The afternoon of October 26th.
Chu Yu lay on the bed in the single bedroom. After being on high alert for several days, perhaps her brain had finally reached its limit and she eventually fell asleep. After a few hours of rest, she woke to find that the sky was already turning dark.
There was no phone beside her, so she had no idea what time it was. With no other choice, she decided to open the bedroom door to go find Xia Yihan.
She found the living room and kitchen completely clean and tidied up, with even the dishes washed and dried, the scent of dish soap still lingering in the air.
The curtains had been drawn, and the lights inside the room cast a dim glow on the wall of creeping ivy opposite the window, making it hard to see clearly. Chu Yu paced around the small, few-dozen-square-meter apartment a few more times before she confirmed that Xia Yihan was no longer here. She didn’t even dare to call out the other’s name, for fear of breaking this strange silence.
There was a phone on the table, the one that belonged to the comatose landlord. Chu Yu picked it up and found that the lock screen had been disabled and she could open it without any trouble.
The phone’s wallpaper had been set to a blank page, with a message written on it.
Jie-Jie:
I had to leave, otherwise, I’ll be arrested. After going to the hospital, I knew I would eventually have to leave. I don’t know what method you used, but you’re so smart, you’ve definitely left clues for the police. Out of respect for you, I’ll retreat for now. We’ll meet again.
—Yours,
Ah-Xia
Chu Yu set the phone down and looked at the cramped room that wasn’t clearly empty, but for some reason felt like it was. Her chest felt tight and unhappy. She was the one to drive Xia Yihan away, yet she felt like she had been abandoned instead. It felt like someone offered you a box of chocolate cream cake while you were on a diet. You politely refused, but when they actually took it back, you were left with a strange sense of loss, as if something precious had been taken from you.
She gave herself two seconds to wallow in this strange sense of sadness. Two seconds later, she changed the wallpaper and opened the phone app to dial 120. After giving them her address, she immediately untied the landlord and checked his condition.
Suddenly, the phone rang. The caller ID read “Tang Sweetie” and Chu Yu could guess that this was the unlucky landlord’s equally unlucky girlfriend. She answered the call and asked her to come over.
Meanwhile, on the other end, Tang Qingqing was so nervous her hands were trembling. Just thinking about speaking with the “dangerous criminal” on the other end made her hands tremble even more.
“Who are you? Why do you have my boyfriend’s phone?”
Chu Yu was checking Ruan Tianhao’s pulse and breathing, so she had placed the phone on the table in speaker mode.
“Your boyfriend is unconscious, but I’ve called an ambulance. You might want to go straight to People’s Hospital to meet him.”
Fang Datuo and his team had been listening in on the call. Since he wasn’t familiar with Xia Yihan’s voice, and Chu Yu’s voice was slightly distorted due to the electromagnetic wavelengths of a phone call, none of them recognized her voice immediately.
But after hearing the voice a second time, Fang Datuo suddenly found it very familiar. With a surge of certainty, he signaled for Tang Qingqing to hand the phone over.
“Hello, Director Chu, are you unharmed?”
Chu Yu paused for half a second. She had assumed Tang Qingqing was completely unaware of the situation and merely looking for her boyfriend. But when she heard Fang Datuo’s voice, she suddenly realized that the clues she had left at the hospital had indeed been received by her team!
Not only did her team receive her clues, but they had acted swiftly to come to her rescue!
Chu Yu almost cried on the spot. She wished she could return to her team right now and awkwardly hand each of them a little yellow flower, one made of pure 24K gold.
She gave a brief report of the situation before arranging for the police to be deployed.
She guessed Xia Yihan wouldn’t linger in Wuhuai City, but would likely rush to the nearby Jinling City to carry out her next “assassination” plan. The potential target there had already been placed under police protection, but this time secretly at Chu Yu’s request so that the person being protected wouldn’t be alerted.
There were no surveillance cameras in the hallway of the apartment building and Chu Yu noticed that the two bags under the bed were gone. Not a single clue had been left behind in the entire apartment.
She had no way of knowing exactly when Xia Yihan had left. Perhaps she left only minutes ago, or she left hours ago and was already at a bus station somewhere. Chu Yu immediately issued orders, directing the police and armed forces on duty to rush to her current location, Building Nanhu Pu No. 7-2, in order to set up checkpoints to inspect any passing vehicles.
The ambulance also arrived and took Ruan Tianhao to the hospital. At the same time, forensic technicians arrived to collect fingerprints and hair samples for later DNA testing.
Chu Yu looked around at the spotless apartment and knew there was probably nothing left for them to collect. She imagined Xia Yihan casually cleaning the place. Just how much self-control and discipline does she have in order to be able to clean quietly while not disturbing Chu Yu’s sleep and knowing the police were about to burst through the front door?
She looked down at her outer clothes. It was made of synthetic fibers, so even though Xia Yihan had touched it, it was unlikely to retain a full fingerprint. The dishes and utensils, however, could’ve preserved some traces of her fingerprints. Chu Yu went to the kitchen, but found that the dishwashing gloves previously hanging on the nearby hook were gone, and the trash can had also been emptied.
“Damn it!”
Chu Yu slapped her hand on the kitchen door. Once again, she was reminded just how cunning Xia Yihan could be.
Even the landlord’s phone had probably been wiped down with alcohol, making it shiny, spotless, and utterly devoid of DNA.
As she watched the forensic technicians comb the place, Chu Yu suddenly felt a sense of unreality, even beginning to question whether everything she had experienced over the past two days had really happened at all.
When Xia Yihan had been with her, everything had felt so real. She felt a sort of domestic, familial warmth, like a couple that had been living together for years. But now the woman had left without leaving a single trace of her behind. She took everything with her and vanished into the night. Even with the entire police force working together, they still wouldn’t be able to track her down.
It was as if the woman never existed.
Chu Yu lost her usual intense focus for a second. The nickname “Phantom of the Pagoda Tree Flowers” had never felt more fitting than it did now. Xia Yihan truly was like a shadow, one that could drown you in darkness in an instant, yet vanish without a sound. Behind every source of light is a shadow, and similarly, who knows when the woman will appear or disappear.
Chu Yu turned and walked into the night toward an unmarked police car. She suddenly smiled as the night breeze blew through her hair. Perhaps this was the so-called intoxicating allure of the “Phantom of the Pagoda Tree Flowers”. Dangerous, yet so gentle to her. Untouchable, yet always drawing close to her. Mysterious, yet inviting her to continue chasing.
The police searched the surrounding area but found no trace of the suspect. Chu Yu suspected that Xia Yihan had disguised her appearance again, and possibly even cross dressed to avoid detection. The two bags she had taken were likely already disposed of, as they would have been too cumbersome to carry during a quick escape.
She couldn’t help but wonder just how many IDs and SIM cards Xia Yihan carried on her. Things that ordinary people use for a lifetime, she used as disposables, tossing them after just one use and allowing her to succeed in carrying out her plans, rain or shine.
Originally, they had considered setting up checkpoints on the highway to inspect any passing vehicles, but Chu Yu found it pointless. There was no way to predict what kind of transport Xia Yihan would use. If she took a regular bus or high-speed train, then maybe they could’ve found her. But what if she hid in a freight truck or decided to hitchhike? Then it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack.
When Chief Feng heard that Chu Yu was injured, he felt terribly guilty and feared that she’d blame him. So, he planned a formal “apology banquet” to comfort her and express his deep regret and apologies.
Chu Yu only continued to look at her phone, her mind completely not on the banquet at all. She originally didn’t want to go, but then thought about how the whole department must’ve been running themselves ragged trying to find her these past two days. Everyone must’ve been terrified of not being able to locate her, afraid of being brought to the higher-ups to be punished. While this banquet was supposed to soothe her frazzled nerves, it could also be used as a way to reward her team members.
She had just thought of agreeing to the banquet when Mu Yu whispered in her ear, “Director Chu, Big Director Chu is here. He’s waiting for you at the hotel.”
Chu Dongren had been retired for years but the people who worked with him still called him Director Chu. So in order to distinguish between the two, most of the staff called them “Big Director Chu” and “Little Director Chu”. But Chu Yu disliked this naming convention as the characters sounded too much like “Little Chu-Chu”1, which sounded like a greasy and cringy nickname some lover gave her.
Although Chu Yu had long wanted to discuss her recent revelations with Chu Dongren, now that he was really here she felt like her soul had left her body.
She cleared her throat, swallowed the “okay” that was stuck in her throat and politely declined Chief Feng’s kind invitation to the banquet. She asked Mu Yu to go in her place and eat and drink to her heart’s content.
After hearing her words, Mu Yu shut her laptop and quipped, “And here I thought our Superwoman Chu was a work machine who didn’t understand socializing!”
Chu Yu rushed to the hotel. This time, Chief Feng had learned his lesson and assigned a vehicle full of armed police to escort her. Two officers were also posted outside the hotel to guard her safety 24/7.
Chu Yu originally wanted them to duel Song Qingyang to prove useless they were compared to her powerful bodyguard, but she figured it would be useless anyways. Chief Feng was probably quite eager to have the entire hotel under full surveillance if he could. So much so that even a fly trying to enter would be stopped and searched.
At the hotel, the armed police insisted on checking the room first, which scared Chu Dongren quite a bit as he thought it was a full-on police investigation.
When he saw Chu Yu, he was overwhelmed with emotion. Looking at her heavily bandaged left hand, he exclaimed: “Didn’t you say the Phantom of the Pagoda Tree Flowers wouldn’t hurt you?”
Chu Yu closed the door behind her. The bodyguards retreated to the adjacent room, leaving the two of them alone.
“It was me, I cut myself,” she said. Seeing that Chu Dongren was about to question further, she raised a finger to stop him. “It’s a long story, and I don’t plan on telling it right now.”
Chu Dongren swallowed his questions and sat upright in his chair like a model student, ready to listen and answer.
“Teacher Chu, ask away.”
Chu Yu tossed her bag onto the bed and sat on the edge, leaning forward like she was about to have a long heart-to-heart with her father.
“Dad, why are you here?”
When not working, Chu Dongren had always been expressive. Now, hearing that question, he pulled a face that looked like an exaggerated reaction gif, “You were kidnapped, what do you think I’m doing here?”
“So who told you?”
“Datuo! I called you, and he was the one who answered. I asked where you were, and he hemmed and hawed until I got it out of him.”
Because of Chu Dongren’s poor health and semi-retired status, Fang Datuo had hesitated to say anything for fear of worrying him. But in the end, he decided it wasn’t right to hide it and spilled everything, even the part where Xia Yihan sent a bouquet of lavender flowers to Chu Yu, a story he told with great emotion as he emphasized every single word.
“I thought you had an important clue for me,” Chu Yu said, her lips curling downward in disappointment.
Chu Dongren studied her for a moment, shaking his head.
“Sometimes I really doubt whether you’re my daughter. You didn’t inherit even a shred of my humanity. Haven’t your subordinates ever complained about you? About you putting efficiency over feelings?”
Chu Yu replied seriously, “They have. But when the letters of complaint landed on my desk, I destroyed the evidence by shredding them.”
“However, I really did call you over today because I have something important to tell you,” Chu Dongren said, suddenly frowning. His ageless face suddenly grew somber.
Chu Yu perked up like a cat, her invisible ears twitching and her tail practically wagging.
“Do you remember the officer I told you about who died under mysterious circumstances?”
“Mu Shangqing? The one whose place of death is still unknown?”
“That’s the one,” Chu Dongren nodded, voice lowering. “Before he disappeared, he left me a message: ‘Don’t look for me. I’m going to take the killer down with me.’”
T/N:
- (*T/N: “Little Director Chu” (小楚处) xiǎo chǔ chù which sounds a like like her name being repeated twice with a “little” added in front. Which makes it super childish/babyish sounding. It’s like someone named John being called “Johnnykins”.) ↩︎
Fluffy Translations 
I’m going to have to read this again cos I think I confused myself halfway
How old was Xia Yihan when the first murder happened? What really went in in her last? Does this mean there are two pagoda killers? Is Xia Yihan after the original pagoda killer? And this Mu Shangqing.. (~_~)・・・
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oh yeah super confusing, i had to reread SEVERAL times
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