Bureau of Paranormal Investigation

Was something like this really something you could just hand out casually? I couldn't figure out Wu Rendi's intentions, so I hesitated. Instead of reaching out to take it, I pointed at my own nose and asked, "You're seriously giving this to me?"

"Do you see a third person here? How long do you expect me to keep standing like this?" Wu Rendi shot me an impatient glance. "That look in your eyes—what, you plan to drag me along every time you head down there? The Dragon's Whisker is yours now. Starting tomorrow, you'll go down to see Guangren on your own."

Without waiting for another word, Wu Rendi shoved the Dragon's Whisker into my hand.

At that moment, the elevator doors slid open. Sun Fatty stood outside. When he saw that it was me and Wu Rendi inside, he grinned. But the moment his eyes caught sight of the Dragon's Whisker in my hand, his expression turned... complicated.

Once inside, Sun Fatty pulled a face at me, then turned toward Wu Rendi and chuckled. "Just now, Yang Jun and I were talking. I said, 'Today's Lazi's first day reporting in at Sixth Section—how could Director Wu not give him a welcome gift?' And look at that! Nailed it! Not to brag, but hey, Director Wu, if you've got any extras lying around, I wouldn't mind a few goodies myself."

Wu Rendi gave him a side-eye glance and said, "Go down and fetch it yourself. Want to?"

"If I get the time, I definitely will," Sun Fatty replied with his usual grin. "But you know how it is, Director Wu. Ever since that Lin Feng stirred up trouble in the Bureau, things have been a mess. Old Qiu's just left, and now there's a pile of loose ends to deal with. Just hold on to the good stuff for me. Soon as I can carve out a window, I'll come pick it up."

Before he could finish his sentence, the elevator reached the Sixth Section's floor. Wu Rendi didn't even acknowledge him. He stepped out and headed toward his office without looking back.

I gave Sun Fatty a helpless shrug, about to follow Wu Rendi, but Sun Fatty stopped me with an arm and called out, "Director Wu! I'm borrowing Lazi for a bit—he just got back, needs to get some paperwork sorted. I'll return him shortly!"

Without turning his head, Wu Rendi replied in his usual indifferent tone, "Do whatever you want."

As soon as the elevator doors closed again, Sun Fatty dropped his goofy act. With a glimmer of excitement in his eyes, he said, "Lazi, so Wu Rendi actually gave you the Dragon's Whisker? That means you've got free access to Sublevel Five now, right? Tsk tsk... Not even Boss Gao has ever set foot down there. Come on, spill—what's it like down there? See any treasures?"

Technically, Wu Rendi had told me not to talk about it. But I never planned on hiding anything from Sun Fatty anyway. Even if I did try, with all the tricks and traps in his head, he'd wring it out of me sooner or later. Better to just say it straight—otherwise it'd look like I didn't trust him. Besides, my bond with Sun Fatty wasn't your run-of-the-mill colleague kind of thing. Two years ago, I owed him my life.

Wu Rendi's words were: "Don't talk about Guangren with just anyone." But with Sun Fatty? He didn't qualify as "just anyone."

Still, the elevator wasn't the right place for this. So once we got out, I followed Sun Fatty straight to his office. After he shut the door, I told him the whole thing—how I went down to Sublevel Five, got handed the key, and met Guangren.

When I finished, Sun Fatty blinked a few times and stared at me. "So you're telling me there's this white-haired guy down there named Guangren, and he's been locked up by Old Wu? And the entire Sublevel Five, aside from a little warehouse, is basically just his cell...?"

By the end, Sun Fatty's voice had slowed down, and his eyes went a little unfocused, as if he'd just remembered something and was lost in thought.

After a long pause, he shook his head and asked, "Lazi, you've seen a lot—do you have any clue who this Guangren guy actually is?"

I sighed. "If I did, I wouldn't be so on edge. I tried asking Old Wu, but he told me not to poke around. Oh—and just so we're clear: what I'm telling you about Sublevel Five stays between us. Don't go around spreading it. If this leaks back to Wu Rendi, he'll know it came from me without even blinking."

"Did you really need to say that?" Sun Fatty lit a cigarette and tossed me the rest of the pack. "Even Boss Gao probably doesn't know the full story on this Guangren guy. Lazi—take it from me—don't go snooping around Ouyang Pianzuo, either. That old fox is sneakier than a weasel with a mortgage."

Then his expression shifted again. A strange gleam flashed in his eyes. After exhaling a puff of smoke, he gave me a look and said, "Lazi, not to sound pushy, but that little warehouse Old Wu mentioned… you really didn't take a peek inside?"

"I wanted to," I replied, lighting up a cigarette. "But Old Wu wouldn't have it. From what I can tell, the whole trip was just to get Guangren to agree to teach me."

Sun Fatty let out a strange chuckle and waggled his eyebrows at me. "Lazi, next time you go down there, find an excuse to sneak a look inside that warehouse. If there's anything useful in there—just borrow it for a few days. Not to be that guy, but hey—if you don't take advantage of a sweet deal, what's the point?"

Sun Fatty's words had crossed my mind when I was down in Sublevel Five, but the specifics had to wait until I actually got inside the warehouse. My short dagger had gone missing two years ago, and I was just worrying about not having something handy when Wu Rendi handed me the warehouse key for safekeeping. I shamelessly wondered if Director Wu was secretly hinting that I could just take whatever I wanted.

But there was something else I wanted to ask Sun Fatty's opinion about: "Great Sage, how do I get past Guangren? He looks like someone who's seen it all. This time, if I don't bring some abalone, sea cucumber, shark fin, and fish maw, plus some Maotai or Wuliangye, I'm afraid I won't get anywhere with him. Oh, and this stuff is reimbursable, right?"

Sun Fatty gave me a sly smile. Only after I finished did he speak slowly: "I'm just saying, Lazi, you're thinking way too simply. Getting reimbursed for this kind of thing is the easy part. But you're starting off by setting the bar way too high for Guangren. What happens after that? When you've worn him out on abalone and shark fin, what do you feed him next—exotic beasts? And when Maotai and Wuliangye don't cut it anymore, then what?"

His words made me pause and think it over. He had a point. Even I would get tired of gourmet meals and fine wine every day, let alone someone like Guangren. After some thought, I said to Sun Fatty, "Great Sage, you mean I should keep it simple? How about tomorrow I bring a braised pork knuckle, cooked soft and tender, plus two meat and two vegetable dishes, and a bottle of white liquor like Xifeng or Jiannanchun. Would that be close enough?"

To my surprise, Sun Fatty shook his head. "Lazi, you still don't get my point. Like you said, Guangren has been fasting for so long—only just recently broke it, right? I'm telling you, giving him big fish and meat right away, he won't appreciate it. Besides, he can't teach you any flashy moves at the start. Better to take it step by step: start with simple stuff like shredded potatoes and duck neck. Just a little meat, that's all. And don't bother with fancy liquor either—Erguotou is plenty good enough. When his teaching deepens, then you can gradually upgrade his meals. Things like abalone, sea cucumber, shark fin, and Maotai are for trading up to the big moves later on..."

"Shredded potatoes, duck neck, and Erguotou?" I couldn't help feeling skeptical, but somehow it sounded not entirely unreasonable. "Great Sage, don't pull my leg. Guangren doesn't look like someone you can fool with potatoes. If he sees that and flips out, stops teaching me, then it's Old Wu who put in a good word for me. When Old Wu comes after me, you're the one holding the tray, right?"

"No worries, keep your heart calm," Sun Fatty grinned at me, showing his teeth. "I'm not just talking. I've got experience. When I was undercover, I worked with a boss who had just gotten out of prison. That guy said he forgot all the fancy food in jail. What he wanted most was salted duck eggs. He almost tried to break out just to get a pack of those. Oh, throw in two salted duck eggs... no, better just one. Don't let him get too easily satisfied."

After saying that, Sun Fatty waved his hand and said, "Honestly, don't worry about any of it. Whatever you need, I'll have Old Jin handle it. I guarantee nothing will slow you down tomorrow. I'm just saying—what kind of look is that? Don't you even trust me? When have I ever done you wrong?"

Under Sun Fatty's repeated insistence, I finally handed over the responsibility of Guangren's food and drink to him. But when I went to pick things up from Old Jin the next day, I was dumbfounded. Not even shredded potatoes or duck neck—they hadn't spared those. Inside the bag were just some pickled mustard greens and two of the cheapest canned sausages. Sun Fatty had mercy enough to give me a salted duck egg. But the Erguotou was gone—replaced by two cans of cheap beer.

Sun Fatty looked at me as my face reddened with frustration. He said with a straight face, "I was still thinking of swapping you out for a couple of low-alcohol bottles..."

"Low-alcohol or not, don't turn it into beer!" I dragged Sun Fatty into Old Jin's tiny warehouse, locked the door behind us, and, getting a little frantic, shoved the bag full of sausages, pickles, and beer toward him. "You're wrecking my rhythm here! I told you yesterday, Guangren is clearly someone who's been around the block. You expect to fool him with this trash—pickled mustard greens and canned sausages?"

I pulled out a can of beer from the bag, and just looking at it set me off again. The label boldly printed two big characters: "Gift." Grinding my teeth, I showed it to Sun Fatty and said, "Great Sage, Guangren is just imprisoned down there by Old Wu. He's not illiterate. The moment he sees this, he'll know I'm trying to pull a fast one. Or do you think he's never drunk beer before? Believe me, if he drinks this foamy bitter water, he'll spit it right in my face."

I was ranting at Sun Fatty, but he still smiled at me without a care. Only after I finished venting did he say, "Calm down. Think about it—how long has Old Wu had him locked up? What good food would he even know about now? Lazi, like I said yesterday, good things have to be introduced gradually. I bet in the end you won't even have to bring abalone or shark fin—a dish of fish-fragrant shredded pork might be enough to keep him happy."

"Keep the fish-fragrant pork shredded for your rice!" I shot him a glare, then flung open the warehouse door and shouted outside, "Old Jin, bring me a whole chicken and a duck. Put together four dishes, whatever good liquor you've got, bring a bottle first—put it on Director Sun's tab..."

"Director Shen, no whole chickens or ducks," Old Jin stopped me, looking a bit strange. He sighed and continued, "Starting today the cafeteria's under renovation. There's chicken and duck in the freezer, but no way to cook them."

Only then did I remember seeing a notice about the cafeteria renovation and the staff having to fend for themselves for meals. When I came yesterday, I hadn't fully processed it, but now it made sense.

Sun Fatty came over, waved his hand signaling Old Jin to back off. After Old Jin and his helpers left, he lowered his voice and said, "Lazi, you can relax a hundred and twenty percent. Trust me, with food and drink like that, as long as it gets better day by day, he'll be celebrating every day like it's New Year."

The Bureau was way out in the sticks, the nearest restaurant was over an hour away one way—not to mention cooking time. No other choice but to treat this as a long shot and hope for the best down in Sublevel Five.

Maybe sensing my unease, Sun Fatty walked me to the elevator door, assuring me repeatedly. He didn't have permission to enter Level Four, so he could only see me off to the elevator. I watched the elevator doors close and carry me down to Sublevel Four.

Recalling Wu Rendi's footsteps from yesterday, I carefully made my way down to Sublevel Five. When I saw the warehouse again, I instinctively touched my chest. Back at the dorm yesterday, I'd tied the key to a string and hung it around my neck. I felt an impulse to check out the warehouse, but hesitated and decided to look for Guangren first. Maybe he'd turn me away, then I'd have plenty of time to check out the warehouse and see what was inside.

Walking forward, I finally saw Guangren again, still shackled by chains. The moment he heard my footsteps, he reacted immediately: "Is that the kid who came with Wu Mian yesterday? Hurry up and walk a few steps—let me see what snacks and drinks you brought me."

Hearing that, I slowed down even more, and said as I walked, "Mr. Guangren, things have been rushed. I only brought some small snacks this time. If you don't like them, next time I'll prepare a real feast…"