"I'm being watched!"
Outside the entrance to the residential district, Li Hao stopped his bicycle and pushed it forward slowly.
"Young Hao is back."
"Inspector Li, free to come over for a drink tonight?"
"..."
In the courtyard, residents cooling off and chatting called out greetings one after another, thoroughly enthusiastic.
A Third-Class Inspector was just an ordinary foot soldier in the Inspectorate, but within the residential district, the title provided a strong sense of security and deterrence—even if Li Hao appeared bookish and lacked the stern dignity of other inspectors.
"Yes, I'm back," Li Hao replied with a smile, responding to them each in turn.
Qiming Residential District was an old community built many years ago, and it had fallen into slight disrepair. The Li family had lived here for a very long time; as far back as Li Hao could remember from childhood, they had already settled here.
The district was small, with only six buildings in total. Li Hao lived in the rearmost one: Building 6, Apartment 302.
Along the way, Li Hao did not ride his bicycle. He wheeled it around the damaged stretches of road. The internal lanes of Qiming Residential District had gone without maintenance for a long time and were badly worn; riding over them caused violent bumps.
Faint murmurs drifted toward him from behind.
"That boy Xiao Hao, he's a good kid, but without elders watching over him, he's a bit worrying. Look at that—he worked so hard to get into Silver City Ancient Academy, only to drop out and run off to become an inspector. What a waste!"
"You can't say that. The Inspectorate is wonderful—an iron rice bowl."
"An iron rice bowl, sure, but graduating from the academy pays well, and it has far more of a future than being an ordinary inspector."
"..."
The chatter was not quiet, and such words had already been repeated many times. Over the past year, Li Hao had heard this sort of talk constantly.
Li Hao never paid it any mind, nor did he explain anything. There was no need.
His mind was still on what had just happened, pondering how he should handle the road ahead.
Though the handgun tucked against his chest brought some sense of security, it was not foolproof.
*I still lack understanding of mysterious powers, and my own combat capabilities are limited. Without firearms, I'm just an ordinary person.*
Li Hao had trained in grappling and combat. It was not only required by the Inspectorate; he had also spent two years studying it at Silver City Ancient Academy.
His mentor, Yuan Shuo, was not merely a scholar, but also a master of grappling and hand-to-hand combat. Of course, Yuan Shuo practiced grappling and combat not to fight, but to condition his body so he could better adapt to varied environments.
In his teacher's words: at the very least, when encountering danger, you can run faster.
Every time academy professors went out into the field, danger could follow close behind.
Thus, Li Hao knew a bit of it too, though he was not particularly adept. Counting from start to finish, he had only trained for three years. Against common thugs, he was naturally more than capable, but compared to veteran inspectors, he did not amount to much.
*My status as an inspector might not be as much of a deterrent as I imagined. Who knows how long I can keep them at bay?*
As he pondered, a dark shadow suddenly darted past his feet at remarkable speed.
Li Hao raised his leg to kick on instinct, but quickly pulled it back.
Before him, a small black dog skidded to a halt. It did not bark, instead gazing up at Li Hao with eager eyes, seeming to anticipate something.
Li Hao chuckled and parked his bicycle.
"Black Panther, you seem to have gotten faster."
"Black Panther" did not quite suit this scrawny little dog, but Li Hao had given it an overbearing name nonetheless.
The dog was not one Li Hao had raised from the start; it was a stray that had wandered into the residential district from who knew where.
Living alone, Li Hao felt it was a waste to throw out leftovers, and seeing how pitiful the dog was, he fed it from time to time. After a few months, the dog had latched onto Li Hao completely. Now it barely roamed anymore; whenever it had nothing to do, it would lie by the stairwell of Building 6, waiting for Li Hao to come home from work.
The other residents of Building 6 knew Li Hao was feeding it. Even if some were afraid of dogs, no one dared chase away an animal fed by a Third-Class Inspector.
Besides, Black Panther was normally quiet and well-behaved, so the neighbors had gradually grown accustomed to it.
Li Hao crouched down and patted the little black dog's head.
Living alone grew lonely over time, especially with matters weighing heavily on his heart. Having a dog for company was actually quite nice.
Unfortunately, Li Hao was too busy to manage much. At most, he would feed it some food when he returned in the evening. As for during the day, if he remembered, he would leave out some dog kibble; if he forgot, he left Black Panther to forage on its own.
"Woof!"
The little black dog let out a soft yip.
"I'll get you some food in a bit."
Li Hao smiled gently—a warmer, more genuine smile than any he put on at the Inspectorate.
Straightening up, he headed upstairs.
The worn-out building, the dilapidated stairs, the handrails corroded with rust.
Of this six-story building, half the residents had already moved away.
Now, only a few elderly people remained to live out their retirement. Li Hao had not moved out; he had no money to buy an apartment in the newer developments, and besides, this was where he had always lived. After his parents passed away, he had never considered moving.
Black Panther trotted up the stairs after Li Hao, full of energy.
Apartment 302.
He opened the door. The interior was dim, with the curtains tightly drawn.
The apartment was not large, only sixty-odd square meters.
Li Hao left the front door wide open. Black Panther did not step inside; it just crouched by the threshold, waiting for Li Hao to feed it.
Today, Li Hao had no heart to cook.
He rummaged out some dog food that might or might not have expired, fetched Black Panther's dish, poured a generous heap into it, and set the dish outside the door.
"Woof!"
Wagging its tail, Black Panther looked up at Li Hao as if trying to say something.
"I didn't buy groceries today, so just make do," Li Hao explained. He had no idea what Black Panther actually meant, but it did not matter; perhaps the dog was turning its nose up at the near-expired kibble.
"You should be glad there's food at all, don't be picky. In a few days, you might not even have this much, and then you'll have to forage for yourself."
Li Hao crouched down and watched Black Panther reluctantly begin eating, chuckling.
He pulled the Vortex III from his chest, hesitated for a moment, and then took off the jade sword hanging from his neck.
Fiddling with the jade sword for a while, Li Hao fell into deep thought.
Did this jade sword have anything to do with mysterious powers?
Could the Eight Great Families in the folk rhyme be connected to mysterious powers as well?
Yet after all these years, he had never seen anything special about this jade sword. As for things like claiming ownership through blood, Li Hao had been injured countless times as a child, and blood had smeared on the jade sword before without prompting the slightest reaction.
"Starry Sky Sword..." Li Hao muttered.
Was this what the red shadow was after?
"Woof!"
Right at that moment, Black Panther, who had been eating, suddenly stopped and barked at the jade sword.
Li Hao turned his head to look at the dog.
Facing the jade sword, Black Panther wagged its tail. It seemed eager to get closer, yet somewhat afraid, not daring to step forward. Keeping its distance, it stared wide-eyed at the jade sword.
Li Hao raised an eyebrow.
On a sudden whim, he thrust the jade sword toward Black Panther. The dog leaped away instantly in a flash of remarkable agility.
Now it was Li Hao's turn to be surprised.
Yet having jumped back, Black Panther did not flee. Looking somewhat aggrieved, it let out another soft bark at Li Hao.
"Hmm?"
Li Hao's eyebrows rose slightly. Black Panther was actually afraid of this thing?
Now that was interesting.
Folklore held that white cats and black dogs could sometimes see things invisible to humans. Could this black dog have seen something on the jade sword?
Black Panther was smart; Li Hao had always known that.
Dogs were quite intelligent in general.
If it were not smart, it would not have stubbornly stayed here without leaving, knowing it could get a meal.
"Black Panther, come here!"
Li Hao beckoned. Black Panther looked timid and hesitant, but it still shuffled over slowly, its eyes glued to the jade sword.
"Woof!"
Though frightened at first, Black Panther gradually grew less fearful with Li Hao right beside it.
Li Hao watched its reactions closely and furrowed his brow slightly.
It seemed there truly was something unusual about this jade sword.
Just as he was pondering, a blur flashed before his eyes. This time, he truly did not react in time—his hand suddenly felt light, and by the time he saw clearly, Black Panther had already snatched the jade sword into its mouth.
"Damn it!"
Li Hao froze for a split second, then grabbed Black Panther's head in annoyance. "Spit it out!"
Damned beast!
What was wrong with Black Panther today?
Usually, even when food was fed to it, it never snatched it directly.
More to the point, this dog was acting downright cheeky today!
At first it had looked terrified, but the moment Li Hao zoned out for an instant, it lunged and snapped it up. What was that?
A feint?
To make him drop his guard?
Nowadays, even dogs knew how to play mind games?
"Whine, whine!"
Black Panther clamped its jaws shut, refusing to let go.
Li Hao grew genuinely angry. Pinching its snout and grabbing its tail so it could neither flee nor bite, he fumed, "You ungrateful wretch! I fed you for nothing! That's a family heirloom, and you want to eat it?!"
"Spit it out!"
Li Hao released the tail, grabbed Black Panther by the neck, and used his other hand to pry open its jaws.
"Whine, whine!"
Black Panther clamped down tight, but Li Hao possessed considerable strength. Forcing it apart, after a brief struggle, Li Hao pried the dog's mouth open.
The jade sword was right there inside.
Li Hao was exasperated and disgusted, but the Starry Sky Sword was of paramount importance; dirty or not, he could not discard it. He fished the jade sword out and gave Black Panther's head a sharp slap in annoyance.
"And here I was feeding you all this time, yet at a critical moment even you won't listen!"
"Ungrateful mutt!"
Li Hao scolded it for a while. The dog was usually honest and docile; who would have thought it would suddenly pull a stunt like this? Still, it was partly Li Hao's own fault for letting his guard down around it, allowing the little rascal to actually snatch the sword away. "They say a barking dog doesn't bite, but quiet dogs bite hard—that sure fits you!"
Li Hao cursed a few more times. Looking at the slimy jade sword, he was filled with disgust and resignation.
Filthy!
"Woof, woof!"
At that moment, Black Panther did not struggle. Its eyes remained glued to the jade sword, reluctant to let it go; the fear it had shown earlier had completely vanished.
It even stuck its tongue out, wanting to lick the jade sword again.
Utterly disgusted, Li Hao smacked its head, making it pull its tongue back in a hurry.
"Woof, woof!"
Black Panther knew who the boss was here. Soon, its eyes turned to Li Hao with a mix of fawning and pleading, as if begging for another lick of the jade sword.
Li Hao felt disgusted at first, but then his brow furrowed.
He glanced at Black Panther. The dog was never like this; it was usually very obedient, or Li Hao would not have kept feeding it.
Sometimes when Li Hao carried food, Black Panther drooled with longing, but as long as Li Hao did not offer it, Black Panther would never snatch it.
"You want to eat this?"
Li Hao waved the jade sword. Black Panther quickly fixed its gaze on it, showing both longing and hesitation over Li Hao's words, as if pondering. Soon, the dog's head actually shook side to side.
"Hmm?"
Li Hao stared in surprise. It understood?
Dogs were perceptive to humans, so understanding was not entirely strange.
The key was: what did shaking its head mean? It didn't want to eat it?
If you don't want to eat it, why keep staring at it?
You even snatched it just now!
"Strange," Li Hao murmured. The Starry Sky Sword definitely had something special about it; he had considered that ever since hearing the folk rhyme, yet after all these years, he had never noticed anything amiss.
Today, he had taken out the jade sword next to Black Panther on an impulse just to inspect it closely, and this sudden commotion had immediately occurred.
If he had not heard the folk rhyme and grown curious about the jade sword, Li Hao might have worn it around his neck his entire life without ever taking it off to examine it thoroughly.
Naturally, Black Panther trying to snatch it would never have happened either.
*Black Panther really wants it. Could this thing be alluring to it? Is it just Black Panther, or all dogs?*
*What exactly is so special about the Starry Sky Sword?*
Li Hao's thoughts wandered once more.
Taking advantage of his lapse in attention, Black Panther did not try to snatch it this time. Instead, its tongue darted out with a slurp, licking the jade sword again and smearing Li Hao's palm with slobber.
Disgusted, Li Hao swatted its head and wiped his hand on its fur in annoyance.
"Try that again and you won't get another scrap of food from me!"
"Woof, woof!"
Black Panther actually shook its head again, wagging its tail furiously as if protesting that it had not tried to steal it—it only took a lick!
This time, Li Hao vaguely sensed that something was off.
He looked at Black Panther, then at the jade sword. It was already covered in slobber anyway, and he would definitely have to wash it later, probably with boiling water to sterilize it.
After a thought, Li Hao held up the jade sword again. "You still want to lick it?"
Black Panther nodded!
"Have you turned into a spirit?"
Li Hao's eyes flickered. What the hell? Black Panther had always been smart, but never like this. It seemed to understand every word he said.
Pondering for a moment, Li Hao held the jade sword out again. Black Panther glanced timidly at him, then quickly extended its tongue and gave the jade sword a lick. Its eyes were filled with pure satisfaction, just like the contentment it felt after finishing a good meal.
*Why is Black Panther licking this?*
*Does it taste good?*
As if!
When he was small, Li Hao had licked it plenty of times. Of course, thinking back now, his thoughts went off on a tangent: when his father gave it to him back then, it probably had not been washed, had it?
*And I actually licked it so many times!*
*When it was in my father's hands, or throughout all those years of inheritance, had a dog ever licked it before?*
*If it had... even if it hadn't, it still feels filthy. Who knows how many people have worn it, yet as a kid I used to keep it in my mouth!*
*Don't think about it. Thinking about it will just make me sick!*
Li Hao shook his head. Best not to dwell on such things; once you started down that path, who knew how many things you had eaten would disgust you? It was better to pretend you did not know.
*Black Panther is acting unusual today, but that also proves there really is something different about this jade sword.*
Speculating in his mind, Li Hao weighed all possibilities.
Soon, he stood up. His hand was covered in Black Panther's drool, as was the jade sword; he needed to wash them first.
...
Back inside, Li Hao went into the kitchen, washed his hands, poured a cup of boiling water, and dropped the jade sword into it to disinfect it first.
He planned to check on Zhang Yuan's home later, and he still needed to bring the jade sword along.
Without it on him, he feared someone might steal it. Moreover, he wondered whether the jade sword could serve as an amulet; perhaps it would be of some use if he encountered the red shadow. Li Hao dared not leave such an item unattended at home.
When Zhang Yuan died last year, the red shadow had not attacked him. Whether this jade sword had played a role, Li Hao could not be certain at the moment.
After soaking it in boiling water for a while, Li Hao took the jade sword out and rinsed it under cold water.
Just as he was about to pour out the hot water from the bowl, there was movement at his feet.
"Woof, woof!"
Black Panther had actually come inside!
Fearing that Black Panther would shed hair and reluctant to clean up, Li Hao generally forbade it from entering the apartment. Black Panther had always been well-behaved and never entered before, yet just now it had followed Li Hao right into the kitchen!
Li Hao looked down. Black Panther's face was brimming with longing, its eyes fixed on the bowl in Li Hao's hand.
In the bowl was the very water used to wash the jade sword.
Li Hao's heart stirred. He set the bowl down on the floor. Without even caring that the water was still hot, Black Panther stuck out its tongue and began lapping frantically.
Even when the heat made it whine in pain, it still refused to stop.
"Hmm?"
*Water... the water used to wash the jade sword?*
Li Hao watched in silence, guessing at the cause. Could the water in which the jade sword soaked hold something special?
*That can't be right either. I licked it plenty of times as a child and never noticed anything peculiar.*
Of course, now that he was grown, Li Hao could not do something so childish again.
At this moment, Li Hao grew increasingly astonished.
He seemed to notice something unusual: as Black Panther drank, visible to the naked eye, its originally messy, coarse black coat gradually appeared to become smooth and sleek.
And Black Panther's tail wagged with even greater delight.
*Water, water that soaked the jade sword!*
*Mysterious power?*
*Bizarre... could the proper way to use the jade sword be this: soaking it in water to drink?*
Li Hao crouched down and stroked Black Panther again. The texture was indeed different!
It truly was different—softer and smoother, lacking the prickliness it had before.
In that instant, Li Hao snapped his gaze toward the jade sword in his hand, his eyes suddenly burning. Could it be... that soaking the jade sword in water imparted some mysterious power to the liquid?
The thing he had sought so bitterly, the mysterious power he yearned to touch—could it possibly be in this bowl of water?
*If... if this is true, does that mean I relied on a dog to discover the function of my family's heirloom sword?*
The point was, the sword had just been licked by a dog.
Even though it had been scalded in boiling water, Li Hao still felt a trace of disgust. Of course, if it were genuinely useful, never mind being licked by a dog, even if... In any case, even if it were somewhat sickening, Li Hao would not care.
*Does the Starry Sky Sword contain some mysterious power that normally cannot be extracted, and only by soaking it in water does it diffuse into the liquid so a person can absorb it?*
Li Hao's mind raced. Black Panther's coat turning sleek was certainly not something ordinary water could achieve.
To accomplish that, it had to be related to mysterious powers.
At this moment, Li Hao felt caught between laughter and tears. So to speak, had he been inspired by a dog to discover the correct way to unlock the Starry Sky Sword?
He looked at Black Panther, momentarily speechless.
By now, Black Panther had finished the water, wearing an expression of utter satisfaction. Seeing Li Hao look over, its tail wagged even more happily, and its eyes seemed to carry a spark of intelligence never seen before.
*This dog... really feels like it understands human nature now!*
Li Hao was shaken. Was the effect truly that potent?
The next instant, he looked back at the jade sword, his heart heating up. Black Panther had drunk it with no harm done, gaining benefits instead; what about him?
Could he drink it?
If he drank it, could he become an owner of that elusive, mysterious power?
Danger lurked on all sides.
If he could master some mysterious power at a time like this, it would be nothing short of a lifesaving straw for him!
*Drinking it won't kill a person, will it?*
Probably not. He had licked it so many times as a child, and Black Panther was merely an ordinary dog; it had drunk the water and licked the sword without dying.
If it did not poison Black Panther, there was a high probability it would not poison him either.
*Why not give it a try...*
Once the thought took root, Li Hao could no longer suppress it.
The thirst for power!
The deaths of Zhang Yuan and the others, being stalked today, the red shadow, the Night Watchers...
Each term surfaced in his mind, making Li Hao crave power with boundless intensity. His painstaking efforts to enter the Inspectorate and his desire to contact the Night Watchers had all stemmed from wanting to glimpse mysterious powers.
Now that an opportunity lay right before him, how could he let it slip by!
*I'm going to try. Even if something goes wrong, it's nothing more than death. The red shadow is coming soon, the Night Watchers may not be reliable, the Inspectorate leaks like a sieve, and I have no one by my side to use or trust... What reservations do I have left?*
"Let's do it!"
In that moment, Li Hao made up his mind.
He gave Black Panther's head a firm pat, leaving the dazed dog slightly dizzy.
His spirits lifted, Li Hao whispered, "If this is genuinely effective and truly useful, Black Panther, you won't lack rewards in the future. Following me to feast on the best food and drink will be nothing!"
"Woof!"
Black Panther let out a bark, its eyes brimming with anticipation. It truly seemed to understand human words, looking as if it were eagerly anticipating the good life Li Hao promised.
Chapter 6