The bathroom break

The mood all around them was festive but there was a certain degree of coldness and fear in the air. However, Xiao Lan felt like it was not only the air that felt odd. There was something about this place that did not seem to line up with his senses.

"I thought the flowering tree was taller when we were climbing up. I thought I saw it long ago but I guess I was wrong" Detective Song's mutter reached Xiao Lan's ear and he became alert all of a sudden.

Even he felt the oddity with this palace and those words the other muttered did not help his psyche. He looked at Fu Hua to gauge the other's reaction but the other had gone completely silent all of a sudden.

There was a sickly touch to the other's vibrant skin and his eyes looked haunted once again.

"Fu Hua, something wrong?" Xiao Lan asked, his voice quiet. The other was staring at the faraway compound with a look that screamed lost.

"It's nothing much. You see that compound, the one where a lot of people are visiting?" Fu Hua pointed toward the palace he had been looking at. Xiao Lan took a look as well but found nothing out of the ordinary.

Yes, it did look a little older and probably not safe for a lot of people but there seemed to be no real oddity in this situation.

"That place burned down the last time I was here. I guess they finally decided to rebuild it in its former memory. Apparently, it had been important to them" Fu Hua left it at that, not wanting to elaborate it further.

That was not a pleasant memory he liked to carry around with him.

"Hey, where did the old granny and the kids go? Have you seen them, Yuhan?" Detective Song asked once he started looking around for thier guide. He had wanted to ask where the bathroom was because he urgently needed to go.

But all he could do was to look around and not find them.

"Looking for the bathroom? There is none here. I begged them to get one made when I stayed here last but they ignored me. Why?" Fu Hua's voice went into an almost begging tone and a little more cheerful.

To Xiao Lan, it was clear that the other wanted to distract everyone around him from his words. And it seemed to work on the detective and commander Yuhan who frowned.

"That's bad. So what should Detective Song do now?" Commander Yuhan asked in a deadpan voice. He was not someone who liked the theatrics that Detective Song sometimes fell into.

"I'll take him to a place he can use. I know the layout pretty well" Fu Hua volunteered and Xiao Lan wanted to stop him from leaving. But detective Song did not give either of them a choice when he started dragging Fu Hua behind him.

"Come with me and hurry. I can't hold it any longer" it was a miracle no one actually paid any special attention to them after that performance. Xiao Lan had no idea how he would be able to show his face in public otherwise.

"At least you're a kid right now. No one would suspect who you are and shame you" Xiao Lan had never been gladder for this curse than right now.

Detective Song, in the meanwhile, continued to drag Fu Hua behind him. He only stopped once they had gotten away from the prying eyes of everyone else.

"Is it alright here? You genuinely looked like you would stop breathing any second there" detective Song had noticed the tense atmosphere that had appeared around the other. There was a story there that he was missing.

But it was alright. He could be patient and allow others to come to terms before he started prying. He was more likely to get the truth if Fu Hua was relaxed.

"This place looks the same as when I visited a few years ago. I would have chalked it up to coincidence if not for the trees. As you yourself mentioned, the flowering tree changed heights when he stepped inside the compound. There is something fishy here" Detective Song had figured it was something like this.

"An array? Or a calamity?" Was it a natural or man-made disaster? Both were pretty likely in this case and it would not surprise detective Song if it turned out to be either.

"I cannot say for sure. Come with me, I need to check something out" Fu Hua gathered himself together as he pushed himself away from the wall. His face showed a determined expression but also guilt.

Then he started walking in the direction the old building was in and Detective Song had to hurry to keep up with the other.

"Hey, wait. I wasn't joking at all. I do need to go to the bathroom first" Fu Hua gave him the most comical look he had ever received and detective Song would have enjoyed it a lot more had he not been in the predicament.

Fu Hua finally sighed and turned around to look at him properly.

"Alright. bathroom first and investigation later" that was something detective Song could agree with. All around them there was no one which was a weird occurrence.

There was a festival going on inside the temple complex so it was unlikely that none of them had an emergency. Detective Song did take into account that it could be a coincidence and Fu Hua might have taken them to a secluded spot but somehow he knew that was not it.

"H-Hey, are you leading me there to kill me? Would anyone find my remains and give me a good funeral?" Detective asked in a scared voice. For some reason, this place gave him the creeps.

"Hurry and finish your business here. I'll wait for you there" Xiao Lan pointed to a secluded spot a little distance away from him. Detective Song just nodded, happy to not be killed just like that.

But before he could even start, a rustling sound reached his ears. The bushes and twigs snapped under a solid weight which was unexpected. Were they not here alone?

"W-Whats wrong?" Detective Song asked, his voice almost breathless. He was a detective, not a brawler. He was an even bigger liability than Fu Hua should a fight break out.

"Shh. Keep quiet or we'll get caught" currently, they had a thick cover of bush that hid them from that noise but it was not a guarantee. Any noise would give them away in a heartbeat which was bad for them.

"-sure. Why this place? Doesn't seem that interesting to me" a voice reached their ears but none of them made a move to discover more. Chances were, they would be discovered if they tried to pry for more.

"Beats me. But this is the place the boss wants us to look into. Apparently, the beast is still out there and we need to get a hold of it. It's been almost four years now and you would think the beast would have been caught by now. Too bad, he manages to slip away every time" a beast? Four years ago?

Hinoe uma? That seemed far too likely.

So someone had kept an eye on the beast and now wanted it for themselves. And they had been trying for a long time now.

"Why don't the boss come himself if it's that important? Or send someone stronger than us? Hadn't it been four years already?" the first one complained. Detective Song was just impressed by how high his voice could go.

"Idiot, don't you remember what happened four years ago? Things are still -" and then they were too far to be heard. Detective Song deliberated on the topic of following or not following before he decided to follow.

But Fu Hua had a tight grip on him which did not allow him to move.

"Did you not say you needed to go to the bathroom? Go now and don't cause unnecessary trouble" the voice was dark and not happy. Perhaps those words had meant something to Fu Hua. Maybe he knew who those people were and wanted to keep his distance.

Anyway, it was not Detective Song's problem and he really did need to go to the bathroom urgently. He would look into it more once he was alone, or involve the other two if they wanted to get involved.

Fu Hua was keeping too many secrets and it was not right. If this continues, then the situation would only end up as it had four years ago.

Hmm, four years ago?