Fog City Detective

Chapter 27: Battle in the Haunted House (Part 3)

Liang Xi turned around to leave, and Foolish Bird said, "If you're interested, you can stay and meet the ghost with me."

Seeing you is the scariest ghost of all. Liang Xi gave a disdainful glance and walked away.

Foolish Bird said, "£100, if you see a ghost, I win."

Liang Xi stopped, walked upstairs with quick steps, and looked at Foolish Bird, "The loser shaves his head."

Foolish Bird sneered, "Hehe! Do you dare to compare your few stray hairs with my hair worth hundreds of thousands?"

Liang Xi didn't argue with Foolish Bird because he felt that the phrase sounded familiar. After thinking for a while, he asked, "Poland? Persia? Or maybe Poltergeist?" Liang Xi was driving and listening to the radio, where someone named something similar to "Poltergeist" was discussing ghost stories with the host. When he heard the person talking about hair worth hundreds of thousands, Liang Xi switched to another station playing music.

Foolish Bird suppressed his anger, "Poppy."

Liang Xi remembered now; yes, it was Poppy. Liang Xi asked, "You made it to the radio, and yet you're in such a miserable state. Why is that?"

Poppy disdainfully replied, "Hehe! Do you dare to compare your few stray hairs worth a few tens of thousands with my hair worth hundreds of thousands?"

Liang Xi didn't argue with Foolish Bird because he felt that the phrase sounded familiar. After thinking for a while, he asked, "Poland? Persia? Or maybe Poltergeist?" Liang Xi was driving and listening to the radio, where someone named something similar to "Poltergeist" was discussing ghost stories with the host. When he heard the person talking about hair worth hundreds of thousands, Liang Xi switched to another station playing music.

Foolish Bird suppressed his anger, "Poppy."

Liang Xi remembered now; yes, it was Poppy. Liang Xi asked, "You made it to the radio, and yet you're in such a miserable state. Why is that?"

Poppy asked in return, "Where do you see that I'm miserable?"

Liang Xi said, "The nearest bus stop is three hundred meters away, and there are no vehicles around. Did you walk here? Since you didn't walk, you must have taken the bus. Environmentally friendly—I like your Earth-loving lifestyle."

Poppy snorted, "Narrow-minded! You like deductive reasoning so much? If I'm not mistaken, you must be a foolish detective, right?"

Liang Xi was extremely displeased and asked, "What kind of creature are you?"

Poppy proudly declared, "A medium!"

Liang Xi sneered, "The difference between a medium and a swindler is not that big."

Poppy looked at Liang Xi for a while and said, "I think you owe me an apology. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have argued with you. Your recent loss of a loved one has made you irritable."

Liang Xi asked in surprise, "How do you know?"

Poppy replied, "The souls inside the house told me that your heart is filled with resentment for revenge, and the deceased should be someone from your older generation."

"Damn." Liang Xi took a step back, seriously?

Poppy stood up, approached Liang Xi, who retreated to the wall. Poppy raised his right hand and placed it on Liang Xi's forehead, closing his eyes for a moment, saying, "He asked me to tell you to take care of Mary."

Liang Xi urgently asked, "What else did he say?"

Poppy sensed for a while again, tilted his head as if listening, "He hopes you become a detective and strive for it."

Poppy let go, looking solemn and solemnly at Liang Xi, "He was a good person."

"Yes." Liang Xi pursed his lips, tears swirling in his eyes, looking extremely sad.

Poppy sighed lightly, approached and gently hugged Liang Xi, patting his shoulder, saying, "He loves you."

"Yes." Liang Xi cried, picking up his phone. The phone screen displayed news of John's death in the search engine.

Poppy let go of Liang Xi, saying, "May he rest in peace."

Liang Xi nodded, and Poppy turned to leave. Liang Xi slapped Poppy's head with his left hand, and Poppy, dazed, turned his head. Liang Xi threw a punch at Poppy's left eye. Poppy, unwilling to back down, immediately retaliated with a punch, and the two started a brawl on the spot.

The two of them were evenly matched in their fighting skills, with similar height and weight. Punches, hugs, and dirty words were all part of the standard repertoire. Liang Xi, taking advantage of his short hair, grabbed Poppy's hair and pulled hard. Poppy panicked, "No, don't."

Liang Xi, mimicking a move from TV, smashed his forehead against Poppy's, thinking that TV dramas were deceiving. Poppy felt dizzy, and so did Liang Xi. Poppy retaliated with a headbutt, and both ended up sitting dazed on the ground. Liang Xi regained consciousness first, kicked towards Poppy's legs, but Poppy quickly raised his left leg, and Liang Xi didn't hit with full force. Liang Xi pounced on Poppy, restraining him and delivering punches. Suddenly, he felt an excruciating pain in his thigh and saw Poppy biting into it.

Damn it! Bite me, and I'll bite you! Liang Xi bit into Poppy's shoulder. Both released simultaneous screams and bit each other again upon hearing the other's scream. Throughout the skirmish, limbs flailed ceaselessly. Though the close quarters limited the impact, every hit counted. Liang Xi once again grabbed Poppy's hair, and simultaneously bit, pulled, and defended.

"Surrender, surrender!" Poppy immediately yielded when his hair was pulled.

Liang Xi threw Poppy's hair and stood up, rubbing his thigh with one hand, where the bite marks were visible, blood seeping through. Poppy was in worse shape, with a torn piece of skin on his shoulder.

Poppy combed his long hair with his hands, pulled out dozens of strands, and then looked at the torn skin on his shoulder. He roared in frustration, "Ah... ah... you... you..." Pointing at Liang Xi, he was too angry to articulate his words.

In terms of pain, Liang Xi had it worse, grinning through the pain, "Did you think I didn't know you were searching for me with your phone?"

Poppy retorted angrily, "I didn't even know who you were. How could I search for you?"

Liang Xi took out his phone, "Photo scan search, high-tech, thanks."

Seeing another potential battle, Poppy yielded first, "If you have the guts, don't leave tonight. I'll scare you to death."

Liang Xi also got into the spirit, "Alright, I'll see how you scare me tonight."

"Hmph!"

"Cut!"

Both of them sat on separate sides. Single-eyed Poppy stuck the torn skin back on, touched his forehead, and a burning sensation surged upward. Liang Xi leaned against the wall, sitting on the ground, with burst capillaries and bruising around the bite marks. The pain had not yet subsided.

They looked at each other for about twenty minutes, and suddenly Poppy remembered something, saying, "Wait! How did you unlock my phone?"

Liang Xi, reluctantly, said, "Facial recognition."

Poppy, still puzzled, remarked, "I didn't see the phone."

Liang Xi replied, "You wouldn't understand." While Poppy played with his forehead, Liang Xi secretly unlocked the phone. As a detective, he couldn't believe in ghosts or spirits; the only answer had to be the phone. As the owner of the detective agency, he had left photos on the official side, and anyone could find his identity with a photo scan search. Subsequently, searching for the detective agency would naturally reveal information about John and Mary.

The two remained silent for a while. As the sky darkened, Liang Xi picked up his phone and made a call, "Get me a hamburger and a cup of milk."

Poppy said, "Hey, get me one too."

Liang Xi replied, "Can't you make the call yourself?"

Poppy looked at the dead phone beside him, "What do you think?"

Liang Xi glanced at the phone corpse, then back at Poppy, saying, "Two hamburgers, two cups of milk, deliver to..."

Poppy interrupted, "No spicy in one burger, no lettuce. I want a cola, noticed. And bring extra napkins..."

Liang Xi looked at Poppy for five seconds and continued, "Two hamburgers, one cup of milk, one cup of non-iced cola, one burger without spice, no lettuce. Thank you."

Poppy urgently said, "Non-iced chilled cola... Hey, did you even listen to me?"

Liang Xi hung up the phone, "Are you an i***t?"

Poppy was displeased, "What do you mean? You know that if you report to the police now, you'll have to compensate for my phone and my hair."

Liang Xi pretended to be asleep, closing his eyes, "The cola at the hamburger joint is made with a self-cooling mechanism. You've never been to a hamburger joint?" Adding ice to cola doesn't make it taste better; it reduces the quantity of cola. Plus, melted ice makes the drink nauseating.

Poppy gave Liang Xi a sideways glance, "Who do you think I am? If it weren't for meeting ghosts, do you think I would eat anything from a hamburger joint?"