Case Files Chapter 63: Owl of the Night (3)

Translated by Vivian of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Addis

 

“Right, where’s my gun? Where did you store it? Don’t tell me you buried it along with my body.” Guan Jin suddenly thought of this problem.

“Even if I wanted to bury it, I couldn’t have. When I found you, the case you kept your gun in was already gone.” Tony spread his hands innocently.

Guan Jin’s expression changed. “They even took my gun? What for, their loot collection?”

“Um, maybe they’re too poor.”

“Then why didn’t they also take my body to fill up their stomachs.”

“Hey, calm down. I know you have very deep feelings for your darling, and we’ll definitely save her.” Tony felt that, after getting reborn, Ethan’s temper wasn’t very good, and his tolerance was already approaching zero, so it was necessary to placate him often.

“How are your investigations going?”

“‘Taji promised to give me some accurate news before I left. You have to know, the Messengers of the Gods are everywhere, so they don’t dare to be too presumptuous.”

“I’ll leave this to you. I’m going to go out for a bit this afternoon, let me borrow your Chevrolet.”

Tony sat up on the couch. “You’re going to go find those people? Are you sure? I’ll go with you, it would be very troublesome if you put yourself in a perilous situation.”

“They won’t show themselves in front of any outsiders, and they never deliver information through a third party. If you go, I’ll never be able to find them. Tony, I believe you, but what was that saying, the strength of the team is each individual member, and the strength of each member is the team. I also believe that with this ‘valuable legacy’ that old man left me, against those people, no matter how many alliances they have, it won’t be too much.”

*****

At around five, Guan Jin’s car stopped in a narrow and winding alley in the Bronx. There were already small groups of prostitutes wandering the streets, smoking or soliciting. Guan Jin turned a blind eye and walked past them, straight into a bar with a gray, unassuming door.

At this time, the bar had just opened for the day, so there weren’t many guests. However, there were already people dancing on the poles onstage, and the intense metal music drowned out the scattered applause and hoots. Guan Jin frowned and went to the bar counter and knocked on it to catch the bartender’s attention. The blond bartender walked over, and when he saw Guan Jin, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes. Soon afterwards, he smiled customarily. “Hey handsome, are you by yourself? Do you need something?”

“Lime Bacardi.” Guan Jin leaned forward. “Also, find someone for me, Simon Nighy.”

The bartender was taken aback, but he quickly resumed smiling. “You didn’t come to settle some emotional conflict with him, did you? Handsome, you should know that he doesn’t belong to someone, he belongs to everyone.”

“If you can’t find him, I don’t mind using other methods.” Guan Jin ignored his mockery and coldly spun the bottle in his hand.

The bartender was frightened by his expression, and he immediately became serious. He nodded towards the stage. “If the boss knew that someone couldn’t recognize him when he was right there, he would be very sad.”

Guan Jin slowly turned to the stage. Under the light, the snakelike man who had wound himself around the pole like a pretzel had just finished a number, and he did an extremely provocative movement, evoking catcalls and whistles. The red-haired man wearing a skin-tight garment walked off the stage with elegant strides and towards Guan Jin.

“Wow, I can’t believe I would see such a pure and harmless face here. You’ve come to the right place, we can definitely bring you an unique first experience, your first step towards maturity~” Simon leaned against the counter, and emotion seemed to surge in his gray eyes with a silver sheen in them. Evildoer, evaluated Guan Jin.

The bartender tactfully moved to the other end of the counter, and Guan Jin glanced at Simon’s waist, which was as thin as a noodle. “Are you sure you’re a dancer and not a stripper?”

Simon’s charming expression instantly froze, and he looked a little ridiculous. “Did you come to find me?”

“You admitted it pretty openly, aren’t you afraid I came here to kill you?”

Simon resumed his enchanting state and stroked his lips with his finger. “Usually, these people hook up with me first and then talk business. But,” his expression suddenly became cold, “you shouldn’t be the one to come find the ‘Dancer’, I don’t know you.”

“That would be correct, since the one you know already went to steal from god’s museum.” Guan Jin looked at him.

Simon’s eyes lit up. “You? You’re that small boy who was under the Collector’s guardianship? No, no, you’re not a small boy anymore, are you really over thirty years old?”

Guan Jin was unable to explain this problem, so he fished out an Ancient Egypt ornament and put it in front of Simon. “I need your help, Dancer.”

Simon grabbed the ornament and chuckled. “That old man sure is sly, he knows people everywhere, but for nothing more than to sell favors. Good for him, now his descendant is here to collect debts.”

“I’m not his descendant. However, it’s best to obtain debts earlier, so as not to have to worry later.”

“Ha, how did that old man raise such a child to be as serious as you? What a miracle. If you need my help with anything, I’ll do my best.” Simon’s long eyelashes fluttered.

Guan Jin wringed his hands and held it back for a while, since he felt that it wouldn’t be polite to ask him to do this, but in the end, he couldn’t help it. “I need you to——wash your face first before talking business with me, or else I’m afraid I won’t be able to refrain myself from adding a bruise or two to your face.”

Simon put his hands over his heart, and his expression was heartbroken.

Only after he arrived at the bar’s lounge in the back did Guan Jin feel himself calm down. He didn’t know when it had started, but the night shows he used to like indulging himself in now made him feel extremely unpleasant and irritable.

Simon came in, and his face without the makeup was unexpectedly handsome, with a hint of gentleness. However, his gaze was still a little sad from Guan Jin belittling his makeup.

Guan Jin didn’t care about that, and he finally felt like talking, so he concisely told Simon about his entire situation, though he of course hid the details about his identity and being reborn.

“You have something against Hermes? That’s quite troublesome. You should know, I’m afraid it’s not because of the opponent, it’s because we don’t even know who the opponent is.”

“Which is why I need to know who he is.”

Simon rubbed his chin. “I can help you contact some people. Hermes isn’t an actual deity, and as long as he’s a person, there’s bound to be people who know him. I’m not very good at providing you with the equipment and manpower you need, but since you’re the Collector’s successor, you’re one of us, so we’ll do our utmost to help you. Tomorrow, go find our contact person, Margaret. I’ll let her know about you in advance.”

“How do I find her?”

“There’s a two-story building behind the corner of two blocks, and it’s a tailor shop. Go in and find the person behind the counter, there’s only one behind the counter, and ask him if he is right.”

Guan Jin left him his contact information, stood up and said goodbye, and right before he left, he asked curiously, “Are you really over forty years old?”

Simon touched his face alluringly. “I’m the eternal Mephistopheles. Time holds no meaning to me.”

Guan Jin sneered and walked out the door.

“Hey, Guan, you really don’t want me to give you a coming-of-age present?” Simon leaned against the doorframe and winked at him.

Guan Jin turned around. “Before you hook up with others, you should find some powder to cover up your wrinkles first.”

*****

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Pacific Ocean.

Lu YunYang crossed his legs and watched as his older brother walked in.

“How come you’re free to come over today?” Lu YunShen was a little surprised.

“I’ve always been free, it was you who wasn’t.” Lu YunYang looked aggrieved. “As your younger brother, I wanted to visit, but your secretary told me to make an appointment.”

“You’ve been too idle lately, you called my work phone, didn’t you?” retorted Lu YunShen.

Lu YunYang leaned back on the sofa and sighed. He had indeed needed something to distract himself, or else it would’ve been very difficult for him to restrain from going to the airport. He had arrived at the Special Cases Unit in a good mood, only to be told that Guan Jin had taken two days off, and they didn’t know where he had gone. When he called, the other end went straight to voicemail. He reluctantly used his family connections to look into it, and learned that Guan Jin had flown to New York, and he was with that blond Tony. The first word that had emerged in Lu YunYang’s mind was: elopement!

The reason why he was so worried was because, as far as he knew, Guan Jin had never left the country until now, and in New York, he had no relatives or friends. A foriegn friend had appeared out of thin air, and he had also flown to the United States. No matter how hard he tried, Lu YunYang couldn’t calm himself down anymore. And, before Guan Jin left, he hadn’t even thought to let him know, which clearly meant that he was irrelevant in Guan Jin’s mind and had never stepped into his world. It seemed that all of his hard work and efforts from before were in vain. With this realization, Lu YunYang felt frustrated in a way he had never felt before.

“Judging from your conflicted expression, did you come here to seek consolation? Tell me, which young lady has captured the heart of my keen little brother?” Lu YunShen hadn’t expected that his little brother, who would be talking and laughing even if the sky collapsed, would be like this. He was very curious as to who could make him like this.

Lu YunYang didn’t reply and looked upstairs instead. “Is my brother-in-law home?”

Lu YunShen also looked upstairs. “Mn, he’s been resting lately. You also know, he can’t go outside too much, and he likes to stay cooped up inside.”

“At our last family dinner, how come you didn’t bring him over? Mom secretly reproached you in front of me.”

“He didn’t want to go, and I didn’t want to force him,” Lu YunShen said lightly.

“Tsk tsk, brother, this is where you’re wrong. I can guarantee you that if you dare to get him to go no matter what, when you guys return, he’ll be even more head over heels for you.” Lu YunYang winked.

Lu YunShen looked suspicious.

“Trust the professional evaluation of a psychologist.”

“You can’t even handle your own affairs, yet you dare to mess around in mine?”

“Ah, you did everything right, you’re just one step away. As for me, I’ve walked twenty thousand li on the Long March ¹, yet I now realize that I’ve been going in the wrong direction. How can these compare?”

“Who could have this skill?”

“Mn…” Lu YunYang thought back. “They’re very——special.”

“Wait, don’t tell me, their gender is also very special,” Lu YunShen suddenly said.

Lu YunYang looked at him innocently. “Originally, I was going to share the burden of continuing the family with my younger brother, but now, it seems that he’ll have to handle it alone.”

“…Did you fall for a straight one?”

“No, that’s not the point.”

“Right,” Lu YunShen suddenly remembered something, “there’s an opportunity, and I advise you to bring that person of yours. What did our brother say? That’s sacred land for developing feelings.”

Lu YunYang raised an eyebrow, interested.

*****

Meanwhile, Guan Jin, who had been used as a conversation topic behind his back, had peacefully fallen asleep. He had a dream, and in the dream, Lu YunYang was confessing to him with a cold expression. Guan Jin ridiculed, “Are you trying to win me over with such a dead expression?” A white light flashed in front of him, and Lu YunYang’s back was facing him. He slowly turned around, and he had Simon’s brown eyeshadow and crimson, lustrous lips. He smiled coquettishly. “Little Jin, come here~~~”

Guan Jin’s eyes flew open, and he was covered in cold sweat. Fortunately, no matter how weird that sham of a psychic was, he would never put on smokey makeup.