Chapter 103: Fire Sale

That afternoon, we planned to visit the real estate agency. When we arrived, a sales agent greeted us warmly and asked if we were here to buy or rent a property. Huang Xiaotao flashed her police badge. "Neither. We're here to ask you some questions."

The agent led us into a meeting room. After explaining our purpose, he flipped through a thick folder and said, "Bad timing, officer. That property is no longer with us."

Apparently, the homeowner had called just a few days ago, demanding to slash the price from three million down to one million. This drastic cut meant the agency's commission would shrink, so they resisted, citing the contract terms. In response, the owner paid a 20,000 yuan penalty to terminate the agreement.

Huang Xiaotao asked, "Do you have contact information for this homeowner?"

"Sure, I'll find it for you," the agent replied as he searched his records.

The owner's name was Jin Baoshan—the same person Lao Yao had investigated—a manager at a foreign company.

We headed straight to his office. On the way, Wang Dali muttered, "A two-story villa selling for just one million? That's a steal."

I nodded. "Yeah, it's practically a fire sale. There's definitely more to this sudden price drop."

Soon we arrived at the company. Jin Baoshan came down promptly. He was a refined middle-aged man who didn't seem fazed by the presence of police, smiling and asking, "Officer, what can I do for you?"

...

Huang Xiaotao said, "Is the property at No. 81 Xinjian Road yours?"

"It used to be, but I've already sold it these past few days..." Jin replied.

"How much did you pay, and how much did you sell it for?" Huang pressed on.

Jin frowned. "What I bought it for and what I sold it for are my private matters. That's not illegal, right?"

"We're just trying to understand the situation. We hope you'll cooperate," Huang said seriously.

Jin claimed he bought it for two million and sold it for three million. The lie was obvious—I didn't even need to activate my "Ghost Sight" ability.

Huang told him we had already visited the agency. Jin appeared calm and confessed, "Alright, I admit I made a losing deal. I'm no businessman—I tried flipping properties like others, but ended up taking a loss. I accept that, but it's my personal matter."

Huang sneered, "Buying and selling houses isn't police business. But if a body is found in the house, that's a matter for the authorities."

Jin was shocked. "What? There's a corpse in my house? Officer, you can't joke about that. Is this for real?"

I activated my Ghost Sight discreetly. His surprise was a performance, and I noticed he was slightly nervous.

Jin kept pestering about the bodies, but we couldn't reveal details. Huang asked, "Mr. Jin, why did you suddenly drop the price?"

"No special reason. I just feel the Chinese housing bubble won't last. If I don't sell now, the property will rot in my hands," Jin sighed helplessly.

The excuse was flimsy. No matter how Huang questioned him, he kept dodging. He was cunning. I thought about how to crack him open, then suddenly had an idea and signaled Huang to let me take over.

I cut straight to the point. "Mr. Jin, what shoe size do you wear?"

Jin tensed up for no reason. "My shoe size... What does that have to do with the house sale, officer?"

He refused to answer, so I glanced under the table. "Size 39, right?"

He pulled back his foot slightly. I asked Huang, "Didn't we find a size 39 shoeprint at the scene?"

Huang blinked in surprise, playing along. "Right!"

Of course, I was bluffing. We had collected over a dozen shoeprints last night but hadn't analyzed them yet. I stared Jin in the eyes and asked, "Have you been to the scene?"

Cold sweat broke out on Jin's forehead. "I'm busy with work. When would I have time to see that lousy house?"

He was stubborn. Huang tried another angle: "If that's true, please come with us to the scene."

"No, I can't. I have work," Jin refused firmly.

"Then explain why there was a size 39 shoeprint found there."

Jin suddenly stood up. "You're framing me! People wearing size 39 shoes are everywhere. How can you say it's mine? The two corpses were in my house, but that's got nothing to do with me."

I chuckled coldly. "How do you know there were two corpses in the house?"

Jin's eyes widened. He realized he'd slipped up. He sat down, dejected, and confessed he had been to the house a few days ago and found two burned bodies inside.

He figured if this got out, the house would plummet in value, and he'd get into trouble. So he rushed to sell it at a low price.

His story made sense, but I still sensed lies. I warned, "Stop hiding the truth. If you don't confess, you'll be behind bars starting tomorrow."

Jin frowned deeply. "Officer, I swear everything I said is true."

I sneered. "Then why are your legs shaking? Why are your hands rubbing your thighs nonstop?"

Lying is a false performance. Liars usually focus on controlling their facial expressions, ignoring other body parts like hands and feet, which easily betray their nervousness.

Finally, Jin gave in and told the truth. Just as I suspected, he knew those two people.

He explained that when he bought the mansion, the previous owner had sweet-talked him into it. But soon he realized it wasn't a mansion at all—it was a haunted house.

He dared not live there, and no one would rent it out. It became a nightmare for him.

So the house sat empty, a constant headache.

Recently, a pair of uncle and nephew self-proclaimed "haunted house testers" approached him. They claimed to have handled many haunted properties and had a great reputation in the industry. They promised to cleanse the house of its "dirty stuff."

Though the house was an asset, sitting unsold was worthless. Jin decided to take a chance and hired them, paying their commission.

The uncle and nephew acted all mysterious during their on-site inspection, babbling about feng shui, magnetic fields, spiritual energy, and planned to stay a few nights for testing.

The first few nights were uneventful, but on the fourth morning, they didn't call Jin. When he went to check, he saw exactly what we did: two burned corpses.

Jin was terrified. He thought if he reported it, the house would be tainted, and he'd face trouble. So he dropped the price and sold it quickly.

His story was truthful, but something still felt off. I asked, "Who bought the house?"

"Ren Facai, a man from Wenzhou planning to settle in Nanjiang City," Jin said without hesitation.

"What does he look like?" I asked.

"Chubby and pale, with a scar on his face."

"Do you have a photo?"

"No," Jin shook his head.

"Where's the contract?"

"It's locked at home. If you want to see it, I'll have to get it after work," he glanced at his watch.

I sneered. "Did Ren Facai really inspect the house before buying? Two corpses lying there and the sale went through? That's a buy-one-get-two deal."

Jin scratched his head. Ren Facai had eyed the house long ago but knew it was haunted and kept pushing for a steep discount. Jin refused, so the deal stalled.

After the uncle and nephew died mysteriously, Ren Facai contacted Jin again and snapped up the house for a bargain fifty thousand.

"Fifty thousand?" I was stunned. Adding Jin's 20,000 penalty fee to the agency, this was a huge loss.

Jin was ashamed. "I lied earlier to save face. You can't buy a two-story mansion for fifty thousand. But I had no choice. The situation forced me."

I suspected Ren Facai was heavily involved—he might have orchestrated the deaths of those haunted house testers.