"Chen Feng, not long ago, the fifth victim appeared."
After Hu Tao returned, she immediately told him the news she had heard.
"It seems the murderer knows we've already figured out that those people were all guilty. This time, the fifth victim died in the tower. Before dying, he used blood to write a confession on the tower wall, but the news has now been suppressed by the Liyue Qixing."
"It looks like that murderer has already grown a bit impatient. We must speed up our actions."
Hu Tao spoke with a heavy expression.
"I suspect the murderer will eventually do something shocking to announce his appearance."
After hearing Hu Tao's words, Chen Feng also nodded with a grim expression.
"Director Hu Tao, you're right, but could you please get off me first? You're pressing down on me, and I can't hold it in much longer!"
"Ah, sorry, sorry, this Director didn't notice!"
After Hu Tao lifted her hand from Chen Feng's stomach, Chen Feng immediately rushed off the bed to go to the bathroom.
Two minutes later, Chen Feng returned and spoke to Hu Tao with a helpless expression.
"Director Hu Tao, didn't I tell you last time not to come into my room without permission?"
"What's there to be afraid of? It's not like you sleep naked anyway."
Hu Tao sat on a nearby chair with complete indifference, even picking up the teapot to pour herself a cup of tea as if she were the true owner of the room.
Hearing these words, Chen Feng's eye twitched, and then he pushed Hu Tao and the teacup out of the room.
"Alright, I'm going to change my clothes now. Let's talk later!"
After another short while, Chen Feng came out after getting dressed and muttered to himself while looking at Hu Tao standing outside the door.
"Looks like I need to add a lock to the room!"
"The books are right after all. Boys traveling alone have to learn how to protect themselves!"
Hearing these words, Hu Tao immediately became angry.
"Which unscrupulous author is misleading young people? This Director will personally send Wangsheng Funeral Parlor's flyers to his house!"
After saying that, Hu Tao said to Chen Feng with an earnest tone.
"Consultant Chen Feng, we should read fewer of these books that spread harmful ideas."
"Here are the '100 Benefits of Sleeping Naked' that this Director found. When Consultant Chen Feng has time, be sure to read it thoroughly. This is the kind of book we should be studying and learning from!"
Chen Feng awkwardly took the book, tossed it into the room, and immediately shut the door.
"I'll read it when I have time. It's getting late, Director Hu Tao, let's head out!"
Finally, Hu Tao was tricked by Chen Feng into leaving. As they stepped into the courtyard, they saw Zhongli playing chess by himself.
"Good morning, Consultant Zhongli!"
Seeing Zhongli, Chen Feng immediately waved his hand in greeting.
"Aren't you going to the teahouse for tea today?"
"I don't always go to the teahouse as usual," Zhongli said gently, his words seeming to have a hidden meaning, before speaking again.
"The Wangsheng Funeral Parlor just received a batch of new tea lately, and the taste is quite good."
"So that's how it is."
Chen Feng nodded with a smile.
Just then, Hu Tao suddenly remembered her agreement with Ningguang last time, so she immediately said:
"Ah, Consultant Zhongli, how boring it is to play chess alone!"
"Yesterday, I happened to see Ningguang playing chess alone too. I think you two could perfectly make a match!"
"How about this: Consultant Zhongli, you take a moment to tidy up and head over. I'll inform Ningguang in advance."
"You must go, otherwise this Director will lose face for breaking her word!"
After saying these words, Hu Tao immediately pulled Chen Feng away.
Zhongli held a chess piece for a long time without moving it, feeling like he had been sold out...
-
As soon as Chen Feng and Hu Tao stepped out the door, they vaguely saw something swinging above their heads.
"Chen Feng, watch out!"
Hu Tao's expression changed, and she immediately tackled Chen Feng to the ground. A dull "thud" echoed nearby.
"Chen Feng, are you okay?"
After recovering, Hu Tao asked Chen Feng anxiously, as his face now showed a pained expression.
"Where are you hurt? Let me see!"
Hu Tao was just about to check Chen Feng's injuries when he stopped her with a wave of his hand.
"It's... it's nothing, just a bit uncomfortable..."
At first, Hu Tao didn't react, but then her face instantly flushed red, and her eyes became terrifyingly fierce, as if she were about to devour him!
"You're asking for it!"
Hu Tao unleashed her "tiny fists pounding your chest," and Chen Feng was instantly crushed!
After scuffling for a while, the two finally got back up from the ground, then looked at their previous spot and saw a bucket of paint had overturned on the floor, staining the ground with a mess of colorful patterns beyond recognition. One could imagine that if they hadn't dodged it just in case, they'd most likely be unable to show their faces in public today.
Hu Tao was momentarily stunned, then looked up again at the outside of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor's entrance and saw that someone had painted it all sorts of colors.
Hu Tao was very angry, but she didn't know whether this anger stemmed from the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor being painted or from Chen Feng nearly being covered in paint.
"Report it to the authorities! We must report it!"
"These people are really crossing the line!"
Hu Tao exclaimed angrily, while Chen Feng quietly reminded her from the side.
"Director Hu, we are the authorities now!"
Hu Tao: ...
-
Not long after, Chen Feng and Hu Tao called in the Millelith to investigate and soon caught the true culprits behind this prank: several teenage children.
At this moment, the children stood in a neat line like obedient lambs, while their parents and relatives came before Chen Feng and Hu Tao, repeatedly apologizing.
"We're truly sorry, Director Hu Tao. The child is still young and doesn't know better. Please be magnanimous and don't hold it against us!"
"Director Hu Tao, I apologize on my child's behalf; please don't take it to heart!"
"Director Hu Tao, just name your price. My child is still so young, with his whole bright future ahead of him. I don't want to suffer the misfortune of a parent burying their own child!"
Hearing the people say more and more outrageous things, Hu Tao interrupted them somewhat impatiently.
"This Director does not need your apologies. Whoever did wrong should be the one to take responsibility. Let them apologize to us themselves!"
After saying that, Hu Tao glared at the children.
Seeing Hu Tao's resolute attitude, the parents had no other choice but to bring the children forward to apologize to Chen Feng and Hu Tao.
"I'm sorry."
Seeing the children's reluctant expressions, Hu Tao spoke directly.
"You all seem very unwilling, don't you?"
"Fine, just give this Director your names. I'll pay you each a visit at home another day."
Seeing Hu Tao ask the Millelith for their names, the children immediately burst into tears.
"We're sorry, we're sorry, Director Hu Tao, we were wrong!"
"We don't want to die!"
"We're just children, please spare us!"
This time, the children's tone was much more sincere, and their parents and relatives also turned pale, repeatedly apologizing and begging Hu Tao for mercy.
Someone even almost knelt before Hu Tao, but she stopped them in the end.
For a moment, the children's cries overlapped with the adults' apologies and scoldings, and the scene became quite chaotic.
It took a good while before things gradually calmed down. Looking at the terrified expressions on the children's faces, they would most likely not dare to bring bad luck to the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor again.
Soon, everyone else slunk away in disgrace.
After Hu Tao gave those bratty kids a good lesson and settled the compensation issues with their parents and relatives, she looked completely refreshed.
"Hmph, a bunch of brats, thinking they could challenge this Director!"
However, Chen Feng spoke up with some concern.
"Director Hu Tao, is this really okay?"
"It doesn't matter. Anyway, even if we tried to explain now, no one would believe us!"
Hu Tao said.
"As a part of Liyue, the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor doesn't mind paying extra as long as we catch that murderer."
"Alright, alright, don't dwell on such unpleasant things."
Hu Tao waved her hand, her expression completely nonchalant.
But was she truly nonchalant? Perhaps only Hu Tao herself knew the answer.
"And don't worry about this Director. Consultant Chen Feng, you probably don't know yet, but the shop you opened with Ningguang last night was smashed."
After hearing Hu Tao's words, Chen Feng froze for a moment, then immediately bolted toward the shop's location.
Ten minutes later.
"No—"
"My shop!"
Seeing the dilapidated shop, Chen Feng clutched his head and wailed in the middle of the street.
Snowflakes fluttered gently~
The north wind blew coldly~
"Which damn bastard did this!"
"When I find out who the culprit is, I'll send several Wangsheng Funeral Parlor flyers to their house!"
The passersby who heard Chen Feng's words were instantly scared away. Good grief, sending Wangsheng Funeral Parlor flyers is one thing, but sending several?
You're trying to wipe out their whole family!
Terrifying, simply terrifying!
Better get outta here, better not be targeted by them!
The passersby fleeing didn't affect Chen Feng and Hu Tao at all, because they were already used to it.
Seeing Chen Feng react so strongly, Hu Tao felt much better inside. As expected, when you're unfortunate, you feel happy by finding someone else who's just as unfortunate.
"Director Hu Tao!"
Chen Feng stood up again, grabbed Hu Tao's hand, and spoke to her with a determined expression.
"We absolutely, absolutely have to catch that culprit soon!!!"
"Ah, this..."
Seeing Chen Feng react so strongly, Hu Tao even felt a bit of regret for telling him about this matter.
However, she was somewhat puzzled. Given the cooperation model between Chen Feng and Ningguang, Chen Feng himself didn't need to put in much effort; he just needed to wait for his share of the profits. She hadn't expected his reaction to be so intense.
But it was true that they should catch the culprit as soon as possible, otherwise the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor would also have no peaceful days.
Right now it was just a few children, but in the future, it wasn't impossible that some radical people would do something to the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.
Moreover, these past few days, she could already feel that other employees of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor also had some intention of leaving, even including some of the old employees. If this group of people really left, it would be a huge loss for the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor. Even if they recruited newcomers later, it would be impossible for them to be as skilled in business as the old employees in the short term.
If things continued like this, let alone growing and strengthening, even maintaining the basic foundation would be difficult.
Thinking of this, Hu Tao also immediately became full of motivation.
"That's right, Consultant Chen Feng, we'll go investigate the murderer right away!"
"Good, let's go now!"
Very quickly, Chen Feng and Hu Tao charged to their destination with great momentum.
-
Although the scope had already narrowed considerably, there were still actually quite a few people who needed to be investigated.
Just as one ten-thousandth of a fortune might seem small, if the person in question is Ningguang, it is still a sum of wealth that ordinary people can hardly imagine.
Liyue has too many people, and interpersonal relationships are even more complex. Additionally, it couldn't be determined whether some of the victims were killed by the murderer, so in the end, there were roughly seven or eight hundred suspects.
And the main members of the Task Force currently numbered only a dozen or so. Among them, Keqing and Ganyu both had their own matters to attend to and couldn't take on too much. Dividing the remaining suspects among the rest of the team was a huge challenge for each person.
You have to know that the investigation also had to be carried out in secret!
Chen Feng could see the changes in the Deathly Aura, which would make searching easier, while everyone else could only rely entirely on experience and intuition.
If they happened to miss the real murderer, starting over again would consume a huge amount of energy.
So, it only took a single afternoon for Chen Feng and Hu Tao to go from their initial bold declarations to their current silence.
The investigation was too difficult. On top of that, since they were both celebrities, they had to wear masks to avoid drawing attention.
As everyone knows, on the Teyvat continent, wearing a mask is equivalent to changing your appearance. Others won't recognize you at all, even if you're wearing the same clothes. This is the firsthand experience of the legendary Yellow-haired Toolman!
But this created another problem. Wearing masks made them slightly conspicuous, making it hard to conduct the investigation.
Imagine two masked people sneaking behind you the whole way. Even the dumbest suspect would run away, wouldn't they?!
In the end, Chen Feng and Hu Tao could only resort to another casual investigation method. Simply put, they would wander the streets and follow any suspect they happened to encounter for a while. By the end of the afternoon, Chen Feng's legs were shaking again.
"Director Hu Tao, think about it carefully. It's fine to let that murderer act arrogant for one more day. How about we go back to eat and rest today?"
Though Hu Tao was exhausted herself, she refused to show it in front of Chen Feng.
"Consultant Chen Feng, your physical condition is far too weak. We'll just have to train it out of you today!"
"No way, Director Hu! I really can't take anymore!"
"Alright then. This Director isn't a demon, after all... We'll call it a day here."
"Director Hu, you're the best!"
Hearing her words, Chen Feng let out a cheer.
Despite their utter exhaustion, the mere thought of getting off work sent the two of them sprinting toward Wanmin Restaurant like electric motors.
Along the way, fellow Task Force members greeted them warmly.
"Director Hu and Consultant Chen Feng are so hardworking!" someone exclaimed, moved by their apparent enthusiasm.
"Alright, let's push ourselves a bit harder today and try to clear a few more suspects!"
In the end, nearly half of the Task Force members decided to work overtime after witnessing the scene. Thus, Chen Feng and Hu Tao accelerated the investigation's progress in a completely different way.