At ten o'clock in the morning, Li Banfeng arrived at the Dark Star Bureau for a meeting.
He hadn't wanted to come, but Shen Jingye had called him three times in a row, repeatedly stressing that this was an exceptionally important meeting.
He had assumed it would be an all-hands assembly for the entire bureau. Only after entering the meeting room did Li Banfeng realize that the only attendees were Shen Jingye and the members of the Security Team.
The main agenda of today's meeting was to debrief the recent operation to apprehend the spiritualist at Garden Community. Shen Jingye praised the team members who took part, placing special emphasis on the commendable deeds of the new Deputy Director, Li Qi, who had personally gone to the scene and participated in the capture.
"Director Li is a model for every member of the Dark Star Bureau! Through practical action, he has shown us that no matter what post we hold, our Bureau members' original aspiration remains unchanged, and our responsibility remains unchanged!
"The Bureau has stressed time and again that the core of our work must revolve around the front line and serve the front line. If one has never genuinely experienced front-line work, all talk of revolving around and serving it is nothing but empty rhetoric!
"From now on, whenever circumstances permit, I will personally participate in front-line operations. Through practical work, I will truly understand the difficulties and demands of front-line personnel, firmly anchoring the Bureau's core work in the front line. Now, let us invite Director Li to say a few words."
Li Banfeng blinked. He hadn't expected to give a speech at this meeting.
"Director Shen's willingness to personally participate in front-line operations makes him an example to everyone in the Dark Star Bureau. When the next operation comes, we must notify Director Shen. Whoever doesn't go is a grandson!"
Director Li finished speaking, and thunderous, prolonged applause erupted from the audience.
Shen Jingye took a sip of tea, held it in his mouth for a moment, swallowed it down with difficulty, and adjourned the meeting.
What was his purpose in calling this meeting?
All they had caught was a low-tier nightmare cultivator—hardly a major operation. Nor did he hand out any tangible rewards like raises or promotions after the meeting. Was a round of verbal praise really worth calling me three times?
Shen Jingye was an enigma to Li Banfeng.
If he had been so anxious to summon me, he surely had an ulterior motive.
Sure enough, that very afternoon, Li Banfeng received an operational dispatch: an unidentified organism had appeared at Ruirong Textile Factory on Chengyun Road.
Li Banfeng had read the dossier on Ruirong Textile Factory. This textile mill, abandoned for years, had been the site of numerous incidents. The most recent case involved a silkworm, which had nearly cost Zhong'er his life.
Shen Jingye made good on his word—he intended to personally participate in the operation this time, and had already arrived on the scene.
Li Qi rode in a vehicle with the Security Team toward the site. On the way, Chen Changrui said, "Director Li, during field operations, we address each other by code names. Since you'll be joining our ops regularly, you should pick a code name for yourself!"
Li Banfeng nodded. "My code name will be 'Director.'"
Chen Changrui shook his head. "That's not ideal. We generally don't use official titles as code names—it exposes your identity too easily."
Li Banfeng said, "What's there to fear? The Bureau has a dozen directors. Even if someone comes seeking revenge, who knows which director they'll track down?"
And just like that, Li Banfeng's code name was settled.
Upon arriving at the textile factory, Shen Jingye was delivering a pre-mission pep talk. The demolition team was already fully prepared.
Li Banfeng asked Shen Jingye, "What did you bring the demolition team for?"
Shen Jingye said earnestly, "Little Li, before taking part in an operation, you need a general grasp of the specifics. Section Chief Song, brief Director Li."
Song Qingwen, the leader of the demolition team, explained the situation.
Inside Workshop No. 2 of the factory sat a meatball two point three meters in diameter. It was immobile, but responded to damage to a certain extent, including surface contractions and expelling gas with a pungent odor.
Li Banfeng asked, "Where did this meatball come from?"
Song Qingwen shook his head, indicating he didn't know. Li Banfeng looked at Chen Changrui, who was equally clueless.
Shen Jingye handed Li Banfeng a lab report. They had taken samples earlier: the surface of the meatball consisted of filamentous proteins resembling mammalian muscle fibers, devoid of cellular or neural structure. Under external stimuli, the filamentous proteins contracted.
Studying the report, Li Banfeng frowned. "This hasn't even been figured out yet, so why not keep studying it? Why must you blow it up? Why not just transport it back to the laboratory?"
Shen Jingye replied, "The laboratory has already retained samples, and the quantity is sufficient for research purposes.
"This meatball exhibits certain life characteristics and possesses an extraordinarily resilient vitality, showing strong resistance to physical trauma and corrosive agents.
"If an anomaly occurs during transit, it would be difficult for us to mount an emergency response, which could easily lead to a major security catastrophe.
"Following assessment by specialists, the safest and most appropriate course of action is to destroy it via controlled demolition in an uninhabited area. Ruirong Textile Factory itself is quite remote; there are no permanent residents within three kilometers, making it an ideal location for disposing of this unidentified organism.
"Rather than risking transport, it is better to resolve it on site. Little Li, did you follow what I just explained?"
Li Banfeng said nothing. He was indeed unfamiliar with the Dark Star Bureau's operational procedures.
If this meatball had appeared in Puluo Province, how would it have been handled?
That depended on the territory. If it appeared in Lüshui City, whoever owned the turf dealt with it—most likely burning it, or hiring specialized cultivators with mystical treasures to seal it away.
And what if it appeared in Lanyang Village?
Someone would probably offer a handsome bounty to hire a reckless daredevil to taste a few bites. If nothing went wrong after eating it, the thing would be treated as a potent tonic—sliced, dried in the sun, and sold off.
Li Banfeng said, "I'd like to go inside and see this meatball."
Song Qingwen shook his head. "Director Li, the explosives are already laid. No one is permitted inside the operational zone."
Shen Jingye chimed in, "Little Li, not every operation requires charging into the fray. Today's main players are the demolition team. The Security Team's primary duty is to support them and prevent unexpected accidents."
Only now did Chen Changrui realize that the meatball hadn't just appeared recently. The Dark Star Bureau had been involved for quite some time, yet the Security Team had been kept in the dark. In this operation, they were merely backups.
Shen Jingye's secretary handed Li Banfeng several photographs taken on site. The meatball was dark red and bumpy all over, resembling a walnut made of meat.
As the demolition team bustled about inside the factory compound, Chen Changrui stood outside. Mijian grunted, "Mobilizing such a big crowd just to have us stand around and watch the show."
Lightbulb laughed. "What's wrong with watching the show? Director Shen said it himself—not every mission requires charging into battle. Makes sense to me!"
Tangyuan was also very disappointed. She had been full of anticipation for this mission, hoping that under Li Qi's guidance, she could achieve a qualitative breakthrough during the operation.
Now her only wish was for the operation to end quickly so they could return to the Bureau, where she could find an excuse to run some errands for Lord Seven and take the opportunity to learn some real skills.
Then again, they didn't necessarily have to wait until they were back at the Bureau. Lord Seven wasn't busy right now; she could just go over and chat.
Just as Tangyuan took a step toward Li Qi, Zhong'er beat her to it and began talking to him.
That blockhead is so annoying!
Zhong'er lowered his voice. "Director, I feel something isn't right."
"What isn't right?"
"Director Shen's handling of this matter is questionable."
"Where's the problem?"
"The demolition itself is problematic. Although his approach seems faultless on the surface, there are better ways to deal with it."
As they spoke, a countdown began on site.
Ten seconds later, the countdown finished.
Boom!
A plume of smoke and dust billowed into the air. The detonation was complete.
Because of Puluo Province's unique nature, Li Banfeng wasn't very familiar with explosives and didn't notice anything amiss.
However, Demolition Section Chief Song Qingwen's expression shifted drastically. Even Chen Changrui, who rarely dealt with demolitions, felt that the blast sounded underwhelming.
Shen Jingye looked at Song Qingwen. "Did something go wrong?"
Song Qingwen didn't dare answer carelessly. He called out to his men, "Send a drone inside to inspect."
His subordinates prepared a drone and flew it into the textile mill.
The signal inside the textile mill was poor, as though some jamming device were active. The feed transmitted back by the drone was blurry, but it clearly showed that a large portion of the explosives had failed to detonate, sitting undisturbed where they had been placed.
Looking at the giant meatball, its surface appeared largely undamaged.
No, there was damage!
Song Qingwen spotted a wound on the sphere. Located in the shadow between the meatball and the ground, it was oozing a dark red liquid.
The wound was about the size of a fist. A lab technician chimed in, "A wound of this size usually heals within a minute."
The wound was writhing slowly. Shen Jingye glared at Song Qingwen. "What on earth is going on?"
Song Qingwen couldn't explain it.
Shen Jingye ordered, "Quickly, clear out the undetonated explosives!"
Song Qingwen hesitated for a moment. "Director, my recommendation is to rewire and detonate again."
Clearing out unexploded ordnance was inherently hazardous; rewiring for a second detonation was the proper call.
Shen Jingye urged Song Qingwen to move immediately. Song Qingwen personally led a team into the factory to relay the detonation cords.
Li Banfeng stared at the drone feed, growing increasingly uneasy. "What is that stuff flowing out?"
Shen Jingye said, "A blood-like liquid."
The lab technician added from the side, "During sampling, we also discovered a similar liquid. Its composition closely resembles blood, but lacks blood cells..."
The image quality was indeed poor, yet Li Banfeng still spotted the problem: "That's not liquid. Those are worms."
The operator adjusted the drone's flight path and viewing angle. The flowing, dark red "liquid" was stretching outward into the distance.
Shen Jingye was startled. Spreading across such a distance plainly defied the behavior of fluids.
Though the picture was grainy, Li Banfeng could tell they were worms—a sight that reminded him of his ordeal at the Wire River.
Shen Jingye grabbed his walkie-talkie. "Detonate immediately! Do not let the unidentified organism leave the factory!"
Song Qingwen did not respond. The drone located him: clad in a bomb suit, Song Qingwen stood motionless beside the meatball.
Li Banfeng stared at the screen for a moment and noticed a red line beneath Song Qingwen's feet.
It was a red line formed of worms, and those worms were crawling out of his bomb suit.
One after another, the demolition team members on site ceased all movement. Without struggling or crying for help, they stood rooted in place like statues, and soon worms began burrowing out of their bodies.
After a moment of shock, Shen Jingye barked an order: "Security Team, mobilize! Prevent the unidentified organisms from leaving the factory!"
Receiving the command, Chen Changrui hurried to assemble the Security Team. But from the drone's perspective, the red worms were already on the verge of spilling out of Workshop No. 2.
Shen Jingye said, "Burners move in first, assisted by the Tipplers! Confine the unidentified organisms within Workshop No. 2!"
Burners meant Fire Cultivators.
Tipplers meant wine cultivators.
Sending Fire Cultivators to burn the worms with wine cultivators assisting seemed like a sound tactic.
Chen Changrui shouted, "The Burners can't go! Workshop No. 2 is packed with explosives!"
There was a massive stockpile of undetonated explosives. If Fire Cultivators recklessly unleashed fire, it could trigger a secondary explosion.
A secondary explosion might not destroy the meatball, nor could it kill off all these worms. Not only would the Fire Cultivators throw their lives away for nothing, but it might even accelerate the worms' dispersal.
In the emergency, while Chen Changrui was still wracking his brains for a plan, Li Banfeng asked, "Are there any insect cultivators?!"
A middle-aged man named He Bensheng stepped forward.
The insect cultivator pathway was exceedingly rare; in the entire Security Team of over a hundred people, he was the sole insect cultivator.
He Bensheng glanced at the video feed and shook his head. "I've never seen this kind of worm before. I doubt I can control them."
Li Banfeng said, "It doesn't matter if you can't control them! Summon every insect in the factory grounds, surround those worms, and fight them!"
That was right up He Bensheng's alley. Just as he was about to head into the mill, Big Head stepped up. "I'll go with you."
When He Bensheng handled insects, he needed someone to protect him.
Li Banfeng asked Big Head, "What pathway are you?"
"Combatant."
"Then as a Martial Cultivator, stay back! Going would be pointless!" Li Banfeng turned and shouted, "Are there any journey cultivators?!"
Six people stepped forward: two at the third tier and four at the second tier. Li Banfeng said, "The second tiers stay put for now. You two third tiers, accompany Old He inside. If Old He can't hold them, use Treading Ten Thousand Rivers to hold the line! If Treading Ten Thousand Rivers still can't hold them, retreat immediately. Your primary mission is to encircle these worms and stop them from spreading further!"
After the three went in, Li Banfeng called Tangyuan over. "Summon all Literary Cultivators of the fourth tier and above."
Tangyuan blinked. "Do I count?"
"Aren't you a fourth tier?"
"I am! Understood!" Tangyuan gathered all the Literary Cultivators at the fourth tier and above before Li Banfeng.
Including Tangyuan, five people arrived in total. Li Banfeng warned them, "Anyone afraid can stay here. Those who aren't, follow me!"
None of these Literary Cultivators were cowards; not a single one chose to stay behind.
Li Banfeng said to the remaining demolition team members, "Stand by outside. The moment you receive my signal, head in immediately and clear out the explosives."
With the demolition team ready, Li Banfeng turned back to Old Chen. "Have the Fire Cultivators, wine cultivators, Water Cultivators, Oil Cultivators, and Chilling Cultivators stand by."
A veteran of a hundred battles, Chen Changrui didn't need further explanation; he knew exactly what to do.
Li Banfeng led the five Literary Cultivators into the factory. Zhong'er watched anxiously, powerless to help.
He Bensheng had already surrounded Workshop No. 2 with a swarm of insects. In the height of summer, the abandoned factory teemed with countless bugs. Under the insect cultivator's techniques, these insects became extraordinarily formidable, locked in fierce combat against the mass of worms.
The insects held numerical superiority as well as distinct advantages in speed and power. Initially, they dominated the field, not only driving the worms back into the workshop but continuously tightening the perimeter, seemingly poised to wipe them out completely.
Yet the worms possessed terrifying resilience. A locust lunged forward and bit a red worm in two with a single snap, but both halves remained alive, and one of them burrowed directly into the locust's abdomen.
The locust didn't struggle; it froze in place, and soon several small worms burrowed out of its body.
Beside the locust, a dragonfly met the same fate. It devoured a worm, but the worm didn't die—instead, it completed reproduction inside its body.
Nearby, a colony of ants tore a red worm to pieces, finally killing it for good.
To completely destroy a single red worm required immense effort from the insects; as long as a worm wasn't entirely dead, it would parasitize the insect host.
If this trend continued, the insects wouldn't last long, and the worms would only multiply.
Still, He Bensheng had accomplished his mission: he hadn't let the red worms spread beyond the workshop.
Li Banfeng had the two journey cultivators escort He Bensheng out, then ordered the five Literary Cultivators to strike.
Without a second thought, they unleashed Tracing Ink Along Lines.
Because this technique did not distinguish friend from foe, its use normally came with many restrictions.
Right now, however, there was no need to tell friend from foe; within range of the technique, anything that moved was to be slain.
Tangyuan was the first to charge into the workshop. She penned over a hundred "Tang" characters—the first character of her code name, and the one she could write most smoothly.
The characters emerged steaming with heat, each as scalding as boiling water. A "Tang" character wrapped around a red worm, quickly scalding it to death.
Tracing Ink Along Lines lasted only a short time. When Tangyuan's technique expired, the perimeter had shrunk significantly, forcing the red worms back toward the meatball.
As Tangyuan stepped aside to catch her breath, a veteran Security Team member in his fifties followed up.
Experienced and sharp, he wrote a remarkably simple character: "十".
It took only two strokes. With a Literary Cultivator's swift hand, he could manifest over a thousand "十" characters in a single burst.
The character looked frail and clearly couldn't withstand heavy hits, but this veteran Literary Cultivator saw through the battlefield: against worms, resilience wasn't needed—numbers were everything.
The "十" characters stabbed into the ground like nails, pinning the worms in place before slicing lengthwise down their bodies, cleaving them in half.
Severed horizontally, a worm might still regenerate; split vertically down the middle, it died on the spot.
Words slaughtering worms was like chopping melons and vegetables. Masters of parasitism though they were, the worms couldn't affect written characters in the slightest. Once the veteran made his move, the containment zone shrank dramatically.
When the veteran's technique faded, the next team member rushed forward. Seeing the veteran gain such an advantage with "十", he decided to be clever and chose an even simpler character: "一".
"一" was written even faster than "十", but as soon as he cast it, he regretted it.
With Tracing Ink Along Lines, the characters fought automatically and could not be controlled. Had the "一" launched vertically, stabbing into the ground, its effect would have resembled "十".
Launched horizontally, however, it turned into a stick. A stick chasing after worms could flail away for ages without killing a single one—its lethality fell far short.
Having achieved poor results, the Literary Cultivator retreated in chagrin. The remaining two Literary Cultivators learned the lesson; both went in writing "十", shrinking the perimeter further.
Tracing Ink Along Lines was intensely draining. After one round of attacks, three of the Literary Cultivators hit their limit and needed to rest. With superior technique, the veteran cultivator consumed comparatively less energy and unleashed a second round, as did Tangyuan.
The other Literary Cultivators were astonished. In their impression, Tangyuan had nothing going for her other than a privileged background; they never expected her foundational mastery of techniques to be so exceptional.
When the second round ended, even the veteran couldn't hold on, yet Tangyuan unleashed a third round.
The veteran was flabbergasted. How many years had Tangyuan even cultivated? Could she really be more proficient with the technique than him?
After the third round, Tangyuan trembled, her legs wobbling violently. Gritting her teeth, she activated a fourth round.
Li Qi was dumbfounded.
Forget the Outer States—even in Puluo Province, no Literary Cultivator below the seventh tier could execute Tracing Ink Along Lines in such rapid succession.
Tangyuan struggled to keep her footing and unleashed a fifth round.
With that cast, Tangyuan was completely depleted and collapsed to the ground.
Hemmed in by relentless waves of characters, the red worms were now confined to a single row of lathes beside the meatball.
Outside the mill, Big Head was stunned, Lightbulb was stunned, and even Shen Jingye watched in disbelief.
Everyone was dumbstruck, save for Chen Changrui, who remained calm. He knew just how much effort Tangyuan poured into mastering her techniques.
One could call her useless, but no one could say she didn't work hard.
While everyone was still in shock, the three drones inside the workshop were knocked out of the air by soaring characters.
Cut off from seeing the battle inside, Shen Jingye grew anxious.
He wanted to lead men into the factory, but Chen Changrui cautioned, "It's best to wait for Director Li's order."
Shen Jingye didn't insist, yet he couldn't fathom how all three drones could be struck accidentally.
In truth, it wasn't the characters that took down the drones; Li Banfeng had struck them down. His movements were so fast that nobody on site could track them, let alone Shen Jingye watching the video feed.
Li Banfeng caught Tangyuan as she fell. Tangyuan rasped with difficulty, "Director, how... how did I do?"
"Brilliant!" Li Banfeng praised her, handing her over to the others. "Everyone, pull out!"
Once everyone else had retreated, Li Banfeng drew out the teapot.
The encirclement of red worms had shrunk to a manageable radius; Li Banfeng was now confident he could trap them within a barrier.
The old teapot splashed tea onto the ground, generating a barrier that cordoned off the red worms, the meatball, and the fallen demolition team members all together.
Once enclosed, boiling tea welled up from the floor. Before long, the writhing red worms all perished.
Such lethal red worms, capable of burrowing into flesh upon touching skin, had given even Li Banfeng pause. Yet once inside the old teapot's strike range, eliminating them was this simple.
The giant meatball turned from dark red to an off-white—it had been thoroughly cooked. No more worms should emerge from inside it.
All the worms within the barrier were dead, but had any slipped through the net outside?
Yes!
Li Banfeng caught one under a lathe, then signaled the Security Team members outside to come in and sanitize the site.
First, he had the demolition team clear out the unexploded charges.
Next, he had wine cultivators enter and drench the floor in liquor.
After the alcohol was spread, Fire Cultivators stepped in to ignite the flames.
Water Cultivators managed the blaze from the sides, ensuring a thorough purge of the area without letting the fire rage out of control.
The Chilling Cultivators were the most vital: they had to freeze the giant meatball solid.
Although the meatball was already cooked through, Li Banfeng couldn't be certain whether it might somehow regenerate.
Once the Chilling Cultivators froze the meatball down to the core into a solid block of ice, they shattered it with Chilling Cultivator techniques, blasting the meatball into chunks of frozen meat.
The shattered pieces were consigned to the flames, burning until they turned to charcoal.
With the purge complete, Li Banfeng didn't need to worry about the remaining mopping up.
He hopped over the compound wall, found a secluded corner to hide his key, and returned to the companion dwelling, handing the sole surviving worm to his lady.
"Precious Lady, what kind of bug is this? Was it made by an insect cultivator?"
His lady speared the worm with her stylus and inspected it for a moment. "This isn't an insect cultivator's bug. It's a gu seed—a creation of a gu cultivator."
"Was this made by a gu cultivator as well?" Li Banfeng showed his lady the photographs of the meatball.
After examining them, she said, "This is an insect pod cultivated by a gu cultivator, though looking at the photos alone, one cannot tell its size."
Li Banfeng said, "The pod was more than two heads taller than me."
"Husband, then this gu cultivator's tier is far from low. They might no longer be on the ground-crust. How did you come to offend such a person?"
Li Banfeng shook his head. "I wouldn't say I offended him. It's just a coincidence that I crossed paths with his work."
"Husband, you must be extremely cautious. A gu cultivator above the clouds is troublesome to deal with. Since you have run into it, you must prepare beforehand."
Hong Ying was thoroughly dismissive of gu cultivators. "So what if we offended him? Our man is above the clouds too! Why fear someone who just plays with bugs?"
The gramophone sighed. "Husband's advancement was too rushed. He has been above the clouds for too short a time, his physique still lacks tempering, and he hasn't learned any techniques. If he runs into a ruthless character above the clouds, he'll be at a disadvantage."
Hong Ying nodded. "Once you ascend above the clouds, learning above-the-clouds techniques is proper business."
The gramophone remained uneasy. "As I said, Husband's physique isn't ripe yet. We must not rush."
Hong Ying said, "I don't think it's rushing. Qilang, how has your body recovered?"
Hearing that it was time to learn techniques, Li Banfeng puffed out his chest. "Compared to when I was on the ground-crust, it's a world of difference! I think I'm ready!"
Hong Ying said, "I think so too! Qilang, let's unlock one pathway first—learn our journey cultivator above-the-clouds technique. Once you master it, you'll definitely be able to tell gateways apart!"
"What is the first-tier technique called?"
"Carefree and Unfettered!"
Li Banfeng pondered for a moment. "Distinguishing gateways makes one carefree and unfettered?"
"Not just gateways—you have to tell every other part apart clearly too." Hong Ying selected a slender wooden paddle from among the ones the gramophone frequently used and placed it in Li Banfeng's hand. "Qilang, hit me."
Li Banfeng truly couldn't fathom why Hong Ying loved his lady's paddle so much.
"Yingying, let's not play games right now. Let's discuss the technique first."
"This is about the technique," Hong Ying said, standing rooted in place. "I'll stand right here and won't move. Hit me anywhere you like. If you land even a single blow, you can have your way with Xiaowan tonight however you please!"
Smack! The gramophone struck Hong Ying with a paddle first. "Why should he have his way with me?!"
Hong Ying rubbed her peach of a bottom and urged, "Come on, Qilang! Didn't you say it's a world of difference from the ground-crust? Show me what you've got."
Li Banfeng swung the paddle, sweeping it toward Hong Ying's waist.
The waist was a tricky target, awkward to dodge without shifting one's body.
Hong Ying didn't move, yet Li Banfeng's paddle swept through empty air.
Reviewing the trajectory of his strike, Li Banfeng asked, "Yingying, did you just use Half Step?"
Hong Ying chuckled. "If I used Half Step, it wouldn't be a fair victory—Xiaowan could punish me however she liked. Hit me again, Qilang! Put all your strength into it!"
If she truly remained stationary, certain spots were impossible to dodge.
Li Banfeng dipped low abruptly, sweeping the paddle along the floor.
He aimed for Hong Ying's ankles.
Striking at the waist, Hong Ying could arch her upper body backward to evade; striking at the ankles, as long as her feet stayed put, she had no way to avoid it.
Hong Ying's feet didn't budge, yet Li Banfeng's paddle struck only empty air once more.
Li Banfeng shook his head. "This makes no sense. You definitely used Half Step."
Hong Ying laughed. "If I used Half Step, I'll let Xiaowan give me a hundred lashes with the paddle today, with Qilang watching from the side while I count every single stroke myself!"
The gramophone huffed. "Hitting you would only tire me out. Husband, you won't land a blow on her using normal methods."
Li Banfeng was puzzled. "Is it because I'm too slow?"
The gramophone said, "Not just because you're slow—Husband struck the wrong place."
Li Banfeng paused in surprise. "If I want to hit her ankle, naturally I aim above her foot."
"Husband, her ankle wasn't above her foot just now."
"Her ankle wasn't above her foot? Then where could it be?"
The gramophone replied, "Perhaps on her shoulder, perhaps on her back—or perhaps in a place that shall not be named."
Chapter 505