Chapter Twenty-Three: The Fatal Ordeal

"It's simple," Xu Si said, wiping her mouth. "When your death trial comes, I'll just save you. Consider it hiring a bodyguard for twenty thousand."

"Huh? Is that even possible?"

Xu Si looked at Li Xu's wide eyes and smiled faintly.

...

"Fine, God help me!" After staring at each other for a long time, Li Xu finally gave in. He put his palms together and bowed to the heavens and the earth in a mock display of prayer.

Nan Xian remarked, "Not sincere, no protection."

"Oh!" Xu Si finished tidying up the bowls. After changing her clothes, she didn't forget to tattle to Li Xu, "Hey, stop praying. A certain deity says you aren't sincere, so no protection for you!"

"What?" Li Xu's movements stiffened. He stood up straight, his expression a mix of awkwardness and disdain. "Ha, don't forget what I do for a living. I'm a great People's Police officer; I don't need to make wishes at all, okay?"

"Oh." Xu Si put on her shoes indifferently.

Nan Xian snuck over to Xu Si's side, observing Li Xu with a sage-like air. "Hey, his death trial seems to be today."

"Hmm? Today?" Xu Si's eyes lit up.

Earning twenty thousand in a single day—could anything be happier than that?

Behind them, Li Xu pricked up his ears. "Miss Xu, what were you saying about today?"

"Oh, he said your death trial is today!"

"What!" Li Xu's voice cracked in panic.

He immediately put his hands together, ignoring everything else, and began begging the gods for mercy.

"Heavenly spirits, earthly spirits, all you gods and Buddhas, you must protect your disciple Li Xu! Help me get through this death trial safely today! Please, please, I beg you!"

Xu Si, having just walked out the door, turned back with an expression of utter despair.

"Let's go!"

"I'm not going," Li Xu replied firmly. "I already took time off."

"Then why are you loitering in my house?"

"You took my twenty thousand yuan."

Just as Li Xu was about to act like a rascal and lie down on the sofa, Nan Xian lifted him up with one hand.

"Ah! A ghost!"

"Shut up, it's a god," Nan Xian gritted out.

"Oh god, you can't just ignore whether I live or die! After all... after all..." Li Xu's eyes darted around as he began to wail and play the pity card. "I gave you two thousand and eight hundred in living expenses!"

"Now that we know there's a death trial, chasing me out is just sending me to my death! Dear god, saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda!"

"Love, love, love, what the hell are you talking about!" Xu Si grabbed Li Xu and dragged him out the door. "Tradition-wise, he's Taoist. What kind of pagoda are you building here?"

"Huh? Taoist? Oh no, it's over! Isn't this the legendary god who says, 'Let the fellow Daoist die, not me'?"

"Bang!" The cold, heartless heavy wooden door was his only response.

Xu Si looked at Nan Xian. "Location?"

"Looks like South Wall Street."

"Got it." Xu Si looked at Li Xu. "Call a taxi, South Wall Street."

"No way!" Li Xu dropped his playful act, his expression becoming deadly serious. "A murder just happened there, and the killer hasn't been caught yet."

"The case hasn't made any progress, and everyone at the crime scene has been evacuated. We're afraid the killer might return, it's too dangerous, so we can't go there."

"Oh well, but your death trial is there," Xu Si said with a playful smile.

Li Xu was in his twenties. Although he looked incredibly mature when facing his profession, he was still young at heart and no different from anyone else when off the clock.

He feared death and loved money; he had beliefs, but they weren't deeply rooted. That was why Xu Si was curious about what Li Xu would choose: would he go and risk alerting the enemy to face his trial, or would he stick to his duty and wait for orders from his superiors?

Li Xu pulled at his hair in frustration. He wanted a cigarette, but seeing Xu Si's youthful face, he stopped himself.

"Forget it, it's fate. That guy is extremely cunning; he probably already knows who I am, so I... I can't go to the scene."

Li Xu's throat felt tight. In truth, he didn't know if the killer was nearby; it was just the intuition of an investigator.

"Then we won't go," Xu Si said, twirling her keys and shrugging.

Her dark eyes stared intently at Li Xu's expression, as if looking deep into his soul.

"Yeah," Li Xu nodded. "Then I'll first..."

Before he could finish his sentence, his phone rang. Li Xu frowned and answered.

"What is it?"

"Boss, South Wall Street. Six-Zi has been attacked. It looks like a group, we need backup!"

"Understood, I'm on my way!"

Li Xu gritted his teeth and looked back with a dark, indecipherable expression before running off to drive.

"Should we follow?" Nan Xian asked Xu Si.

"There's twenty thousand!" Xu Si's face was full of longing.

"Only because of the twenty thousand?" Nan Xian leaned in, looking aggrieved. "I thought..."

"Thought nothing, let's go!"

Xu Si grabbed Nan Xian by the collar, and the latter immediately and expertly grabbed his own collar at the front of his neck.

"S-slow down!"

"No, who knows when he might die."

...

Inside the car, Li Xu turned on the siren and switched to communication mode.

"Six-Zi, Six-Zi, are you there? It'll take me about six minutes to get there. Six-Zi, Six-Zi!"

Hearing no response, Li Xu pressed harder on the gas pedal.

"Six-Zi, Six-Zi!"

The only response from the other end was the sound of chaotic static. Li Xu's eyes turned bloodshot. "Damn it, death trial, hurry up!"

"Oh, hahaha, listen to that. Isn't that our old friend, Officer Li?"

Suddenly, a thin, raspy voice came through the radio. It was impossible to tell if it was male or female. Li Xu had no choice but to bite the bullet and respond.

"Who are you? Whether you found the radio or captured my colleague, I hope you'll carefully consider the consequences of everything you do, okay?"

"Hahaha, consequences? I've already killed so many people, I'm already facing the death penalty, Officer Li!" The thin voice grew increasingly manic.

"Back then, you laid a dragnet at night and still couldn't catch me. This time, I'm striking in broad daylight—did that catch you off guard?"

"You... you're the 'Broker'!" Terror flashed in the depths of Li Xu's eyes.

"Hmph, ruining my business, eh? How was it? Wasn't she killed by me in the end?"

The sound of high heels clicking on the floor came through, *thud, thud, thud*. Li Xu tried to discern where the sound was coming from.

The person on the other end announced their location: "Room 365, South Wall Street. Trade your life for your colleague's life. How about that? A fair deal, right? After all, you're the only one I want to kill, Officer Li!"

"Fine!" Li Xu didn't hesitate for a second.

However, the person on the other end didn't seem satisfied and stabbed a knife directly into the thigh of the man tied to the chair!

"Ugh!" A heavy, muffled groan came through the receiver.

Li Xu gripped the steering wheel tightly. "Don't hurt him, I'll be there soon!"

"So obedient. Remember, don't tell anyone else, or else—'bang'—everyone will be joining you!"

The thin voice carried a laugh that made one's skin crawl.

Li Xu slammed on the brakes, burst out of the car, and ran toward Room 365.

"Hello? Dr. Lin? It's me, Li Xu. I now suspect this murder case is a premeditated act of revenge; all previous theories are overturned."

"Also, the perpetrator is related to the 'Guman Thong' incident. It is highly likely she is the 'Broker'!"

He finished in one breath and hung up.

Panting, he ran to the iron door and knocked gently.

"I'm here!"