Chapter 22
And perhaps it was just her imagination, but Li Qi felt that her sister's gaze had become sharper when looking at others.
"I just took some time to get a haircut," Xia Er said with a smile, pulling out the line she had prepared for the occasion. "Do you think it looks good?"
"Very nice," Li Qi nodded, returning the smile. "You look just like one of those noble young ladies."
She didn’t ask Xia Er where she got the money, as she knew Xia Er often helped some noble girls with their homework, earning a bit of pocket money in the process.
Suddenly, Li Qi remembered something. She fished a small gift box out of her pocket and handed it to Xia Er. "Happy birthday, little Xia Er! Congratulations on your graduation."
Graduation?
Xia Er paused for a moment.
Only then did she remember that today was her graduation ceremony.
But from the perspective of her current timeline, it seemed that Xia Er hadn’t attended the ceremony; instead, she had stayed home to prepare.
Xia Er took the gift carefully, opening the box to reveal a delicate rose brooch nestled inside.
"It's beautiful! I love it, thank you, sister~" Xia Er didn’t hold back her praise, pinning the brooch onto her robe right away.
"That's great," Li Qi said, feeling her mood lift as she saw her sister's joy. Yet, the more she looked, the more she sensed that something about her sister had changed.
But she couldn’t quite put her finger on what was different.
Was it the new robe? Perhaps it was just the outfit for the graduation ceremony? And what about the bandages wrapped around her hands? Also, she distinctly remembered hearing her sister openly insult someone at the door just now—her usually timid sister would never do something like that!
"Good evening, ladies."
A gentle voice nearby startled Li Qi, interrupting her thoughts. She quickly lowered her head, while Xia Er turned to face the newcomer.
Ten minutes passed.
After spending about ten minutes in the café, Xia Er had already received seven or eight exquisitely crafted handwritten business cards.
They approached her eagerly, as if they rarely saw someone dressed in such robes, hoping Xia Er would recognize them.
Among them were some minor nobles, but mostly merchants, seemingly aware that she could bring them some benefits.
Xia Er accepted the cards but soon left the café with Li Qi. She felt that wearing this robe here was too conspicuous, and it would be better to go home and change.
After all, the matter had been resolved; she just needed to wait for the next developments.
The two of them shared an umbrella, strolling through the light rain towards home, chatting about many things, including Xia Er's decision not to attend university.
Li Qi seemed to have shifted her attitude towards Xia Er's choice. She began to think that it might be better for Xia Er to work at the police station, earning money while saving for tuition.
The disparity between people was something Li Qi had experienced deeply in the café, shedding some of her previous naïve thoughts and realizing one thing.
—There are things that are simply beyond the reach of one’s class; even if one forces their way through, the outcome won’t be good.
She could somewhat empathize with Xia Er’s feelings. All their classmates were either rich or noble, while her own family was poor. Xia Er faced unimaginable pressure in both school and friendships.
Li Qi jokingly recounted what had happened in the café, but Xia Er remained silent.
She only felt that the café in the city center was a safe place, but she had indeed been somewhat inconsiderate of Li Qi's feelings.
Fortunately, once they returned to reality, she could ensure that none of this would happen.
As they reached Zhongta Alley, the streets became muddy, and they had to watch out for puddles as they walked.
When they were nearing home on Nanbei Stone Street, they heard some noisy commotion ahead, along with occasional barking from dogs.
A large crowd had gathered, chattering loudly. With a sharp police whistle blowing, the crowd gradually dispersed, revealing a police cordon.
"What happened?" Li Qi asked.
"I don’t know," Xia Er replied, her expression unchanged.
As they approached the cordon, a man in a police cloak and a high-top hard hat quickly stepped in front of them, blocking their way.
"Didn’t you hear? Everyone disperse, don’t come any closer," the man said impatiently, as if he had been repeating this many times.
"Officer, our home is at number 44; we have to pass through here," Xia Er explained. "We just came back from the city center."
"Oh, sorry, there were just too many onlookers earlier. Here, let me take you through, but don’t touch anything at the scene," the man said apologetically, removing his hat to reveal a balding head. He waved for them to follow.
"Officer, can I ask what happened?" Li Qi inquired curiously.
"By the goddess, it’s a damn gang fight. A leader from the Black Water gang was killed, but thankfully, all the dead are gang members," the officer explained as he continued walking.
As they walked, Xia Er could hear several officers discussing the bodies.
"Hey, this case should be easy to close; they shot each other."
"Boss... these two handguns look identical."
"My handgun looks just like yours, you idiot."
"Oh... but I feel like the bullet count doesn’t add up. Can I examine the bodies?"
"You want to cut them open? Goddess, are you a barbarian?"
"Report! There are two bodies in the alley over there, both from the Black Water gang!"
"Report, we found two notebooks in the black-robed man's clothes. One looks like it belongs to the Goddess of Salvation, but it’s blank, and the other seems to be the black-robed man’s diary."
"Goddess of Salvation? Let me see... Everyone, stop immediately! You, hurry back to the investigation department at the station and bring those two damn notebooks!"
"Yes..."
After passing the scene and walking a few more steps, the officer stopped in front of number 44, turning to say, "Please, ladies, it’s best not to go out at night for a while."
"Thank you, officer," Li Qi said gratefully as she pulled Xia Er into the house and closed the door.
The officer, watching the petite figure in the robe, furrowed his brow slightly. He seemed to recognize the pattern on the robe but couldn’t recall where he had seen it before.
Soon, he was called away by a voice, and he dropped the thought, hurrying to follow.
What was there to think about? She was just a pretty young girl returning from shopping.
---
**Chapter 22: Capturing the Officer with Ease, Because I Am a Girl Killer**
Xia Er returned to her bedroom, changing back into her school uniform and hanging the damp robe by the door.
Li Qi had already gone to wash up and sleep at her urging. It was a rare day off, so she needed to rest well.
Meanwhile, Xia Er sat quietly by the window in the dim room, watching the situation unfold below.
The police who had been investigating had all withdrawn from the cordoned area, pushing the line back another fifty meters and dispersing the onlookers.
It was peak time for workers returning home for dinner, and the street closures drew their complaints.
However, once they heard it was related to the gang and a murder, no one dared to grumble anymore. Even those whose routes were blocked chose to go to a nearby coworker’s house for a meal or head directly to the Goddess of Salvation Church for a free meal.
Why had the investigating officers... all scattered?
Were they all waiting for the investigation department the officer had mentioned?
Potions, magical materials, and spiritual items—Xia Er had deliberately left them untouched, allowing them to remain in place to make the "mutual slaughter" seem more authentic.
If she took those items, and supernatural forces got involved in the investigation, it would quickly be determined as a murder and treasure hunt among extraordinary beings.
Xia Er’s goal was to simplify matters and avoid dragging "another extraordinary being" into it.
After waiting for about twenty minutes, the police cordon finally began to loosen.
A figure, holding an umbrella, walked step by step toward the direction of the bodies, passing by the officers.
From Xia Er's angle, she could only see the large black umbrella, unable to make out the person beneath it.
She watched as the umbrella moved back and forth between the two bodies before finally stopping in front of the black-robed man’s corpse.
When the figure with the black umbrella left for the alley, Xia Er noticed that the potions and magical materials that had been on the ground were now gone—they had been taken by the person under the black umbrella.
It was an extraordinary being.
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