BPIFC -Volume 1 – Chapter 89

Che Qianzi had not even fully woken up before Sun Desheng dragged him out. By the time the two of them left the Min Tiao Bureau, the young Taoist realized that nearly the entire Bureau had been mobilized. Apart from Secretary Yang and a few others left behind to keep watch, almost every investigator had been dispatched.

Not only was the little Taoist surprised—even many veteran investigators had never seen such a massive operation. Those who didn’t know what was going on were asking each other:

“What happened? Why such a huge commotion? Did they discover some great demon? That can’t be right. If that were the case, Director Wu alone would be enough. They wouldn’t need all of us…”

“You don’t know anything. What great demon? They’re preparing to go to war with the Underworld. I heard that some time ago Fatty Sun—the Bureau Chief—fought with the Underworld once. His brother, Mad Dog Che, even slapped the King of Hell twice in the face. They’ve become mortal enemies now. The King of Hell has assembled a million ghost soldiers and is preparing to attack…”

“Shut up. If we were really fighting the Underworld, what could our two or three hundred men do? None of you know the truth. Old Sun and Secretary Yang have had a falling out. I heard they even started wrestling earlier. Mad Dog Che kicked Secretary Yang right in the crotch. Old Sun stood up for his brother and decided to quit. He’s starting his own operation and has already poached all the department heads. Soon he’ll make it official and ask everyone whether they want to follow him or stay here with Secretary Yang.

“Of course we’d follow Old Sun. Without him, there wouldn’t even be a Min Tiao Bureau. Besides, working under him is lucrative…”

Meanwhile, Che Qianzi followed Sun Desheng into a business van. Yang Xiao and another white-haired man were already waiting inside.

Che Qianzi recognized him as Yang Jun, one of the investigators from Sixth Division. There was another member surnamed Tu, but he had not come this time.

Seeing Sun Desheng and Che Qianzi arrive, the two merely nodded in greeting.

Yang Jun spoke first.

“Great Sage, do we really need to make such a big fuss? A few of us could handle this. There’s no need for the entire Bureau to turn out. I’ve already got enough on my plate, and tomorrow I have to fly to Dalian to inspect a ship.”

Sun Desheng chuckled.

“Isn’t this all to help La Zi save face? Didn’t Old Yang tell you? La Zi found himself a girlfriend who’s a forensic doctor, and she just happened to run into a troublesome case. This morning I deliberately handed the case back to the Municipal Bureau. Things are already a complete mess over there. Now, if Shen La’s people swoop in and solve the problem, what do you think that young lady will think of him? We’ll just sit back and wait for the wedding invitations.”

He had barely finished speaking when Second Division Director Xiong Wanyi and Ximen Lian walked over.

After hearing Sun Desheng’s words, Xiong Wanyi said:

“Fatty Sun, why are you so anxious over Shen La finding a girlfriend? You’re not exactly behaving honorably yourself, thinking about—”

Before he could finish, Ximen Lian hurriedly covered his mouth and said with a smile:

“Great Sage, don’t mind him. Old Xiong’s got some troubles at home and has been bottling up his frustrations. Aren’t we just going to the airport to help Shen La look good? Whatever you say, Second Division will follow.”

Before Sun Desheng could reply, Che Qianzi beat him to it:

“What kind of troubles? Tell us so everyone can enjoy it. What happened? His parents got married and he’s unhappy about it?”

Those words nearly made Xiong Wanyi explode. He immediately tried to attack Che Qianzi, but Yang Jun stepped in to stop him.

Old Xiong held the white-haired man in some esteem. Out of respect for Yang Jun, he allowed Ximen Lian to drag him onto the Second Division bus, and the matter ended there.

After watching Xiong Wanyi board the bus, Yang Jun finally explained:

“I know what’s bothering that bear cub. Xiong Wanyi lost his parents when he was young and was raised by his uncle. A few days ago, he got word that his uncle had died in an accident out of town. His cousin went over to handle things and intended to bring the body back home for the funeral. Somehow, the corpse disappeared. Xiong Wanyi has been pulling strings trying to find it.”

After hearing this, Sun Desheng’s eyebrows twitched. He cast a strange look toward Xiong Wanyi, who had already boarded the bus opposite them.

Then, something rare happened.

He sighed.

As Yang Jun spoke, the van was already heading toward the Capital Airport.

Taking advantage of the time, Sun Desheng explained to Che Qianzi:

“Brother, we’re going to intercept some people at the airport. According to Old Yang, Li Guangquan and the other six are all being sent home by corpse drivers. If my judgment is correct, all seven died away from home and were gathered together by a master corpse driver before being sent back one by one.”

Before he could continue, Che Qianzi couldn’t hold back any longer.

“Wait! You mean those hopping zombies? Was Li Guangquan one of those last night? Zombies can hire prostitutes too? Has it become that exciting now? Fatty, are you messing with me?”

Yang Xiao spoke up:

“That’s only because you’re ignorant. The corpse-driving profession is divided into four levels—Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Iron.

The lowest level is Iron, which is nothing more than trickery. During the late Qing Dynasty and Republican era, they used sleight of hand. They cut off the dead person’s head and limbs and had living people impersonate zombies.

Later, Huang Jinrong and Du Yuesheng’s Sanxin Company even used fake corpses to transport opium.

Silver and Bronze are genuine corpse-driving techniques. But after trains appeared and cremation became the norm, people who died away from home were cremated before being returned, so most skilled corpse drivers changed professions.

As for the highest level, Gold, there are only a few practitioners. They possess genuine abilities.

What happened to Li Guangquan last night used a technique known as False Resurrection Through Severance. After death, the soul is sealed within the body, and spells prevent the corpse from rotting. Then another spell deceives the dead into believing they are still alive.

In the end, the dead person walks home under his own power.

The most remarkable part is making the dead climb into the coffin themselves. As long as the family knows the proper release method, even ordinary people with no cultivation can control the life and death of these living corpses.

Sometimes all it takes is a single sentence…”

Che Qianzi suddenly understood and interrupted:

“‘Aren’t you already dead?’ That’s the trigger phrase, right?”

“Exactly.”

Sun Desheng smiled and continued:

“Li Guangquan and the other six probably died in different places within a short period. Then some expert used his techniques to gather them all in the capital and planned to send them home at a certain time by airplane. Unfortunately, that expert’s methods were too good. Li Guangquan not only believed he was alive, he even retained the habits he had while alive. If he hadn’t gone looking for prostitutes, nobody would have suspected anything.”

Only now did Che Qianzi fully understand.

Blinking, he summarized:

“So the expert was the one who burned Li Guangquan’s corpse. He thought the Municipal Bureau had already reached a dead end, so now he’s continuing to send the remaining corpses away. Is that what you mean? But Fatty, how are you so sure it’s happening right now? Capital Airport has several terminals. How do you know which one?”

Sun Desheng replied:

“While you were sleeping, your big brother here took care of a few things. I arranged temporary air traffic control and had Civil Aviation issue an announcement saying that a foreign head of state’s aircraft would be using the runway during that time period. All flights around nine this morning were canceled and rebooked for after four-thirty in the afternoon. I’m telling you, as of two hours ago, every passenger had already been rescheduled.”

As he spoke, Sun Desheng was typing messages on his phone.

Just after finishing, he received a text message.

After reading it, Fatty Sun turned the screen around for everyone to see.

It displayed flight information:

Xiong Fengnian
Flight ZC9906
5:25 PM
Destination: Harbin Taiping Airport