Investigation

After returning to his school dormitory, Chen Chuan placed a call to the constabulary to report the crossbow bolt. After all, shooting an arrow at him was quite impolite. After washing up, he went to sleep. Around nine o'clock that evening, the telephone suddenly rang. He walked over and picked up the receiver, from which Ren Shu's voice emerged: "Expert Chen, people from the Blood Mark Gang have reached out again. Supposedly another chieftain has had his brain hollowed out by the Skull-Splitting Demon, and they want us to go examine the scene." Chen Chuan's interest was piqued. "Where is it?" "An underground fighting arena run by the Blood Mark Gang, right on the border between Baofeng District and Daping District. It's not far from Wuyi." That sounded somewhat familiar to Chen Chuan. "What was the dead chieftain's name?" "Fu Shouxin." *So it was him.* Chen Chuan nodded. He had actually met the man before. Back when he and Ren Xiaotian took on a commission to retrieve a wealthy family's daughter, it was at that very arena that Ren Xiaotian drew a gun, leaving this man no choice but to hand her over willingly. Who would have thought the Skull-Splitting Demon had caught up with him as well? After a moment's consideration, he said, "I'll go take a look." Hanging up, he thought it over and placed another call to the Baofeng District Constabulary. Only then did he take his Xuejun Saber and leave the school. When he reached the front gate, Master Xiao Wei was already waiting. Chen Chuan got in, and after barely ten minutes of driving, they arrived near the underground arena. Although it was already nine-thirty at night, the grounds outside the venue were brightly illuminated. Over a hundred cars were densely parked in the plaza, surrounded by Blood Mark Gang members lounging or milling about. Each wore clothing slashed with five crimson streaks across the chest, carrying daggers and various weapons at their waists or in their hands. Master Xiao Wei felt a spike of apprehension. He glanced back and asked, "Expert Chen?" Chen Chuan remained calm. "It's fine. Drive on in." Master Xiao Wei gave an affirmative reply, eased off the accelerator, and drove toward the plaza. Seeing the car approach, several nearby gang members swarmed forward, but someone quickly shouted them back. A burly man stepped out—his chest bare, his temples shaved clean, leaving only a strip of hair along the top of his head. Once the car came to a halt, Chen Chuan stepped out. The burly man walked over, sized him up, and tilted his chin. "Expert Chen?" "That's me," Chen Chuan said. "My boss has been waiting for you a long time. Come with me." The lieutenant waved him forward and led the way into the venue. Chen Chuan said to Xiao Wei through the car window, "Master Xiao Wei, head back first. I'll call you once I'm done." Driver Xiao Wei didn't try to play the hero. "Understood, Expert Chen." With the Xuejun Saber in hand, Chen Chuan followed the lieutenant into the venue. The interior was packed with Blood Mark Gang members as well, though they appeared divided into two factions: one squatted against the walls, while the other kept watch over them, occasionally kicking them for good measure. At that moment, Chen Chuan asked, "Which one is your boss?" The lieutenant said, "Our Blood Mark Gang has the Five Claws. Ever heard of them?" "I've heard the name," Chen Chuan replied. The Blood Mark Gang was a gang at heart. Even if they operated through corporate fronts, their true calling card was violence. The so-called Five Claws were their five most formidable brawlers; rumor had it that one of them had even once been an instructor at Wuyi. The lieutenant pointed his thumb upward. "My boss is one of the Five Claws—Zhuo Bao." Chen Chuan had only heard passing mentions of the Five Claws without looking into who they actually were, so he merely gave a brief grunt of acknowledgment. The lieutenant seemed somewhat dissatisfied with his indifferent reaction; muttering something under his breath, he quickened his pace upstairs and led him straight to the room where Fu Shouxin had met Ren Xiaotian last time. "Right inside," the lieutenant told him. Pushing the door open, he called inside, "Boss, the man is here." On a sofa to the left sat a man in his thirties, leaning lazily against the cushions with his elbow propped on the armrest, his thumb and forefinger spread open beneath his nose. He wore an unbuttoned shirt, baring a muscular chest scored with five crimson scars. Hearing the call from the doorway, he didn't turn his head, but his gaze snapped over, locking onto Chen Chuan. The cold glint in his eyes carried an unmistakable sense of danger. After studying Chen Chuan for a moment, he said, "Since you're here, take a look." The lieutenant turned around. "Expert Chen, my boss says to examine him. After you." Chen Chuan walked in, glancing toward the corner where several more gang members were squatting. Ignoring them, he moved forward. On the single-seater sofa directly across from the entrance sat another figure. The man's hands rested on the armrests, his head tilted back with his mouth gaping wide. Approaching him, one could plainly see that the upper half of his skull had been split in two. This was the very same Fu Shouxin Chen Chuan had met before, still clad in a respectable imported suit, his leather shoes polished to a high sheen, his fingernails neatly manicured. After a brief look, Chen Chuan stepped around behind the sofa and looked down. From this angle, it was clear that the interior of the skull was completely hollow. Yet there was not a trace of blood anywhere, identical to what the photographs had shown. Chen Chuan remembered their parting words from last time—hadn't Fu Shouxin said he never wanted to see them again? In a sense, he had kept that promise, living up to his name, Shouxin—the man of his word. Standing behind Fu Shouxin, Chen Chuan scrutinized the empty skull for a moment before asking, "When was this discovered?" The lieutenant snapped to his senses and barked at the lackeys huddled in the corner, "He's asking you! When did you find him?" One of the gang members stammered, "Ab-About two hours ago." The lieutenant repeated to Chen Chuan, "Two hours ago." Chen Chuan examined the condition of Fu Shouxin's body; indeed, not much time had elapsed. He noted that every urban legend he had encountered so far carried a unique form of corruption, more or less leaving behind... Still, last time he had only viewed photographs. Observing from close range now, he noticed from the markings that this skull seemed to have burst open from the inside rather than being cracked open from the outside as previously assumed. It was as if the brain had crawled out on its own. That, at least, felt like the hallmark of an urban legend—defying conventional reasoning. He asked, "Did he go anywhere previously?" The lieutenant yelled at the lackeys below, "He's asking you!" "No, Boss stayed here all month. He hasn't gone out at all." Chen Chuan asked again, "Has anyone visited over the past month?" Before the lieutenant could bellow again, the lackey scrambled to answer, "Yes, yes! Several bosses from the gang came by. They drank and watched matches together." At that point, Zhuo Bao, still seated on the sofa, spoke up: "Which ones?" "Boss Han, Boss Tie, and Boss Xiao... right, and Boss Liu..." Prompted by the others, the lackey rattled off six or seven names. Chen Chuan questioned them further, only to discover that three of those names happened to be the very Blood Mark Gang chieftains who had previously been targeted by the Skull-Splitting Demon. Was this a coincidence, or was there another reason behind it? Had they encountered someone during that gathering? If so, would the remaining survivors be next in line? Though the thought crossed his mind, he offered no warning. There was no way to confirm it, and the Blood Mark Gang wasn't necessarily incapable of figuring it out themselves. Besides, while perhaps not every single member was scum, none of them were decent folk; lining their chieftains up against a wall and shooting them wouldn't wrong a single one. He stared at the skull for a little longer. For some reason, his instincts told him this wasn't the work of an urban legend. He couldn't articulate why, but the feeling was unmistakable. Even so, he had one more way to verify it. Whenever it came to urban legends—or the people and objects touched by them—so long as not much time had passed, bringing out a remnant from another urban legend and making slight contact would produce a faint reaction. If so, it could essentially be confirmed as an urban legend. Items left behind by powerful urban legends were especially prone to trigger such a response. This method had been developed by those who purged urban legends in the past, seeing as they lacked... This time, he had brought an item with him as well. Reaching into his pocket, he retrieved a strand of hair—a remnant left behind by the flying head. Wrapping it around his fingers a few times, he reached out and probed inside Fu Shouxin's head. Seeing him do this, the lieutenant couldn't help but grimace, and the lackeys' eyes went wide in horror. Only Zhuo Bao, sitting on the sofa, showed no reaction. Chen Chuan focused his senses for a moment. When he withdrew his hand, nothing had stirred. Now he could be fairly certain that this affair had little to do with an urban legend. Using methods meant for tracking urban legends to find the killer was practically impossible. In that case, the matter fell outside his scope of work. Quickly stowing the lock of hair, he said, "This wasn't caused by an urban legend. If you want to find the killer, you might want to think about who you've crossed recently." Having said his piece, he picked up the Xuejun Saber and walked straight toward the exit. Caught off guard, the lieutenant looked around, scratched his head, and asked, "You're just leaving like that?" As Chen Chuan drew near the door, Zhuo Bao's voice sounded from behind: "Hold on." Zhuo Bao rose from the sofa. It hadn't been obvious while he was sitting, but once on his feet, he was roughly the same height as Chen Chuan. Standing tall, he said, "The boys waited all this time for you, and you drop a single line and just walk off? Are you taking our Blood Mark Gang too lightly?" Chen Chuan said, "I have already given you your answer. This was not the work of an urban legend." Zhuo Bao gave a slight wave. The lieutenant beside him immediately offered a cigarette and lit it for him. He took a drag and exhaled a long plume of smoke. "I don't give a damn if it's the Skull-Splitting Demon or whatever else! Since you're the expert, you will find the killer for me!" Hearing this, Chen Chuan turned around and said in a calm voice, "I'm afraid you misunderstand. I didn't come here to solve your problems, nor to hunt down a killer for you. I was merely curious about the urban legend itself. As for the affairs of your Blood Mark Gang, they have nothing to do with me."