Song Yan found out from the Investigation Department the private school where Ye Zhiqiu taught. He found the place quite out - of - the - way. Looking at the address registered in the record book, he stroked his chin, looking thoughtful.
It seemed that Ye Zhiqiu had a particular fondness for going to remote places. The crime scene before was like this, and now the private school was no exception...
Although he had promised to cooperate with Ye Zhiqiu last night, Song Yan knew nothing about him. Apart from knowing that he could be resurrected, everything else about him was like an unknown mystery.
While Song Yan was lost in thought, he unknowingly arrived at the private school where Ye Zhiqiu was. It happened to be the time when the students were leaving school.
Groups of students packed up their things and said goodbye to their teacher. Ye Zhiqiu just nodded slightly in response, without any other gestures.
"Does Teacher Ye have time to have a chat with me?"
Song Yan walked to the window and gently knocked three times. He leaned against the window in what he thought was a cool pose and spoke in Ye Zhiqiu's direction.
...
Ye Zhiqiu ignored Song Yan's exaggerated start. Instead, he coldly ignored him and lowered his head to organize the books on the table.
"Why is that uncle posing so strangely?"
"I don't know. But mother said that when we meet such people, we should stay away from them, or we'll be taken away and eaten."
"Ah? Then let's hurry up and leave."
Two little kids left in the room were whispering to each other. When they met Song Yan's gaze, they quickly stuffed all the books on the table into their small bags and ran out as if they were fleeing.
"What uncle! It makes me sound so old!"
Seeing the kids slipping out, Song Yan made a face behind them.
When he turned around, he met Ye Zhiqiu's cold eyes. At that moment, Song Yan felt more embarrassed than ever. He opened his mouth, trying to say something to ease the atmosphere, but before he could think of anything, Ye Zhiqiu spoke first.
"Alright, let's go."
After organizing all the books and putting them aside, Ye Zhiqiu walked to the door and said to Song Yan, who was still standing there stupidly.
"What would you two gentlemen like?"
The waiter saw the two people coming in and greeted them with a smile.
"Bring a jar of Drunken Immortal Wine."
After sitting down, Song Yan ordered on his own. As he spoke, he eagerly recommended the Drunken Immortal Wine to Ye Zhiqiu.
"The Drunken Immortal Wine in Xichun Tower is second to none. Every time I bring someone here, I introduce it. Don't be polite. It's on me this time."
Looking at Song Yan's excited face, Ye Zhiqiu didn't know how to respond. However, seeing his look, he guessed that Song Yan didn't intend to listen to his answer.
Thinking this way, he stopped talking and just nodded as a response.
"Director Song didn't bring me here today just for drinking, did he?"
Ye Zhiqiu looked at the wine brought by the waiter. The clear liquor in the small porcelain bowl emitted an intoxicating aroma, just as its name suggested.
It was a pity that he never liked drinking.
He quietly moved the wine cup on the table to the side, looked up into Song Yan's eyes, and said calmly.
Hearing this, Song Yan stopped pretending. He took a sip of the wine in his cup, leaned back on the chair, slightly squinted his beautiful eyes, and his tone turned cold.
"Since we're talking about cooperation, I think Teacher Ye should tell me the things you've been hiding."
"I should have made it clear to you last night. What other questions do you have, Director Song?"
While Song Yan was being sarcastic, Ye Zhiqiu didn't have the time to beat around the bush with him. He answered directly, and the atmosphere between them became tense.
Song Yan stared into Ye Zhiqiu's eyes for a while. Ye Zhiqiu remained unyielding and unafraid, showing no sign of avoiding his gaze.
He poured another cup of wine and drank it in one gulp. Seeing that Ye Zhiqiu was being straightforward, he didn't intend to say any more polite words. He just tapped the table with his finger.
"Why were you in that alley last night?"
"I was investigating the murderer in the city."
"This could be life - threatening. Aren't you afraid?"
"I've already died once. What's there to be afraid of?"
Ye Zhiqiu motioned for the waiter to bring him a cup of tea. Facing Song Yan's questions, he answered one by one without any extra words.
"Why do you want to investigate the murderer?"
This question from Song Yan made Ye Zhiqiu fall into a moment of silence. Song Yan wasn't in a hurry and just quietly waited for his answer.
I don't know how long it had passed. The waiter placed the tea on the table with a soft sound. Ye Zhiqiu looked at the floating leaf in the cup and slowly said,
"I have my reasons. I can't say anything about this."
...
Hearing this answer, Song Yan wasn't surprised at all. He had long expected that Ye Zhiqiu wouldn't cooperate with him easily. If he really cooperated obediently, it would be even more suspicious.
So he didn't ask any more questions. He poured a cup of wine and smiled,
"Indeed, everyone has their own secrets. As long as the things Teacher Ye has hidden don't harm the people of Yuling and the royal family, that's fine. After all, I don't want to be an enemy of the teacher."
Although Song Yan was smiling, his words carried a hidden meaning. It was clearly a warning to Ye Zhiqiu.
Ye Zhiqiu didn't care about the warning in Song Yan's words. He took a sip of the tea in his cup and then calmly replied,
"Director Song can rest assured. The things you're worried about won't happen."
"I hope so."
Looking at Ye Zhiqiu's unhurried appearance, Song Yan didn't know why, but he felt extremely uncomfortable. He always had this feeling when facing Ye Zhiqiu.
No, no. This would make him seem petty. He was the director of the Investigation Department. What was he arguing about with a teacher?
"Regarding the matter of cooperating to catch the murderer we talked about last time, does the director have any plans?"
Ye Zhiqiu's voice pulled Song Yan's wandering thoughts back. After thinking for a while with his hand on his chin, Song Yan looked up at Ye Zhiqiu and smiled,
"Of course... there aren't any."
He just wanted to make a joke, but Ye Zhiqiu still had a poker - face. This made Song Yan's shrugging and raising - hand gesture look extremely funny.
"Director, don't joke around. If you hadn't thought of a way to catch the murderer, you probably wouldn't have come to find me specifically."
Ye Zhiqiu calmly took a sip of tea and directly and unceremoniously exposed his joke.
Song Yan touched his nose and said awkwardly,
"Isn't it funny?"
...
"Alright, alright. There is actually a way. After several days of analysis, I've figured out the murderer's pattern of committing crimes. The murderer used to commit crimes once every seven days, and the crime scenes were on the East, South, and West Streets respectively."
As he spoke, Song Yan dipped his finger in the wine and drew a map of Yuling's streets on the table. He marked points on the East, South, and West Streets.
"A few days ago, the murderer committed a crime on the North Street. I originally planned to use myself as bait to catch the murderer, but unexpectedly, you messed it up. The murderer should know that no body was found on the North Street by now. Maybe he will kill again."
He pointed in the direction of the North Street and drew a big circle as a highlight, looking confident.
"So his next crime might be here."
"I advise the director not to be too confident. The murderer is a habitual offender. He knows his own methods very well. He never misses his target. This can be seen from the fact that his first knife always goes straight for the vital part."
Ye Zhiqiu touched his own neck. Remembering what happened that night, he lowered his eyes to hide the surging emotions inside and tried to describe what happened that night in the calmest tone possible.
"His knife directly cut through my carotid artery. The wound was so deep that the bone was visible. There was no way I could have survived. The murderer was very confident in his skills. But now that there is no news of a body on the North Street, it will only make him more vigilant."
"Although it's a bit inappropriate to ask this now, did you see the murderer's face that night?"
Song Yan crossed his arms in front of his chest. He thought Ye Zhiqiu's analysis made sense. Since Ye Zhiqiu had confronted the murderer face - to - face, if he could see the murderer's appearance, it would be a great step forward in solving the case.
Although it wasn't good to mention this to someone who had been killed once, after all, time was running out for the Investigation Department.
"It was very dark that night. I couldn't see clearly. But there seemed to be a lotus tattoo on his wrist..."
After lowering his head and recalling for a while, Ye Zhiqiu slowly said this important clue.
"A lotus tattoo..."