Walking down the eighth-floor corridor from end to end and then back again, Lu Zheng’s steps never halted.
Then he went up to the twelfth floor and took a round in his room.
The following events were simple.
Going all out with the act, Lu Zheng first returned home, picked up some clothes, a phone charger, and his toiletries, and then went back to Qingyu Hotel.
After putting his things away, he looked at the clock — it was past five in the afternoon — so he sat on the sofa in the hotel lobby and played on his phone.
The folded Qi-Seeking Talisman lay quietly in his palm, faintly emitting a guiding presence.
Awaiting the person he hoped to meet, Lu Zheng’s game was suddenly interrupted by a call.
Indeed... As long as the murderer wasn’t caught, he was still a suspect, and the police could call anytime.
"Hi, Lu Zheng, are you home? I want to talk to you."
"No, I’m at the hotel."
"Yeah." Lu Zheng explained, "Just thinking about how the murderer could enter silently makes me uneasy. What if they come again to kill me and cover it up? To be safe, I’ve decided to stay at a hotel for a few days."
Lin Wan on the other end couldn’t help but laugh and cry, "Is that necessary? The murderer broke into your home to frame you and divert police attention."
Lu Zheng remained unmoved, "But now the only evidence points to me. What if they make it look like suicide from guilt?"
Lin Wan hesitated, although she felt Lu Zheng was overthinking, it actually made some sense upon reflection.
"Which hotel? I’ll come to see you!"
Half an hour later, Lin Wan arrived.
Since it was off-work hours, she wasn’t in uniform, wearing a fitted short sleeve shirt and capri pants paired with platform sneakers that made her legs look even longer and straighter.
"Can’t I just come to see you without a reason?"
Lu Zheng was taken aback, Lin Wan paused slightly, then immediately joked, "You’re a Martial Arts Master, aren’t you? How can you be afraid of the opponent and hide in a hotel?"
Lu Zheng sighed, "Martial Arts Masters face the enemy head-on, but if the opponent comes silently in the dead of night, even the strongest skills won’t help. How do you think Zhang Fei died?"
Lin Wan sat beside Lu Zheng, "I wanted to ask you about when you returned home last weekend after a conflict with Li Yanjie and when you went out the day before yesterday, did you see the same person?"
Lu Zheng tried to recall carefully but eventually shook his head, "No."
"In this age of technology, can’t we still find the culprit?"
"Technology isn’t omnipotent." Lin Wan said helplessly, "The opponent is skilled, avoiding all cameras on the scene and leaving no trace."
"So the only evidence is that fruit knife?" Lu Zheng was speechless, "Isn’t it obvious they’re framing me?"
"But it’s also a clue." Lin Wan explained, "Doing nothing avoids mistakes, but doing more can lead to errors. Since they drew you into this, they’ll naturally leave clues around you."
"Uh... at least some traces." Lin Wan thought, disguising as a delivery person leaves a trace, right?
"You’re doing quite well!" Lu Zheng couldn’t help but praise.
"Haha." Lin Wan forced a smile and casually asked, "By the way, your fruit knife was missing for a few days, and you didn’t notice?"
"I used that fruit knife twice to peel apples after buying it." Lu Zheng shook his head, "I regret eating apples; if I hadn’t used it at all, it wouldn’t have been worth stealing!"
Lin Wan chuckled, "You’re really unlucky. Showing off a little, and you caught the killer’s attention."
Lu Zheng sighed, "Who says otherwise? It’s not like before, now if they just lie on the ground, the master has to kneel and beg."
Lin Wan giggled, then her gaze shifted, "Indeed, but you really kept it hidden, didn’t even show off in college? Must’ve attracted female classmates."
"Uh, never thought about it."
"Didn’t expect you to be such an honest kid."
"That doesn’t sound like a compliment."
"Have you eaten yet?"
"Considering all this, not feeling hungry is understandable, but you still need to eat. Come on, let’s find a place and grab a bite."
Lu Zheng blinked, about to find an excuse to refuse, when the elevator doors on the other side of the lobby opened, and out walked an ordinary-looking middle-aged man.
The Qi-Seeking Talisman gently trembled in his palm, pointing directly at the man.
The man’s gaze swept over Lu Zheng and Lin Wan without any reaction, then he strolled leisurely towards the lobby door.
"What’s wrong?" Lin Wan noticed Lu Zheng suddenly staring intently at the man and followed his gaze.
Lu Zheng muttered to himself, "I have some impression, and... seems... can’t be?
Lu Zheng abruptly stood up and walked towards the man.
Lin Wan frowned and got up to follow.
But by then, Lu Zheng had already reached behind the man and, without a word, abruptly delivered a Bow Step Punch aimed at the back of the man’s head.
The wind whooshed, fueled by the power of the punch.
Yet the next moment, Lin Wan did not witness the man’s head being blown apart by Lu Zheng’s punch.
Instead, the man tilted his head instantly, dodging Lu Zheng’s blow, then darted towards the hotel doors.
Lu Zheng shouted, pushing off with his foot, accelerating even faster than the other.
The man suddenly turned, swung his hand backward, and a splash of light gleamed in his hand.
"Lu Zheng, watch out!" Lin Wan exclaimed with a pale face, as the gleaming light was a sharp blade, now only thirty centimeters from Lu Zheng’s neck.
Despite the ordinary face, the opponent’s eyes were full of murderous intent.
Twisting his body, he punched again.
Lu Zheng’s fist intimately connected with the opponent’s temple.
The opponent flipped and fell.
It was only then people in the hotel lobby began exclaiming, half gathering to watch, while the other half started calling the police.
Lin Wan shouted, finally arriving beside Lu Zheng.
She looked at the middle-aged man on the ground, flipping his eyes as if fainting.
"Isn’t it quite a coincidence!" the shock was evident in Lu Zheng’s voice, "You wanted me to recall people I met those two days, and it made me think about how, when I returned home that night, I bumped into a delivery guy making a delivery.
Back then, he and I were in the same elevator, I got off on the seventeenth floor, he pressed the top floor, and we even exchanged glances."
Lin Wan was stunned, "He was wearing a mask, but you remembered the feature around his eyes?"
Lu Zheng pointed at the middle-aged man on the ground, "Aren’t I seeing it again now? It’s like reinforcing my memory."
Lin Wan was speechless, "But that’s way too coincidental? "
Lu Zheng chuckled, "Can’t help it, it’s just that coincidental."