Chapter 040

Qiao Man was in the back of a police car again.

As a seasoned tipster by now, he knew the drill – he buckled his own seatbelt without being asked and didn’t forget to remind Maomao: “Keep an eye on my bicycle. Don’t let anyone steal it.”

Maomao nodded blankly, watching as the police cars drove off in a line, sirens wailing.

He thought to himself, You just had every thief around here hauled away – who’d be crazy enough to steal your stuff now?

Watching a little kid point out criminals one after another in person had left everyone utterly dumbfounded. So many people were taken away that even Director Yang was brought in as a related party. The crew would have to shut down for half a day, but the shock lingering in everyone’s minds wasn’t going away anytime soon.

Who could have imagined that their film crew harbored so many criminals?

Some were just petty thieves, but the worst among them – that one was a murderer!

And he’d killed fourteen people!

Fourteen people. What kind of terrifying, brutal killer could do something like that?

The man had worked as an extra at the Film and Television Base for a long time and knew plenty of people. When everyone learned that a friend they’d worked alongside day after day was a major criminal suspect, they were all shaken. Even those who hadn’t known the suspect personally were unsettled – after all, they worked on the same crew, and they might have even spoken to this murderer at some point.

Before long, the entire crew was buzzing with discussion.

On one hand, they talked about the criminals caught today. On the other, they talked about the child who had shown such astonishing ability.

Pointing at anyone and identifying their crimes, even calculating offenses committed decades ago – could someone this powerful really exist in the world?

And the one who had figured it all out was a tiny five-year-old with stubby little limbs and a small frame – this kid who spent his days on set counting on his fingers to do basic addition and subtraction was actually a remarkable Master?

Xiao Xia was still shaken. “That’s terrifying. I can’t believe there was a murderer in our crew. Thank god for Xiao Man… Xiao Man really is incredible, to be able to figure out something like this.”

Just as Maomao was always saying, Master Xiao Man possessed extraordinary skills – not only were his talismans effective, but even his fortune-telling was spot-on.

She sighed, then noticed Shao Jingqiu standing beside her in a daze. In fact, most people still hadn’t fully come back to their senses.

It couldn’t be helped. After witnessing a scene like that in person, people needed time to process it.

“When is he coming back?” Shao Jingqiu suddenly spoke.

Xiao Xia didn’t quite catch it. “What?”

“When is he coming back?” Shao Jingqiu gazed toward the entrance of the Film and Television Base and murmured, “Will he come back?”

Xiao Xia scratched her head. “No idea. They arrested so many people, he’s probably going to be busy for a while…”

…

Inside the police station, everyone was scrambling.

They’d arrested a whole batch of criminals in one go, each with different offenses. The arrestees were divided into groups and locked in interrogation rooms, questioned one by one. Those who confessed readily were processed and penalized right away, while many more were still waiting in line.

As a small branch office, they usually handled petty theft and neighborhood disputes. That grave-robbing case from before had already been a rare major case – who would’ve thought they’d now get an even more serious murder case?

And the child who had provided this lead was currently sitting obediently amidst the chaos of the station, taking small sips from a children’s milk carton given to him by a nice police lady.

When Officer Lin got the news and rushed over, he saw the witness sitting on a chair with his feet dangling far above the floor. He stopped abruptly and turned to confirm: “That kid?”

Officer Xiao Chen nodded vigorously. “Mm!”

Officer Lin: “…”

Officer Xiao Chen added, “He was the one who tipped us off about that grave-robbing case last time too.”

Officer Lin certainly knew about the grave-robbing case, but hearing this only confused him more.

According to the child’s identification, that man who’d been hiding among the extras at the Film and Television Base had committed a major murder case twenty-three years ago involving fourteen lives – and they had actually found the relevant old case files.

A serial murder case from twenty-three years ago, fourteen lives, the killer still at large and never caught. It had happened in a small northern town, miles and miles away from City X, and the local officers handling the case couldn’t make it over right away. Officer Lin was from the city’s major crimes unit and had rushed over the moment he heard the suspect had been apprehended here.

He walked over to the child hesitantly and took a closer look. The kid was still holding a tablet, utterly engrossed in watching cartoons.

A criminal suspect the police had failed to catch for twenty-three years, discovered by a five-year-old kid?

When asked how he’d found out, the child said, “I calculated it.”

Officer Lin: “Calculated it? How did you calculate it?”

“The qi around him carries a blood-red light¹. It’s an extremely ominous sign.” Qiao Man said seriously. “His blood-light is very heavy. You can tell at a glance that he’s killed many people.”

Officer Lin: “Qi? What qi?”

Qiao Man: “Fortune qi. You can’t see it, silly.”

Officer Lin: “…”

“Mister, your qi looks really nice.” Two sweet little dimples appeared on the child’s soft, chubby face, his smile utterly adorable. He complimented him, “You’re a good policeman.”

Officer Lin said, his feelings complicated, “…Thank you.”

Though the child’s explanations sounded fantastical – the officers barely knew where to begin taking notes – he still provided quite a few leads. Some of them were mysteries from the case files that had never been solved, the very mysteries that had allowed the killer to evade justice for all these years. And when asked where he’d gotten them – all calculated.

It sounded like a child’s wild rambling, yet somehow the key evidence he provided turned out to be real. If it were a lie, even the polygraph hadn’t gone off!

Officer Lin recorded all these leads to pass along to the officers handling the case in that locality. He watched the child hop off the chair, push open the door, and walk out – his tiny body not even half the height of the door – and couldn’t snap out of it for a long while.

When he stepped outside to look, the suspects arrested today seemed unusually numerous, several of them still wearing strange period costumes.

“All just pulled in from the film crew,” Officer Xiao Chen whispered. “Every one of them caught by Xiao Man. He says they’re all criminals.”

As for what kinds of crimes? All kinds.

The lighter cases were just petty theft; the serious ones went as far as murder.

How were they caught?

All figured out through fortune-telling!

Officer Lin fell into a long, long silence.

He felt his long-established worldview violently shaking.

Based on the clues provided, they launched investigations into the related cases. It wasn’t just the murderer — the other criminals brought in together were looked into as well. Some cases were old and hard to verify, some had occurred out of town and required cooperation with local police. Others involved tax evasion, so the tax authorities had to be contacted.

By the time Qiao Man finished all his statements and walked out holding Lu Jianxing’s hand, it was already dark outside. But the police station behind them was still brightly lit, and they would be busy for a long time to come.

Director Yang had no idea that the ten yuan note he’d given could create such a huge impact.

He’d been so thoroughly shaken today. When he got into the car heading back to the hotel, his expression was still wooden. Only after they had driven for a while did he seem to come back to his senses, drawing a deep breath of the cool air.

Then he immediately pulled out his phone and started calling contacts, hurrying as fast as he could.

Obviously! Master Xiao Man’s outburst had landed many people from his crew in the police station — even one of the actors had been sent in. He needed to urgently contact people he knew and fill those vacant spots.

They had to keep filming tomorrow!

Director Yang was on the phone the whole ride. When the car stopped at the hotel entrance, he barely managed a wave goodbye before hurrying inside.

Lu Jianxing led the child along behind. Qiao Man had been busy all afternoon, his stomach growling with hunger. He was now clutching his flat little belly and walking slowly. “Xingxing, I want fried chicken.”

“Alright.”

“I also want cream cake.”

“Alright, anything.”

Huh? You’re being so agreeable?

Qiao Man looked up expectantly. “I want two ice creams, too.”

“No, you’ll get diarrhea. Only one.”

Fine, one’s not bad either.

Qiao Man happily held his hand. They had just entered the hotel, not yet had time to go upstairs and order takeout, when they were stopped by Shao Jingqiu, who had been waiting in the lobby for a long time.

Shao Jingqiu clutched a ten-yuan bill tightly in her hand, the crisp note now deeply creased. Without blinking, she stared at Qiao Man, her eyes bursting with boundless hope.

“Master Xiao Man, I… I want my fortune told!”

Translator’s Notes