Ma Xiaolin still wanted to say something, but the officer who had been speaking with him earlier came over and took him away, saying they needed to record his statement at the station. Before leaving, he called over his butler.
The butler was in his fifties and spoke flawless Mandarin. He hadn't been in Hong Kong when the incident occurred—he was in Macau managing Ma Xiaolin's real estate properties there. Upon hearing something had happened at the mansion, he rushed back immediately.
Compared to Ma Xiaolin, the butler clearly didn't trust the three of us. While he remained respectful in his speech, his guarded attitude was obvious in the little details—he was filled with suspicion toward us.
Ma Xiaolin had also called a lawyer before he left. At the moment, that lawyer was arguing with the officers standing guard, quoting laws and precedents to prove that denying us entry was not only wrong and illegal, but utterly intolerable.
I couldn't understand a word the guy was saying, but his target—the officer standing guard—was already drenched in cold sweat. In the end, with no other options, the officer began calling his superiors. Meanwhile, the lawyer didn't stop for a moment; he was also making calls to pull strings at the police department.
About ten minutes later, a message came through from the precinct: we were permitted to enter the crime scene under the escort of the on-site officer, on the condition that we did not disturb or destroy any evidence.
"What does 'enter under the condition that no evidence is disturbed' even mean? We're not watching a Category III film—why so many restrictions?" Sun Fatty grumbled, clearly unhappy with the terms.
I clapped him on the shoulder and teased, "Means we can go in. But hey, how come you're so familiar with the procedures for watching Category III films? Care to explain that, Great Sage?" Xiao Heshang leaned over and added, "Any good actors in it?"
Under police escort, the butler led us on a winding path through the house, eventually arriving at the crime scene—Ma Xiaolin's hidden treasure vault, secured with a concealed lock—the very place where the two thieves had died.
No one could figure out how those two had gotten in. There were no signs of tampering on either the visible or hidden locks. Professionals, indeed. Once we entered, we immediately saw chalk outlines on the floor, marking the positions where the bodies had been found.
The vault was surprisingly spacious and well-designed. Inside were rows of shelves, where Ma Xiaolin had arranged his collection of antiques and treasures by category. Sun Fatty and Xiao Heshang had their eyes practically glowing—if it weren't for the presence of the police and the butler, they might've stuffed a few items into their pockets.
"Gentlemen, before Mr. Ma left, he instructed me to assist you in any way I can. If there's anything you need, I'll do my best to provide it," the butler said politely.
I nodded to him. "Let us take a look around first. We'll let you know if we need anything."
"Lazi," Xiao Heshang gave me a subtle signal. I knew what he meant and shook my head. "Nothing seems out of the ordinary. Let's keep looking."
Under the watchful eyes of the butler, we conducted several thorough inspections in and around the vault, but unfortunately, nothing suspicious turned up. With nothing revealed there, the butler then led us to Ma Xiaolin's master bedroom.
The bedroom was just around the corner from the vault. It was also the place where Ma Xiaolin had seen the ghost for the first time. We circled around the room a few times, but again, found nothing wrong.
Xiao Heshang stood there with his head lowered, staring at the floor in a daze, not saying a word. Though the butler's attitude remained outwardly polite, time wore down his mask—his lips curled ever so slightly in a subtle smirk. Clearly, he thought we were just a bunch of con artists.
I walked back and forth several times between the vault and the bedroom, checking every nook and cranny with my Heavenly Eye. Not only did I fail to detect the white shadow Ma Xiaolin had seen, I couldn't even find a trace of Yin energy.
Letting out a long breath, I turned to Xiao Heshang and said, "Old Xiao, this place is so full of Yang energy it's suffocating. Can't even find a ghost's tail. If it weren't for the fact that someone just died here, I wouldn't believe for a second this place could be a haunted house."
Xiao Heshang seemed to suddenly recall something. He looked up at the butler and said, "We need to discuss something privately. Could you give us a moment?"
The butler was tactful enough to close the bedroom door behind him. Since the bedroom wasn't part of the official crime scene, the officer on duty didn't object.
"Lazi," Xiao Heshang turned to me, "have you noticed something strange about this house?"
"Old Xiao, if you've got something to say, just say it. What's the point of being so mysterious?" Sun Fatty interjected before I could respond. Among the three of us, Sun Fatty had the weakest Heavenly Eye abilities. In situations like this, he was basically just along for the ride. So hearing that Xiao Heshang might've discovered something but was holding back, he was starting to get anxious.
Xiao Heshang ignored him and kept his eyes on me. "Don't you think this house is too clean? So clean it's unnatural?"
Suddenly, it clicked for me. "Old Xiao, I get what you mean. No matter what kind of house it is, no matter how carefully it's arranged according to feng shui, there should still be traces of Yin energy or disrupted zones here and there. But in this house, I couldn't sense even the faintest hint of Yin energy. That's what you're getting at, right?"
Xiao Heshang nodded. "Pretty much. And think about it—someone just died here. Under normal circumstances, that would cause Yin and Baleful Auras to accumulate. But this place... it feels like a Mahāvairocana shrine in Vajrayana Buddhism. Bathed in sunlight, not a single shadow in sight."
I thought about it. "You're right, Old Xiao. So… what do we do now?"
Xiao Heshang paused for a moment, then said, somewhat awkwardly, "I don't know."
"Old Xiao," Fatty Sun said with a smirk that didn't reach his eyes, "not to be picky, but next time there's something you don't know, could you at least think it through before saying it? Don't drop a hook and not have a way to reel it in."
Xiao Heshang snorted and ignored him. I sighed and tried to ease the tension. "Old Xiao, so what do we do now? We can't just sit around until Ma Xiaolin comes back. He did pay us a deposit."
Xiao Heshang scratched his head. "Let's keep looking. Maybe it's nothing. Could just be a case of extremes reversing—too much yang turning to yin, giving that little ghost an opening. Yeah, probably that."
Seeing his face, I couldn't help but shake my head. Xiao Heshang had clearly mastered the highest level of fraud: to deceive others, you must first deceive yourself…
Whatever. One step at a time. Maybe things were just as Xiao Heshang said. I opened the bedroom door, about to call for the butler, when a sudden jolt ran through me—I sensed a trace of baleful energy in the hallway.
Ordinarily, I wouldn't have given it a second thought. But given our current situation, I couldn't ignore it. Maybe it was because, as Xiao Heshang said, this house was too full of yang energy. I'd been in the bedroom a while, soaking in all that pure sunlight. So when that single wisp of baleful energy suddenly appeared, it stood out like a sore thumb.
"Da Sheng! Old Xiao!" I called. The two of them rushed over. Even Fatty Sun sensed it this time.
"Lazi, there's Baleful Aura!" he shouted.
I shot him a look. "Thanks. I noticed."
The butler was standing right outside. When he saw me open the door but not come out, just gather around with the others, he looked a bit puzzled. "Gentlemen… do you need something?"
"Don't speak. Give us a moment," I said, gesturing for silence.
But when I turned back to search for the source of the Baleful Aura—it had vanished.
Just that brief distraction, and it was gone?
"Da Sheng, forget it. Old Xiao, where's the Baleful Aura? I can't feel it anymore," I said.
Xiao Heshang's eyes were wide. "It vanished… all at once. Try again, Lazi."
I shook my head. "No use. It's gone. I can't find it."
Fatty Sun stared at me, a little indignant. "Lazi, what's with the 'Da Sheng, forget it' attitude? How do you know I don't know where that baleful energy went?"
I gave him a sideways glance. "Do you?"
"No." Fatty Sun tried to argue, "But still, you could at least ask, right? I—hey, where are you going?"
Before he could finish, the Wealth Rat in his pocket suddenly leapt out and dashed toward a painting on the wall.
"Mouse!!" the butler shrieked. He hesitated for a second, then grabbed a decorative candle holder from the corner and charged toward the rat, clearly intending to bash it to death.
"Hold it!" Fatty Sun stopped him just in time. "Listen—it's not just any mouse. That's a Wealth Rat. A sacred beast. It's trained to track the 'thing' that brought misfortune to your boss. Think… sniffer dog. Get it?"
The butler looked skeptical, but Ma Xiaolin had told him to obey the instructions of Master Heshang, no matter what. He glanced at Xiao Heshang—only to have Xiao Heshang speak first.
He pointed to the oil painting on the wall. "What's behind that painting?"
The butler hesitated. "It's just a painting. What could be behind it? A wall, obviously."
Xiao Heshang narrowed his eyes. "A wall? You're sure that's all there is?"
Fatty Sun had caught the rat and was about to lift the painting to take a look—but the butler beat him to it, casually placing his hand on the frame to hold it down.
He insisted, "It's just a painting. Behind it is a wall. What else could it be?"
Xiao Heshang gave a cold laugh. "A wall it is, then. Come on, Lazi, Da Sheng. Let's go. This is beyond us. No point in sticking around."
He turned to the butler. "Tell Ma Xiaolin when he gets back that the three of us just weren't meant to be. His problem… is more than we can bear."
With that, he grabbed my shoulder and Fatty Sun's, dragging us both out.
"Master Heshang, come now, there's no need to rush off. Let's talk this through. Just wait for Mr. Ma to return. Please don't make things difficult for me—I'm just a servant. Do it for Mr. Ma, if nothing else…"
The butler scrambled in front of Xiao Heshang, trying to stop us.
Xiao Heshang didn't get far before being blocked. Fatty Sun caught on to the act and exchanged a look with him. Then he played the "good cop" role.
"Old Xiao, calm down. Even if we leave, let's at least get the full picture."
I smirked inwardly. Putting on a show? Alright then. "Yeah, Old Xiao. Just hear him out. For our sake."
Xiao Heshang sighed. "Fine. Say what you have to say. But if you try to fool me again, I swear—even if Ma Xiaolin gets on his knees and begs, I won't help him."
The butler deflated. Under pressure, he finally revealed the secret behind the oil painting.
Behind it was a smart safe, holding all of Ma Xiaolin's most valuable assets—anonymous bearer bonds from across Europe, signed contracts for deals worth billions, land deeds across Hong Kong and Southeast Asia, and a stash of precious metals and gemstones—including the three Night Pearls Fatty Sun and I had sold him.
As I watched the butler spill the details, a question nagged at me: how did he know all this?
He was just a butler. Even Ma Xiaolin's own son might not know what was in that safe—but he did?
When he finished, Xiao Heshang and Fatty Sun said in unison: "Open it. We need to check inside."
But this time, the butler shook his head. "I can't. Only Mr. Ma can open it."
The safe was a custom-made German model—supposedly impossible to open without Ma Xiaolin himself. To prove he wasn't bluffing, the butler led us back to the bedroom, lifted the painting, and revealed the hidden safe.
Embedded into the wall, the safe had no digital components. Just a classic rotary dial and a strange-looking keyhole. It looked newer than your typical safe, but nothing too fancy.
Xiao Heshang and I weren't experts, but Fatty Sun was. He leaned in and inspected it for a while, then whistled.
"German-made. Twelve-tier reverse-pressure locking system. Top-notch stuff. Gotta say, Old Ma has good taste. Tsk-tsk."
Watching him sing its praises, I honestly couldn't tell what made it so great. "Is it really that good? Compared to high-end safes, this one's way behind. No fingerprint scanner, no retina lock—just an old-school dial and keyhole. Find the right expert, a bit of steel wire, and it's toast."