Chapter 178

Chapter 178: Home Visit

It was a strange first for Yu Sheng: he rode with the Wolf Pack, moving through the city’s warped reflections.

Shadowy outlines of buildings rushed backward. In this world of shadows, the whole of Boundary City looked like countless broken “fragments” drifting around. Towers and streets stacked and crossed in messy layers. Districts far apart might meet at the next corner, while houses that used to sit side by side were split into different “fragments.” The light-footed wolves slipped through that upside-down city, following invisible “roads” and leaping over one junction after another.

A streak of red slid in from the edge of his sight as Little Red Riding Hood turned to him with a bright grin and asked: “Cool, right!”

“Very cool,” said Yu Sheng from the heart, then he looked at her: “Is this what you see when you go out The Door?”

“Only when I need to travel far,” said Little Red Riding Hood, happy and proud, “sometimes I take other Organization members out The Door for missions. You’re the first outsider I’ve ever invited.”

“Then I’m honored,” said Yu Sheng with a laugh, “do you usually have to shuttle other people too?”

She flicked her hand and said: “No choice. No one at the Orphanage can drive, and taxis cost a lot.”

Watching the girl riding a wolf beside him, Yu Sheng pressed his lips together, then suddenly raised his voice and said: “Next month you can take the driving test.”

Little Red Riding Hood blinked.

A second later she burst out laughing and shouted back just as loud: “Yes, next month I can take my driver’s test!”

…

The shadows thinned and drew into solid shapes. In the late-afternoon light, Yu Sheng and Little Red Riding Hood stepped out from the shade of a high-rise.

“It can’t beat your The Door and the Special Affairs Bureau’s shortcut,” she said over her shoulder with a smile, “but it’s still faster than a taxi, right?”

Yu Sheng checked his phone. From leaving Wutong Road to getting here had taken a little over ten minutes. It really was fast.

“Which way do we go?” he asked, looking up at the tall buildings. This was the city’s busy core, full of glass and steel, so different from the old district he knew.

“Over here,” said Little Red Riding Hood as she pointed toward a tower, “Old Zheng lived alone on a high floor. It’s close to the Curiosities Association’s office. The building’s strict, so we have to register with security. I already contacted Old Zheng’s nephew to put our names down. When we go in, just say you were a friend of his.”

Old Zheng was the “liaison” Little Red Riding Hood knew.

Yu Sheng kept her instructions in mind and followed her along the apartment paths into an expensive-looking high-rise. At the entrance to the elevator lobby, he saw the guard she had mentioned. A blank-faced young man sat in a little house and slid two visitor forms through the small window.

Yu Sheng filled in the simple items and, without meaning to, glanced at Little Red Riding Hood’s form. He froze.

After security checked their info and waved them through, Yu Sheng waited until no one else was around. He leaned toward the girl and whispered: “Who is Wang Jia Jia?”

Little Red Riding Hood stopped and looked up at him with clear, baffled eyes before saying: “I am Wang Jia Jia.”

Yu Sheng: [Huh?]

Little Red Riding Hood: [Huh?]

They stared at each other, both confused and clear-eyed, for several seconds. Then she reacted first and said: “You didn’t think my last name was Xiao, did you?”

Yu Sheng fought to keep a straight face. His expression wobbled between holding and breaking as he muttered: “For a second I thought Wang Jia Jia was your codename in the field.”

“Little Red Riding Hood is the codename!” she blurted, eyes wide, “who would actually be named Little Red Riding Hood? I have a real name!”

Yu Sheng opened and closed his mouth, then turned the whole thing into an awkward smile. He coughed, played it cool, and walked on.

He truly had not thought about it. On the first day they met, he only learned she was “Little Red Riding Hood.” After that they worked together a few times, exploring a museum and fighting in the Black Forest. There had never been a reason to swap real names. The name “Little Red Riding Hood” stuck in his head and felt so natural that he never realized her surname could not literally be “Little.” [I really didn’t think this through.]

The awkward air hung on until they stepped out of the elevator and reached the door of the apartment where the client had lived.

Little Red Riding Hood pressed the doorbell. After a moment, the door opened. A young man stood there. He had a tired look, slightly messy black hair, a T-shirt and pants, and an ordinary face.

He wasn’t talkative. After a few simple words with Little Red Riding Hood, he stepped aside and let them in.

Yu Sheng’s eyes went straight to the black-and-white memorial photo on the coffee table. A man of forty to fifty looked back, hair neatly combed, face a little full, features faintly like the young man at the door, with a small, gentle smile.

A Curiosities Association member, a liaison who knew two generations of Little Red Riding Hood, looked like a plain middle-aged man in his memorial photo.

Yu Sheng pulled his gaze away and looked around.

Nothing in the home stood out as strange. Past the entryway was the living room. On one side was a half-open kitchen; on the other side, the bedroom and bath. A small balcony held green plants still thriving, proof of a careful hand.

Aside from the memorial photo, there was almost nothing here that hinted at death or a funeral.

Yu Sheng voiced his doubt with a look.

“My uncle said he didn’t like big scenes,” the tired young man said as he came over and poured them water, “and he told us not to hold a funeral. He wanted a quick burial.”

Little Red Riding Hood frowned, sensing something off. Before she could speak, Yu Sheng asked: “He told you ahead of time? He…”

He glanced at the portrait on the table.

It made sense for a very old person to leave last wishes, but from what Little Red Riding Hood had told him on the way, this liaison was under fifty and usually healthy. Why would someone like that suddenly plan for his own death?

“I know what you’ve come to look into,” the young man cut in with a sigh as he sat on the opposite sofa and said: “I won’t hide it. Before my uncle’s accident, he seemed to sense it coming. At least half a month ago, he called me and explained a lot. He wouldn’t say details. He only said no one was hurting him, and that everything was how it should be.”

Yu Sheng traded a glance with Little Red Riding Hood.

So the “client” was definitely suspicious.

But was that near-disastrous “fake commission,” the one that almost pushed Little Red Riding Hood out of control, really a trap set by this client? The suspicion that had felt natural wavered now. The few words the young man passed on from the dead man raised too many questions.

“Where is Old Zheng now,” Little Red Riding Hood asked after pressing her lips together, then she added, hesitant but steady: “can we see him?”

The young man raised his hand and pointed at a low cabinet nearby. A porcelain urn sat on top.

Yu Sheng and Little Red Riding Hood both froze.

“Already cremated?!” Little Red Riding Hood blurted, eyes going wide, “that’s so…”

“That was my uncle’s instruction too, to cremate at once,” the young man said slowly, lifting his eyes to look at them, “I’m not from your world, so I don’t know your rules or taboos. But I know what my uncle did. He dealt with strange things, and they’re dangerous. When he told me what to do, I didn’t dare delay.”

Little Red Riding Hood opened her mouth, then closed it and glanced at Yu Sheng.

“Your Conversation With The Dead,” she whispered in his ear, “can it work like this?”

Yu Sheng was stunned and said under his breath: “It needs blood to work. I didn’t see this coming.”

“What do we do then?” she asked in a small, awkward voice, “he’s already been burned. Do you still want to try?”

Yu Sheng’s eye twitched as he looked at the dead man’s family member across from them and said after a long beat: “Take out a handful of the bones and rub them in front of the family?”

Little Red Riding Hood fell silent: “…”

The young man, seeming not to notice their whispering, kept his head down as if thinking. After a while, he stood and said: “I’m going out to buy a few things. Make yourselves at home.”

Yu Sheng blinked. The young man had already reached the entryway. Before he stepped out, he paused, glanced back, and said: “I sorted my uncle’s things. The books he read and his notes and slips are on the desk in the bedroom. Check them if you want, just don’t make a mess. Some of it I’ll take later.”

“Uh… okay,” said Yu Sheng, then he nodded seriously and added: “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. I hope you really can find something. Also, I’m leaving in a few days, so please work quickly,” the young man said as he went out.