Chapter 19: Test

"…Commander Han Meng." The moment Han Meng called out to him, a flicker of guilt crossed Chen Ling's eyes, but it quickly vanished. "Is there something you need, sir?"

"A Fuser, audacious enough to infiltrate the Enforcer team... you have quite some nerve," Han Meng said slowly. "Tell me, what is your objective?"

These words crashed into Chen Ling's ears like thunder! He found out?! No... impossible... It was the red paper monster that fought him last night. He never saw my face from start to finish! How could he recognize me at a glance?

"Huh?" Chen Ling's eyes were full of bewilderment. "Commander Han Meng... what are you talking about?"

"Do you still not understand what I mean?"

"...No, I don't."

"Where were you last night?"

"Sleeping at home."

"And before that?"

"Practicing opera with my brother in the wilderness."

"Why were you there if your brother was practicing opera?"

"He's timid; he wanted me to accompany him."

"What piece were you practicing?"

"Farewell My Concubine."

"What's the last line?"

"...Oh, dear!"

"And the second to last line?"

"...Wait for me to see!"

Han Meng's questions came rapid-fire, giving Chen Ling no time to react. Chen Ling answered, cold sweat beading on his back. By the last three questions, he almost couldn't resist turning and running.

Chen Ling had no exposure to the plays of this world and didn't know what works existed, so he could only brazenly mention the one he was most familiar with from his previous life... He had to gamble that Han Meng knew nothing about opera! As for the lines, they certainly didn't stump Chen Ling. In his previous life, Peking Opera performances were frequent in theaters, and he had heard "Farewell My Concubine" no less than twenty times. He still clearly remembered the scene where Xiang Yu turned to find Yu Ji had committed suicide.

As it turned out, Chen Ling's gamble paid off. After asking the last question, Han Meng stared intently at Chen Ling, his eyes seeming to pierce through his very soul... After several seconds of silence, Han Meng finally spoke:

"Oh, it seems I might have been mistaken."

This guy was indeed trying to trick me! It seems the blow from last night wasn't hard enough! Chen Ling took a deep breath. "Commander Han Meng, if there's nothing else, I'll head back."

"Wait," Han Meng called out, stopping Chen Ling. "Which street were you assigned to?"

"...District Two, Ice Spring Street."

"Don't go home first... go straight there."

"Huh? Weren't we told we had three hours to prepare—"

"That's an order."

Han Meng's simple four words silenced Chen Ling completely. Chen Ling and Han Meng stared at each other in the cold wind, their cotton robes and trench coats fluttering, the world falling into a dead silence... After an unknown amount of time, Chen Ling finally spoke, "I understand..."

"It'll take at most two hours to get from here to Ice Spring Street in District Two. In two hours, I'll confirm your arrival with them... Understood?"

Chen Ling gritted his teeth and said, "My legs are tired from walking; it'll take a bit longer."

"I'll call you a rickshaw." Han Meng's decisiveness was absolute. He stopped a rickshaw puller on the street, the very one who had spoken with Chen Ling earlier, and instructed him to deliver Chen Ling to Ice Spring Street on time, promising to cover the fare.

Thus, under Han Meng's gaze, Chen Ling reluctantly boarded the rickshaw, which proceeded directly towards District Two. Watching Chen Ling leave, Han Meng extinguished his cigarette butt under his foot with a cold snort.

"Brother Meng, why were you targeting him?" Jiang Qin asked, approaching him curiously.

"Don't you find it strange?" Han Meng replied calmly. "On the night of the Gray World's convergence, Li Xiuchun and Chen Tan went to the mass grave in the rain, claiming to pay respects to their son... The next day, the calamity conveniently broke into their home, killing two tracking enforcers but sparing only the two of them... And during this whole process, the two Chen brothers were conveniently not at home and had no alibi."

"But paying respects to their son has already been explained; they had a child who died young many years ago..."

"You've missed the point."

"Huh?"

"The point isn't going to pay respects to their son, but doing so before dawn, in a heavy downpour, a storm rare in the Aurora Realm for ten years... Do you think a child who died young, for whom they had little emotional attachment, would be worth such an effort?"

"This..." Jiang Qin was speechless.

"The infant death and the opera practice are all Chen Ling's unilateral statements, with no evidence," Han Meng said, patting Jiang Qin's shoulder. "As enforcers, we must see with our own eyes, not hear with our ears."

"...I understand, Brother Meng."

"If you understand, then come with me to Frost Street, No. 128."

"What are we going to do there?"

"I've sent Chen Ling away... all that's left is to interrogate Chen Yan," Han Meng's eyes narrowed slightly.

Tap—tap—tap... A hammer rhythmically struck, driving nails bit by bit into the wall. As the wooden planks were neatly laid onto the wall, the original large hole was gradually mended. Chen Yan wiped sweat from his face, secured the last plank in place, and then sat down on a chair, breathing heavily. He looked back at the living room, where the man with the silver-rimmed glasses was curiously examining the newly installed planks, lost in thought.

"He didn't even think to help..." Chen Yan muttered softly.

Chen Yan actually didn't want to let the man into his home, but the man had his brother's handwritten letter, making him a legitimate guest. Still, he wondered why his brother had never mentioned having friends in Aurora City.

Just as Chen Yan finished, the man slowly stood up and walked to the perfectly sealed planks. He opened his mouth in surprise: "How did you manage this...?"

"Repairing a house isn't hard. My brother even taught me how to build wooden houses when I was a child... though they were for little birds," Chen Yan said, looking up proudly. "I heard people in Aurora City are quite delicate; you probably don't have such good carpentry skills, do you?"

The man was about to say something when an urgent knocking sounded at the door. "Enforcers! Open the door immediately for questioning!"

Hearing those words, Chen Yan's face instantly went pale. He didn't know why the enforcers were suddenly at their door, but his gut told him that their sudden arrival for questioning at this hour couldn't mean anything good...

Chen Yan quickly thought, then said to the man, "You open the door in a moment and say no one's home." As soon as he finished speaking, he quickly hid himself in the bedroom.

"Enforcers, huh..." The man frowned slightly. After a moment's hesitation, he stepped forward and opened the door. Behind it stood Han Meng and Jiang Qin. Seeing a strange man open the door, Jiang Qin paused, then looked at the house numberplate and said, perplexed, "That's odd... we didn't come to the wrong address, did we?"

Han Meng's eyes narrowed slightly upon seeing the man. "What are you doing here?"

"I wondered who it was... so it's you," the man said, a slight smile playing on his lips as he adjusted his silver-rimmed glasses. "I should have known; District Three is your territory."

Seeing the two immediately fall into conversation, Jiang Qin leaned in and whispered to Han Meng, "Brother Meng, who is he?"

"Chu Muyun, the Divine Doctor of Aurora City."