Li Banfeng returned to the companion dwelling, greeted his lady, and went straight to the Ninth Chamber.
Hong Ying looked at the gramophone. "Xiaowan, Seventh Brother has been acting strange lately. Every time he comes home, he runs straight to the Ninth Chamber!"
The gramophone gave a faint laugh. "Let him run. Do I really need to be jealous of that wretched Red Lotus?"
Hong Ying glanced toward the door, then leaned in close to the gramophone. "Xiaowan, the martial world is perilous. There are things you have to guard against."
The gramophone paused. "Guard against what?"
Hong Ying lowered her voice even further. "Red Lotus has seven holes. She does more business than all of us put together."
"Pah!" The gramophone spat at Hong Ying. "Not a serious thought in your head all day long. Who knows what’s going on inside your skull! I think you just haven't been beaten enough!"
Hong Ying looked aggrieved. Sitting down before the vanity mirror, she dabbed twice with the rouge and set it down. "Xiaowan, my heart is entirely with you. How could you treat me like this? Xiaowan, you—"
Where had the gramophone gone?
Hong Ying pushed open door after door, only to find the gramophone crouched right outside the Ninth Chamber, peeking through the crack of the door.
The gramophone was furious, cursing inwardly, *This madman, putting his hands on her the moment he arrives! There really is something dirty going on between him and this Red Lotus.*
Li Banfeng held ten medicinal pills, caressing the lotus core as he spoke gently to Red Lotus. "These ten pills—do you recognize them?"
Red Lotus answered calmly, "I recognize them. They were refined from the iron tendons of iron-tendon bamboo."
Li Banfeng smiled. "Didn't you say yesterday that they couldn't be refined?"
"I said they couldn't be refined into pathway entry powders. These pills, I know how to refine. The very first batch of iron tendons the Peddler produced was refined into pills by me."
"Why haven't I heard you mention this before?"
"You never asked."
Red Lotus was indeed right; Li Banfeng hadn't asked before. But now he needed to ask in detail. "To make pathway entry powder, is it mandatory to first refine the iron tendons into pills?"
If this step was truly necessary, then the Peddler had to possess at least one other Red Lotus.
Red Lotus said, "In the beginning, yes. But later on, by some method unknown to me, the Peddler no longer needed my help to refine pills and could make the powders directly. From that point on, he turned against the man from heaven."
"How do these pills become powders?"
"You choose any three among them and refine them once more, and they will become the entry powder for a particular pathway. But as for how to refine them, or which pathway corresponds to which three pills, that I do not know."
Red Lotus's answer matched Sun Tiecheng's, though that did not mean she was speaking the unvarnished truth.
Li Banfeng continued stroking the lotus core and asked, "Was the man from heaven a man or a woman? What did they look like?"
Red Lotus pondered for a long time, then sighed. "I cannot remember whether they were male or female, nor can I recall their appearance. I only remember that they were beautiful—more beautiful even than Zhao Xiaowan."
Li Banfeng chuckled. "Pure nonsense. Who in this world could be more beautiful than my lady?"
Red Lotus tightened her lotus leaves, pinching Li Banfeng's finger. "Have you ever seen your lady?"
"I see her all the time. She's right in the main hall."
"Do you know what your lady originally looked like?"
"How could I not? Even if you threw her into a sea of people, I would recognize her at first glance."
"I am not talking about how she looks now. I mean her original appearance."
Li Banfeng stood up. "No matter what my lady looks like, no one in this world is more beautiful than her."
With that, Li Banfeng returned to the main chamber.
The gramophone had scurried back ahead of him and was standing by the door, its brass horn covered in dewdrops.
Li Banfeng asked, "My lady, is that sweat?"
"Ah, yes, it's sweat. Just now I wanted to cook a bowl of noodles for my husband, but I couldn't decide between wide noodles and thin noodles, and I grew so anxious that I broke into a full sweat." Her operatic voice remained melodious, though slightly hoarse.
"What was there to be anxious about?" Li Banfeng smiled. "Make wide noodles. I like wide noodles."
"My dearest darling, do you prefer soup noodles or dry noodles?"
"Soup noodles."
"My darling treasure, the noodles will be ready in a moment. Take off your clothes first so your humble servant can wash them for you."
"No rush to wash them. I have to head to the Outer Province shortly, and I'll need to cross two lakes."
"Precious husband, once you come out of the lakes, hurry home to change so you don't catch a chill."
Hong Ying sighed from the side. "Xiaowan, when have I ever seen you treat anyone so well?"
***
After finishing his noodles, Li Banfeng immediately rushed to Yuezhou. He needed to clear up a few matters:
How deep was the Outer Province's research into iron-tendon bamboo? Was there any connection between their dark-energy user guide agents and the bamboo?
How far had Xuehuapu infiltrated the Outer Province? Did they have people inside the Dark Star Bureau?
Returning to the Dark Star Bureau, Li Banfeng summoned Tangyuan, but she had never heard of iron-tendon bamboo.
If even she hadn't heard of it, there was no need to ask Zhong'er or Lightbulb. The only person in the bureau who might know about it was Shen Jingye.
Li Banfeng dialed Shen Jingye's number, only to hear a busy signal. Shen Jingye's landline was constantly engaged—he was in his office taking a call from higher-ups.
The caller was Guan Zhengyang, slightly younger than Shen Jingye, but holding a post somewhat higher than Director Du.
"Bureau Chief Shen, the directive instructed your bureau to conduct a focused investigation into Li Qi. What have you actually carried out? What difference is there between the report you submitted and his prior statement?"
Shen Jingye had prepared long beforehand. "It is precisely because there is no difference that the findings are authentic. Li Qi is a science enthusiast. Driven by his love of science, he attended the academic exchange at Yuezhou University. The conference that day did not require tickets and was open to anyone who wished to audit it. Before the event, Yuezhou University did extensive publicity. That is why Li Qi was present at the scene."
Guan Zhengyang was displeased, finding Shen Jingye's explanation to be pure sophistry. "A Dark Star Bureau operative attending an academic conference during working hours? Do you find that reasonable? Do you think this is the outcome we wanted?"
Shen Jingye's tone sharpened slightly. "Li Qi followed proper leave procedures before attending the conference. During his time off, he has the right to pursue knowledge. I find this entirely reasonable. If you consider it unreasonable, please tell me what kind of activity during his leave would be considered reasonable.
"Furthermore, if you feel our findings are not what you wanted, please inform me of your desired conclusion, and we will conduct our investigation according to your specified result. Would that suit you?"
Guan Zhengyang fell silent for a long time, unable to utter a word. He was accustomed to being praised as young, capable, erudite, and articulate.
Shen Jingye knew full well that Guan Zhengyang appeared so outstanding only because so few people ever pushed back against him.
Guan Zhengyang raised his volume. "Bureau Chief Shen, please mind your attitude. The Dark Star Bureau's recent performance in numerous tasks has shown obvious problems—many of which have yet to receive a formal assessment!"
*Trying to intimidate me?*
Shen Jingye was unfazed. "Whether it concerns the bureau or my personal conduct, so long as the facts are verified, I am willing to accept criticism and any disciplinary measures."
"Your issues will certainly be addressed. This case is to be transferred immediately to the Dark Matter Research Lab."
The Dark Matter Research Lab sounded like a purely scientific institution, but in reality, its nature closely mirrored that of the Dark Star Bureau. In all likelihood, it would replace the Dark Star Bureau after a period of time.
This was standard procedure; the Dark Star Bureau's own history was not particularly long either.
Shen Jingye would not blame himself over losing favor with his superiors, nor would he fret over shifts in the bureau's standing. "I am aware of this. I received the document the day before yesterday."
Guan Zhengyang said, "Since you have the document, act quickly. Hand over the suspects and all related materials at once."
"The handover was already completed yesterday morning. Suspects, relevant files, witness statements, physical evidence—everything was handed over, and the paperwork is fully signed."
Shen Jingye understood the game. Bringing up the day before yesterday's matters again today was an anxiety management tactic—an old trick designed to make him stew in self-reproach.
In the past, the tactic would have worked. But Guan Zhengyang did not know that Shen Jingye had changed—changed drastically.
The present Shen Jingye would neither blame himself for losing the upper echelon's trust nor feel anxious about the bureau's shifting status. He only needed to confirm one thing: "Among the transferred suspects, was Li Qi included?"
"That is still under review. Await further directives." Guan Zhengyang could not give an answer. Li Qi was a Balancer, and an exceptionally powerful one at that. Handing such a person over to the Dark Matter Research Lab was something the lab could not handle.
Shen Jingye hung up the phone, picked up his notebook, and flipped through the notes he had just jotted down.
Ever since he began working, he had filled countless notebooks. Meetings required notes, phone calls required notes, and in-person reports required notes even more. Every directive, every assignment—all had to be noted down.
How important were these notes to him?
In truth, not important at all.
Most of Shen Jingye's notes were scribbled at random. What was written did not matter; what mattered was the act of writing. The larger the motions and the more earnest the expression, the greater the apparent dedication.
Of course, there were some truly important things in the notebook. Flipping past a heap of random scribbles, he found a page containing a matrix. Pulling a stack of blank sheets from the printer, he began solving it at high speed.
This was part of his cultivation.
His pen flew across the pages. Using up over a dozen sheets of scrap paper, he swiftly resolved more than half the matrix. Li Banfeng watched from the side for a while before asking, "What tier of calculation cultivator are you?"
Shen Jingye showed neither surprise nor panic; he was used to it. Straightening the draft sheets, he looked up and said, "I am a problem solver—what Puluo Province commonly calls a calculation cultivator."
Li Banfeng smiled. There was a vast difference between a problem solver and a calculation cultivator. By browsing through various materials recently, Li Banfeng had discovered an essential difference between the two.
If a train passed before their eyes, a calculation cultivator could calculate the optimal method and timing to stop the train based on the surrounding environment and their own capabilities, while also planning out the entire process of looting the cargo and fencing the stolen goods down to the last detail. Li Banfeng had experienced this firsthand at Huangtu Bridge.
Problem solvers, however, lacked such an ability. They did not know how to stop the train. But if given a ready-made plan along with all known conditions, and asked to verify whether the plan was feasible, a problem solver could provide an answer. The core of their ability was the "problem." Without a problem posed to them, their ability had no way to function.
Was Shen Jingye a calculation cultivator or a problem solver? That remained to be verified.
Li Banfeng had come to see someone. "Is Professor Yu Yaoming still in the bureau?"
Shen Jingye shook his head. "No. The Dark Matter Research Lab sent people to take him yesterday. If you want to see him, you'll have to coordinate with the lab, though I doubt they'll cooperate."
Li Banfeng did not see it that way. "We're comrades on the same front. Don't assume the worst of people. Give me the lab's address, and I'll go have a chat with them."
"I don't know their address yet. Once I find out, I'll definitely tell you." Shen Jingye was not joking; he was serious. His disposition had undergone a profound shift, one that appeared irreversible.
There was a trace of defiance, though it could not be called willful, much less giving up entirely. Shen Jingye still harbored ambitions of advancement; he cultivated diligently and retained a keen awareness of risk avoidance. In dealing with his superiors, he was clearer-headed than ever before.
As to what kind of transformation it was, Li Banfeng pondered for a long time and could only find one word to describe it:
Authentic.
Shen Jingye had become far more authentic than before.
"Bureau Chief Li, one more thing to keep in mind. The lab was only recently established, and their hardware facilities aren't fully equipped, but they have quite a few high-tier dark-energy users among their members. It's best to show a little patience when communicating with them."
Li Banfeng frowned. "What do you mean by that? Do you think I'm an impatient person?"
Shen Jingye shook his head. "I'm worried *they* lack patience. They are Tier 7 dark-energy users. If they provoke you, I'm afraid you might beat them to death with a single strike."
"I'm only Tier 5. How could I beat a Tier 7 to death in one hit?"
Shen Jingye calculated briefly. "Factoring in margin of error, at most two hits, I'd say."
While they were bantering, Shen Jingye's phone rang. Glancing at the caller ID, he directly hit the speakerphone button.
The call was from Du Wenming. "Bureau Chief Shen, something happened at the Dark Matter Research Lab. An emergency meeting has been called. Come attend."
In the past, Shen Jingye would have agreed immediately and then spent time trying to decipher the meeting's hidden agenda.
Today, however, he had no interest in riddles. "Director Du, what happened? Why do I need to attend an emergency meeting of the research lab?"
Du Wenming fell silent for a moment. "The professor sent from the Dark Star Bureau to the lab was hijacked."
Li Banfeng was startled. *Who moved that fast?*
Shen Jingye was thoroughly displeased. "Director Du, why emphasize that he was sent from the Dark Star Bureau? We handed him over to the lab yesterday. Calling me to a meeting now—could it be that you want me to take the fall?"
Shen Jingye had hit the nail on the head. Calling him in truly carried the intent of making him look at the big picture and share the blame.
Yet Shen Jingye's bluntness took Du Wenming completely off guard. With the matter laid bare, Du Wenming could say little else and simply gave him the meeting time.
"Is the meeting at the lab? You need to give me the lab's address."
Du Wenming gave Shen Jingye the address. After hanging up, Shen Jingye thought about having his secretary prepare some materials, but after calling him in, he dismissed him.
"Writing reports is pointless. No matter how much is written, it won't help. I'm definitely not taking the blame today, and there's no need to mince words with them..." Muttering to himself, Shen Jingye scrawled a few rough pages in his notebook. Seeing that the time was close, he took a car to the meeting.
Two hours later, Shen Jingye returned and went straight to Li Qi's office.
Li Qi put down the documents in his hands and asked, "How did it go? You didn't take the blame, did you?"
Shen Jingye shook his head. "No blame taken, but the job landed on us."
"Is there a difference?"
"The difference is that losing Yu Yaoming isn't our fault, but we have to find a way to get him back."
Li Qi frowned. "Why should we be the ones looking?"
"Higher-ups said Yu Yaoming's disappearance is a public security issue caused by dark abilities, falling under the jurisdiction of the Dark Star Bureau's security team."
"Nonsense! Where did the incident occur? Wasn't it at the lab?"
"It was at the lab, but the circumstances are rather peculiar." Shen Jingye produced a hard drive and copied three surveillance videos for Li Qi, showing the moment Yu Yaoming was snatched.
Yu Yaoming was in an interrogation room at the time. A lab agent was interrogating him while taking notes. Suddenly, a man appeared beside the wall of the interrogation room.
The man was short with a large head, wearing a wide brown hat wrapped with a blue ribbon, in which a feather was pinned.
Beneath the brim, golden curls fell over his face. Through the curls, large, lifeless deep-blue eyes could be seen.
Under his eyes sat an exceptionally long nose, its tip covering his upper lip. He wore a yellow shirt, black shorts, and bulky leather shoes with neatly tied laces.
Li Banfeng was reminded of the classic fairy tale from his childhood, *The Adventures of Pinocchio*.
*Could this guy be named Pinocchio?*
Neither the agent nor Yu Yaoming noticed the man. Standing by the wall for a moment, the man began moving sideways toward Yu Yaoming.
Li Banfeng asked, "Why is he walking sideways?"
Shen Jingye said, "Keep watching. There's a clue below."
The man stood beside Yu Yaoming for a moment, seemingly observing the handcuffs and shackles on him.
The agent suddenly looked up, and the man's figure vanished.
Li Banfeng pressed pause, reviewing frame by frame how the man had disappeared.
The footage flickered frame by frame. In one frame, the man was standing beside Yu Yaoming; in the next, he was gone.
Shen Jingye shook his head with a sigh. "Their hardware is indeed lacking. That's the limit of the surveillance equipment."
The agent asked two more questions and then lowered his head to write notes. Li Banfeng asked, "Why was there only one agent in the interrogation room? There should be at least two."
Shen Jingye said, "The lab explained that Yu Yaoming's mental state is unstable. In crowded settings, he refuses to cooperate and might even attack the interrogator."
"Did that ever happen at the Dark Star Bureau?"
"Yu Yaoming is somewhat manic, but that doesn't seem to correlate with whether there are many people or few. He threw tantrums even when there were few people around."
After standing by Yu Yaoming for a bit, the crucial clue appeared.
The man slowly lifted his left arm—more precisely, his left upper arm. The forearm swung limply beneath the elbow.
After a few swings, the handcuffs and shackles on Yu Yaoming vanished completely.
The shackles made a faint sound, and the interrogating agent finally looked up, spotting the man beside Yu Yaoming. The man seized Yu Yaoming and, still moving sideways, charged rapidly toward the interrogation room door.
He easily smashed through the door and brought Yu Yaoming out into the hallway.
"Here comes the key moment." Shen Jingye played the second video. This footage came from the lab's corridor.
The man dragged Yu Yaoming sideways down the hall, crashed straight through the exterior wall, burst outside the building, hovered briefly in midair, and then plummeted.
"Notice this key point," Shen Jingye paused the video. "According to the division of responsibility decided at the meeting, Yu Yaoming being lost inside the building was the lab's fault, but Yu Yaoming fleeing outside the building is the Dark Star Bureau's responsibility."
"Is that human speech?" Li Banfeng raised his hand, tempted to slap Shen Jingye across the face.
Shen Jingye stepped back, maintaining a safe distance. "From a logical perspective, I think the division makes sense. The lab was only recently established; issues outside the building are indeed beyond their scope."
Li Banfeng stared blankly. "Is that how logic works?"
"Finish watching the videos first." Shen Jingye played the third video, which showed footage from a road camera outside the building, played at one-fifth speed. Only then could the figures of the man and Yu Yaoming be seen clearly.
The man moved sideways the entire time, his body showing virtually no vertical bobbing.
His shoulders remained permanently hunched, and his main joints—knees, elbows—exuded an odd awkwardness.
Shen Jingye said, "Can you tell? It's a marionette."
Li Banfeng nodded. "It really looks like one. Are you saying the person who hijacked Yu Yaoming is a craft cultivator?"
"That's not my conclusion; that was the analysis at the meeting. They believe an artisan crafted and manipulated this marionette to break into the lab and abduct Yu Yaoming.
"The core issue, however, is that the lab's agents are Tier 7 dark-energy users. Before this marionette, they showed no ability to respond whatsoever. Just how powerful do you think this artisan is?"
"Powerful enough that he isn't an artisan at all." Li Banfeng looked back at Shen Jingye.
Shen Jingye blinked. "I know there's a distinction between a craft cultivator and an artisan. This is certainly a high-tier craft cultivator. I just didn't want to get bogged down in their terminology."
This was the authentic Shen Jingye—he wouldn't even bother disguising his thoughts.
Yet his deduction was correct. If a mere puppet was this formidable, how terrifyingly strong was the craft cultivator behind it?
"Snatching Yu Yaoming back from his hands won't be easy."
Shen Jingye nodded. "I know it won't be easy. The responsibility for losing Yu Yaoming doesn't lie with us, so even if we fail to retrieve him, we won't be blamed. At most, we've missed an opportunity to earn merit."
Li Banfeng looked at Shen Jingye. "Do you want to earn merit?"
"Quite a bit." Shen Jingye's answer remained utterly candid.
"Didn't you say earlier that you no longer cared about promotions?"
"When there was no chance, of course I didn't care. But if there's a chance to win it back, maybe I care a little more."
The two exchanged glances for a moment, and Li Banfeng smiled. "Little Shen, your straightforward manner is quite endearing!"
Shen Jingye's eyes held an eager glint. "Bureau Chief Li, let's both be straightforward then. To pull this off, I need your help. What compensation do you want?"
Li Banfeng said, "No rush on compensation. Let's first see if there's any chance of pulling it off. Setting aside the enemy's strength, Yu Yaoming is gone, and finding him is like looking for a needle in the ocean. Where do you plan to start looking for clues?"
Shen Jingye had a professional background, so his thinking was naturally systematic. "First, find the motive. What was the motive behind taking Yu Yaoming?
"First possibility: Yu Yaoming formed some organization or gang, and this craft cultivator is a member of that gang, or was hired by them to rescue him.
"Second possibility: Yu Yaoming mastered some highly advanced scientific knowledge, and an organization wants to exploit his research findings, so they abducted him from the lab.
"The second possibility is far more likely. After all, this is a civilized society. No matter how deep a gang's loyalty to Yu Yaoming might be, they wouldn't recklessly challenge an institution like the research lab."
"Are you taking a dig at Puluo Province?" Li Banfeng chuckled. "Perhaps so-called civilization is entirely fabricated."
"I'm not digging at Puluo Province. What I meant was... wait, did you just say civilization is fabricated? What do you mean by that?"
The fact that Shen Jingye could repeat the phrase completely proved he was not a member of Xuehuapu.
Li Banfeng said, "Just a casual remark. Treat it as a philosophical question to ponder when you get back. I think your deduction is correct. The most likely motive is that they covet Yu Yaoming's research.
"Given Yu Yaoming's own condition, he possessed a certain degree of dark ability. Therefore, the organization that kidnapped him must be related to dark abilities."
Shen Jingye nodded. "I think so too. The culprit is an organization of dark-energy users with considerable strength."
"Among the organizations we know of, how many could afford to hire a craft cultivator of this caliber? How many would dare storm the research lab?"
"That narrows the scope significantly." Shen Jingye thought for a moment. "Based on my current intelligence, within the borders of the Huan State, only the Birch Hermitage has that kind of capability."
Li Banfeng said, "Following the Birch Hermitage further down, that should also include their spin-off gang, the Ferry Gang."
Shen Jingye considered this again. "And tracing upward from the Ferry Gang leads to another formidable faction: Xuehuapu. The Ferry Gang was jointly established by Xuehuapu and the Birch Hermitage."
Li Banfeng nodded. "So none of these three organizations can be overlooked. Do you have files on them?"
Shen Jingye pursed his lips. "You should have seen the bureau's files, haven't you?"
Li Banfeng smiled. "When I said civilization is fabricated, that's what I was referring to. Those files contain virtually no valuable information, and a good portion of the contents were simply made up."
Shen Jingye stood up. "I'll go gather some materials and bring them over shortly."
Li Banfeng said, "Hold on. There's one more detail we cannot overlook. Earlier, you told me you didn't know the lab's address."
Shen Jingye nodded. "Right, I didn't—"
After a brief silence, realization struck Shen Jingye.
*If I didn't know the location, how did that puppet know?*
*There's a mole!*
Li Banfeng said no more. Shen Jingye returned to his office, sat behind his desk, and kept repeating Li Banfeng's words.
"Civilization is fabricated... civilization is fabricated..."
He picked up the landline, then set it back down.
He took out his cell phone, copied down a number.
Then he produced an unusual mobile phone—a relic from the early 1990s, the size of a brick.
This phone had undergone special modifications, making it nearly impossible to intercept.
He dialed a number on it.
"Old Shen, why are you calling me from this number?"
Shen Jingye said, "I have a favor to ask. Look into Du Wenming's background and his recent movements. Focus especially on his schedule over the past three days."
Chapter 567