Chapter 17 Yang Qianyun

　　Although Chief Li revealed everything about the cause and effect of Yang Qianyun's case, he left out many key pieces of information. Moreover, he seemed to be afraid of something and refused to say another word.

　　What could make a seasoned criminal investigator with years of experience so fearful? From the occult game Yang Qianyun and her friends had played, I seemed to sense a chilling aura, and I figured Chief Li must be terrified of that very thing.

　　However, I wasn't about to give up. Not just because of my profession, but also from the perspective of my personal ideals, beliefs, and understanding of the world, I was determined to get to the bottom of this.

　　At noon, after having lunch, I left the police station and decided to go to Garden Community to find Yang Qianyun.

　　Garden Community was located on Zigu Road, not far from the police station. It would only take about fifteen minutes to walk there.

　　This residential area was a property development project launched a decade ago by a renowned real estate company. The original development and construction goal was to create a high-end, impressive, and upscale community. With the real estate market becoming increasingly hot in recent years, the average price per square meter for second-hand homes in Garden Community had reached 20,000 yuan. In other words, only the wealthy could afford to live there.

　　As a police officer in this jurisdiction, I was quite familiar with Garden Community. So, it didn't take me long to arrive at Building 44.

　　Yang Qianyun lived in Apartment 404, Unit 2 of Building 44.

　　Just as I was about to go upstairs, I不经意间 (by chance) looked up and saw a girl in a white dress standing on the balcony of the fourth floor of this building.

　　The girl appeared to be an adult, but there she was, clutching the stainless-steel anti-theft bars on the balcony and standing on the balcony railing. Her beautiful eyes stared straight down without blinking, her face expressionless.

　　What kind of eyes were those? At first glance, they seemed captivating, but upon closer inspection, they were as lifeless as those of a dead fish, showing not a trace of emotion. They didn't seem like the eyes of a living person at all.

　　The girl was barefoot, wearing a white dress. The gentle breeze fluttered her skirt, making her look like an angel. But instead of feeling warmth and kindness, one could only sense an indescribable terror and eeriness.

　　Actually, the protective railings installed in the community these days weren't very sturdy. After all, they had been in use for several years. There had been cases where women climbing onto the railings to clean had broken the welds and fallen. So, it was quite dangerous for this girl to stand like that.

　　"Hey, which family's girl are you? Don't play like this. It's not safe. You might fall!" I cupped my hands around my mouth and shouted up to her.

　　The girl fixed me with a cold stare but remained unresponsive. Just as I was about to shout again, an elderly woman tapped me on the shoulder in a mysterious manner and whispered, "Officer, don't bother with her. She does this every day. Her family lives in Apartment 404, Unit 2 of Building 44. It's so unlucky. This girl has attracted something unclean. It's better to stay away."

　　Apartment 404, Unit 2 of Building 44 — wasn't that Yang Qianyun's place? I was startled. When I turned around to find the old woman and ask her more questions, I realized she was already gone.

　　Taking a deep breath, I decided to talk to Yang Qianyun anyway. It was heartbreaking to see a beautiful girl in such a state. Even if I weren't a police officer, I would want to help Yang Qianyun as much as I could. Even if ghosts existed in this world, I was ready to fight them with my own flesh and blood. I couldn't bear to see a young girl die like this.

　　At that moment, I was filled with a surge of heroism as I walked towards Apartment 404 in Unit 2 of the building.

　　When I reached the door of Apartment 404 in Unit 2, the first thing I saw was a piece of paper with talismans on it for exorcising ghosts and warding off evil spirits. It looked like it had been put up recently, but I couldn't identify the specific talismans. They were similar to the ones I'd seen in horror movies and TV shows.

　　I knocked on the door, but no one answered.

　　I kept knocking, knowing that someone must be inside Apartment 404 in Unit 2 — at least Yang Qianyun was there.

　　But whether Yang Qianyun would open the door for me was uncertain. From what I'd seen earlier, the girl seemed to have lost her mental balance.

　　I persisted in knocking, hoping Yang Qianyun would open the door.

　　Finally, the door opened, and an old woman with a slow gait and a hunched back greeted me. What an old woman she was! She was probably in her eighties or nineties, so hunched over that she could almost touch the ground with her hands. When she looked up, her face was covered in wrinkles like those of an old walnut. She grinned, revealing only three teeth in her mouth, which emitted a foul odor. She was dressed in colorful clothes, much like the legendary witch.

　　However, I managed to hide my emotions well and forced a smile on my face. "Hello, ma'am. I'm Wang Jie, a police officer from the Zigu Road Police Station. I have some matters to discuss with Yang Qianyun. May I come in?"

　　"Oh, Officer! It's so nice of you to come. She's been waiting for you," the old woman said as she fully opened the door and pulled me inside by the arm.

　　As I stepped into the house, I was taken aback. The place was filled with all kinds of statues of deities — both Taoist and Buddhist, from the East and the West. I couldn't help but wonder: if these deities were supposed to protect people, wouldn't they start fighting among themselves since they were all gathered here from different places?

　　Apart from the statues, there were talismans everywhere — on the walls, doors, and even on the tables and chairs. This made me even more worried about Yang Qianyun's situation. Judging by what I saw, it seemed that she was truly being haunted by a ghost, or at least that's what outsiders and her family believed. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been so alarmed and filled the house with so many statues and talismans.

　　"Where's Yang Qianyun?"

　　"She's over there," the old woman said, pointing to the balcony and sighing. It was clear that Yang Qianyun's condition saddened and frustrated her.

　　"Is there anyone else at home?"

　　"Alas, after what happened to her, her parents took her younger brother and moved elsewhere. They only come occasionally. I'm her grandmother. I'm an old woman who's about to die anyway. They're scared, but I'm not. I'll stay with her," the old woman said with a sigh, her warmth evident. It seemed that few people visited this home, so she was delighted to have company and chatted more.

　　"Officer, why don't you have a good chat with Yang Qianyun? I'll make you some tea."

　　"Ma'am, don't bother. Have a rest. There must be a solution to Yang Qianyun's problem. I'll talk to her first."

　　I comforted the old woman, but she insisted on making tea. This somewhat dispelled the negative impression I'd had of her when we first met. At least she was a kind grandmother who was willing to stay with her granddaughter.

　　I walked towards the balcony. Yang Qianyun was still standing on the balcony railing, as motionless as a corpse.

　　I stared at Yang Qianyun but immediately noticed something was amiss. Her dress was so sheer that it clung tightly to her body, prominently displaying her round and firm buttocks. What's more, with her legs apart, from my angle, I could see some intriguing sights that were incredibly alluring.

　　I was startled again. Was Yang Qianyun so bold that she wasn't wearing panties? Could it be that since no one ever came to the house except her and her grandmother, she dressed so casually?

　　I remembered that three years ago, when Yang Qianyun was in her senior year of high school, she was eighteen. Now, three years later, she was twenty-one. A twenty-one-year-old girl, especially one as pretty as Yang Qianyun, should be like a ripe fruit — fragrant and tempting...

　　While I was lost in these random thoughts, I suddenly heard a cold female voice say, "Have you seen enough?"

　　I looked up and saw Yang Qianyun glaring at me with fierce eyes and a furious expression. But I wasn't afraid. Compared to her expressionless face, I preferred to see this angry look. At least there was some life in it.

　　"Yang Qianyun, I'm glad you're responding to me. I'm Wang Jie, a police officer from the Zigu Road Police Station. I have some questions for you. Could you come down and have a seat so we can talk?"