After ending his call with Ren Shu, Chen Chuan immediately dialed Cheng Zitong. Because discussing these matters over the telephone was inconvenient, once he confirmed that his teacher was in his office, he planned to head over to the administration building.
After a moment's thought, he returned to his dorm room to grab the stack of materials Gao Ming had sent him. Leaving the dormitory building, he followed the path along Spring and Autumn Lake into the administrative office building and headed upstairs to the Logistics Office.
Cheng Zitong waited for him to enter, closed the door, and asked, "A commission from the Municipal Administration? The flying head creatures?"
Chen Chuan said, "Yes, Teacher. This time there's a possibility of encountering the source of those flying heads, so I wanted to consult you to see if there is anything I should keep in mind."
Cheng Zitong said gravely, "First, let me ask you something. From when you carried out that commission until now, have you felt any discomfort in your body? How is your mental state?"
Chen Chuan replied, "There seemed to be a little at first, but after a day or so it was gone."
Cheng Zitong looked him over a few times and said, "How about this: in a few days, those exchange students from Maka are going to the Foreign Affairs Bureau for an exchange. At that time, an oak leaf they once gifted to us will be put on display. That thing helps heal certain injuries and boosts the spirit. It's a rare opportunity. You'll go along with them—I'll find a way to arrange it for you."
Chen Chuan said solemnly, "Thank you, Teacher." Regardless of whether he truly needed it, Cheng Zitong genuinely looked out for him.
Cheng Zitong's expression relaxed, and he said, "All right. Since you say you feel fine, as a practitioner of the intuitive school, I believe you. Now let's talk about the flying head."
He returned to his seat, took a sip of tea to moisten his throat, and only then continued, "I know the method for handling the source flying head, but I haven't personally dealt with one myself, so what I'm about to say might not be one hundred percent accurate.
"Furthermore, certain details are only known to those who have actually handled one; outsiders can hardly grasp them completely. So keep what I say in mind, but don't treat it as gospel. Adjust according to the actual situation, and by no means should you blindly force your way through."
Chen Chuan said earnestly, "I understand, Teacher."
Seeing that he had taken it to heart, Cheng Zitong went on: "Ordinary flying heads can be handled with simple methods, such as standard attacks. But the source of the flying heads is an urban legend in the truest sense. It's very difficult to destroy with external attacks, so the only option is to adopt a strategy of attrition.
"Yes, a war of attrition."
Cheng Zitong said grimly, "The daily sacrifice to a flying head is like essential meals to a human being. The key point is that the ritual must be held, but at the same time, it cannot be allowed to smoothly consume the offering. Every time it misses a feeding, it weakens a little, until finally it vanishes.
"The catch is that this thing continuously invades a person's sanity, agitating emotions and stirring up latent desires deep within the body. The more people there are, the more pronounced the effect. So when facing this thing, the very first thing you must guard against is your companions.
"They could stab you in the back at any moment. When dealing with this thing, it's best if there's hardly anyone around—make sure there are only a select few or even just you alone—and then engage in mutual attrition until it completely disappears."
Chen Chuan pondered this. The difficulty was indeed considerable. He didn't fear wearing down the flying head itself; rather, the behavior of other people would be difficult to control.
Cheng Zitong walked over to a cabinet, fished out a key to unlock it, searched inside, and produced a box. From it, he retrieved a piece of yellow jade and handed it over. "This should protect you for a time and allow you to hold out longer.
"However, if you sense something is wrong, abandon the task promptly. Preserving your life is more important than resolving the problem. As long as you're alive, a solution can always be found."
Chen Chuan accepted it and nodded. He wasn't one to stubbornly charge forward without thinking. If it was within his capabilities, he didn't mind resolving it; if it exceeded his limits, it would be far better to withdraw and find another way.
Cheng Zitong added, "One more thing. There are countless varieties of urban legends, and what we've seen so far is only a small fraction. Little Chuan, since you've decided to tackle matters involving urban legends, you're bound to encounter things you've never seen before, sometimes without any precedent at all. You need to expand your knowledge in this area as much as possible. I organized some reference materials recently and kept them here. When you have free time, you can take them back to look through."
With that, he walked over and opened another cabinet. Seeing that it was packed full of dossier folders, Chen Chuan knew he couldn't browse through them all in a short time and would have to read them gradually. Pulling one file from the top, he said, "Then I'll take this back to read. Oh, right, Teacher—" He handed over the stack of materials he had brought.
The latter asked, "What's this?"
Chen Chuan said, "My cousin Gao Ming is a solicitor. These are evaluation dossiers he compiled on students from several Wuyi branch academies before their entry into Center City, along with his personal opinions. I wanted to ask if you could take a look and give me some advice."
Surprised, Cheng Zitong said, "This is certainly worth looking over carefully."
After parting ways with Cheng Zitong, Chen Chuan left the administration building and returned to the dormitory building. Picking up the public telephone, he dialed Ren Shu. Once the call connected, he said, "I'll take this mission. Please have Master Wei come pick me up, Mr. Ren. I'll get ready and head out."
Ren Shu, who had been waiting anxiously, grew excited upon hearing this and replied immediately, "I'll have Xiao Wei drive over to pick you up right away, Mr. Chen!"
This commission came directly from the Municipal Administration—a major assignment. If they pulled it off, their company would make a name for itself, leaving its former obscurity behind.
Chen Chuan hung up and went back to pack his things. Naturally, the Xuejun Saber and Wuji pistol had to come along. Considering that certain urban legends might exert strange influences, and that clothing would inevitably get torn in a real fight, he decided to bring a couple of spare outfits.
While he was packing, a soft knock sounded at the door. He walked over and opened it, finding a young student standing outside whose facial features resembled Instructor Douma's. This was likely a Maka.
The student greeted him amiably, "Hello, fellow student. My name is Zu'a; my Dashun name is Qiu Chengzu."
Chen Chuan nodded in response. "Chen Chuan. Hello, Student Qiu. Is something the matter?"
Qiu Chengzu said somewhat bashfully, "It's like this: our Maka fighting skills aren't as good as you Dashun people's, so our instructor and team captain told us to interact more with Wuyi College students. Could I spar with you, Student Chen?"
Chen Chuan hadn't expected a Maka student to come seeking an exchange so soon. In normal times, he would have been more than happy to oblige, even though he could tell Student Qiu's skill level probably wasn't very high. But right now, he simply didn't have the time.
He said apologetically, "I'm sorry, I have business today and need to head out right away, so I can't spar with you, Student Qiu."
"Oh, oh, that's fine, that's fine! It was forward of me to ask." Qiu Chengzu seemed quite embarrassed, then added with a touch of hope, "Then... could I come find you next time, Student Chen?"
Chen Chuan said, "We'll see when there's an opportunity."
"Right, right." Seeing that Chen Chuan was indeed busy, Qiu Chengzu quickly apologized for the intrusion, turned, and left.
Chen Chuan closed the door and returned to finish preparing. Once everything was ready, he took up his saber and walked out, heading straight for the academy entrance. There, an off-road vehicle was already waiting. The driver, Xiao Wei, stood by the car door, waving to him from a distance.
He walked over, and Xiao Wei opened the door for him. Once he settled into the front passenger seat, Xiao Wei asked thoughtfully, "Mr. Chen, would you like the radio on?"
Chen Chuan said, "Turn it on." There wouldn't be much else to do on the road anyway, so listening to the radio was fine.
After turning it on, Xiao Wei asked what he wanted to listen to. Chen Chuan said offhandedly, "The news."
In any case, the only broadcasts available in Yangzhi City at this hour were traditional opera, news commentary, and a few other programs. Listening to opera occasionally was fine, but he couldn't stand it continuously, so the news was really the only option.
The vehicle was soon on its way, heading northwest this time. After driving for roughly three-quarters of an hour, they had already reached the outskirts beyond the city. At that moment, a news report came over the radio:
"The Yangzhi City Municipal Administration recently shut down another polluting factory located along Huoshui. Following last month's rectification efforts, this marks the..."
That matter again.
Chen Chuan paid a bit of attention. This story had been reported continuously over the past few days, seemingly originating from the incident at Wujia Town.
Although he knew the real cause was the flying head creatures, he couldn't rule out the possibility of genuine water pollution. Still, with the news repeatedly covering this for over ten days straight—even if each report was short and passed over in just a few sentences—it felt as though a deliberate emphasis was being placed on it.
He reconsidered: perhaps certain officials in the Municipal Administration needed political achievements. After all, the New Year had just passed, and it was said that around this time each year, certain positions higher up were reshuffled.
Such affairs were not his place to worry about.
He glanced outside. When leaving the city, there had still been quite a few vehicles on the road, but now they were growing fewer and fewer. On one side stretched relatively flat open plains, while the other held dense mountain forests. The terrain could be seen steadily rising. He asked, "How much further?"
Xiao Wei answered, "About twenty-five minutes, Mr. Chen. Up ahead, we'll be entering mountain roads. The first section still has paved road, but after that it's all dirt tracks, so it might get rather rough and bumpy."
Chen Chuan nodded and continued watching the outside scenery.
He had basically never been here before. Unlike the wilderness to the east, although this was also outside the city, vegetation was abundant, and occasionally small settlements and villages could be seen. However, as the smooth road ahead gave way, even those villages gradually disappeared from sight.
"Mr. Chen, we're almost there," Xiao Wei alerted him.
Chen Chuan looked over. There was a prominent signpost erected by the roadside. The vehicle turned in the indicated direction, driving toward a desolate slope along a narrow trail. Dirt clods and pebbles littered the ground, many of them crushed and flattened in the center—evidently quite a few vehicles had driven through recently.
After driving inward for about two or three li, an expansive clearing appeared. Across their field of view flowed a stream winding down from the mountain. Along the clearing's perimeter, vehicles were parked in neat rows, while tents were pitched in the center, spaced well apart and arranged with clear order.
Chen Chuan surveyed the scene. Just from what was visible right now, there were at least two to three hundred people. Without a doubt, all of them were participants in this encirclement and suppression operation.
The off-road vehicle gradually slowed and pulled up alongside the other parked cars. The two got out one after the other.
Someone spotted them and immediately came over to question them. Xiao Wei produced his credentials, and the person's demeanor instantly grew warm, inviting them toward the center of the camp.
Chapter 114