farewell to Director Gao. Although we've kept things low-key, members of the public and various departments will still come to pay respects. I ask that all of you pull yourselves together. We owe it to Director Gao not to make a fool of ourselves in front of him."
The room fell dead silent at his words.
After a pause, he shifted gears."Second announcement—due to… well, the circumstances you're all familiar with, the Bureau is in need of fresh blood. After careful consideration and screening by the leadership, a new recruit will be joining our big family shortly."
He paused again and glanced—deliberately—at Wu Ren Di.
"This new recruit breaks a long-standing tradition. For the first time since our founding, the Bureau will welcome a female investigator. Let's give a warm round of applause for the Sixth Division's newest member—Shao Yiyi."
As soon as his voice fell, a young woman in her early twenties walked in through the door.
I recognized her instantly—it was Shao Yiyi, the girl we had met more than two years ago during the incident at Suzaku Women's Academy. A descendant of Wu Ren Di's bloodline.
The moment she stepped in, the muscles around Wu Ren Di's eyes started to twitch—violently and without rhythm. He stared at her for just a second, then slowly turned his head back to Sun Fatty.
Through clenched teeth, he hissed:
"You damn bastard."