After leaving the restaurant, I found a guesthouse nearby to stay at. It was tucked away in a little alley; the place was nothing fancy, but it was cheap and reasonably clean.

　　Around eight o'clock, I was lying in bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep. It wasn’t insomnia; it was the raucous noise from the people playing mahjong in the neighboring room that was driving me crazy.

　　"Three dots!"

　　"Your turn, Quan Zi! Hurry up and draw a tile!"

　　"No way!"

　　"I won!"

　　Their game was in full swing, followed by bursts of laughter and the sound of tiles clattering as they shuffled them. This went on until well past ten at night. Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore and got up to ask them to quiet down. To my surprise, when I opened the door, it was the same waiter from the restaurant earlier that day.

　　“It’s you! You’re staying here too?” he said, grinning.

　　Seeing him caught me off guard, but I smiled back and replied, “Yeah, I’m right next door.”The guy was super friendly, welcoming me in while the other three people in the room, all about the same age, got comfortable.

　　“Come on, take a seat!”

　　He gestured for me to sit down, poured me a glass of water, and even handed me a small bag of peanuts. As we chatted, we gradually warmed up to each other, and I learned his name was Zhou Sheng. He had come out to work with a few childhood friends from his hometown, Zhou Village.

　　I was familiar with Zhou Village; it’s right at the foot of Qiyun Mountain. I’d even been there once to help out with some local matters.

　　“Where are you from, Feng Ge?” (Note: “Feng Ge” is a respectful term used among strangers, akin to “Brother Feng.”) one of them, Zhou Hu, asked. He was a sturdy-looking guy, just as his name suggested.

　　“Northeast!” I replied with a smile.

　　“Northeast, huh? That’s quite a trek!”

　　“Yeah!”

　　“I figured Feng Ge wasn’t just anyone. What do you do?” Zhou Sheng asked, curiosity in his eyes.

　　I chuckled and replied, “Oh, not much. Just wandering around, doing some feng shui consultations.”

　　“Isn’t that just a way to scam people?” Zhou Desheng piped up, wearing a bright red T-shirt.

　　“What’s with that attitude?” Zhou Sheng shot him a quick glare. I just smiled and kept quiet, not wanting to stir the pot.

　　“Feng Ge, don’t mind him. The kids from the village haven’t had much education, so they don’t always know how to express themselves,” Zhou Sheng added, trying to smooth things over.

　　“It’s all good!” I replied with a grin.

　　After all these years, being called a scammer was nothing new; I had learned to take it in stride.

　　“Feng Ge, you do feng shui? So you’re a feng shui master?” another guy, Zhou Quan, suddenly jumped in, leaning forward with interest.

　　“Yeah, what’s it to you?” I asked, intrigued.

　　Zhou Quan looked at Zhou Sheng, who nudged him, saying, “What’s up, Quan Zi? What do you need?”

　　Zhou Quan, sitting across from me, suddenly tightened his grip on his knees, a serious expression crossing his face. “Feng Ge, they say feng shui masters have real skills. What do you think about my brother Zhou Yong’s situation?”I paused for a moment, stunned. “Zhou Yong?”

　　Zhou Sheng let out a heavy sigh. “He’s the one I mentioned at the restaurant—the one who died in Hua Yuan Community. One of the two who died is Zhou Yong, Quanzi’s brother!”

　　“Oh, really?” I was surprised; I hadn’t realized that Quanzi was related to him.

　　“Yeah, Feng Ge, I just can’t wrap my head around it. How could my brother possibly have taken his own life?”

　　Zhou Sheng had mentioned something like this before, but I hadn’t paid it much mind then. Hearing it from Zhou Quan now struck a chord—this was his own brother we were talking about. Those words carried a heavy weight.

　　Noticing my silence, Zhou Sheng pressed on. “Feng Ge, do you think this is normal?”

　　I shook my head, scanning the group before locking eyes with Zhou Sheng. “Not normal at all!”

　　“Right? You feel the same way!”

　　“Two people dead in just a few days, both in the same spot, with the same cause of death. How could that possibly be normal?”

　　Zhou Quan chimed in, “Feng Ge, can you help me out?”

　　“Help Quanzi, Feng Ge! His mom is practically blind from crying over this!”

　　I hesitated for a moment. I had planned to find my senior sister as soon as possible, but hearing Zhou Sheng’s words made me reconsider. Finally, I said, “Okay, what do you want me to do?”

　　Zhou Sheng replied earnestly, “We just want to know what really happened to Quanzi’s brother. We can’t just accept a vague suicide explanation!”

　　“Exactly! That house already had a death in it before; it can’t be that clean!” Zhou Hu added, backing him up.

　　It finally clicked—I realized they believed Zhou Yong’s death was too strange, and they wanted me, the feng shui expert, to investigate.

　　I thought to myself, if this truly involved something supernatural and the family was reaching out for help, I couldn’t just turn a blind eye. So I nodded. “Alright!”

　　“Awesome!” Zhou Sheng exclaimed, slapping his thigh in relief.

　　I quickly added, “But hold on—don’t get too excited just yet. First, tell me everything you know.”

　　The others exchanged glances, and then Zhou Sheng spoke up. “Quanzi’s brother is a few years older than us and had been around longer. He was doing pretty well and even thought about bringing us along, helping us land jobs. Then, when the government loosened the reins on private businesses, he started his own venture and really hit it big. Eventually, Yong Ge got himself a girlfriend, and they were getting along really well. Before long, they moved in together.”

　　“They moved in together at Hua Yuan Community?” I asked, my curiosity piqued.

　　“Exactly!” Zhou Quan chimed in. “That’s where it all went down—Building 17, Unit 4, Room 404!”

　　I took a moment to think, then turned to Zhou Quan and asked, “Did your brother’s girlfriend live with him too? Did she die as well?”

　　“No, but she lost her mind!” Zhou Quan replied, his voice heavy with emotion.

　　“Lost her mind?” I asked, bewildered.

　　“Yeah!”

　　“What’s her name, and what happened to her afterward?”

　　“Her name is Xu Xiaoli. After the incident, she was sent to the City Psychiatric Hospital, but I heard she’s been released now.”

　　I stood up and walked to the window, trying to make sense of why Xu Xiaoli would go mad in that situation. If a person was behind it, they might have silenced her too to keep her quiet.

　　If it wasn’t a person, then it must have been something supernatural at play. But if that were the case, the target would have to be clear—it had to be Zhou Yong. So why did Xu Xiaoli end up going insane?

　　The only possibility that crossed my mind was that Xu Xiaoli must have seen something she wasn’t supposed to, something that scared her to death!“Feng Ge, my brother was so ambitious and well-liked. He was just about to achieve success and start a family—how could this happen?” Zhou Quan’s voice cracked as he spoke, tears streaming down his face.

　　Seeing a young man like him break down tugged at my heartstrings.

　　Zhou Sheng stepped closer, concern etched on his face. “Feng Ge, what do you think we should do? We all believe Zhou Quan’s brother didn’t commit suicide!”

　　I glanced at Zhou Quan, then replied, “We need to visit the scene to understand what really happened. It’s too early to jump to conclusions.”

　　Zhou Sheng nodded but added, “Getting to the scene won’t be easy; it’s sealed off, and they won’t let anyone in.”

　　After a moment of thought, I said, “I’ll check out the community tomorrow.”

　　“Sounds good!” Zhou Sheng said, relief washing over him.

　　“Feng Ge, do you think my brother was murdered, or was it really suicide, or...?” Zhou Quan’s voice trailed off, uncertainty clouding his eyes.

　　“Don’t rush to conclusions just yet, Quanzi. This is definitely more complicated than it seems. There must be something we don’t know!” I urged him, trying to instill a sense of hope.

　　“Quanzi, since Feng Ge has agreed to help us, we need to trust him!” Zhou Sheng added, his voice firm.

　　“Yeah, we need to believe in Feng Ge!” Zhou Hu and Zhou Desheng chimed in, attempting to comfort him.

　　“Just wait for my updates!” I said, giving Zhou Quan a reassuring pat on the shoulder before heading back to my room.

　　It was already past eleven at night. As I reflected on the whole situation, I felt like something crucial had been missed. According to Zhou Sheng and Zhou Quan, the only lead in this case was Zhou Yong’s girlfriend, Xu Xiaoli. She must know something!

　　But right now, the most important thing was to visit Hua Yuan Community myself. I had to uncover one truth: was Zhou Yong's death truly a result of foul play?