Chapter 025: No Way Out

I hurried after Shang Wuyong into the building. Inside, I saw that it was still just a shell, with no decoration—there weren’t even railings on the stairs yet.

I climbed up to the second floor. There, I saw several people already gathered around the doorway of a room.

“Move aside!” Shang Wuyong shouted, pushing his way inside.

I squeezed in after him and noticed this room was different from the others—it had already been decorated and furnished with office furniture. It must have been set up for use ahead of the rest.

On a single armchair lay a man, his head tilted back, clearly lifeless.

“What happened?” Shang Wuyong called out.

“The same as before. Take a look!” replied Shang Wuwei.

He saw me then and lifted his hand in greeting. “Xiaowei, you’re here!”

I nodded in response and moved toward the man on the sofa.

As I got a closer look, I recoiled in shock. “Isn’t he the driver who just picked me up?”

Indeed, the man lying there was the cool-looking driver who had brought me over, though now he’d removed his sunglasses.

He was slumped at an angle in the chair, eyes wide open, filled with terror. His face had turned ashen, his mouth hung half open—a terrifying sight.

I shuddered, a chill running through me.

It was truly frightening. He’d been perfectly fine just moments ago—a strong, healthy man, now dead in the blink of an eye. Judging by his expression, he must have seen something so horrifying that it literally scared him to death.

Shang Wuyong lifted the man’s ear to inspect it. I also noticed black streaks of blood behind his ear.

“What’s going on here?” I asked Shang Wuyong.

“I don’t know! This is already the seventh one!” he replied, shaking his head.

I stepped closer, examining the corpse carefully, sniffing the air and then closing my eyes to sense the surroundings.

Everything seemed normal.

There was no trace of anything unusual—no yin energy, no ghostly presence, no demonic aura, no scent of the dead.

It was too strange. With nothing out of the ordinary, what could have possibly scared him to death?

“Wuwei, did you see what happened when he died?” I asked.

“I did!” Shang Wuwei nodded.

“Can you tell me about it?” I prompted.

“Well… he suddenly screamed, started frantically backing away, and collapsed onto the sofa. Then he ended up like this,” Shang Wuwei explained.

“You were right here when it happened?” I pressed.

“Yes, I was sitting right over there.” Shang Wuwei pointed to a long sofa not far away.

I frowned slightly.

Something didn’t add up.

If the man had seen something terrifying enough to kill him, then Shang Wuwei, who was also present, should have seen it too. It made no sense that the driver saw something but Shang Wuwei did not.

“There were no warning signs at all?” I asked.

“None. After he arrived, he reported to Boss Zhou that he’d picked you up, then just stood there.” Shang Wuwei pointed at the window.

I glanced at it but didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary.

“Xiao Liu, did you call the police?” a chubby man asked a thin, pale-faced woman.

“I… I already called,” she replied, clearly shaken.

I looked from the chubby man to the thin woman. It seemed Boss Zhou, whom Shang Wuwei mentioned, was the chubby man, and the thin woman was probably his secretary or assistant.

“You must be Mr. Yu?” the chubby man approached me.

I nodded. “Yes, my name is Yu Wei.”

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Yu. I’m Zhou Beitang.” Sweat beaded on his forehead—he was clearly frightened.

“This is the seventh one? The previous cases were the same?” I asked.

“Yes, exactly the same!” Zhou Beitang nodded vigorously.

“All during the day?”

“Yes,” he confirmed.

Shang Wuwei, hearing my questions, turned to me. “What is it, Xiaowei? Have you found something?”

I shook my head thoughtfully. “Not yet.”

He sighed in disappointment.

“What about Master Miao? Why not ask him to take a look?” I suggested.

“Old Miao isn’t here. He’s gone to the northern border and won’t be back for two weeks,” Shang Wuwei replied.

“Then find someone else—how about Master Xie?” I pressed.

“Master Xie? Hmph, that old fellow has already been here! Useless! He found nothing, just like us,” Shang Wuyong interjected.

Hearing this, I frowned even more deeply.

If even Master Xie couldn’t find the problem, this matter was truly bizarre.

I looked once more at the dead man, lost in thought.

What on earth could he have seen in broad daylight that scared him to death? Whether it was a ghost, a demon, or something else, if any supernatural force was at work, Shang Wuwei should have noticed something.

“Xiaowei, are you sure there’s nothing wrong with the feng shui here?” Shang Wuyong pressed.

Before I could answer, Shang Wuwei shouted, “Come on, brother, give it a rest. How could this possibly be a feng shui problem? What kind of feng shui arrangement could cause this?”

“Hmph, then you tell me! What’s the cause?” Shang Wuyong retorted.

“How would I know! But it can’t be feng shui!” Shang Wuwei replied smugly.

Shang Wuyong was clearly annoyed. “Hmph! That just means Yu Wei isn’t capable enough to see the problem! I guarantee it’s a feng shui issue. If it were a ghost, there’d be a yin presence. A demon would have its own aura. Only feng shui can kill so invisibly.”

Good grief, this guy.

I’m standing right here—if I’m so incompetent, why ask for my help in the first place?

Being berated in front of everyone left me feeling embarrassed.

“Wuyong, watch your mouth, will you? I’m telling you, there’s nothing wrong with the feng shui here!” I protested.

Yet, what he said wasn’t entirely wrong. Feng shui can nurture or kill, and it’s true that it can take lives in subtle ways. But even so, killing someone with feng shui wouldn’t be this bizarre.

“Is that so? Hmph, if Mr. Zhang were here, he’d definitely find the problem!” Shang Wuyong continued, undeterred.

I opened my mouth to argue but forced myself to stay silent. Arguing with someone like him would just make me look foolish.

“Nothing to say? Hmph! If you’re so capable, find the cause!” Shang Wuyong said, relentless.

I shook my head, unwilling to argue further, especially in front of the client.

In my heart, I swore never to get involved with these two brothers again.

“Please, you have to help! The building must be finished as soon as possible. I can’t afford any more delays!” Zhou Beitang pleaded.

“There’s nothing we can do. You’ll have to find someone else,” Shang Wuyong replied gruffly.

“He’s right. You’d better abandon this building. Who knows how many more people will die if you keep using it,” Shang Wuwei added.

Hearing this, Zhou Beitang shouted, “Abandon it? Are you kidding? This building is my lifeline—if anything happens, I’m finished!”

“Then go die, then!” Shang Wuyong muttered.

“You!” Zhou Beitang glared at him, but quickly lowered his hand and sighed. “Fine. No need to argue. I’ll raise the price. If you can solve this and stop it from happening again, I’ll pay you two hundred thousand.”

He bit his lip and added, “No, three hundred thousand! Yes, three hundred thousand if you can fix it!”

Three hundred thousand—I couldn’t help but be tempted.

Such a generous fee—I’d never encountered anything like it.

But I quickly shook my head. Even for three million, I didn’t have the skill to earn it.

“Three hundred thousand?” The two brothers’ eyes lit up, but they, too, quickly gave up. “Money’s no good if we can’t solve it.”

“Is fate really against me? Every death costs me a fortune. I can’t afford this anymore!” Zhou Beitang wailed.

“Boss Zhou, maybe you should leave for now,” the thin woman suggested.

“I… sigh…” Zhou Beitang sighed, picked up his bag, and prepared to leave.

Now that the client was leaving, there was no reason for us to stay. The authorities would handle the body.

Just as I turned to go, a sudden thought struck me—a possible explanation. I spun around and hurried to the dead man, pulling back his ear to look behind it again.

“A knife! Does anyone have a small knife? Give me a knife!” I shouted.