Chapter 171: Park Cold Case

The journey back was very smooth, with only a slight delay in the cave. This time, he didn't encounter centipedes; Li Banfeng walked out step by step on his own. Sitting at the foot of the cliff, Li Banfeng felt as if his legs were about to fall off from his hips, but his cultivation had indeed increased significantly, accumulating over three months by the reckoning of time.

While resting, Li Banfeng took a Blue Leaf Pill and another Golden Yuan Pill. Once he had mostly recovered, he hurried on his way. Passing through Bloodfang Mountain, Li Banfeng still followed the small path that Linli had taken before. He didn't encounter any Bloodfang monsters along the way. Once he was out of Sanpan River, Li Banfeng was no longer restricted and sprinted back to Ligou.

He had originally intended to go to Feng's General Store first to see if Shopkeeper Feng could acquire a travel permit for Green Water Bay, as traveling in the New Land was quite dangerous. Just as he arrived at the entrance of Yu Family Cloth Shop, Yu Nan was standing there, her face full of joy, saying, "Seventh Master, you've really come."

Li Banfeng stopped at the shop entrance, looking at Yu Nan in surprise. "How did you know I was coming?"

Yu Nan didn't speak. She pulled Li Banfeng's hand and led him into the shop. Entering the back courtyard, she opened a separate room. Inside sat a disheveled old man with gray hair and beard.

Old Mr. Yao! He was actually waiting for Li Banfeng at the Yu Family Cloth Shop. It was he who knew Li Banfeng had arrived at Medicine King Gully and instructed Yu Nan to wait at the shop entrance.

After bringing Li Banfeng in, Yu Nan quickly left the room. Old Mr. Yao took out a wine jar, poured two bowls of wine, and gestured for Li Banfeng to sit down.

"Young man, this business trip was hard on you."

Li Banfeng shook his head slightly. "The business wasn't hard; delivering medicine isn't difficult. The hardship was all self-inflicted."

Old Yao chuckled, "That's not how it is. If you hadn't desperately dealt with the insect plague, that old dog Pan Dehai would surely have continued to cause trouble. If he had really released the insects, countless people in the entire Puro Prefecture would have died. I invited you today for two reasons: first, to finalize the transfer of the Gourd of Wine. Since I didn't know if you could succeed initially, its contract was still with me. Second, I want to give you an additional reward. What would you like?"

Li Banfeng shook his head. "You've already given me everything you should. I don't want anything else."

"If I say I'll give it, I will. Think about it carefully. First, I'll finalize things with the gourd."

The gourd rubbed against Li Banfeng, awaiting his permission. Li Banfeng placed the gourd on the table.

"Should I step out?" Li Banfeng was about to rise, but Old Yao waved his hand.

"Young man, just stay here. I just want to hear her recount the process of eradicating the insects. I won't ask about anything else."

Pan Dehai had told Old Yao about the insect eradication. Old Yao, fearing Pan Dehai might not be entirely truthful, had asked the Gourd of Wine to verify the details again. The Gourd of Wine recounted the events in detail. She only spoke about the insect eradication and didn't mention a single word about the Portable Residence or anything within it.

Once things were clear, Old Yao sighed softly. "I knew it. No poison in this world can wipe out an entire species. In the end, it still comes down to the disciples of Green Blossom."

After speaking, Old Yao took out a contract and, in front of Li Banfeng, burned it to ashes. Li Banfeng was curious about the contract. "Do artifacts and their masters all need to establish a contract?"

Old Yao shook his head. "Low-level artifacts don't. High-level artifacts, if one can truly control them, also don't need a contract. The gourd has followed me for many years. As for control, I truly wasn't confident. As for affection, I'm simply not someone who trusts affection."

With the contract destroyed, the gourd returned to Li Banfeng's side. As for whether Li Banfeng signed a contract with the Gourd of Wine, Old Yao did not inquire and should not interfere.

"Have you thought about the reward? Please don't say you don't want it; I hate owing favors."

Li Banfeng had indeed thought of something. "I acquired an Intestinal Roller Silkworm and want to give it to a friend. I'm not sure what preparations are needed."

"An Intestinal Roller Silkworm?" Old Yao's brow furrowed. "Pan Dehai gave it to you, didn't he?"

Li Banfeng nodded.

Old Yao gave a bitter smile. "That old geezer really doesn't do things properly. You're not a Food Cultivator; giving this to you is clearly just causing you trouble."

"I want to give it to a Food Cultivator."

"Are you talking about that fatty? His cultivation is still at the first level, right?"

Li Banfeng nodded.

Old Yao took out a packet of medicinal powder and a wine pot. He poured the powder into the pot and filled it with wine. "Have the fatty drink this pot of wine first, then let him eat the Intestinal Roller Silkworm. Tell that fatty that if he can't bear it someday, to come find me again. I can remove the Intestinal Roller Silkworm, but he'll have to figure out how to deal with it himself."

Can't bear it?

"Is it because he can't bear the hunger?"

Old Yao shook his head. "It's good for Food Cultivators to feel a bit hungry; the more they eat, the faster their cultivation grows. I'm worried he won't be able to bear the financial burden. That fatty isn't very clever and doesn't seem like someone who can earn money. In less than a year and a half, he could eat himself into poverty."

Eating, and eating oneself into poverty?

Li Banfeng accepted the medicated wine, drank a few cups with Old Yao, and chatted for a bit. Hearing a bell outside the door, Old Yao stood up, wiped his mouth, and said, "I should go. A car is here to pick me up. You should have dinner, a drink, and sleep with that girl from the Yu family. She misses you very much."

Li Banfeng replied very seriously, "Eating and drinking are fine, but isn't sleeping together a bit inappropriate?"

Old Yao said righteously, "What's inappropriate about it? Don't you sleep at night? Just sleep in the same bed with her. On a cold day, it's warmer for two people to cuddle. I'm not asking you to do anything else!"

"Alright then," Li Banfeng agreed.

Old Yao walked out of the cloth shop and got into a rickshaw. The rickshaw driver didn't ask for a destination or a price; he just pulled the rickshaw and left. Old Yao took out his wine pot, took a big gulp, and asked, "Do you know where I'm going?"

The rickshaw driver chuckled, "You've been out for so long; you must be going home."

Old Yao took another big gulp. "Do you know where my home is?"

The rickshaw driver chuckled again. "Yes, I know. I wander around your house when I have nothing else to do."

Gulp, gulp! Old Yao drained the wine pot, wiped his mouth, and asked, "Let's discuss this: can you pull your rickshaw somewhere else?"

The rickshaw driver shook his head. "No, I won't change. I just think your place is quite good."

Old Yao took out another wine pot, took a sip, and said, "I have a tough life; you won't outlast me!"

The rickshaw driver was quite optimistic about this. "I'm not in a hurry. I'll wait patiently. If you keep drinking like this every day, you might just be gone one day."

Yuezhou Third Hospital. He Jiaqing lay motionless in his hospital bed. Zou Guoming, a security agent from the Dark Star Bureau, observed him at the doorway for a moment, inquired about his condition, and then left the hospital.

In the security team, he was the most outstanding and senior agent. His large head and somewhat narrow shoulders made his physique seem unusually proportioned, earning him the nickname "Big Head" within the team. When He Jiaqing's incident first occurred, Zou Guoming and two other team members were responsible for round-the-clock monitoring of his condition. Unexpectedly, He Jiaqing remained in a coma for over half a year. Big Head couldn't stay there watching constantly, but he would still visit the hospital every two or three days. This wasn't an order from the bureau; it was Big Head's intuition. He always felt there was another hidden reason behind He Jiaqing's situation.

His visit this time wasn't entirely for He Jiaqing. Next to Yuezhou Third Hospital was Flower Lake Park, one of Yuezhou's most famous parks. A disappearance case had recently occurred in this park. The missing person was a female university student named Hu Lishan, who had entered the park alone at eleven o'clock at night. The park's surveillance cameras showed her entering the park, strolling in the woods, and dropping her phone, but there was no footage of her leaving the park. She had disappeared within the park; no one was found, only her abandoned phone. Information from her phone revealed that Hu Lishan had experienced emotional setbacks, which was likely the reason she came to the park late at night. Her boyfriend was investigated afterward, and the emotional trivialities were thoroughly examined, but these had no direct connection to the disappearance case.

Cases with no results are handed over to the Dark Star Bureau. The Dark Star Bureau doesn't focus on solving cases; they only need to confirm one thing: whether the case involves ability users. Big Head wasn't actually very interested in this case. He suspected that Hu Lishan had, in a moment of despair, jumped into Flower Lake. However, as he followed the clues provided by surveillance and walked around the park, he sensed that something wasn't quite right. He could hear some sounds, like a woman crying. He could smell something, a scent similar to fresh blood. Big Head was a fifth-level fighter, also known as a martial cultivator in Puro Prefecture. Although martial cultivators' perception wasn't top-tier, it was far superior to that of ordinary people.

He followed the sounds and smells, tracking them all the way to a mansion within the park. The crying was coming from behind the mansion. Just as Big Head was about to go around the building, a sharp, piercing sound brought the crying to an abrupt halt. "Everyone, please look this way. This mansion is a landmark building of Flower Lake Park..." A tour guide was leading a group. Big Head glanced at the tour guide, then walked behind the mansion. The back of the building was empty; he no longer heard crying nor smelled blood. This was the awkward aspect of the Dark Star Bureau: they couldn't operate openly, and their investigations were often subject to human interference. But Big Head was already certain that there was something wrong with this park.

He found a nearby hotel, booked a room by the hour, rested for half a day, and re-entered the park at ten o’clock that night. Sniff! Sniff! He soon heard inhaling sounds, like someone sniffing due to cold, or perhaps someone sobbing. Following the inhaling sounds, Big Head once again saw the mansion. Here, he smelled an overwhelming scent of blood, much stronger than during the day. Both the sound and smell came from behind the building. Big Head went around to the rear of the mansion and saw a woman standing with her back to him. Each time the woman inhaled, her shoulders would heave, and her body would tremble, indicating she was indeed sobbing. She was wearing a denim jacket and jeans, identical to Hu Lishan's silhouette captured by surveillance.

Big Head did not approach rashly. As an experienced agent, he knew that by seeing this scene, his mission was already accomplished. He took out his phone and called the bureau for backup, but after several attempts, he only heard short, busy tones. The phone call wasn't connecting; it wasn't the bureau's issue, but his own phone had no signal. Even with this sudden situation, Big Head remained calm. He took out another phone from his pocket, bit it to extend the antenna, confirmed the antenna's direction, and called the bureau. This was a satellite phone issued by the Dark Star Bureau to agents; it was inconvenient to use but relatively reliable. He dialed the number for a while, but there was still no response. Even the satellite phone wasn't working? Big Head became a little nervous.

He saw Hu Lishan walking forward. Where was she going? What was her current condition? Was she still alive? Big Head was still hesitating whether to follow, when he suddenly realized he was already following. His legs hadn't moved, but his distance from Hu Lishan hadn't changed; he was moving forward with her. The surrounding scenery, including the ground beneath his feet and the mansion beside him, was slowly receding.

The ground beneath Hu Lishan's feet suddenly began to warp, and the hard stone path seemed to ripple with waves. It was indeed water ripples! In front of her, the original wall vanished, replaced by a dense, foggy lake surface. Hu Lishan walked into the lake, taking Big Head with her. The cold lake water filled his trousers. Big Head struggled intensely, but his legs couldn't move. Not just his feet, his arms also began to stiffen rapidly, and his entire body became immobilized. Hu Lishan slowly sank beneath the surface. Big Head, his body stiff, holding the satellite phone, disappeared beneath the lake surface along with Hu Lishan.

The ripples gradually disappeared, and the ground hardened again, as if nothing had happened. Lake water continuously filled his mouth and nose. Big Head, on the verge of losing consciousness, looked at the dark lake surface and completely plunged into darkness.

Died just like that? Died in a disappearance case? Big Head was unwilling to accept it. But it was useless; he couldn't move his limbs and could only drown alive.

A hand reached into the ground and pulled Big Head out from it. Covered in lake water and mud, Big Head lay on the ground, retching repeatedly. Someone stood beside him, watching silently. Big Head raised his head and looked at the person beside him.

He Jiaqing! He Jiaqing, who was still lying in a hospital bed during the day?

"How, how could it be? It's, it's you..."

"You should say thank you first." He Jiaqing smiled. "You just entered the New Land. Didn't expect it, did you? There are New Lands even outside the prefecture. Don't let your fifth-level cultivation fool you; if I hadn't saved you, you would have surely died. Do you still want to go in and see? You're a brave person. I can take you through it one more time."