"Hearing the music will cause the listener to commit suicide,” I mused. “Does it play dissonant chords?"

Xiaotao asked me what a dissonant chord was, and I explained that consonance was a pleasing sound associated with sweetness and acceptability such as music that evoked feelings of happiness. Contrary to that, dissonance caused uneasiness and tension could alter one’s emotions since sound waves affected the structure of liquid in different ways. After all, 90% of the human body was liquid and hormones that controlled human emotion were secreted from various tissues into fluid, such as blood.

The famous Hungarian suicide song "Gloomy Sunday" contained a lot of dissonances. After listening to it, people reported feeling depressed, lost, extremely pessimistic and even suicidal. The effect of the music was perhaps more terrifying than hypnosis. Oftentimes, such negative thoughts were difficult to overcome by willpower alone. In fact, those with stronger willpower and successful at suppressing negative emotions might experience heavier influence from the music. When the song was first played, more than 100 people committed suicide upon listening to it.

This song was listed as one of the world's three forbidden pieces and was destroyed in 1945. Although many versions could be found online, they were all fake.

Zhang Jiulin leisurely sipped his tea and continued, "That is your personal understanding. As I’ve said, this is the work of an evil spirit with a strong desire to kill. It’s not understandable by scientific logic."

"I don't believe ghosts can kill!" I reiterated.

Zhang Jiulin and Pockmark Li exchanged a knowing look. “Xiao Song, you know nothing!” laughed Pockmark Li. “Have you ever seen a mother and son demon? Or a procession of evil spirits? Have you ever seen Satan of the West? Grandpa Mao once said that without proper investigation, one forfeits the right to speak. As a professional in this field, I can tell you this–there are more ghosts in the world capable of murder than what you can imagine."

"I’ve never seen ghosts or evil spirits,” I retorted. “What you call ghosts are just residual spiritual energy. If ghosts could kill, then why would we need the police?"

"That’s because spiritual practitioners like us are secretly guarding the world,” Zhang Jiulin continued. “It’s not just criminals who are dangerous and vicious. I’ve had more life-and-death experiences than you can count."

I thought to myself that the conversation was getting more and more ridiculous; all this nonsense about meeting Satan in the West. If that were the case, then Jack the Ripper was brought to justice by me!

This wrangling continued until dawn, when I impatiently interrupted, "So what are your plans?"

"The Heartbroken Xun has now eroded the owner’s soul, dominating the man with hatred. It has now locked onto the three policemen. I’ll need a drop of blood and a strand of hair from them, and a body double to lure the Heartbroken Xun into my hands. Then, I’ll seal it off."

Hearing this, Xiaotao furrowed her brows, looking extremely annoyed. I too decided his Jianghu tricks were unreliable but still I patiently asked, "What then? We arrest the criminal and let you take away the Yin object?"

"According to the rules of our trade, that’s how it works," nodded Zhang Jiulin.

"I'm sorry, but I can't let you have it. You say you’re a dealer of Yin objects which you not only accept but also sell. I can’t allow such a dangerous item to fall into someone else’s hands and be used for more murders!"

"We have our professional ethics,” assured Zhang Jiulin. “We will process the object, seal off the evil spirit, greatly reducing a huge portion of its power so it can’t not harm others. Ordinary people don’t know how to handle Yin objects. The consequences will only be worse."

"That’s only your side of the story!” I disagreed. “Businessmen will make up anything for money!"

"Can't your eyes detect lies?" Zhang Jiulin argued, tit-for-tat.

"Not if you believe in your own lies!” I spat. “Whatever it is, you’re not allowed to keep the object!"

We stared at each other, fires of fury seeming to burn through our smoldering eyes, both parties unyielding. The staring contest frightened Xiaotao and Pockmark Li beside us. A while later, Zhang Jiulin calmly leaned into his chair and said, "In this case, you should pay us. After all, I’m a businessman so I don’t do volunteer work."

At the sign of a compromise, I slumped with relief.

"Fine, state your price!" said Xiaotao.

Zhang Jiulin raised a finger, drawing an apprehensive inquiry from Xiaotao, "A hundred thousand? A million? Ten million?” She yelled, “Are you crazy? This is clearly blackmail!"

"Pretty lady, is it too expensive for you?” sneered Pockmark Li. “Most of the Yin objects we deal with cost more than that!"

“Carry on then, gentlemen,” I stood up, voice laced with a steely edge. “Thank you for your information. We’ll use our own methods to arrest the murderer so there’s no need to trouble you two. We’re leaving."

"Goodbye!" seethed Zhang Jiulin.

As Xiaotao and I opened the door to leave the teahouse, we were enraged to find ourselves back in the private room. The two glared at us, hostility spilling from their eyes. "Why are you back?" mocked Pockmark Li.

Zhang Jiulin slowly sipped his tea, "Do you still think we’re charlatans now?"

"It's just another one of your diversion tricks,” I sneered.

I pulled Xiaotao out of the room once more but we ended up back at square one, three times in a row. The men were obviously having their fun playing us like a fiddle. Having long reached the end of my patience, I silently recited the Song family's mantra as I opened the door again. This time, the muffled screams of a girl drifted into our ears as we walked out of the room, successfully making it to the corridor outside.

"How did he do it?" Xiaotao asked in disbelief.

"They’re both a bit unorthodox,” I said. “It’s not surprising that he’s up to his tricks."

"I suspect these two are loonies,” remarked Xiaotao. “10 million yuan in one go! That’s not a small amount even for me!"

"He might have done it on purpose,” I sighed. “Speaking of which, he’s still going after the Yin object."

"Let’s not cooperate with these people,” snorted Xiaotao. “The police have their own dignity and integrity."

Downstairs, an idle Song Xingchen was waiting to ask what the results of our little chat was. "The murder weapon is a strange xun. The information is important to us. We’ll make sure to block our ears when we’re investigating."

"As long as you’re not in danger, I have no problem," nodded Song Xingchen.

And with that, Song Xingchen dashed off into the night. "Don’t forget to plug your ears with headphones!" I yelled in his direction.

Xiaotao made a few calls to the bureau, informing Director-General Cheng that the murder involved some sort of sound but didn’t elaborate on how we stumbled upon that information. She suggested that the bureau provide each officer with a set of headphones which had to be worn as soon as something was amiss. Additionally, Officers Xun and Luo were currently closely guarded by the bureau. Captain Zhang of the SWAT team was currently out on a mission outside and couldn’t be reached so his superiors were informed about the matter. Fortunately, there was quick progress and the higher ups soon sent their approval.

As we walked through the streets, I asked Xiaotao if she was hungry. "I didn't eat much for dinner,” said Xiaotao. “Now that you mention it, I’m really hungry."

I pointed to a wonton stall by the road and suggested, "Let’s have a bowl of warm wonton soup!"

Xiaotao delightedly agreed. Although she was every bit a wealthy young lady, she wasn’t picky about eating at street stalls and even liked the food. At the wonton stall, I ordered us two bowls of wonton soup.

"Did you notice anything different about me today?" smiled Xiaotao.

I looked left and right, up and down, and asked tentatively, "Are you wearing makeup?"

Xiaotao playfully threw a pack of paper napkins at me, pouting almost petulantly, "You idiot, can't you tell I’ve gotten a haircut?"

"A haircut?” I asked somewhat dubiously. “Why don’t I see anything different?"

"Bangs!” she announced. “It’s so obvious! Do your eyes only work when you’re performing an autopsy?"

Her words rendered me speechless. Why did girls’ haircuts look exactly the same as before?

Right then, a sudden hubbub at the wonton stall snapped me out of my thoughts. A group of gangsters with tattoos swaggered up to the stall. Xiaotao lowered her voice and warned, "They look like trouble!"