I work as a security guard at a cemetery, and I overhear the dead chatting about getting rich quick.

Lin Ye didn't immediately pick up the envelope.

The white envelope lay on the steps, its corner fluttering in the wind before being stuck back together.

Three characters on the front.

Lin Ye Shou.

The characters are written very neatly.

That's perfect.

It didn't seem like it was written casually; it looked like the paper was deliberately placed flat on the table before writing.

Lin Ye held the stun gun and stood at the door for a while.

It was pitch black outside the security booth.

The tomb passage is to the east.

The parking area is to the west.

Further away is the pine and cypress grove in the old cemetery in the western district.

When the wind blows, the shadows of the trees sway on the ground, looking like someone is squatting there, or like there is nothing at all.

Lin Ye did not go out.

He took a picture with his phone first.

After taking the picture, he opened the curtains a crack and peeked outside.

no one.

There are no headlights.

There were no footsteps either.

He retreated to the guard booth and rummaged through the gloves in the drawer.

There are three disposable gloves left.

Two right hands, one broken.

Lin Ye stared at the three gloves for a few seconds and then cursed.

"They really know how to pick their timing."

Finally, he forced both right gloves on, one right-side up and the other inside out.

After wearing it, my fingers twisted like I had just learned to be a human.

He gently tapped the envelope with the stun gun.

The envelope slid forward half an inch.

There was no movement.

Lin Ye waited a few more seconds before bending down to pick it up.

Returning to the table, he placed the envelope next to the anti-flood bottle.

The anti-floating bottle still looks the same flashy thing.

Lin Ye glanced at it.

"Stop it."

The bottle, of course, didn't react.

Lin Ye didn't expect it to actually react.

Having something there is better than having him all alone on the table.

The envelope was not sealed.

Three things fell out of it.

a photo.

A screenshot of an old news article.

A note.

The photo was taken at the soy milk shop just now.

He and Ningzhi sat at the innermost table.

Ningzhi lowered her head and wrote.

He was holding a cup of soy milk, half of his face hidden by the plastic cup.

The angle wasn't close.

But it's very accurate.

Lin Ye immediately recognized it as the location of the gray van from earlier.

The second image is a screenshot from a news article.

A man was hit and killed while crossing the road late at night.

The deceased, surnamed Liu, was 43 years old.

The date was circled in red next to the news article.

three years ago.

Lin Ye didn't rush to read the note.

He first arranged the photos and news screenshots one by one, took pictures, and saved them to his phone.

After doing all that, he picked up the last piece of paper.

The strip of paper was very thin.

There are only two lines of text above.

Liu Changhai couldn't control his mouth, so he died.

You should also take care of this.

Lin Ye stared at the two lines of text, and a layer of cold sweat slowly broke out on his back.

The lights in the security booth hummed softly.

The wind outside was blowing through the pine branches, creating a rustling sound.

A cat meowed in the distance.

Short and pointed, like someone stepped on its tail.

Lin Ye used to think that it was scary when dead people talked.

Now he feels that living people are more particular.

They don't curse.

He didn't yell.

They put threats in envelopes and threw them at your door when you were on night shift alone.

There wasn't even a single extra punctuation mark on the note.

Lin Ye took pictures of the three items and sent them to Gu Wantang.

Less than ten seconds later, the phone rang.

Gu Wantang's first words were: "Do you still have the things?"

"exist."

"Have you touched it?"

"I'm wearing gloves."

There was a pause on the other end of the phone.

"Were all the photos taken?"

"I took pictures. I took pictures of the front and back of the envelope, and the three items inside."

"Lock the door."

Lin Ye glanced at the door.

"Locked."

"Where are the windows?"

He got up and pressed the window latch again.

"It's locked now too."

A very soft sound of turning pages came from Gu Wantang's side.

She must be looking at photos.

After a few seconds, she asked, "Does Ningzhi know?"

"I don't know yet."

"Don't show it to her yet."

Lin Ye was silent for a moment.

"She might be being watched too."

"I know."

Gu Wantang said in a low voice, "I've had someone keep an eye on her side."

Upon hearing this, Lin Ye suddenly didn't know what to say.

This girl spends all her time checking wills, investigating Jiang Cheng, guarding against Gu Mingyuan, and now she also has to manage his relationship with Ning Zhi.

If it were him, he would have turned off his phone and found a place to lie down long ago.

Gu Wantang asked again, "Are you scared?"

Lin Ye looked at the note.

He wanted to say he wasn't afraid.

But those two words got stuck in my throat and wouldn't come out.

"Afraid."

He said.

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone.

Gu Wantang did not laugh at him.

"If you're afraid, don't try to be brave."

"I wasn't showing off."

"That's what you said before you went to see Ningzhi."

Lin Ye was choked.

That's undeniable.

Gu Wantang said, "My people will go get the things. Don't open the door until she arrives."

"What if it's one of your people knocking on the door?"

She'll call you first.

"OK."

After hanging up the phone, Lin Ye put the envelope back in and placed it next to the anti-flood bottle.

After thinking about it, I moved the anti-floating bottle forward a little more.

It can't stop anything.

But blocking it is better than not blocking it at all.

My phone vibrated.

Ningzhi sent a message.

The license plate is a fake.

Lin Ye's face gradually darkened as he looked at those words.

Counterfeit cards.

It wasn't a spur-of-the-moment decision.

It wasn't just anyone who was chosen to film him.

Ningzhi sprouted again.

Are you alright over there?

Lin Ye stared at the screen for a few seconds before replying to her.

Don't go back to your place tonight, go somewhere else.

Ningzhi replied almost instantly.

Did you receive the item?

Lin Ye frowned.

She's so good at picking up on words.

Before he could figure out how to reply, Ningzhi sent another message.

You did receive it.

Lin Ye closed his eyes and simply went back.

Envelope. Photograph. News about Liu Changhai. Threatening note.

Ningzhi didn't reply for a while this time.

Take a picture of it for me.

Linye returned.

No.

Why?

Gu Wantang said, "Don't show it to you yet."

Ning Zhi quickly retorted.

Are you listening to her so much now?

Lin Ye stared at the line of text, typed a few words, and then deleted them.

In the end, I only returned.

She is safer than you are now.

Ningzhi replied with a string of ellipses.

Lin Ye looked at the string of dots and actually felt a little comfortable.

If it left Ning Zhi speechless, then tonight wasn't entirely without reward.

A few minutes later, the short-haired woman called.

"I'm at the door."

Lin Ye looked out the window.

She walked in alone from the cemetery entrance, wearing a black coat and carrying a transparent bag of evidence, her steps quick.

She didn't let Lin Ye open the door, but just stood outside the window.

"Pass the things out the window."

Lin Ye opened the window a crack.

Wearing gloves, she took the envelope and then asked Lin Ye to show her the photos on the desktop again.

When was the envelope found?

"Not long after returning to the security booth."

"After I brought you back?"

"Um."

The short-haired woman bent down and packed the things.

Lin Ye couldn't help but ask, "Didn't you just say there were people outside?"

She glanced at him.

"After dropping you off, we drove around the area to see if anyone was following us. There was no one at the gate for those few minutes."

Lin Ye felt a chill run down his spine.

Those few minutes.

The other party was stuck for those few minutes.

The short-haired woman sealed the evidence bag.

"From now on, there are people around. Don't leave the guard post."

"I still have to patrol."

"Not tonight."

"I'm a night shift security guard."

"You're more like a target now."

Lin Ye shut up.

That's an unpleasant way to put it.

But yes.

Before leaving, the short-haired woman saw the anti-flood bottle on the table.

"What is that?"

Lin Ye followed her gaze.

"For warding off evil spirits and protecting the house."

The short-haired woman looked at him for two seconds.

"Will it work?"

"have no idea."

"Then why are you still leaving it there?"

Lin Ye looked at the bottle.

"It makes me feel more at ease."

The short-haired woman didn't say anything more.

She took a few steps, then stopped.

"Then leave it there."

Lin Ye watched her figure disappear beyond the streetlights.

The guard booth fell silent again.

He closed the window and sat back down in his chair.

The envelope was missing from the table.

But those two lines of text still seem to be right in front of me.

Liu Changhai couldn't control his mouth, so he died.

You should also take care of this.

Right after midnight, the East District became lively.

Old Li had barely opened his mouth when Boss Wei interrupted him.

"Don't scold the grandson yet."

Old Li was very dissatisfied.

"I've been holding it in all day."

"Your grandson won't be able to run away tomorrow either."

Old Li thought about it.

"Too."

Lin Ye opened the notebook.

The moment the pen tip touched the paper, Grandpa Gu's voice rang out.

"Jiang Cheng used to like scaring people."

Lin Ye's hand stopped.

Grandpa Gu continued, "Send photos, old news articles, and a few vague words. Not many words, just enough for people to speculate."

Lin Ye's back tightened little by little.

Grandpa Gu had no idea what had happened tonight.

He was just referring to Jiang Cheng's past methods.

But every single sentence matched.

Boss Wei cursed, "This guy is really cunning."

Old Zhou said, "A bad guy who uses his brain is more troublesome than one who only knows how to throw punches."

Principal Chen said in a low voice, "This is psychological intimidation."

Boss Wei glanced at him.

"Don't explain. Your explanation will only make it more terrifying."

Old Master Gu's voice fell silent.

"That's how Liu Changhai was frightened back then."

The East District has quieted down.

Even Old Li didn't say a word.

Grandma Zhao asked softly, "And then?"

"Later he wanted to hand the things over."

Grandpa Gu said, "But he's timid and doesn't trust anyone completely. He didn't keep the things at his workplace or at home."

Lin Ye wrote.

thing.

Not at work.

Not at home.

Boss Wei asked, "Where did you put it?"

After a long pause, Grandpa Gu said, "He has a daughter."

Lin Ye wrote about Liu Changhai's daughter.

"That child loved to draw when he was little and won a children's painting award in the city. The prize was a red tin paint tube with a deer printed on it."

Principal Chen asked, "Is the account book inside the painting tube?"

"I have no idea."

Old Master Gu lowered his voice.

"Liu Changhai came to see me once, holding that painting tube in his hands. He said that if something happened to him, I should take care of his wife and children."

No one spoke in the East District.

Lin Ye's pen stopped on the paper.

Grandpa Gu continued, "I told him not to be afraid. The next day, he was gone."

As soon as those words were spoken, the light in the guard booth suddenly flickered.

Lin Ye lowered his head and wrote the words "red painting tube, printed with deer" on it.

The strokes are very heavy.

The back of the paper was scratched with marks.

Grandpa Gu added, "I later had someone look for his family. We couldn't find them. Some people said they moved away, while others said they took the compensation and went back to another city."

Old Zhou asked, "Do you think the painting tube is still there?"

"Liu Changhai is timid, but not stupid."

Grandpa Gu said, "Things that are deadly won't be displayed in the open."

Lin Ye stared at the notebook.

Red painting tube.

Little deer.

Liu Changhai's daughter.

This line is too thin.

It's so detailed that a single investigation might reveal the answer.

But if there really is an old grudge, it might be over there.

Grandpa Gu concluded by saying, "Gu Mingyuan has approached Jiang Cheng, and Jiang Cheng will eventually approach Liu Changhai's family."

Lin Ye picked up his phone and sent a message to Gu Wantang.

Investigate Liu Changhai's family.

He paused, then added another sentence.

Daughter, red tin tube with a deer pattern.

After he finished sending it, he leaned back in his chair.

The only sound inside the guard booth was the faint hum of the fluorescent lights.

The anti-floating bottle is still on the table.

There were two business cards lying on the side.

A picture of Ning Zhi.

A picture of Gu Wantang.

Lin Ye suddenly missed the day he had just earned 6,800 yuan.

The biggest problem back then was whether or not to add ham to instant noodles.

Now he needs to go ahead of Gu Mingyuan and Jiang Cheng to find a red painting tube that may have been lost long ago and was in the possession of the accountant's daughter who died three years ago.

My phone vibrated.

Gu Wantang replied.

receive.

A few seconds later, another message came in.

How did you find out this time?

Lin Ye stared at the screen, remaining motionless for a long time.

Finally, he replied with three words.

Guess.

Gu Wantang didn't reply for a long time.

Lin Ye thought she would ignore him after a long time.

A few minutes later, the screen lit up.

You'd better keep guessing this accurately.

Lin Ye looked at that sentence and gave a wry smile.

He wanted to as well.

The problem is that this matter is not under his jurisdiction.

It was as if one opening after another was made in the grave.

A sudden gust of wind picked up outside the window.

The pine and cypress trees rustled in the wind.

Lin Ye had just put down his phone when the short-haired woman called again.

He answered immediately.

"What's wrong?"

The short-haired woman spoke in a very low voice.

"The surveillance footage on the west side was interrupted for eighteen seconds."

Lin Ye sat up straight.

"And now?"

"It's back to normal."

"Have you seen anyone?"

There was a pause on the other end of the phone.

"I only saw a shadow, passing by the old cemetery in the west."

Lin Ye's grip on the phone tightened little by little.

Old cemetery in the western district.

An unmarked grave.

The short-haired woman said, "Don't open the door, and don't turn off the lights. I'll let someone through."

Lin Ye looked out the window.

It was pitch black outside the glass.

The pine branches in the distance swayed gently.

The anti-flooding bottle in the security booth stood quietly on the table.

Lin Ye tightened his grip on the electric baton.

The next second, a soft sound came from the old cemetery in the west area.

It was like someone had stepped on and broken a dead branch.