Chapter 117 (2): Chilled to the Bone

"When I think back, that night still feels like a dream," Zuo Guanglie sighed.

"How so?" someone asked.

"Haven't I already told all of you the story a bunch of times? This is the place where..."

Zuo Guanglie's voice abruptly cut off here as it suddenly occurred to him that this was a voice he had never heard before.

He hurriedly turned around to discover a white-robed old man with a refined and graceful disposition, resembling a scholar of some sort.

The old man was observing him with a faint smile, and in his wake was a trail of dust thrown up into the air by the buffeting winds.

However, there was not a single speck of dust on his entire body, and his robe wasn't rippling even in the slightest. It was as if he were standing completely still on a calm day without even a lick of breeze.

It was as if there were some invisible barrier around him, keeping all of the wind and dust at bay.

Zuo Guanglie and his colleagues were completely dumbfounded. None of them had seen an old man approach them. It was as if he had teleported to them out of the blue!

"Who are you?" Zuo Guanglie asked as he gestured for his companions to get back, and some of them were already holding signal flares.

"You are Administrator Zuo Guanglie, is that correct?" the old man asked.

"That's me. Can I help you with something?"

Zuo Guanglie didn't know what to make of this situation.

The old man didn't seem to be displaying any malice or killing intent. Could it be that he was a senior from the Hall of Protectionists or the Guardians?

"Ah, good. I was worried I had the wrong person," the old man said with a faint smile.

"May I ask what business you have with me, Senior?" Zuo Guanglie asked in a puzzled voice.

"Allow me to introduce myself," the old man said with a smile. "My name is Yin Shengong."

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Senior Yin," Zuo Guanglie greeted with a smile of his own, but his smile instantly stiffened as soon as his mind had a chance to process what he had just heard.

"Yin... Yin Shengong?!"

"That's me," Yin Shengong confirmed with a smile and a nod.

Zuo Guanglie wanted to yell, but he felt as if his throat had closed over. Meanwhile, four of his companions had already sprung into action at once, releasing signal flares up into the sky, only for them to drop back down before they could even make it more than ten feet above the ground.

"Let's go have a chat outside the city. Are you going to cooperate, or will I have to make you come with me?"

Zuo Guanglie's heart was full of despair, and he felt as if his blood had frozen solid in his veins.

He collapsed feebly to the ground, and out of his peripheral vision, he could see his nine companions sagging to the ground as well.

At the same time, the wind grew even fiercer, throwing up so much dust into the air that visibility was reduced to zero.

Yin Shengong, Zuo Guanglie, and the other administrators were devoured by the ferocious duststorm, and by the time it subsided, Yin Shengong and the ten administrators were nowhere to be seen.

***

Meanwhile, Fang Che was patrolling the streets with Tang Zheng.

The entire city had been transformed into a ghost town, with everyone staying indoors to take shelter from the gale-force winds.

The two of them continued onward, sometimes with the wind, other times against the wind, and they felt as if they were wading through a boundless sandstorm.

Tang Zheng was doing his best to keep up, but his exposed skin stung from the abrasive grains of sand being swept his way.

Before long, they arrived in the area that was overseen by Cripple Hong and several other administrators.

Fang Che was very pleased with what he saw. During previous visits, this place had been a little disorderly, but that was no longer the case, and everything was well-organized and running smoothly in spite of the terrible weather.

Clearly, Cripple Hong had been working very hard of late.

After injecting some spirit qi into his ears, he quickly heard Cripple Hong's voice ringing out nearby.

"Show me your operating license... Alright, everything appears to be in order. Have any new faces moved into the inn during the past six months?"

"Go and clean up over there. All this wind has caused a huge mess."

"What are you doing? I can't accept this! You're attempting to bribe an official of the Hall of Protectionists, do you understand?"

"Don't be like that, Administrator Hong. Let's continue our past arrangement and..."

The innkeeper's voice was abruptly cut off as Cripple Hong clamped a hand over his mouth in a panic.

"Stop! You're going to get me killed! If anyone else is caught doing this, they could be reprimanded or fired, but I'll be beaten by death!"

"What? By who?"

Fang Che emerged from a swirling cloud of dust with his hands clasped behind his back and a faint smile on his face.

"Care to explain yourself, Administrator Hong?"

"I'm sorry, Chief Fang! Please forgive me!" Cripple Hong pleaded with a look of panic and despair in his eyes.

"Forgive you for what?"

"I... I..."

Cripple Hong was too terrified to speak.

"What did you try to give him just now?" Fang Che asked as he turned his gaze to the innkeeper.

The innkeeper was also at a loss for words.

"You tried to bribe him so he wouldn't check your inn, is that it?" Fang Che asked.

The innkeeper's face had turned deathly pale.

"Tang Zheng, call upon some administrators to enforce a lockdown order on this inn! No one is allowed to enter or leave the inn until I say so!" Fang Che ordered in a cold voice. "Let me see exactly what they have to hide!"

"I'm sorry, Chief Fang, this is all my fault," Cripple Hong said in a trembling voice. "This innkeeper came from the same hometown as me, and I've been looking after his business here and there, but I genuinely haven't accepted any bribes from him! He used to give me some pickled vegetables from our hometown, but I don't even dare to accept that from him now..."

He gestured for the innkeeper to reveal the contents of his bag as he spoke, and the innkeeper obliged.

𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Sure enough, there was only a bag of pickled vegetables inside.

Fang Che took a glance at the bag of pickled vegetables, then thrust it into Cripple Hong's hands as he harrumphed, "You better pray that there are no demonic church members staying in this inn. Otherwise..."

His voice trailed off into a silent threat that immediately had Cripple Hong sweating profusely.

The administrators quickly arrived to place the inn into lockdown, and Fang Che personally examined its residents one by one.

After a thorough examination, Fang Che didn't find any suspicious individuals staying in the inn, and he allowed everyone to return to their rooms.

"Your inn appears to be clean for now, but make sure to immediately contact the Hall of Protectionists if any suspicious people come to stay," Fang Che said to the innkeeper. "The safety of the residents of our prefecture is on the line. Even though businessmen like you prioritize earning money, there will only be money for you to earn in a safe and peaceful world, isn't that right?

“Hence, you have a heavy responsibility on your shoulders as well. Thank you for your hard work, I trust you'll do what's best for the people."

The innkeeper was moved to the point of tears.

"I'll be sure to live up to your trust, Chief Fang!"

With that, Fang Che lifted the lockdown order and dismissed all of the administrators present, then departed from the inn.

"How did it go, Chief Fang?" Cripple Hong asked in an uneasy manner as Fang Che emerged from the inn.

"The inn is clean," Fang Che replied with a smile. "I can tell you've been working hard of late."

"You're far too kind, Chief Fang," Cripple Hong said with a bashful smile.

"Just make sure you don't go running your mouth again. Otherwise, you're in for more beatings!"

"I'll be sure to keep my mouth shut!" Cripple Hong hurriedly replied.

Fang Che gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder before departing.

***

Going into the afternoon, not only had the winds not abated in the slightest, they had only become more ferocious.

"We've always had strong winds during spring, but even so, today has been particularly egregious," Tang Zheng murmured. "Thankfully, it should stop by nightfall."

Fang Che snatched a passing branch out of the wind and pulverized it as he shook his head and disagreed, "I have a feeling these winds will blow through the night. If they grow any stronger, then our Hall of Protectionists will likely have to send out disaster relief teams tomorrow."

"Even if the winds don't grow stronger, disaster relief efforts are probably necessary," Tang Zheng sighed. "The conditions will only be worse outside the city, where there's much less shelter to obstruct the wind, so there's a very good chance that many houses have already collapsed."

"It should be alright," Fang Che said. "In light of the recent snow disaster and volcanic eruptions, many of the people outside the city have moved into the city, and those who remain outside the city have had their houses fortified. That should allow them to weather this storm."

Right at this moment, Fang Che was alerted to an incoming message by his Five Spirit Parasite.

It was from Yin Shengong.

"Come to see me at Mountainside Village north of the city right now."

Mountainside Village? What's he doing there? Shouldn't he be at home?

An overwhelming sense of dread instantly welled up in Fang Che's heart.

After taking a moment to compose himself, he turned to Tang Zheng and said, "You go back to the Hall of Protectionists for now. I have some things to take care of."

"Alright, I'll go back after making another patrol of the slums," Tang Zheng replied with a nod.

Fang Che nodded in response, then sprang up into the air, his mind already a whirlwind of panicked thoughts, and he quickly arrived atop the northern city wall before flying out of the city.

Sure enough, the winds were even stronger outside the city, and visibility was severely hampered by the immense amount of dust and debris in the air.

What could Yin Shengong be doing in Mountainside Village? Why does he want me to go and see him there?

He couldn't think of any potential answers to these two questions, nor was he able to shake the sense of deep unease in his heart.