Shen Koudan carefully unbuttoned her shirt and pulled down her collar, revealing her right shoulder, where five distinct claw marks marred her flesh. The wounds were deep, with the skin and muscle torn apart. Jiang Liu furrowed his brow—the wounds were infected with corpse poison, and the toxicity was severe. Fortunately, it wasn’t a fatal injury. Shen Koudan had considerable experience in such matters and had already treated herself to prevent the poison from spreading, but her right arm remained completely numb and immobile.
As Jiang Liu treated and bandaged her wounds, he asked, “What happened?”
“I’ve been investigating the swapped Purple Seal Emblem and traced it to Meizhai Tianfu. I discovered a highly concealed back entrance to the estate, heavily guarded, with non-humans coming and going. I wanted to sneak in and take a look. I’ve disguised myself as human countless times, but I’m not as practiced in pretending to be a ghost. Changing my appearance was easy, but hiding my scent was much harder. I could fool most regular ghosts, but not the specialized detection devices they had. Eventually, I was discovered, and during the fight, I got a little hurt.”
Shen Koudan downplayed the intense confrontation where she faced nearly a hundred corpse souls on her own. She had grown accustomed to such dangerous situations from a young age.
“Meizhai Tianfu?” Jiang Liu frowned. That was a famous restaurant in Taoyuan City, known for serving all kinds of gourmet dishes, especially roast duck. He had taken Jiang Xiaosi there at least ten times and had never noticed anything unusual.
“If you think there’s something suspicious about the place, let’s go eat there again—this time, as zombies, and we’ll enter through the back.”
“We?”
Jiang Liu pulled out a jade charm from his pocket. “This can make others believe I’m human. Naturally, it can also make others believe you’re a ghost.”
Jiang Xiaosi, who hadn’t played video games in a while, was just about to start up her computer when she heard the sound of wind chimes. A gust of cold wind followed, sending shivers down her spine. Though this kind of situation was no longer new to her, she couldn’t help but shudder as she looked up.
“Hello, welcome! What would you like? We’ve got all kinds of adult toys from Europe, America, Japan, and Korea…”
“I’m not here for that. I’m here to buy blood.” The visitor’s voice was cold and deep. He wore a long black robe, similar to a wizard’s, with a hood that covered his eyes, revealing only the lower half of his face. His skin was deathly pale, yet his lips were a vibrant red, like blood. If he were holding a scythe, he’d look just like the Grim Reaper.
Jiang Xiaosi sized him up, confirming he was non-human before asking, “Is this your first time here? Did someone refer you?”
“No. I’ve just heard of Tuo Gu Xiang’s reputation and came to check it out.”
“Oh. What blood type do you need? Fresh or expired? Fresh blood is 800 per bag, expired is 200. Special blood types cost extra. Each bag contains 200cc…”
The Grim Reaper-like figure interrupted her. “I want fresh B-type blood. Two tons.”
Jiang Xiaosi’s eyes widened, her jaw nearly dropping onto the counter. “Two tons?” Was he hosting a vampire party with a blood pool and meat feast?
“Sir, why do you need so much blood? If you store it for too long, it’ll expire and go to waste. Besides, we don’t have that much stock.”
“Get as much as you can. I’ll pay ten times the price. I’ll send a truck tomorrow to pick it up. Here’s the deposit.”
The Grim Reaper placed a check for 200,000 yuan on the counter and turned to leave.
“Sir, what’s your name?”
“Mei.”
Jiang Xiaosi shook her head. There were all kinds of strange non-humans these days. Tuo Gu Xiang sold blood to provide those who needed it with a legitimate supply—it wasn’t about making money. After all, antiques brought in far more profit.
Originally, Jiang Liu had planned to let Shen Koudan rest for a day or two before heading to Meizhai Tianfu, but she insisted on going immediately.
“I’ve just been injured, so they’d never expect me to return so soon.”
Jiang Liu glanced at Shen Koudan, who had disguised herself as a stunning female ghost, and a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes. “Is this your true form?”
Shen Koudan shook her head. “Of course not.”
“Come to think of it, I’ve never seen what you really look like.”
Shen Koudan fell silent, almost as if she had forgotten herself.
“Let me disguise you as well. We don’t want to cause any trouble for Tuo Gu Xiang.”
Jiang Liu nodded.
By the time they arrived at Meizhai Tianfu, it was already evening. The three-story, traditionally styled building was brightly lit, with a long line of luxury cars parked outside. Shen Koudan led Jiang Liu around to the back, weaving through alleys until they reached a more discreet entrance. Unlike the brightly lit front entrance, this one was shrouded in mystery. The individuals entering were all odd, with few showing their true faces.
Jiang Liu and Shen Koudan dealt with two semi-corporeal vengeful spirits and took their food tokens, allowing them to gain access to Meizhai Tianfu.
The waitstaff, all manner of various demons, wore red qipaos, their figures graceful and their service impeccable. Jiang Liu and Shen Koudan were led to a quiet corner on the second floor. As Jiang Liu glanced around, he recognized several non-humans who had visited Tuo Gu Xiang before.
“What would you like to order?” the server asked.
Jiang Liu and Shen Koudan took the menus and were shocked when they opened them. They exchanged a glance, immediately understanding the situation. The menu featured dishes like Braised Cheek Meat, Stewed Tongue, Kung Pao Eyeballs, and Mustard Intestines—all made from human flesh. This was a true feast for the gluttonous.
As Shen Koudan looked at the images of these so-called delicacies, her face turned pale, and she felt her stomach churn. She had seen her fair share of bloody scenes, but this was too much, and she couldn’t help the wave of nausea that hit her.
At the table next to them, the first dish was served—Steamed Baby Hands. The tiny hands, delicate and fair, were steamed until they were translucent, like crystal radishes, still steaming hot.
Watching the demons around them devour finger after finger with relish, Shen Koudan finally couldn’t take it anymore.
“Excuse me, where’s the restroom?”
“Over there, just go straight and turn right.”
Shen Koudan quickly got up and left, while Jiang Liu handed the menu back to the server. “We’ll wait for her to come back before ordering.”
The server smiled and nodded, pouring them some tea—tea that was unmistakably blood.
Jiang Liu frowned, looking around at the dark and chaotic scene, growing more and more disgusted with his zombie identity.
After about fifteen minutes, Shen Koudan returned, looking even paler.
“Where did you go?”
When Shen Koudan didn’t respond right away, Jiang Liu realized the answer.
“The kitchen?”
Shen Koudan nodded. She had planned to explore, but she had made the mistake of passing by the kitchen, where a leopard-headed, human-bodied chef was chopping meat on a cutting board. The scene had left her deeply unsettled.
“Is this human meat from the living or the dead?”
“Does it matter?” Jiang Liu sighed. “But considering the number of customers here, it’s unlikely all the meat comes from the living. That would cause too much chaos and attention. Still, there are probably some live humans being used—the more expensive dishes that most non-humans can’t afford.”
“I want to destroy this place!”
“Even if you destroy this place, another will pop up. As long as there’s demand, places like this will exist. Still, it might be better for ghosts to eat humans than for humans to eat humans. Whether in peace or war, this kind of thing happens far too often…”
That was why he had opened Tuo Gu Xiang in the first place—to try to stop such things from happening.
“Did you find any leads on the Purple Seal Emblem?”
“No, but I’ve mapped out the layout. I’ll need to come back another time to investigate further. I wasn’t mentally prepared for this. Let’s go.”
“Go?”
“You’re not seriously thinking of eating human flesh, are you?” Shen Koudan glared at Jiang Liu.
Jiang Liu shrugged. “There are vegetarian options too…” But he still got up with Shen Koudan, pretending they had an urgent matter and left.
In a dimly lit, crimson-hued room, a figure stood in front of a monitor, watching the footage of Shen Koudan and Jiang Liu leaving. A sinister, high-pitched laugh echoed, like nails scraping against glass.
“Little Koudan, no matter how much you change your appearance, how could I not recognize you…”
Back in the office, Xiao Tang handed a file to Shen Mo. “These are the details of the thirty-odd missing persons reported recently. They’re all different ages and genders and from various places, but they all share one common trait—they’re all B-type blood. Some of them went missing in different parts of the country at the same time, so it’s not a one-man operation. This has to be a large criminal organization. It’s getting out of hand. I suspect there are even more missing people that haven’t been reported yet. But why would they be targeting people with B-type blood?”
“B-type blood?”
Shen Mo stood at his office window, which overlooked the campus sports field. Outside, many students were playing ball, running, and enjoying the day. Suddenly, a small figure caught his eye, and he immediately recognized her—Jiang Xiaosi.
She had run out to retrieve a ball and was now returning it, smiling. She and Zhang Qi had taken over half the court, playing together happily.
Jiang Xiaosi, with her small stature, was quick on her feet, but every time she tried to shoot, Zhang Qi blocked her. As she watched him make shot after shot, she began to playfully cheat, pulling on his arm to steal the ball or hugging him from behind to stop him from scoring.
Shen Mo slammed the file down on his desk, startling Xiao Tang.
Curious, Xiao Tang looked out the window and saw Jiang Xiaosi and the boy. “So, Xiaosi’s found herself a boyfriend?”
Shen Mo snorted coldly. “She’s wasting her time instead of studying.”
“She’s just a kid. It’s normal. And Xiaosi’s already in college now. They seem to be getting along well.”
The temperature in the room seemed to drop further, and Xiao Tang, who had been about to ask more about the boy, swallowed his words.
At that moment, Jiang Xiaosi spotted Xiao Tang at the third-floor window and waved at him, smiling. Xiao Tang quickly waved back.
Knowing that Xiao Tang had come to ask Shen Mo for help with another case, Jiang Xiaosi handed the ball to Zhang Qi. “You keep playing. I’ll go see what’s going on upstairs.” She then ran off toward Shen Mo’s office.
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