At one-thirty in the morning, soaked from head to toe, Zou Guoming (Big Head) entered the Dark Star Bureau building and found Sun Haoran on duty.
Like Lightbulb, Sun Haoran was a newcomer to the security squad, but their circumstances were worlds apart.
Sun Haoran was exceptionally talented, quick-witted, and highly favored—a rising star of the Dark Star Bureau.
His moniker was Star, far outclassing Lightbulb.
Seeing Big Head in such a wretched state, Sun Haoran hurried forward and asked, "Brother Ming, what happened?"
Zou Guoming wiped his face and said, "I found Hu Lishan."
"Hu Lishan?" Sun Haoran drew a blank for a moment.
Zou Guoming glanced at him.
There were things Sun Haoran would never forget—such as what kind of liquor Captain Xiao liked to drink, or what brand of cigarettes Captain Chen smoked.
And there were things Sun Haoran frequently failed to recall—such as what active cases were on his desk.
"The female college student who went missing in Flower Lake Park a couple of days ago. I found her."
"The college girl from Flower Lake Park! I've been so swamped lately that it slipped my mind. Where is she? How's her mental state? Should we take her statement right away?" Sun Haoran deliberately rubbed his forehead. Truthfully, he still hadn't remembered her, but he had to keep up appearances.
Big Head waved a hand. "No need for a statement. What I found wasn't a living person. It's a corpse. Get a team to dredge the water."
"A corpse?" Sun Haoran was taken aback. "Brother Ming, how did you find her?"
"Checked surveillance, followed the trail. I can't explain it all here; we'll talk once we're on site."
Sun Haoran nodded. "I'll notify both captains immediately."
Big Head had told Sun Haoran to find people to recover the body, yet Sun Haoran's first thought was to contact the captains.
No wonder a person like this was destined to be a star.
***
Late at night, Li Banfeng crawled out from under the covers and put on his clothes, feeling refreshed.
Having given Old Yao his word, he naturally saw it through. Li Banfeng had kept Yu Nan company over food and drinks, and had even slept in the same bed with her.
Old Yao had made a lot of sense: two people squeezing together to sleep was indeed warm.
Yet Yu Nan hadn't slept a wink.
Because aside from sleeping, Li Banfeng hadn't done a single thing!
He had literally just slept the entire time, doing nothing else!
Watching Li Banfeng's receding silhouette, Yu Nan covered her mouth and began to sob.
***
Li Banfeng laid the Hungry Gut Silkworm before Qin Tianjiu.
He laid out all the pros and cons, leaving the choice to Qin Tianjiu himself.
Without a second thought, Qin Tianjiu snatched up the Hungry Gut Silkworm and gulped it down with Old Yao's medicinal wine. "Brother Seven, anything you give me is bound to be good. I, Qin Tianjiu, will remember this kindness for the rest of my life. Even if my body can't handle such a treasure, it's only because my blessings are thin and my life is short. I'd deserve the calamity, and I'd never blame Brother Seven!"
Li Banfeng nodded. "With this kind of backbone, you're someone who can make something of yourself."
After chatting for a while, Qin Xiaopang brought up news that the Sanying Gate had gathered:
"Lu Dongjun hasn't made a peep. Plenty of people say he's dead. According to our bronze seal, the Lu family's old master, Lu Maoxian, laid the cards on the table and declared that Monkey Qiu killed Lu Dongjun."
Li Banfeng asked, "Did Monkey Qiu admit to it?"
"Not a chance! No matter how big a storm he stirred up, Monkey Qiu wouldn't dare kill someone from the Lu family. Monkey Qiu bit back and claimed Lu Maoxian did it himself. It looks like the two families are about to go to war, and our two gold seals have been dragged into the mess as well."
"Where are they fighting? Lüshui City or Haichiling?"
"I heard it's still in Lüshui City, but things are brewing in Haichiling too. That's what I heard from Sixth Brother Zhang. After Lu Dongjun left, Haichiling's businesses were taken over by the He family and the Ling family. The two families couldn't agree on dividing the spoils, and it seems they're about to come to blows as well."
The Ling family?
Since when had the Ling family stuck their hands into Haichiling's affairs?
Xiaopang continued, "In Haichiling, gangs big and small are getting ready to make their moves. The Qingyun Association is siding with the He family, while the Baihua Sect is backing the Ling brothers."
"What about the Jiangxiang Gang?"
Xiaopang wore a look of utter disdain. "What the hell does the Jiangxiang Gang amount to? In a grand spectacle like this, when would it ever be their turn?"
"Which side is your Sanying Gate taking?"
"Our Big Boss is closer to the He family, while the Second and Third Bosses are on better terms with the Ling family. But our silver seal said business is business and friendship is friendship. When hands are actually thrown, who knows which way the wind will blow. There's another feud that's supposed to be settled soon, too. A few days ago, Monkey Qiu sent a message to the Chu family's Second Miss, telling her to hand over the Paramount within a month. The Chu Second Miss said she and the Fifth Young Master of the Ma family run the Paramount together, so she has to discuss it with him. Fifth Young Master Ma—we've seen him before, at the peddler's stall, that Fifth Young Master, Fifth Young Master..."
Halfway through his sentence, Xiaopang broke out into a profuse cold sweat and couldn't go on.
"What happened to the Fifth Young Master?" The very thing Li Banfeng dreaded most had come to pass: that lunatic Chu the Second had brought disaster right to their doorstep.
"Brother Seven, I... I need to eat something..." Wiping his sweat, Xiaopang grabbed a flatbread and began chewing.
Before long, two jin of flatbread had vanished down his gullet, and Xiaopang regained some strength. He said to Li Banfeng, "I still have leftovers in the pot. Let me heat them up, and the two of us can eat together, brother..."
Li Banfeng shook his head. "I won't eat. Tell me about the Fifth Young Master first. I find it rather intriguing."
"There's still been no word from the Fifth Young Master, and no one knows where he is. The Chu family's Second Miss moved into Lanyang Village, and she refuses to leave! Monkey Qiu went ballistic. He said he'd settle the score for Lanyang Village while he's at it. Lanyang Village is also Lu family territory. Ma the Fifth snatched Lanyang Village and never cleared it with the Lu family either..."
Seeing Xiaopang continually wiping away sweat, Li Banfeng knew he hadn't eaten his fill.
He left one hundred silver dollars for Xiaopang, urging him never to let himself go hungry.
Leaving the courtyard, Li Banfeng headed to Feng's Grocery Store.
There was still no luck securing a travel permit. Li Banfeng bought some canned food, biscuits, fuel, and engine oil.
With everything prepared, Li Banfeng returned to the Portable Abode. He set down his supplies and was just getting ready to depart when he suddenly noticed the door to the outer chamber was open.
Stepping inside, he saw the red lotus petals spread wide; two lotus seeds had finished forming.
Cupping a lotus seed in his palm, he watched it slowly burst open. The first seed yielded ninety-eight Golden Origin Pills.
This had come from Pan Dehai's heart-flesh.
An entire Lu Dongliang had produced eighty-one Golden Origin Pills, yet a single piece of Pan Dehai's heart-flesh yielded ninety-eight?
The difference in their caliber was that massive?
The second lotus seed split open, yielding thirty-six Golden Origin Pills.
The Linli monster, whose cultivation had not reached the fifth layer, produced Golden Origin Pills that were only two fewer than those from the eighth-layer Madam Bagworm Moth. This native aberration truly was extraordinary.
Combined with the remaining sixty Golden Origin Pills from Lu Dongliang, the total came to one hundred ninety-four pills.
These Golden Origin Pills represented nineteen thousand four hundred days of time—which translated to fifty-one years and a little over a month.
Li Banfeng felt a sudden surge of impulse. He wanted to swallow every single Golden Origin Pill in one breath!
Because if he ate them all, he would become an eighth-layer cultivator!
He had Blue Leaf Pills; though he had slightly fewer of them—one hundred fifty-eight remaining—proportionally speaking, the gap was negligible.
At first, Li Banfeng had merely been running casual calculations.
After calculating for a while, it went straight to his head.
An eighth-layer cultivator!
Having spent considerable time in Puluo Province, he knew exactly what an eighth-layer cultivator represented.
Cradling the pills in his hands, his eyes gleaming with golden light, he was just about to shove them into his mouth when a whirlwind swept out from the bronze lotus, knocking him back.
This death-seeking lunatic!
No one could ever fathom what he was trying to do!
Blown by the gust from the bronze lotus, Li Banfeng snapped out of his daze.
He truly couldn't consume them all. He was currently a third-layer Dwelling Cultivator and a third-layer journey cultivator.
If his journey cultivation shot straight to the eighth layer while his dwelling cultivation remained behind, wouldn't he drop dead on the spot?
Once he calmed down, Li Banfeng took a single Golden Origin Pill paired with a Blue Leaf Pill. After his body recovered, he hurried off toward Lanyang Village along the route cutting through the newland.
***
By the shores of Flower Lake Park, personnel were dredging for the corpse.
Xiao Zhenggong looked down on petty cases like this and had not shown up. Sun Haoran was reporting to Captain Chen:
"Agent Zou Guoming and I examined the surveillance footage together and discovered several overlooked details. We found Hu Lishan's abandoned gloves by the lake, and following that lead, we located Hu Lishan's body..."
Off to the side, Lightbulb spat onto the ground. "Fucking shameless. Brother Big Head found the damn body; he's just a fucking messenger, yet he claims all the credit without even blushing!"
Big Head smiled faintly. "Let it go, let it go. Closing the case is what matters. Who gets the credit isn't important."
Sun Haoran continued detailing the breakthrough process. Captain Chen listened with a faint smile, while Tangyuan diligently took notes.
Once he finished his report, Captain Chen nodded. "Worthy of being our bureau's Star. What crisp, efficient work on this case."
Beside him, Tangyuan nodded in agreement. "Star has a boundless future ahead of him."
Sun Haoran smiled modestly. "It was all Brother Ming guiding me. Being able to find Hu Lishan's corpse was entirely thanks to Brother Ming's wealth of experience. I was merely acting as an assistant at his side. The seniors in our squad have all taken wonderful care of me—Captain Chen and Captain Xiao go without saying, and Sister Xuehan and Brother Ming have treated me exceptionally well too."
You Xuehan (Tangyuan) remained silent.
Whether in private or in formal settings, Sun Haoran often flirted with You Xuehan.
You Xuehan quite admired this bright, handsome, ambitious junior colleague, but she couldn't shake the feeling that his conduct today was improper.
Big Head was the squad's senior brother; Sun Haoran shouldn't have stolen his credit.
Captain Chen didn't take a stance either. Puffing on his cigarette, he cast a meaningful look toward Big Head, Zou Guoming.
Big Head was chatting idly with Lightbulb, appearing entirely indifferent to where the credit went.
It was only a missing person case, after all; for the Dark Star Bureau, it truly wasn't considered an impressive merit.
Yet Old Chen couldn't shake the sensation that something was slightly off, even if he couldn't put his finger on what the issue was.
Once the corpse was dredged up, Zou Guoming claimed he had been pushing himself too hard over the past two days and requested a week off. Captain Chen approved it and handed the entirety of Hu Lishan's case over to Sun Haoran.
Sun Haoran was thrilled.
Lightbulb was furious. Driving Big Head home, he complained the entire way:
"Brother Big Head, why take leave right now of all times? Isn't that just handing that kid an easy victory? Aren't you worried he'll climb right over your head down the road?"
Big Head shook his head and chuckled. "He's going to climb over my head sooner or later anyway. He knows how to navigate people; I'm just someone who knows how to do the work."
"I just fucking can't stand his scheming..." While Lightbulb continued venting, Big Head turned his gaze toward the Western-style house within the park.
Hu Lishan's case was inconsequential. What mattered was that for the first time in his life, he had seen a newland.
He had never been to Puluo Province. Newlands were places that existed only in Puluo Province, and now he had witnessed one in the Outer States.
Hu Lishan's body had been found by He Jiaqing inside the newland.
Every single trace by the lake had been fabricated by He Jiaqing.
Who took the credit didn't matter. Passing the case to Sun Haoran was the far better choice; as long as Hu Lishan's case was officially closed, the secret of the newland would remain concealed.
In the Dark Star Bureau, Big Head was destined to remain an ordinary agent for the rest of his life.
The person who could truly alter his fate had finally appeared.
Chapter 172