Chapter Eighty-Seven: Esteemed Nephew!

Tian Feier replied, "I really cannot tell you. If I do, the Divine Worm will be angry."

"Let's go," said Elder Lin.

After we came out, I suggested to Elder Lin that we should make another trip to Officer Wang's residence. Since Officer Wang was not dead, he ought to have gone back there again.

Elder Lin thought for a moment and said, "Tian Feier does not seem to be lying. Besides, in most matters now, she has been quite candid with us. To tell the truth, her attitude makes me uneasy."

Tang Jingjing said, "Elder Lin, you don't really believe in that Divine Worm nonsense, do you?"

Elder Lin shook his head. "Of course I'm not worried about the Divine Worm. What concerns me now is this: if Tian Feier is being so open with us, is it because she is completely confident, certain that we can never catch the other side? Just how deep is the other side's foundation? Could that foundation extend into our own ranks? Perhaps even to the people secretly protecting us?"

The young soldier immediately said that was impossible. Everyone assigned to protect us in secret had undergone strict scrutiny.

Elder Lin said, "Is that so?" and let the matter drop.

We went once more to Officer Wang's residence.

Yet nothing new turned up. It seemed Officer Wang had not returned at all.

Tang Jingjing walked a circle around the room, her face dark. I asked what was wrong. She said nothing.

But her expression told me she had certainly discovered something important.

For example, she might have smelled the scent of someone who should never have been there.

Elder Lin asked Tang Jingjing what she thought we should do next. Tang Jingjing said she was a little tired these past few days and wanted to rest. Elder Lin said that was fine; we should all take a break. Tonight, we would keep watch over Tian Feier and see what sort of spectacular scene would accompany the descent of the Divine Worm.

We all returned to headquarters and went to our rooms to rest.

The moment I lay down, I received a call from Tang Jingjing.

I hurriedly asked, "Jingjing, did you find any clues inside?"

Tang Jingjing said, "If I tell you, you probably won't believe it."

I quickly pressed her. "Did you find a problem with the young soldier who has been following us around? Did you smell his scent in there?"

Tang Jingjing denied it. "No. I smelled the scent of an old friend."

"Which old friend?" I mentally ran through everyone we knew, comparing and matching every possibility.

I suspected she meant the chief commander.

But what Tang Jingjing said next left me dumbfounded for a long while.

The person she had referred to was me.

I was so startled that a spasm ran through my whole body. "Jingjing, you can't say things like that carelessly. You know I was there a few days ago. If you smelled my scent, that wouldn't mean anything."

Tang Jingjing said, "No, I can't smell a scent that old. What I smelled indicates that you entered the house the day before our second visit."

I was frightened out of my wits and asked urgently, "Jingjing, tell me the truth. Do you really suspect me?"

Tang Jingjing said, "I don't know. But my intuition tells me you wouldn't be the traitor."

I said, "Jingjing, believe me. I would never do such a thing."

Tang Jingjing was silent for a moment, then said, "Xiao Yang, I'll tell you the truth. I have taken a liking to you. If it really were you, I would kill you with my own hands and then keep widowhood for the rest of my life. Do you understand what I mean?"

I was utterly stunned. Was this some roundabout confession?

Tang Jingjing went on, "I'm really helpless right now. Promise me you won't let me down, all right?"

My heart trembled. I hurriedly said, "Jingjing, don't worry. I swear on the honor of my revered forensic forefather Song Ci that this has absolutely nothing to do with me, not one bit. So don't overthink it."

Tang Jingjing said, "All right, I believe you. I'm hanging up. I want to sleep."

I ended the call and stared at the bright moon outside the window, lost in thought for a long time. During this period, I had been with Elder Lin's team the entire time. I had never left, and I had never gone to that villa.

Why would Tang Jingjing have smelled my scent? Was she talking nonsense? Impossible. Though she was not exactly proper, Tang Jingjing would never joke about something like this.

By ten o'clock, Elder Lin summoned all of us to the city bureau's holding center.

Tian Feier had said that tonight she would receive the Divine Worm's salvation, though no one knew what that meant, so Elder Lin decided to keep watch over her all night.

Of course, we could not monitor her openly. Even if the "Divine Worm" did come, it would likely be scared away. So we decided to monitor Tian Feier through the surveillance system.

When I saw Tang Jingjing, she seemed as though nothing had happened at all. She merely glanced at me and then looked away again.

Just as before.

I really wondered whether her earlier "confession" had been a joke.

Li Xingchen, bleary-eyed and sleepy, asked Elder Lin whether he could have a day off. His nerves had been taut for days, and he suspected he was on the verge of a breakdown.

Elder Lin said with great solemnity that we were a team, and no one could afford to slack off until the case had been thoroughly solved.

Li Xingchen could only shrug helplessly and say, "All right, then."

It was not just Li Xingchen; even I could clearly feel how worn down my nerves had become. I had no idea how much longer days like this were going to last.

At present, it seemed Tian Feier was our only lead. If we still could not uncover anything, the case might once again grind to a stalemate.

As for what Old Master Huo was busy with on his side, we had no idea. I believed that if not for him constantly pressing Elder Lin forward, Elder Lin would not have been working overtime every single day.

In order to make surveillance easier, Yu Tian specially arranged a more advanced monitoring system for us. This system had no ghosting at all, and it worked especially well at night. If the room were to fall into complete darkness, we could still continue observing through night vision.

Two hours passed. Tian Feier lay on the bed, and aside from occasionally turning over, the image remained as still and dull as a photograph, utterly tedious.

Just when we began to suspect that all of this might be meaningless, Tian Feier finally moved.

She sat up from the bed, walked listlessly around the room once, and then suddenly stopped, perking up her ears as if listening intently for something.

We all focused our attention and watched her closely.

In the end, Tian Feier actually made her way to the window and looked outside.

We had already sealed the window completely with glass, fearing that the Divine Worm might crawl in through it.

Elder Lin immediately called Song Tian. "Send people to check the area outside the holding center's window. If you find any suspicious figure, restrain them at once."

Yu Tian promptly agreed and immediately dispatched several capable officers to inspect the area.

Tian Feier kept peering out of the window, occasionally pressing her ear against the glass to listen. I asked Elder Lin what he thought she was listening for.

Elder Lin shook his head. "It's hard to guess. Better not guess at all. We might misunderstand everyone's judgment. Let's wait until the people we sent out come back."

Very soon, the people we had sent out returned and reported to Elder Lin that beyond the back side was a residential district. Most of the residents there were already asleep, and there was no one lingering on the roads. They had also asked the old man in the gatehouse, and he had not seen anyone enter.

Elder Lin said, "Good. You did well. But we may still need your cooperation later, so please wait outside for a while. Thank you for your trouble."

The few of them quickly responded politely that it was no trouble, though I still caught the reluctance on their faces.

Tian Feier stared out the window for a while longer, then slowly turned around and fixed her dull gaze on the floor.

Suddenly, she jolted with delight, sprang up from the bed, and began pacing around the room again.

At last she stopped in front of the surveillance camera and smiled at the feed with a wicked expression. That smile was like a demon's grin, and it made my heart tremble.

Tang Jingjing cursed, "What are you smiling at? Why does that smile make me feel so terrified?"

Elder Lin cut her off. "Be quiet. Watch closely."

Tian Feier's smile lasted for half a minute before it finally faded. She opened and closed her mouth toward the camera, then said a single sentence.

Through the microphone, we heard it clearly.

"Nephew Xiao Yang, are you watching me?"

My heart gave a sudden jolt. Nephew Xiao Yang? When had I become her nephew? Was she insulting me?

Tang Jingjing was equally astonished. She seized my arm. "Xiao Yang, I understand now."