Chapter 1 – I Never Waste My Time on the Living

“Give me one time, and I’ll let you go.”

Slender fingers crept softly up the placket of Pei Yu’s shirt, lingering and slithering like a small serpent.

The warmth of the youth’s breath, slightly agitated by the vibration of his voice, curled around Pei Yu’s ear, sending a numbing, electric tingle through him. That voice sounded as if it had been steeped in the essence of crushed roses—sweet and clear, yet heavy with sentiment, flowing with a fluid, captivating charm. His thin lips parted and closed, like the wings of a butterfly taking flight only to alight once more.

It was a plea divided equally between a threat and a seduction.

Pei Yu remained expressionless and unmoving. His gaze settled upon those bright eyes brimming with ambiguous mischief. He couldn’t tell if the glimmer within them was a spark ignited by mockery or merely the reflection of the sultry moonlight pouring through the window.

As the youth drew closer, a faint trace of perfume drifted into Pei Yu’s nose. He inhaled silently, his mind instinctively dissecting the fragrance.

The heavy, lingering scent of cedarwood; a sharp, cold hint of sea spray; the fresh sweetness of neroli; and a trace of the primal, musky odor of a forest predator.

It was a scent designed to entice.

The person before him wore a smile that was half-warm and half-cold. His tone made it impossible to discern truth from lies, his motives were impure, and his goals remained obscured. The only certainty was that he harbored nothing but ill intent.

Like a red rose whose core had been hollowed out by insects, the youth was vibrant and bewitchingly beautiful, yet unfathomable and steeped in hidden peril. He was quite handsome, Pei Yu mused inwardly. It was a pity, however…

“I never waste my time on the living.”

His words were as chilling as the frozen depths of his eyes, devoid of any warmth.

“What a coincidence.”

Unfazed by the rejection, the youth’s lips curled upward. The fingers resting on Pei Yu’s collar twitched slightly as he spoke again. Before Pei Yu could even register the movement, the cold, gleaming edge of a thin blade was pressed firmly against the side of his neck.

The faint, familiar metallic scent of blood began to diffuse through the air.

“Neither do I.”

_______

Two hours earlier.

Having finally concluded the final paperwork for his current case, Pei Yu dragged his weary feet out of the Municipal Public Security Bureau. The sound of torrential rain forced him to pause at the threshold. He stared out at the night, which hung heavy and dark as ink just a step away.

He had just finished tending to the thousandth corpse of his forensic career. As he laid down his scalpel, a secret, unspeakable, and peculiar sense of accomplishment welled up within him.

It was a feeling he could never share with the living. He had no desire to deal with them; in fact, he went as far as to refuse any unnecessary physical contact. The living were always fraught with shifting emotions that made him want to keep his distance.

Stuck by the sudden downpour, Pei Yu looked down with concern at the small umbrella in his hand. It was a ragged thing with two large holes that he’d salvaged from the corner of a metal locker. He didn’t even know who it belonged to. As the cold wind buffeted the flimsy frame, he couldn’t help but think how fitting it was for the Qingming Festival. The new ghosts wail while the old ones weep; the sky is dark and the rain is damp—no wonder the spirits of travelers feel so desolate.

A glance at his watch told him it was long past dinner time. He pursed his lips, silently mourning the fate of his Mazda. It hadn’t broken down sooner or later, but chose the exact moment he needed it most to have its side mirror glass plucked out by some thief. It was currently at the shop. He wondered if he’d even get it back before the next rainy day arrived.

Finding a taxi in a storm was difficult. At night, it was nearly impossible.

Pei Yu stood in the biting April wind for a while, holding his leaking umbrella. As expected, no one stopped for him. He eventually turned, resigned to wading through the water all the way home.

“Need a ride?”

With a muffled hiss of tires on wet pavement, a dusty grey Passat pulled up beside him. He turned to see the driver rolling down the window, leaning out slightly to look at him.

The voice sounded very young. A quick scan revealed that the driver was wearing a cap and a mask so tightly that his features were completely obscured. Given that he was actively soliciting a passenger, he was undoubtedly a “black car” driver operating without a license.

Taking advantage of the situation without a shred of fear, Pei Yu noted. To look for business right in front of the Public Security Bureau… he was certainly arrogant.

However, desperation outweighed caution. His clothes were already half-soaked and he had begun to sneeze. He no longer cared if the car was black or red; any vehicle that could get him home was a good car.

Pei Yu decisively folded his umbrella and stepped into the passenger seat.

“Qingjing Apartments.”

“You got it!” The driver replied brightly, his voice chirping as he started the engine.

Without the interference of the thunder and rain, Pei Yu could now hear that the youth’s voice was clean and bright, possessing a certain clear, boyish quality. He sounded like a student.

“Qingjing Apartments… Isn’t that the building the Bureau specifically allocated for single police officers?”

He heard the driver ask curiously as he drove. Out of the corner of his eye, Pei Yu saw the driver’s eyes crinkle beneath the brim of his cap, curved like a crescent moon pulling a bowstring taut.

“Officer, are you single?”

The teasing tone was obvious. Pei Yu didn’t bother responding. He turned his head to watch the curtains of rain cascading down the window, offering only a low, non-committal hum from his throat.

“Mhm.”

Sensing Pei Yu’s lack of interest in conversation, the driver let out a short, soft laugh and fell silent.

The rain showed no signs of stopping. Accompanied by flashes of lightning and rolls of thunder, it lashed against the windows in wave after wave. The car’s speed began to drop, slower and slower.

Pei Yu looked back toward the road, an ominous premonition rising in his chest. Finally, with a strained, overburdened creak, the Passat shuddered to a halt in the middle of the road.

“Damn, it stalled now…” The driver clearly hadn’t expected this. He let out a small wail of frustration, ruffled his hair, and gave the accelerator two loud thump-thumps with his foot.

The car was determined to strike, remaining utterly motionless.

Pei Yu was about to speak when the other man swung his door open. “Wait a second,” he tossed over his shoulder before jumping out.

A few moments later, there was a knock on Pei Yu’s window. He lowered the glass, and the youth’s clear voice rushed into his ears alongside the overwhelming roar of the rain.

“Hey, could you help me take a look? I’m nearsighted.”

Then why aren’t you wearing glasses? Pei Yu rolled his eyes internally. But when he looked up, he met a pair of damp eyelashes beneath the brim of the cap. Within those eyes lay deep pools of water, hazy and misted over, as if the humid night had conjured a rising steam within them.

It looked like the ethereal mist along the banks of the River Styx.

As if possessed, the refusal died in his throat. Cursing his bad luck, Pei Yu opened the door and stepped out. The moment his feet splashed into the water, a thought flickered through his mind.

Wanghai City’s drainage system was excellent, and while the storm was heavy, it hadn’t been raining that long. The water on the ground was barely a shallow layer. By no means should it have been enough to stall a car.

But the wind and rain were too fierce to allow for deeper thought. If they lingered any longer, neither of them would be going anywhere.

The storm was raging so wildly that an umbrella was useless. He simply charged into the rain, reaching the driver’s side in a few large strides and gesturing for him to pop the hood.

He leaned down to inspect the engine.

“There’s nothing wrong with…”

Before he could finish, a sudden, cold gust of wind swept past his back. This is bad, Pei Yu thought. Before he could react, a heavy blow struck the side of his neck. His vision went black, and he collapsed into the rain-soaked ground.

In the final second before he lost consciousness, he thought bitterly that his luck was truly wretched. He’d walked right into a ghost.

Now, the Qingming holiday the Bureau had granted him as a reward for his days of sleepless work was officially ruined—just like that broken, abandoned umbrella.