Early the next morning, a gentle rain was falling outside, and the cool air felt refreshing.

　　I headed to the guesthouse staff to ask for some food but unexpectedly bumped into Zhou Sheng at the front desk.

　　“Zhou Sheng, aren’t you working today?” I asked, genuinely surprised.

　　“Nah, I’m off today, Xiaofeng,” he replied with a friendly grin. “You haven’t eaten breakfast yet, have you? I just picked some up; let’s eat together!”

　　“Well, I won’t turn that down!”

　　We made our way back to my room, enjoying our breakfast while Zhou Quan and the others next door were still fast asleep.

　　“Zhou Sheng.”

　　“What’s up, Xiaofeng?” he replied, turning to me.

　　“Could you take me to where Zhou Yong worked? I’d like to see if there are any clues there.”“Sure, let’s wrap up breakfast first, and I’ll go wake Zhou Quan so we can all head out together.”

　　I nodded and asked, “Is Zhou Yong’s workplace far from Huayuan Community?”

　　“Not at all! It’s pretty close—just about three miles away. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have gone through the trouble of finding a place there!”

　　As he spoke, a thought flashed through my mind—right, the house! I quickly asked, “By the way, Zhou Sheng, did Zhou Yong find that house through an agent or through someone he knew?”

　　“Xu Xiaoli brought him to that house directly. Originally, Zhou Yong was interested in a place in the neighboring steel factory housing area, but Xu Xiaoli mentioned that a friend of hers had a property for sale in Huayuan Community. That’s how they ended up buying it.”

　　“Xu Xiaoli again,” I mused. It was becoming clear that she was far more complicated than I had initially thought; there had to be more to her story than I realized.

　　After breakfast, Zhou Sheng and Zhou Quan joined me on my way to Zhou Yong’s old workplace. Just as they had said, it was conveniently located near Huayuan Community.

　　“Xiaofeng, this is my brother's factory. Since he’s not around anymore, no one has taken over,” Zhou Quan explained.

　　I gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder, then stepped forward to take a closer look at the sign for Shanyong Garment Factory. I jiggled the door lock and turned back to Zhou Quan. “Got a key?”

　　“Absolutely!” he said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a key to hand to me.

　　Once inside the factory, I scanned the area. It wasn’t huge, but it had all the essentials: two workshops, a spacious warehouse, an office building, and a staff canteen.

　　“Is something wrong, Xiaofeng?” Zhou Quan asked, sensing my scrutiny.

　　I shook my head. “Let’s check out your brother’s office.”

　　“Absolutely,” Zhou Quan replied.

　　The office building was a bit elevated, so we had to walk up a gentle slope. The three of us headed up to the second floor.

　　As we strolled through the office, I glanced around and asked, “Has anything ever happened here? Like injuries or accidents with employees?”

　　Zhou Quan shot a look at Zhou Sheng before answering, “Not that I know of. My brother hasn’t mentioned anything like that.”

　　“Xiaofeng, are you picking up on something?” Zhou Sheng asked, his curiosity piqued.

　　I gave a light laugh. “Not really, just curious.”

　　Before long, we arrived at Zhou Yong’s old office. It was pretty cramped—just a small sofa, a desk, and a couple of chairs, barely enough room for two or three people to move around comfortably.

　　As I took in my surroundings, my eyes were drawn to a striking painting of a tiger descending a mountain, hanging prominently on the wall. The tiger’s powerful physique and fierce gaze were mesmerizing, its mouth wide open in a fierce roar, embodying the undeniable presence of the king of the jungle.“Zhou Quan, where did this tiger painting come from?”

　　I asked, noticing that the painting hung in a prominent spot in the office. It was clearly no ordinary piece; the tiger looked incredibly lifelike, fierce, and vibrant. Yet, something about it felt off.

　　“I’m not really sure,” Zhou Quan replied.

　　I paused to think and then asked, “How long has it been here?”

　　After a moment of reflection, he said, “It's been here for quite a while. I remember it was already up when my brother took over the factory.”

　　Feeling a bit puzzled, I walked over to the window to take a look outside, and to my surprise, I noticed something unusual.

　　From this elevated position, I could clearly see Huayuan Community!

　　“Could it be...?” A sudden thought struck me, and I quickly turned back to the tiger. Sure enough, the tiger was facing the same direction as Huayuan Community.

　　With the tiger guarding this auspicious position and pointed toward Huayuan Community, along with the Bagua stone carvings in the area, it could only mean one thing: something was definitely wrong in Huayuan Community!

　　However, since Zhou Quan mentioned that the painting had been here before Zhou Yong took over the factory, that meant issues in Huayuan Community must have been around long before that!With that in mind, I turned to Zhou Sheng and Zhou Quan. “You guys head back first. I’ve got a few things I need to handle.”

　　They exchanged a glance, and Zhou Sheng replied, “Alright, Xiaofeng, take care of yourself. Just give us a shout if you need anything.”

　　“Will do!”

　　I watched them leave through the window, my thoughts drifting back to Xu Xiaoli. Zhou Yong found the place in Huayuan Community through her—did she already know something was off with that house?

　　Sighing, I made my way straight to Huayuan Community.

　　About ten minutes later, I pulled up at the entrance and spotted the security guard—a gray-haired man—sitting in the booth, engrossed in his newspaper. I knocked on the glass. “Hey, grandpa, still glued to that paper?”

　　He glanced up briefly, then returned his attention to the newspaper.

　　“Hey, don’t be grumpy! Look what I brought you!” I called out, waving a bag of apples and bananas in front of him.He shot me another quick glance.

　　Sensing an opening, I walked right into the guard booth and placed the apples on the table.

　　“You youngsters just don’t appreciate good advice,” he huffed. “I’m only looking out for you, but you act like my words go in one ear and out the other!”

　　I grabbed a banana and offered it to him with a smile. “Come on, I know I messed up. This is my way of saying sorry.”

　　He took the banana and muttered, “Well, that’s a bit better.”

　　I sat down across from him, still grinning. “You know how it is, sir. We young folks can be stubborn sometimes. Don’t take it to heart, alright?”“These young folks nowadays, always so full of themselves,” he muttered, still chewing on the banana. “Some people just won’t take advice. Ignore what us old folks say, and you’ll end up learning the hard way.” He hesitated, like he realized he might’ve gone too far, then added, “But you’re not so bad, kid. At least you own up to your mistakes and know how to make things right.”

　　I chuckled, not really taking his words to heart.

　　“Grandpa, I’ve got a question for you. What was this place like before they built the community here?”

　　He scratched his head, thinking. “It was just an empty lot—had been for nearly a decade. Back then, Shanshi was only just starting to expand out this way.”

　　“An empty lot?” I repeated quietly.

　　“Yeah, even after they finished building the community, the land around here stayed pretty much deserted. All the stuff you see now—factories, hospitals, parks—those came later.”

　　I frowned slightly, feeling a bit confused. I’d expected there to be some kind of dark or eerie history tied to this place, but it didn’t seem that way at all.

　　“That means there’s only one possibility—something must’ve gone down here after the community was built,” I thought out loud. “Grandpa, has anything strange ever happened in this place?”

　　He glanced up, chewing on the banana. “Didn’t someone just die here a few days ago?”

　　“I mean before that—back in the first few years after it was built,” I clarified.

　　The old man hesitated, then gave me a skeptical look. “You’re not seriously thinking about moving in here, are you?”

　　I laughed. “Nah, nothing like that. You’ve already scared me off with what you’ve told me. But I’ve got a buddy who’s considering buying a place here, so I figured I’d better give him a heads-up.”

　　He sighed, leaned in a little closer, and lowered his voice. “Well, since you brought me a banana, I’ll tell you. In the second year after this place was built, somebody died.”

　　“No kidding? What happened?” I asked, reaching for the thermos to pour him some water.

　　He took the cup and shook his head. “It was a mess. The construction workers didn’t get paid for months after the job was done. They kept pushing for their wages, but no luck. Their leader—what was his name again? Li... Li Hongmin, yeah, that’s it. It even made the news.” He took a sip, then added, “And you know why I remember it so well?”

　　I shook my head. “No idea.”

　　He leaned in even closer, his voice barely a whisper. “Because Li bought an apartment here too. Building 17, Unit 4, Apartment 404—the same place where those two people died later.”