Chapter 171: The Weird Case at the Park

The return trip went smoothly. Li Banfeng was only delayed briefly in the cave, and this time he did not run into the millipede. He made his way out on his own, one step at a time.

Li Banfeng sat down at the foot of the cliff. He felt his legs were so numb that they might snap off at the hips.

Even so, his cultivation had improved by a noticeable margin. He could sense that he had earned more than three months' worth of cultivation progress.

While resting, Li Banfeng took a Blue Poplar Pill and then swallowed a Golden Essence Pill. Once most of his strength returned, he set off again without delay.

When he passed Mount Bloodfang, he followed the same narrow trail the Dripper had once taken. He did not run into the Bloodfang Monster.

After crossing the Three-Shift River, the last of the restrictions fell away. Li Banfeng broke into a full sprint and headed straight back toward Inner Gully.

He had originally planned to stop by Feng's General Store first and ask whether Shopkeeper Feng could help him obtain a travel permit to Greenwater Bay. After all, it would be too dangerous to wander around the New Land without one.

However, as he passed the entrance of Yu's Cloth Shop, he saw that Yu Nan was standing there.

The moment she spotted him, her face lit up. "Master Qi, you really did come."

Li Banfeng halted at the doorway and stared at her in surprise. "How did you know I was coming?"

Yu Nan said nothing more. She pulled Li Banfeng by the hand and drew him into the shop. They passed through to the rear courtyard, where she pushed open the door to a side room.

Inside sat an elderly man in tattered clothes, his beard and hair streaked with gray.

It was Old Mister Yao! He was actually waiting for Li Banfeng at Yu's Cloth Shop. He had already known Li Banfeng had returned to Medicine King Gully and had told Yu Nan to wait at the shop entrance for him.

After leading Li Banfeng inside, Yu Nan quickly left the room.

Old Mister Yao took out a jar of wine, poured two bowls, and gestured for Li Banfeng to sit before saying, "Young man, this trip must have been hard for you."

Li Banfeng shook his head slightly. "The job itself wasn't hard. Delivering medicine isn't difficult. The hardship was something I brought upon myself."

Old Mister Yao smiled. "That's not how I see it. If you hadn't risked your life to stop the mosquito plague, that old dog Pan Dehai would have continued stirring trouble. If he had truly released those insects outside of the ridges, who knows how many people across Puluo Province would have died?

"I invited you here today for two reasons. Firstly, to settle the matter of the liquor gourd. At the time, I wasn't certain you would succeed, so I kept the gourd's contract with me. Secondly, I want to give you another reward as a thank you gift. Tell me. What would you like?"

Li Banfeng shook his head. "You have already given what should be given. I don't want anything more."

"If I say I am giving it, then I am giving it. Think it over carefully. Let me settle matters with the gourd first."

The gourd brushed lightly against Li Banfeng, waiting for his permission.

Li Banfeng placed the gourd on the table.

"Do you need me to step outside?" Li Banfeng asked as he started to rise.

Old Mister Yao replied, "Young man, stay seated. I only wish to hear her recount how the mosquitos were eradicated. I will not ask about anything else."

Old Mister Yao had already heard about the extermination from Pan Dehai. However, fearing that Pan Dehai might not have told the full truth, he asked the liquor gourd to confirm it once more.

The gourd gave a detailed account of how the mosquitoes had been wiped out. She spoke only of the extermination itself. As for the Pocket Dwelling and everything within it, she did not mention a single word.

Once everything was made clear, Old Mister Yao let out a soft sigh. "I knew it. No poison in this world can truly wipe out an entire species. In the end, it still has to be done by Green Beggar's disciples."

With that, he took out a contract and burned it to ashes in front of Li Banfeng.

Li Banfeng glanced at the ashes and felt a flicker of curiosity. "Is a contract always required between an enchanted artifact and its master?"

Old Mister Yao shook his head. "For low-level artifacts, it isn't necessary. As for high-level ones, a contract isn't needed either if you can truly control them.

The gourd has been with me for many years. But if we speak of control, I cannot say with certainty that I can control her. And as for relationships and bonds... I am not someone who places much faith in the emotional bond between two beings."

With the contract reduced to ashes, the gourd went back to Li Banfeng's side.

As for whether Li Banfeng would form a contract with the liquor gourd, Old Mister Yao did not ask. It was not his place to interfere as well.

"Have you thought about the something extra you want as a token of thanks?" Old Mister Yao asked. "Don't tell me you want nothing. I dislike owing favors."

Li Banfeng had, in fact, thought of something. "I got an Intestinal Roller Silkworm. I intend to give it to a friend. What preparations should I make?"

"An Intestinal Roller Silkworm?" Old Mister Yao frowned deeply. "Pan Dehai gave it to you, didn't he?"

Li Banfeng nodded.

Old Mister Yao let out a dry and painful laugh. "That old bastard never does anything without a scheme. You are not a Gourmandism Cultivator. Giving you that thing was clearly meant to stir up trouble."

"I plan to give it to a Gourmandism Cultivator," Li Banfeng replied.

"You mean that chubby fellow?" Old Mister Yao asked. "He's still only at the first level, isn't he?"

Li Banfeng nodded again.

Old Mister Yao took out a small packet of medicinal powder and a liquor flask. He poured the powder into the flask, then filled it with liquor and gave it a gentle shake.

"Have the chubby lad drink this first," he said. "After that, tell him to swallow the Intestinal Roller Silkworm. Tell him this as well. If there comes a day that he can no longer handle the effect of this worm, he may come see me. I can extract the Intestinal Roller Silkworm from his body. But he will have to figure out what to do with it after on his own."

Can't handle it?

Li Banfeng thought and asked, "Is it because he won't be able to withstand the hunger?"

Old Mister Yao shook his head. "For a Gourmandism Cultivator, it's good to be a little bit hungry. The more he eats, the faster his cultivation grows. I am just worried he won't be able to afford it. That chubby guy isn't sharp, and he doesn't look like someone who knows how to make money. He might eat himself into poverty within a year or two."

Eat himself into poverty? Is that even possible?

Li Banfeng frowned at the thought. He tucked the medicinal liquor away, then poured a few cups of wine for Old Mister Yao. The two of them drank slowly and talked for a while.

A bell rang outside the door.

Old Mister Yao rose at once and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "I should get going. The rickshaw is here to pick me up. Go keep that girl from the Yu Family company. Have a meal with her and sleep with her. She misses you a lot."

Li Banfeng looked at him with complete seriousness. "Eating and drinking are fine. But sleeping together... isn't that a bit inappropriate?"

Old Mister Yao puffed out his chest and spoke with such righteousness, "What's inappropriate about it? Don't you sleep at night? Just share a quilt with her!

"With the weather being so cold, it's warmer if two people huddle together. I didn't tell you to do anything else."

"That works too." Li Banfeng agreed.

Old Mister Yao stepped out of the cloth shop and climbed into a rickshaw.

The rickshaw driver did not ask where he was going. He did not ask about the fare. He simply lifted the shafts and started walking, light on his feet, as if he already knew everything there was to know.

Old Mister Yao pulled out his flask and took a long, noisy gulp. "Do you know where I'm headed?"

The driver smiled pleasantly. "You have been out for quite some time. I would say you are going home."

Old Mister Yao took another drink, louder this time. "Do you know where my home is?"

The driver let out a soft chuckle. "Of course. I pass by your door whenever I have nothing better to do."

Gulp, gulp!

Old Mister Yao drained the flask until not a single drop remained. He wiped his mouth and said, "Let's discuss something. Could you perhaps move your little business somewhere else?"

The rickshaw driver shook his head and said, "No! I think this spot of yours is very good."

Without missing a beat, Old Mister Yao pulled out another flask. He took another drink and said, "It's very hard for me to die! You won't outlast me!"

The driver's voice was bright and hopeful.

"I am not in a hurry," he said. "I can wait. "With how you drink everyday, you might just be gone one of these days."

***

Back at Yuezhou Third Hospital, He Jiaqing still lay motionless on his bed.

Zou Guoming, an investigator from the Dark Star Bureau, stopped at the doorway and watched him for a moment. He did not step inside. After quietly asking the physician about the patient's condition, he turned and left the hospital.

Within the Public Security Team, Zou Guoming was both the most capable and the most senior investigator.

He had a large head and narrow shoulders, which made his body look slightly out of proportion. Because of that, the team had given him a nickname: Blockhead.

When the accident happened to He Jiaqing, Zou Guoming and two other officers were assigned to guard him around the clock.

No one expected He Jiaqing to remain unconscious for more than half a year. Blockhead could not keep watch here forever, but every few days, he still came to the hospital to check on He Jiaqing. This was not an order from the Bureau. It was Blockhead's instinct. He always felt there was something hidden behind He Jiaqing's case.

This time, however, he had not come only for He Jiaqing. Right beside Yuezhou Third Hospital lay Flower Lake Park, one of the most famous parks in the city.

Recently, a disappearance had taken place in that park.

The missing person was a university student named Hu Lishan. At eleven o'clock one night, she had entered the park alone.

The surveillance cameras captured her walking through the gate. They showed her wandering among the trees. At one point, they even recorded her dropping her phone. However, there was no footage of her leaving.

She had vanished inside the park. No footprints. No signs of struggle. Only the phone she had left behind.

From the data on that phone, investigators learned that Hu Lishan had recently suffered a setback in her relationship. That was likely why she had gone to the park so late at night.

Her boyfriend was investigated thoroughly afterward. Their emotional dispute was laid out in detail, but none of it pointed directly to her disappearance.

Cases that went nowhere were handed over to the Dark Star Bureau. The Bureau did not concern itself with catching criminals. It only cared about one thing: whether a case involved a supernatural ability user.

Blockhead was not interested in this case at all. In fact, he suspected that Hu Lishan had likely been overwhelmed by a sudden impulse to end her life and had thrown herself into Flower Lake.

Yet as he followed the route shown in the surveillance footage, retracing her steps through the park, a faint unease crept into his mind. Something about this place felt wrong.

He heard it first. A faint sound drifted through the trees, thin and fragile, like a woman weeping somewhere far away. Then he caught the smell. It lingered in the air, sharp and metallic, like fresh blood.

Blockhead was a fifth-level combatant, what Puluo Province referred to as a Martial Cultivator.

𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

A Martial Cultivator might not have the keenest senses among ability users, but his perception far surpassed that of an ordinary person.

Following the faint sobbing and the metallic scent in the air, Blockhead made his way to a Western-style house tucked inside the park. The weeping came from somewhere behind it.

He was just about to circle around to the back when a piercing screech split the air. The crying stopped at once.

"Please look over here, everyone. This Western-style house is the landmark building of Flower Lake Park..."

A tour guide was leading a group past the building. Blockhead shot the guide a brief glance, then walked toward the back of the house.

The back of the house was empty. The weeping had vanished, and so had the scent of blood.

This was the Dark Star Bureau's awkward reality. They could not seal off a place or stir up attention. They had to move quietly, blending into the background. More often than not, ordinary civilians wandered straight into their investigations and ruined the moment.

However, Blockhead was certain now. Something was wrong with this park.

He found a small inn nearby, rented a room by the hour, and rested there for half a day.

At ten that night, he returned to the park. He paused among the trees and drew in a slow breath.

Sniff... sniff...

Soon, he heard a sharp inhale. It sounded like someone sniffling from the cold, or perhaps struggling to hold back tears.

Blockhead followed the sound forward and soon saw the Western-style house again. This time, the smell of blood struck him full force, thick and metallic, far stronger than it had been during the day.

Both the sound and the scent came from behind the house. He moved around to the back and saw a woman standing there with her back to him.

Each time she inhaled, her shoulders trembled and her body shook. She was indeed sobbing.

She wore a denim jacket and a pair of denim jeans, exactly matching the silhouette Hu Lishan had left behind in the surveillance footage.

Blockhead did not approach rashly. As an experienced investigator, he knew that the moment he witnessed this scene, his task was already complete.

He took out his phone and called the Bureau for backup. He dialed several times in a row, but all he got was a short, clipped busy tone.

The call did not fail because of the Bureau. His phone had lost its signal. Faced with this sudden situation, Blockhead did not panic.

He pulled a second phone from his pocket, clamped it between his teeth to free his hands, and extended the antenna. After adjusting its direction carefully, he dialed the Bureau again.

This was a satellite phone issued by the Dark Star Bureau. It was troublesome to use, but relatively reliable.

The number rang for a long time, but there was still no response.

I can't even get through with my satellite phone?

Blockhead thought. For the first time, he felt a thread of tension tighten in his chest.

Where is she going? What state is she in? Is she still alive?

Blockhead was still hesitating over whether to follow when he realized, with a jolt, that he already was. He was advancing with her. His legs had not moved, yet the distance between him and Hu Lishan remained exactly the same.

The scenery around him began to shift. The ground beneath his feet slid backward. Even the Western-style house beside him seemed to drift away, slowly receding into the distance.

The ground beneath Hu Lishan suddenly began to warp. Ripples spread across the hard cobblestone path, as though the solid earth had turned into water. They were water ripples!

The wall ahead of her blurred and dissolved without a sound. In its place lay a lake shrouded in dense mist. Hu Lishan stepped into the lake, and Blockhead was dragged into the water with her.

Icy water rushed into his trousers, seeping through the fabric and biting into his skin. He fought with all his strength, but his legs would not respond.

Not only his legs, but his arms quickly stiffened as well. He felt his entire body locked in place, unable to move at all.

Hu Lishan slowly sank beneath the surface.

Blockhead's entire body froze. He was still holding the satellite phone in his hand when he disappeared beneath the lake with Hu Lishan.

The ripples spread once more, then gradually faded. The ground hardened again, returning to solid stone, as if nothing had ever happened.

Water forced its way into his mouth and nose. On the verge of losing consciousness, Blockhead stared up at the pitch-black surface above him. Then, he felt that everything dissolved into darkness.

Is this how I die? Dead over a missing-person case? The thought flashed through Blockhead's mind.

He refused to accept it. Yet refusal meant nothing here. No matter how unwilling he was, it could not pull him out of the water. His hands would not move. His legs would not kick. All he could do was sink and drown.

Whoosh~

A hand broke through the hardened surface and grabbed Blockhead, dragging him out from beneath the layer of earth.

Soaked in lake water and caked in mud, Blockhead collapsed onto the ground. He coughed and retched again and again, water spilling from his mouth.

Someone stood beside him, watching in silence.

Blockhead forced himself to lift his head and looked over at the person next to him.

He Jiaqing! The same He Jiaqing who is lying motionless in a hospital bed during the day?

Blockhead's mind went blank as he blurted out, "H-how is that possible? I-it's you..."

"You should thank me first," He Jiaqing said with a faint smile. "You just stepped into the New Land. Didn't expect that, did you? The Outer Provinces have a New Land too.

"Don't let your fifth-level cultivation fool you. If I hadn't pulled you out, you would be dead without a doubt. Want to go back in and take another look? You have got nerve. I can take you through it one more time."

Author's Note:

PS: The character Blockhead first appeared in chapter five and only his name was mentioned.