What do you mean you also want to return to the world?

"Is this the place?"

Standing at the entrance of the old alley, Shi Yan looked up at the "Ankang" signboard that seemed ready to fall down at any moment and couldn't help but complain.

"It feels just as impressive as Lin'an Street."

"There's no way around it. Lincheng is too old, and its economy isn't doing too well. Once the new urban area is developed, there's naturally no money left to rebuild the old one," Tang Shi said, standing next to Shi Yan. "That's why places like Lin'an Street and Ankang Alley are left behind, like urban blight in the new city."

After saying that, Tang Shi seemed a little doubtful again.

"Aren't you a local from Lincheng? You should be used to this kind of old town by now, so why do you still have these feelings?"

Shi Yan's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly chuckled and said, "It's probably because I don't really like going out... So where should we start looking?"

Tang Shi had only asked casually and didn't really care. At this moment, she glanced at her phone and then said, "Find someone named Brother Ba at No. 14 Ankang Alley. He should know Lin Anshan's whereabouts."

Brother Ba? That doesn't sound like a normal person's name.

The image of a middle-aged man with a face full of scars immediately flashed into Shi Yan's mind. Then, thinking back to what Qi Fei had said earlier... Could this guy be a criminal?

Thinking about this, Shi Yan felt a little uneasy. After all, encountering monsters was one thing, but criminals would be a different story.

If he really is a criminal, then he can only hope that the stun gun in his pocket will work.

"Let's go." Tang Shi glanced at the time. "We'd better find Lin Anshan before dawn."

As she spoke, she led the way into the alley of Ankang, still carrying the sword box in her hand, her steps light and nimble.

Well, compared to that stun gun that might not even be of any use, we might as well rely on Tang poetry.

Shi Yan silently complained to himself for a moment, then quickly followed her.

According to Qi Fei's information, after his business failed, Lin Anshan borrowed money frantically in an attempt to make a comeback, both from banks and private loan sharks. However, he mortgaged almost all of his assets, except for that set of antiques.

In other words, that set of antiques is still in his possession.

But why didn't he sell it? Was it because he couldn't bear to part with it, or was he affected in a similar way to Lin Xiaoyue?

These questions can only be answered by finding Lin Anshan.

It took them about 10 minutes to find No. 14 Ankang Alley, a small shop. However, there was no one watching the shop from the outside, but from the inside, where the door was not closed tightly, they could hear voices coming from time to time.

Tang Shi didn't greet anyone, as if she were very familiar with the place, and simply pushed the door open and entered.

Shi Yan followed closely behind, and then saw three shirtless middle-aged men sitting around a round table, on which was a pile of transparent crystals.

Damn, drug dealers?

Shi Yan's eyes widened, and he instinctively reached for the stun gun in his pocket. The shirtless middle-aged man reacted even faster, shouting as he stood up, "Who let you in? Don't you even know what...?"

"Police." Tang Shi took out her identification.

"...A law-abiding citizen indeed." The anger on the middle-aged man's face vanished instantly, replaced by a fawning smile. "Officer, I haven't committed any crimes recently, have I?"

The change in attitude was so rapid that Shi Yan had barely touched the handle of the stun gun when the middle-aged man quickly slid to his knees.

This left Shi Yan somewhat bewildered, and he almost instinctively said, "Are drug dealers all this nice?"

"Drug dealer? What drug dealer?" The middle-aged man was stunned at first, then immediately panicked. "You, you, you mustn't say such things! I only sell some substandard food products, I would never dare to deal in drugs!"

"Three-no food products?"

Shi Yan subconsciously glanced at the crystalline objects on the table, which was naturally noticed by the middle-aged man as well. He quickly grabbed a handful and put them in his mouth: "This isn't drugs, it's popping candy, look!"

The middle-aged man stuck out his tongue, and sure enough, the white crystalline substance danced wildly on the tip of his tongue.

Shi Yan: "..."

What's wrong with this guy? He's eating popping candy, and it looks like a drug trafficking scene.

Tang Shi ignored all of that. To her, even if these people were dealing drugs, it was none of her business. She was only there to exorcise demons, so she asked directly, "Are you Brother Ba?"

"Brother Ba?" The middle-aged man was taken aback. "I'm not him."

"Then who is it?"

"We don't have anyone named Ba Ge here."

All three of them were somewhat bewildered.

"No, there really isn't."

Tang Shi frowned slightly: "Impossible, Officer Xu sent us here."

"Officer Xu, could it be..." The middle-aged man seemed to realize something, his expression changed slightly, and then he roared into the inner room, "Ba Zi! Get out here!"

Ba Zi? Who is that?

Before long, a small head peeked out, looking at the middle-aged man with a puzzled expression: "What's wrong, Dad?"

Shi Yan: "..."

……

A few minutes later, the young man nicknamed "Brother Ba" began to lead the way for them: "Oh, I see. You were introduced by Old Xu. You can just come find me directly next time, no need to bother my dad."

Shi Yan stared at the precocious little boy's retreating figure, struggling for a long time to suppress the urge to complain, before getting straight to the point: "Do you know where Lin Anshan is?"

"Of course," Ba Ge said. "I'm the one who rents the houses to him."

"He lives in your house?" Shi Yan asked curiously. "But how come your dad didn't know?"

"Of course he would know, since these houses don't belong to my dad."

"If it's not your dad's, is it yours?" Shi Yan was even more surprised. "You already have your own house at such a young age?"

"Yeah, so if you want to rent a place in the future, you can just come to me." Brother Ba patted his chest. "No documents are needed, and no one will know. The main advantage is safety."

Now Shi Yan understood why Lin Anshan had gotten involved with this kid, but he was still a little curious: "Do you have many houses?"

"Of course," Ba Ge pointed ahead, "As long as you stay in these alleyways, in those uninhabited houses..."

"Is it all yours?"

"No." Brother Ba shook his head. "I can open any of their locks."

Shi Yan: "..."

So this is the kind of landlord he is; every step is truly unexpected.

Tang Shi remained unconcerned with such trivial matters; she simply asked, "After you rented the house to him, you haven't seen him since?"

"Yes, I'm very busy."

Are you busy with school...?

Has anyone come looking for him?

"Then I can't tell you," Brother Ba said solemnly. "It's my professional ethics."

Tang Shi nodded slightly, then raised her hand and delivered a crisp chop to Ba Ge's head.

Ba Ge's eyes cleared instantly, and he answered honestly, "No, you're the first one."

In other words, those loan sharks haven't found Lin Anshan yet, so it seems he's been quite successful hiding here.

But it's still a bit strange to leave one's own daughter out there unattended.

After walking for another ten minutes or so, Brother Ba led them to the house at the deepest and most secluded part of the alley.

"This is it," Ba Ge said. "I'll go call him for you."

But before he could speak, Tang Shi pressed down on his shoulder.

"This is enough," Tang Shi said. "You can go back now."

Shi Yan sensed a solemnity in Tang Shi's words, so he carefully observed the house. Then he smelled a faint fishy smell, the smell of blood.

Something happened?!

Shi Yan gripped the stun gun in his pocket again. After all, there were still ordinary people around, and he couldn't directly summon Scarlet.

Ba Ge didn't feel anything at all. Tang Shi told him to leave, which he was more than happy to do. He turned around and ran away in a flash.

"Follow me." Tang Shi said this to Shi Yan, and then went into the house first again. Shi Yan followed closely behind as if he were a little follower.

The closer Shi Yan got to the house, the stronger the stench of blood became, almost making him feel like he was back at the crime scene when he first arrived in this world. Especially after pushing open the unlocked door, the overwhelming smell was enough to make him want to vomit.

Oh no, could Lin Anshan be dead?

Tang Shi probably had the same thought, and her steady steps finally quickened. The two followed the smell of blood into the inner room and immediately saw Lin Anshan lying on the ground.

Lin Anshan was not dead, but he looked like he was seriously ill, his face pale. Although it was summer, his body was wrapped in a thick blanket, with only his head and feet exposed.

"Lin Anshan!"

Shi Yan subconsciously called out the other person's name, and to his surprise, Lin Anshan actually opened his eyes.

"Who are you?" He looked at Shi Yan and Tang Shi with some confusion, as if he had just woken up. "Are you here to collect a debt? I really don't have any money right now. Please forgive me for a few more days."

"No, we're not here to collect debts, we're..." Shi Yan glanced at Tang Shi, "...police officers."

"Police?" Lin Anshan was a little confused. "What do the police want with me? I don't owe you any money, do I?"

Is this guy's head spinning or not?

"You don't owe us any money. We're here because of your daughter."

As Shi Yan spoke, he looked around and found no trace of blood, which made him somewhat puzzled.

That's strange, I didn't see any blood, so where is this smell coming from?

"You suddenly disappeared, and your daughter couldn't find you, so she called the police." Finding no blood, Shi Yan continued to observe Lin Anshan. He carefully said, "Your daughter is now being harassed by loan sharks, so..."

Before Shi Yan could finish speaking, Lin Anshan interrupted him in confusion: "Daughter? Where would I get a daughter?"

"Huh?" Shi Yan was stunned. "What do you mean, 'Where did you get a daughter from?' Isn't Lin Xiaoyue your daughter?"

"Lin Xiaoyue?" Lin Anshan frowned, pondering. "Lin Xiaoyue... that does sound familiar. Is she my daughter?"

What the hell? This guy seems a bit off; could it be due to that antique?

Shi Yan immediately asked, "Is there anything else on you?"

"thing?"

"Yes, it's an antique." Shi Yan took out his phone. "It's part of a set with this mirror."

"A mirror?" Lin Anshan looked at the round mirror on his phone, his brows furrowing even deeper. "I think I do. It's in my pocket."

"Then show it to us."

"Okay."

Lin Anshan nodded blankly, then propped himself up on his hands and slowly crawled out from under the covers.

Why can't you just lift the blanket? Why go through all that trouble?

Shi Yan felt that Lin Anshan's movements were a bit strange, and at this moment, Tang Shi, who hadn't moved for a long time, suddenly grabbed Shi Yan's shoulder: "Look at his feet."

"foot?"

Shi Yan glanced over instinctively, and his breath caught in his throat.

Because he saw that Lin Anshan's feet were still in the same position as before, without any change—but his upper body was almost crawling out of the quilt!

"Wow, what's with all this demonic energy?" Scarlet, who had been fast asleep from staying up all night reading, woke up at this moment. Looking at the scene before her, she chuckled, "Hey, this human is kind of long."

Shi Yan had no time to pay attention to Scarlet's hellish joke. He immediately looked at Tang Shi, wanting to ask what to do.

Tang Shi's response was simple: "Delay him for a while, don't let him find out."

Don't let him find out anything.

Before Shi Yan could ask, Tang Shi had already retreated behind him. Immediately afterwards, a soft "click" sounded—the sword case had been opened.

Is Tang Shi going to kill Lin Anshan? Has he already turned into a monster?

Shi Yan was shocked, and Lin Anshan raised his head at that moment, looking at Shi Yan apologetically: "I'm sorry, officer, I'm not feeling well, and I don't think I can stand up."

"No, it's nothing." Shi Yan forced himself not to show anything unusual and said casually, "Just do whatever makes you comfortable."

"Thank you, officer." Lin Anshan thanked him sincerely. "I remember now, I do have a daughter. How is she now?"

"She... is fine," Shi Yan said. "She just missed you a little, so she sent us over."

"Really? I miss her too," Lin Anshan said softly. "It's all because I was too reckless. I didn't expect to lose everything in one go. If it weren't for this, she wouldn't have been dragged down by me... But don't worry, please tell her that I'll earn it back soon... As long as the ship arrives, I can take the goods to the capital to meet the Emperor..."

"Yeah, I believe you'll make it back... What?" Shi Yan started to agree, then suddenly paused, "Meet the Emperor?"

"Yes," Lin Anshan nodded. "His Majesty really likes those goods from the East. He will give me many rewards. With these, I can reinvest in real estate and make a comeback."

No, what are you talking about?

"Don't give anything away." Tang Shi's voice came from behind again. "I need a little more time. Just go along with what he's saying."

Should we go along with him and continue?

Shi Yan took a deep breath and said softly, "Yes, I believe you will succeed. When that time comes, you will be able to go back and see your daughter."

"Yes, my daughter, my daughter... Oh, right." Lin Anshan suddenly remembered something, "I haven't lost everything. I still have a precious treasure, which I left especially for her. Please pass it on to her for me."

A precious treasure? Or some other antique?

"be mine……"

Lin Anshan reached into his robes and pulled out not an antique, but a bloody...

"heart."