The Forensic Big Shot's Psychic Darling - Chapter 6
A bone-chilling blast of wind surged directly toward her face, yet Lin Yaoyao did not feel the anticipated pain.
Instead, a shrill, agonizing scream erupted right beside her ear.
The malicious ghost collided head-on with Qin Zhan, who was walking toward her—it was as if it had been struck by a roaring blaze. The pitch-black energy wrapped around its body dissolved rapidly, and large plumes of white smoke billowed from its rotting arms.
Thrashing frantically, the evil spirit tumbled back against the wall, its eyes locking onto Qin Zhan with utter terror.
Qin Zhan only felt a sudden gust of cold air sweep past him as the hallway lights flickered twice. Lin Yaoyao was huddled in the corner, blindly flailing her arms with her eyes squeezed shut.
“Go away, don’t touch me!”
“It’s me.”
Qin Zhan grabbed her wrists to stop her from hitting herself. “Open your eyes.”
Recognizing that voice, Lin Yaoyao instantly snapped her head up.
Qin Zhan was standing right in front of her.
A few meters away, the malicious ghost cowered against the wall. Most of its malevolent energy had been scorched away, and its cracked face was twisted in gruesome agony, yet it didn’t dare take another step closer.
Without a second thought, Lin Yaoyao scrambled up using both hands and feet, flinging herself straight into Qin Zhan’s arms.
Qin Zhan was knocked back half a step by the impact.
Subconsciously, his arm wrapped around her impossibly slender waist. Through her thin shirt, his palm could clearly feel the intense trembling of her body.
A faint, sweet scent drifted into his nose, mingled with the subtle aroma of paper and ink.
Qin Zhan’s entire body went rigid.
Lin Yaoyao wrapped both arms tightly around his waist, burying her entire face into his chest. It felt as though she had been soaked in icy water for hours—both her cheeks and fingertips were dangerously cold to the touch.
“Let go.”
Qin Zhan looked down at her, his voice tighter and colder than usual.
Instead of letting go, Lin Yaoyao squeezed herself even deeper into his chest.
The evil spirit was still squatting by the wall, staring right at her.
The moment she stepped away from Qin Zhan, that thing would plunge straight back at her.
“I’m not letting go.”
“This is the police bureau.”
“I know.”
“There are security cameras in the hallway.”
“Then let the cameras watch!”
The veins on Qin Zhan’s temple throbbed. “What kind of madness are you pulling now?”
Lin Yaoyao sneaked a peek from behind his arm toward the evil spirit.
The moment that thing met her eyes, its pitch-black fingernails dug into the floor once more. It feared the intense masculine energy (yangqi) burning off Qin Zhan, yet refused to leave—its obsession was clearly tied entirely to that single evidence box.
She hugged him even tighter.
Qin Zhan’s breathing deepened heavy and low.
The girl’s soft body was pressed against him without a sliver of space in between, her strands of hair brushing against his jaw and provoking a subtle, ticklish sensation. He had always hated people getting close to him, let alone enduring such completely boundary-less contact.
Yet the violent trembling beneath his palm was far too evident.
She was genuinely terrified.
Qin Zhan didn’t push her away immediately. His gaze drifted down to the broom lying on the floor and the scattered sheets of yellow paper.
“What happened just now?”
“A ghost was chasing me.”
“Try a normal explanation.”
“It’s right over there! You just can’t see it!”
Qin Zhan looked in the direction she pointed. There was nothing by the wall except a fire extinguisher box, its glass reflecting the silhouettes of the two of them. Other than that, it was completely empty.
He withdrew his gaze. “Fatigue, high stress, and psychological suggestion cause visual hallucinations. You didn’t get any rest last night and worked for over ten hours straight today.”
“Hallucinations wouldn’t trap me in the exact same corridor!”
“People lose their sense of direction when they’re panicked.”
“It even got scorched by you just a second ago!”
Qin Zhan looked down at her, his eyes narrowing slightly. “Scorched by me?”
“Your yangqi is extremely heavy! The moment it touched you, it started smoking!”
Lin Yaoyao explained with utmost seriousness, but Qin Zhan’s expression only grew darker.
“So you’re holding onto me just to exploit my yangqi?”
She hesitated for a split second, then nodded honestly.
The hand Qin Zhan had around her waist immediately let go.
Noticing his movement, Lin Yaoyao frantically locked her fingers even tighter behind his back.
“Don’t push me away, it hasn’t left yet!”
“Lin Yaoyao, what exactly do you take me for?”
“A Soul-Suppressing Talisman.”
The moment those words left her mouth, a heavy two-second silence fell over the hallway.
Qin Zhan stared at her without a single trace of expression. “Very good.”
Feeling an inexplicable wave of danger, Lin Yaoyao hastily tried to fix her words: “Not an ordinary talisman! A super powerful kind! The yang qi on your body is exceptionally pure, and your malevolent aura (sha qi) is extremely heavy too—ordinary ghosts have to take a detour the moment they see you!”
“Should I be thanking you then?”
“You don’t need to be so polite.”
Qin Zhan raised his hand to pry her fingers apart.
Lin Yaoyao clung onto him with a death grip, her arms locked tightly around his waist. She didn’t possess an extraordinary amount of strength, but to save her own life, her entire weight was practically hanging off him.
As soon as Qin Zhan pried one finger open, she immediately wrapped it right back.
“Get down.”
“Just a little longer.”
“Now.”
“It’s really vicious!”
Anxious to the point of tears, Lin Yaoyao raised her face, her eyelashes clumped together from her moisture and the corners of her eyes flushed red from crying.
Qin Zhan’s movements halted.
He reached out and touched her forehead. Her skin temperature was unnaturally low, yet her nape was drenched in cold sweat. Looking at her shallow, rapid breathing and dilated pupils, it was undeniable that she was exhibiting the physical reactions of someone suffering from severe terror.
“Adjust your breathing first.”
Qin Zhan held her by the shoulders. “Inhale for four seconds, hold for two, then exhale.”
Lin Yaoyao did as she was told, though her gaze remained locked onto the space near the wall over his shoulder.
The malicious ghost was slowly crawling forward.
Fearing another collision with Qin Zhan, it hugged the wall, circling around to get behind the two of them. The scorched arm had already recovered a small fraction, and its pitch-black fingernails were beginning to grow back.
“It’s coming closer.”
Lin Yaoyao kept her voice down to a whisper.
Qin Zhan turned his head; there was nothing behind him.
“What position?”
“Three meters away from you, on the left.”
“Appearance.”
“Female, long hair, soaked all over. Her face is split open, black thread is stitched across her mouth, and her neck is broken.”
Qin Zhan’s eyes darkened slightly.
The physical details she described were far too specific to be fabricated on the spot.
He turned toward the evidence boxes and checked the old case numbers on the side. The top cardboard box wasn’t fully sealed, revealing a swath of faded red cloth.
“Did you touch the evidence earlier?”
“No! It opened by itself.”
“Boxes don’t open by themselves.”
“Ghosts do.”
Qin Zhan knelt down to examine the seal.
One corner of the tape had lost its adhesive, and several water droplets were scattered on the floor. It hadn’t rained tonight, and the cleaning staff wouldn’t leave stagnant water in the evidence storage zone.
Equipping a pair of gloves he carried with him, he leaned in and sniffed.
The water stains carried a subtle, foul stench—nothing like ordinary tap water.
Fearing to step away, Lin Yaoyao bent over and shadowed his every move from behind, her hands still firmly encircling his waist. Every time Qin Zhan shuffled half a step forward, she shuffled half a step right along with him.
“Stand up straight.”
“My legs are jelly.”
“Let go of me and hold onto the wall.”
“There are drag marks on the wall from its claws!”
Qin Zhan glanced over. Sure enough, several wet scratches had been freshly dragged across the tile surface. The marks were shallow, yet they extended all the way from the wall right to the spot where Lin Yaoyao had been cowering earlier.
He fell silent for a moment before taking out his phone to call the duty room.
“The seal on a box in the old evidence area has come loose. Notify the duty personnel to come up and re-register it. Also check the surveillance footage for this floor to confirm if anyone entered tonight.”
Hanging up the phone, Lin Yaoyao asked in a small voice, “Do you believe me now?”
“I believe someone tampered with the evidence.”
“What about the water marks?”
“We’ll discuss that after testing their composition.”
“Can’t you just admit that ghosts exist in this world?”
Qin Zhan turned his head to look at her. “If the ghost in your words can leave behind physical, material traces, it means it can be observed. Any observable phenomenon naturally has a way to be scientifically verified.”
Lin Yaoyao felt a headache coming on. “It practically lunged right at your face! How else do you want to verify it?”
“At the very least, not solely based on your tears.”
As Qin Zhan spoke, his gaze landed back down on their tangled bodies.
His shirt had been crumpled into a mess of wrinkles by her grip, and his lab coat was pulled askew to one side. Lin Yaoyao was practically hanging off his waist in her entirety, showing zero intention of climbing down.
The footsteps of the duty officers were already echoing up from the floor below.
Qin Zhan lowered his voice. “Let go. Stop acting spoiled with me.”
Taking advantage of the flickering light overhead, the evil spirit crawled two steps closer once again.
Lin Yaoyao’s legs went completely weak from fright; abandoning all restraint, she wrapped her legs right around his waist as well.
Clinging onto Qin Zhan tightly like an octopus, she pleaded through her tears:
“Forensic Officer Qin, please just lend me a hug—just for a second!”
