“Really?” I asked, surprised.

　　“Of course, it’s true!” he said, his tone dead serious. “I remember it like it was yesterday. He led the workers to confront the developer about their unpaid wages, and things got ugly—they actually came to blows. I even went over to his place to see him about it!”

　　“And what happened after that?” I pressed.

　　“Not long after, Li Hongmin was found dead in his apartment—just like that, out of the blue,” the old man said, taking another sip of water.

　　“Was it another hanging?” I asked.

　　“No, not this time,” he replied, still nibbling on the banana. “They said he was poisoned, but nobody really knows for sure what went down.”

　　Suddenly, it clicked—I remembered that guy at the restaurant saying there’d been a death in Huayuan Community before the recent murder. He must’ve been talking about Li Hongmin.Could it be that Li Hongmin died with a grudge and became a vengeful spirit?

　　Could Zhou Yong’s death, along with the tiger painting in his office, all be connected to Li Hongmin?

　　I stood up and looked out the window, my eyes landing on the stone carving of a Bagua symbol in the courtyard.

　　“Grandpa, when did that Bagua carving get put there?” I asked, pointing toward it.

　　He got up and glanced in the same direction. “Must’ve been a few months ago!”

　　“A few months… Could it have been during the time between the deaths of those two men?”

　　The old man thought for a moment and nodded. “Yeah, it was right after Liu Jian died, but before Zhou Yong.”

　　“Really?” I stared at the Bagua carving, suddenly realizing that it was directly facing Building 17!

　　At that time, Zhou Yong hadn’t even bought a place here, which meant the carving wasn’t aimed at him or Liu Jian’s deaths. It was targeting Li Hongmin and Liu Jian!

　　“Grandpa, do you know who put that thing there?” I asked, pointing at the Bagua carving again.

　　He shook his head. “No idea, but the property management placed it there. If you want to know more, you can go ask them.”

　　“Good point!” I replied with a grin. “Thanks, Grandpa. I won’t take up any more of your time. Take care!”

　　Just as I was about to leave, the old man called out to me after I’d taken only a couple of steps.

　　“Hey, kid!”

　　“What is it, Grandpa?” I turned back to face him.

　　He shook his head with a wry smile. “I might be old, but I’m not blind. I can tell you’re looking into this whole thing, aren’t you?”

　　I gave an awkward chuckle and didn’t respond.

　　“Don’t worry, I’m not here to stop you. I just want to give you a heads-up—this situation reeks of someone pulling the strings behind the scenes. You’d better be careful, alright?”“I got it, Grandpa. I’ll be careful!”

　　After stepping out of the security room, I made a beeline for the property management office at Huayuan Community. Inside, there were only three or four people milling about.

　　“Hey there, I’d like to ask about that Bagua carving in the community,” I said, trying to sound casual.

　　“You’ll have to talk to the manager about that. I don’t know!” a woman replied without even glancing my way. She was seated at her desk, preening her hair in a small mirror.

　　“Where’s your manager, then?” I asked, a little more assertively.

　　“Not here!”

　　“When will they be back?”

　　“Probably in a couple of days!”

　　She still didn’t lift her head, which was beginning to test my patience.

　　“A couple of days? When exactly?” I pressed, determined to get some answers.

　　At last, she paused her fussing and shot me a look. “Hey, what’s with the attitude?”

　　I offered a smile, ready to defuse the tension, but before I could say anything, another man chimed in. “What do you want to know about the Bagua carving?”

　　“I’m curious about where it came from and who you guys hired to make it,” I replied, keeping my tone even.

　　The man hesitated for a beat before asking, “Are you a resident here? I don’t think I’ve seen you around before.”“Not yet, but it’s coming soon. I’m planning to move into this community!”

　　“Moving here?” The man looked a bit taken aback, glancing at the woman beside him.

　　“Well, let’s wait until you actually move in before we discuss it!” His tone suddenly shifted, becoming serious as he said this to me.

　　I didn’t say anything more; I just turned and walked away. Their reaction only confirmed that something was definitely off about this situation!

　　After I left Huayuan Community, I grabbed a quick bite to eat and then took my time heading back to the guesthouse.

　　Lying on my bed with my eyes closed, I began to sift through all the clues I had gathered.

　　Things were starting to come together. According to Xu Xiaoli, on the surface, it looked like Zhou Yong had truly taken his own life. But deep down, he must have been triggered by something that caused him to hallucinate, leading to his mental collapse and eventual suicide.

　　Two main possibilities stood out to me: one was the prior deaths of Li Hongmin and Liu Jian in the apartment, and the other was the bracelet Xu Xiaoli wore. Even though that cursed thing didn’t seem to carry heavy malevolent energy, it was hard to believe anyone could be unaffected after being exposed to it for an extended period.

　　The first possibility didn’t seem very likely—after all, the Bagua carving was there to keep any malevolent energy in check. That left the second option as the more reasonable explanation, which would also account for the talisman on Xu Xiaoli’s forehead meant to ward off evil.

　　I couldn’t help but chuckle to myself—whoever orchestrated this was a true master. They’d used the bracelet on her wrist as a weapon, while the talisman on her was there to protect her. It was a clever move, no doubt about it.

　　Everything was finally starting to fall into place. If I followed this line of thinking, the so-called "expert" that the security guard mentioned had to be the mastermind behind it all. And this culprit—could it actually be Xu Xiaoli's boss?

　　At this point, there were two people I needed to dig into: Xu Xiaoli's boss and that mysterious woman.

　　Around three in the afternoon, I got up from the bed and left the guesthouse, heading straight to Liu Dazhuang’s place. It wasn’t far, and I reached there in about half an hour, following the address he gave me.

　　Knock.

　　Knock. Knock.

　　There’s a right way to knock on a door. One knock, then two more—not some random pounding like bam bam bam, which sounds like you're delivering bad news.

　　“Who’s there?” Wang Mengyun’s voice called out, though it was Liu Dazhuang who opened the door.

　　As I stepped inside, I saw Wang Mengyun sitting on the sofa, holding a newspaper.

　　“Xiao Feng, you’re here! Come sit next to your big sister,” she said, patting the spot beside her.

　　I felt a bit shy and glanced over at Liu Dazhuang.