Jiang Tianxin told her family about inviting Xu Zifan to stay at their home temporarily, and they were naturally overjoyed. Xu Zifan had helped them so much; he was definitely a great benefactor to their family. Just giving him money felt like something was missing, and now that Xu Zifan was willing to stay at their home, that was even better. They could properly entertain the master.
Jiang's mother thought it was good that her daughter took the initiative to apologize to the master. She even talked to her daughter for a long time and gave her advice, "You must show enough sincerity. The master won't hold it against you, but you must remember this lesson. In the future, you must be tactful and leave yourself a way out."
By the way, since the master stayed there because of your yang energy, then you can arrange things for him. Find some jade ornaments and calligraphy and paintings by famous artists to place in the master's room; he usually likes those."
So as soon as she got home, Jiang Tianxin personally directed the maids to decorate the room. However, she figured that Xu Zifan's style of dress was obviously more fashionable and might be different from the other masters, so she went to ask him first.
As expected, Xu Zifan said he liked listening to music, watching movies, and playing games. Jiang Tianxin then decorated a room for him with super entertainment features, where he could watch projectors and 3D movies while lying in bed.
Jiang Tianxin showed Xu Zifan the room's features and asked, "Does the Taoist priest like it?"
Xu Zifan had everything he needed in his space, so it didn't really matter which room he stayed in. He was just deliberately testing Jiang Tianxin's limits to see if she would get upset or throw a tantrum. Now, seeing Jiang Tianxin's natural attitude and her genuine desire to make amends, he couldn't help but change his opinion of her. It seemed she wasn't the kind of person who was easily angered or impulsive; on the contrary, she knew her mistakes and was sincere. This... made it very convenient for him to cling to her!
Xu Zifan smiled and said, "Very good, thank you for your trouble, Officer Jiang. Actually, Jiang Dong and I are friends, and we'll be staying here from now on. You can just call me by my name; it won't seem so formal. May I call you by your name?"
Jiang Tianxin, of course, wouldn't say no, and followed Jiang Dong's lead by calling him "Brother Fan." After saying it, she felt a little awkward, as if the title was too intimate.
Xu Zifan responded naturally and changed the subject, "Xin Xin, do you remember the driver who lost control of his car on Qingshui Road before? That driver was drunk driving, but drunk driving wasn't the reason he lost control. He lost control because a female ghost he hit and killed was seeking revenge. I was busy the past few days and didn't have time to look into it. If you can get involved in this case, I'd like to go with you to take a look?"
Jiang Tianxin became serious. "He killed someone? This case has already been closed as a drunk driving offense. How about this, you come with me, I'll check the case and see if we can reopen it." She paused before calling out, "Brother Fan, is that alright?"
"Okay, Xin Xin, let's go." Xu Zifan deliberately called her name, happily leading the way out. First day of being bound to the amulet!
Jiang Tianxin frowned, still feeling that their sudden use of such intimate terms of address was too much. She had only apologized, and their relationship had suddenly become so much closer? This master clearly had a bad temper, so why did he seem so magnanimous towards her?
When the two arrived at the police station, Liu Zi and the others were surprised and a little nervous to see Xu Zifan. The master was at the police station, so had something supernatural happened again?
Jiang Tianxin asked Xiaoqin to retrieve the truck driver's case file, asked Liu Zi to take two people to investigate the old man's case, and assigned the two cases at hand to other people to investigate. Only then did she bring Xu Zifan into the office.
She turned on her computer and said to Xu Zifan, "Brother Fan, do as you please. I'm going to draft a report to report on my brother's case to my superiors later."
Xu Zifan sat on the sofa, propping his head up as he looked at her. "How do you plan to report this?"
"Report the facts. This was witnessed by me and several colleagues; it's not fake. I need to report this situation. The old Taoist priest who escaped should also be listed in the case file, so that no one will know about him if he harms people in the future." Jiang Tianxin quickly wrote down the details of what happened at the ancestral graves.
Xu Zifan turned around and leaned against the back of the sofa, opened the blinds a little, looked at the police officers bustling around outside, and asked, "Does your police force have special recruitment programs? If I want to become a police officer here, do I have to go to police academy?"
Jiang Tianxin paused in her typing, glanced at him, and said, "Brother Fan wants to be a policeman? There have been special recruitments, but not here. The police here are all elites selected through rigorous training. Police training includes many aspects such as basic physical fitness, combat, escape, reconnaissance and counter-reconnaissance, negotiation, undercover work, loyalty and patriotism, etc. Special recruitment generally cannot meet the requirement of being excellent in all aspects; it is not enough to be outstanding in only one aspect."
Although Xu Zifan is skilled in many areas and confident in his ability to be a top-notch police officer, he has indeed lacked professional training. Compared to regular police officers, his methods are all unorthodox, so he is unlikely to pass the assessment. Furthermore, without a period of education and observation, the organization cannot trust his loyalty and patriotism.
He might be able to get a job as an auxiliary police officer in a regular police force, but it's impossible for him to join Jiang Tianxin's elite team.
Before he could come up with a better solution, Xiaoqin had already returned. After carefully reviewing the documents, Jiang Tianxin frowned and said, "He has no criminal record, so it's extremely difficult to find out who he killed. What time, what place, and who he hit? There are too many car accidents, and not all of them fall under our jurisdiction. Brother Fan, if you saw that female ghost, could you tell who she was?"
Xu Zifan only saw a fragment, and he didn't know the time or place. He got up, walked behind Jiang Tianxin, and knocked on her chair. "I'll use your computer for a bit and try to find it."
Jiang Tianxin stepped aside, puzzled, wondering what he was looking for. Wasn't he talking about the driver's case? The police station's computer system requires a password to access anything.
Then she saw Xu Zifan type a long string of code, and the police system seemed to open its doors to him. He quickly found the truck driver's dashcam footage as evidence—the footage from the time he almost hit Jiang Dong. Then, following this footage, he actually hacked into the truck driver's dashcam!
Jiang Tianxin watched as he recovered all the videos that had been recorded and deleted from the dashcam, and quickly drew an image of a woman using some software. The image had very clear details of her appearance, hairstyle, and clothing. Then he compared and analyzed the image with the videos, and found the relevant videos in less than a minute.
It was a rainy night. The truck driver was listening to music and drinking when he accidentally hit the woman. He got out of the truck in a panic to check, hesitated for a moment, and then decisively fled the scene.
Jiang Tianxin stared in disbelief, "Brother Fan, you...you're a hacker?"
Xu Zifan then used image comparison to retrieve the woman's information and the records of her family's police report after the incident. He put his index finger to his lips and said, "Shh, I won't use hacking to do bad things, okay? It's just that sometimes it's more convenient this way."
He saved the useful information, logged out of the system to clear all traces, and returned the chair to Jiang Tianxin.
Jiang Tianxin's values were shaken again. Hacking into government systems is illegal, but... without Xu Zifan's help, it seemed impossible to convict the driver.
She continued writing the report in silence, feeling that her thoughts were somewhat dangerous. She actually agreed with Xu Zifan. Just like the old man's case, if no evidence could be found, wouldn't their family be constantly threatened with death?
Does having such thoughts make her unsuitable to be a police officer?
After finishing her report, Jiang Tianxin asked Xu Zifan to wait a moment, then suppressed her chaotic thoughts and went to report the case to her superiors.
When the case was initially filed, Jiang Dong's statement mentioned that a master had saved him and that the master said someone was trying to harm him and that he would always be in danger. The higher-ups never expected that Jiang Tianxin, such an excellent police officer who was resolutely against superstition, would mention a Taoist priest's magic duel, along with things like a vengeful black cat and a straw doll in his report—utter nonsense.
But Jiang Tianxin called Liu Zi and the others to testify that such a strange thing had indeed happened at the scene, so her superiors took her to report to the bureau chief.
If it's false, it means that Jiang Tianxin and her subordinates have delusions and are not suitable to continue working. If it's true, then it must be reported to the highest leader in the bureau.
Upon hearing this, the bureau chief immediately inquired about the details of the incident. After asking, he had no doubts whatsoever and instead said, "Let's put this case on hold for now, and I'll inform you of the details of how to handle it later."
The bureau chief ignored their questions and dismissed them after finishing his speech.
Jiang Tianxin had a vague suspicion in her mind, but she couldn't confirm it, so she had to tell her subordinates to deal with other cases first. The priority was to ask the driver to cooperate with the investigation on the grounds that there were doubts about the case, to get the dashcam back, and then to explain the situation to the female victim's family.
After arranging the necessary tasks, she saw Xu Zifan still sitting calmly in his office and couldn't help but ask, "Brother Fan, you must have had a long day yesterday. Do you want to go home and rest?"
"No need, it's fine here, it's safe." Xu Zifan looked at a police magazine, appearing quite relaxed.
Jiang Tianxin sat silently for a while, then, remembering how she had been laughing that day, she unconsciously touched her forehead. "Brother Fan, that talisman... did it go into my forehead that day?"
Xu Zifan was taken aback, then laughed out loud, "Why would you think that? The talisman is just hidden; it will disappear when it loses its effect and won't enter a person's body."
Jiang Tianxin secretly breathed a sigh of relief, then touched her forehead again. So, there was an invisible talisman on her forehead all day? It was still so eerie to think about. But the world of metaphysics is truly fascinating!
She hesitated for a moment, then tentatively asked, "Brother Fan, can I learn formations, talismans, and spells? Are there any qualification requirements for learning them?"
"Yes, but your birth date is special, you have an extraordinary talent for metaphysics. Want to learn it?" Xu Zifan's heart stirred. He put down the magazine, looked at her, and said enticingly, "Actually, only by learning this can you truly punish evil and uphold justice. Then you can catch criminals and deal with all sorts of strange things. No matter what kind of villain they are, they won't escape your grasp."
Jiang Tianxin's eyes lit up. "Brother Fan, can you take me as your apprentice? I will definitely study hard and take it upon myself to revitalize Qingfeng Temple!"
He called her "Brother Fan" so willingly. Xu Zifan smiled slightly and said, "Okay, from now on you'll be my apprentice."
"...Thank you, Brother Fan." Was it really that easy? Why does it feel a little strange?
Xu Zifan was in a really good mood. He was just worried about not having a reason to rely on the talisman, and this girl just happened to walk right into his life. If she became his disciple, wouldn't she be at his beck and call? He would never have to worry about bad luck again!