Hiding behind the rockery in the fish pond of Heng Xiang Group’s courtyard, Zhang Lisheng, who had transformed into a brutish giant of more than three meters tall, whose muscles were as strong as steel, attacked, using the omniscient power ‘Devour the earth and sky, resize itself as it might’, easily killed the burly man who came to Guo Zhongxiang’s rescue. After that, he changed the transformation power back to lizard from Money Toad again.
The entire transformation process only took about six to seven minutes but even so, the office not far away had already started to be lit up with light.
Seven to eight people ranging from the driver, security guard, and staff living in the building, rushed out and yelled in a panic on the corridor, “What happened? What happened? Is it an earthquake?”
“How can there be an earthquake out of nowhere? It sounds like a storm to me because the sound is similar to the typhoon that I used to encounter during a shipwreck last time.”
“Typhoon? Brother Xu, this is Western Sichuan here! The typhoon will never reach here… What in the name of God? CEO Guo’s office is gone!”
Upon hearing the cries of surprise from Heng Xiang’s employees, Zhang Lisheng smiled coldly. Concealing his body, he soundlessly snuck out of the Heng Xiang Group’s courtyard and began to run and leap out of the city along the street of Qu County that was completely vacated, except for the street lights still shining down on the street.
Not only did his trip to the county seat not solve the mystery in his heart, it might even attract the attention of other powerhouses from the Gate of Witchcraft too, causing him to feel that he had obtained both gains and losses at the same time.
The gain was that he was now one step closer to the Gate of Witchcraft and the chance to cultivate the secret method of the Witchcraft’s Gate of Sacrifice. After all, his original intention of coming to China was to obtain the cultivation method of the Gate of Sacrifice. He would be willing, even if he had to risk a lot to obtain this.
As for the loss, well, it was none other than the fact he had killed Guo Zhongxiang and had lost the simplest opportunity to find out about the hidden secrets in his ancestral home. It was very likely for him to create unexpected losses for himself in the future.
However, be it the gains or losses, both were not within Zhang Lisheng’s grasp right now so no matter how much he pondered over it, it was still useless. The only thing he could do now was just wait and observe quietly.
For this reason, after returning to Guawo Village, the young man began to stay in to study the ancient books obediently every day. Today, in addition to having some contact with Tao Lielin who sent food to him in a timely manner, he lived an almost isolated life.
Just like this, after waiting quietly for two days, less than an hour after he finished eating his lunch, Zhang Lisheng heard a series of knocking sounds resonating from the door again. His body turned stiff right away. Putting down the ancient book made of silk in his hand, with a mixture of joy and worries, he muttered to himself, “Have they come now?” and shut the lid of the wooden box, before walking out of the main house on his cloth shoes.
When he had just arrived in the yard, Tao Lielin’s sound immediately resonated from outside. “Mountain Worm, Mountain Worm, open the door now! Two policemen came to find you, wanting to ask you some questions. It’s not nice to delay their time.”
Then, another strange voice asked agitatedly, “Chief Tao, w-what’s wrong with you? Didn’t we tell you not to spill it out?”
“Aiya, Officer Liu. You prohibited me from saying it earlier but the thing is, if I don’t tell him that the policemen have come, he won’t open the door at all. He’s a US citizen so he puts a great deal on human rights and privacy. If we don’t make it clear to him and he refuses to open the door, what else can we do? The reason I told him that the policemen are coming is because I want to facilitate your work…”
In the courtyard, when the young man heard Uncle Ah Lie’s words, he realized that it was the policemen who came for some questioning. At once, he could not help but feel disappointed, but even so, he still opened the door.
Outside the door stood Tao Lielin with two police officers, one old, one young, on the mountain road.
When Zhang Lisheng opened the door, the young police officer showed his credentials right away. When he saw that the young man in front was obviously a young mountain inhabitant, surprise filled his eyes. Even so, he still took the lead to speak in fluent Mandarin, “You must be Mr. Zhang Lisheng. We’re from the criminal investigation unit of Qu County’s Public Security Bureau and we would like to ask you a few questions.”
“Sure, officer. Just ask me anything.” Zhang Lisheng suppressed the annoyance in his heart and nodded cooperatively.
“Very well, Mr. Zhang. May I know where were you on Wednesday, that is, at 12:30am on July 6th?”
“Wednesday night? Let me think… hmm oh yeah! I spent a night at the campfire at the village entrance and then I came back home reading for a while lying on my bed before falling asleep.”
“Any witness?”
“Oh, there were many witnesses on the campfire party. I’ve stayed there until the fire was completely extinguished. But after I came back, nobody could become my witness already.”
The young policeman was stunned for a while. Turning his head, he looked at Tao Lielin and asked, “Chief Tao, was there a campfire party in your village on the 6th of July?”
“Officer, this campfire party is being held everyday in our village. When night falls, hundreds of firewood will be burned to roast pig and sheep. We even roast an entire cow on every first and fifteenth of the month. The party would always last till eleven to twelve o’clock every night.”
“A campfire party every night that lasts till so late every time? This sounds a bit too far-fetched to me!” The young officer frowned.
“Far-fetched? If you don’t believe me, you can go ask all of the tourists in the village. Oh yeah, it’s even introduced on the tourism websites of our municipal government and county government too. Can we even lie about this?”
“Who can prove that he…” The young officer pointed at Zhang Lisheng. “…has attended the campfire party on the 6th of July?”
“Those who are in charge of the barbecue are the villagers of our village. You’ll find out after I’ve brought you to ask a few families later.”
Tao Lielin’s words rendered the young police officer speechless right away. At this time, the old police officer on the side suddenly asked very politely. “Mr. Zhang, may I know why did you come back to China this time?”
“I’m sorry, this is my privacy. I don’t have any comment on that,” Zhang Lisheng finally started to become impatient as he replied in English.
The old police officer was dumbfounded. The young police officer frowned and said, “Mr. Zhang Lisheng, please answer the question in Mandarin.”
“Officer, please don’t ask anything regarding my privacy issue,” Zhang Lisheng said with a shrug.
“Is the reason why you came back to China counts as a privacy issue?” The young police officer snapped angrily but was pulled by the older police officer instead. “Enough, we’re here to just make a casual investigation. We’ve asked what we wanted to ask so just drop it. Well then, thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Zhang. Bye.”
Then, he pulled the young police officer and walked away.
“Captain Han, why did you pull me? So what if he’s American? We were merely asking questions but look at that attitude!”
“Attitude? Well, that’s the American attitude.” When the old police officer saw how frustrated his young colleague was, he advised with sincerity and patience. “Little Liu, you’ve just come so you have no idea yet. In the recent years, our Qu County has become filled with foreigners. You’ll know after you’ve interacted with them many times. It’s already considered as not bad today, at the very least, he didn’t create a scene of wanting to find his lawyer, the consulate, the embassy and so on. Besides, this Zhang Family in Guawo Village is very eerie. We came here asking questions as a last resort to save a hopeless situation and just to carry out instructions from the Municipal Public Security Bureau’s Director Yang. There’s no need to be too serious. From what I can see, that boy doesn’t look as though he’s lying. He must have attended the campfire party on the 6th of July as he claimed. We’ve most likely made a vain trip here.”
Then, as the old police officer had predicted, more than ten people could testify that Zhang Lisheng did indeed participate in the campfire night and had even stayed until the very end.
Other than the villagers from Guawo Village, a few foreign tourists who had not left yet because they enjoyed the beautiful mountain scenery and the village life here in Western Sichuan could also testify for Zhang Lisheng. Zhang Lisheng’s thinness and his horrifyingly huge appetite had left a great impression on them.
The mountain villagers might have made a false testament to cover up for Zhang Lisheng but the credibility of ordinary tourists would undoubtedly be high.
Upon completion of the inquiry, the old police officer led the young police officer whose head was hanging low to walk on the mountain road. When he saw his ‘little apprentice’s dejected look, he suddenly smiled and asked, “What? You’ve given up now?”
“Not dejected, Captain Han, but I just feel that it’s another fruitless day today. I really don’t know what I should do next. I first thought that we can get a breaking point with Director Yang’s instruction but who knows…”
“A breaking point? Do you think that Yang Zhengqi is a god? Oh kid, didn’t you see nobody wants to budge when he asked all of us to come to Guawo just now in the morning? In the end, it’s him who personally submitted an official request and only then did this chore fall upon the two of us. An office in perfect condition just disappeared without a trace like that, without any explosion and collapse. The walls were sliced off so clean as though it was cut off neatly by a knife or an axe. It would be even more strange if the public security bureau of just a county seat can solve this mystery. I think Director Yang just wanted the county bureau to explore and take the risk first. All the things that he said about how the provincial department is planning to send a working group here and that he wants to make some substantial progress in the case first before this working group arrives here are all bullsh*t…”
“Captain Han, h-how can you talk about Director Yang like that? He’s a famous detective in the entire Western Sichuan! Even our police academy has included the cases that he has managed before in our case analysis!” Even though nothing was like having a man on the spot to smooth the way, the young police officer had always felt that the old police officer was very slacking in his work, and not only that, he always talked recklessly as well. When he heard the old officer slandering his idol, he finally exploded and snapped in annoyance.
“Oh oh! Look at you getting worked up now. Director Yang is indeed capable but…” The old police officer was very laid-back. Chuckling, he took out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it up. After inhaling a satisfying mouthful, he suddenly saw two men and two women who were walking towards their direction at the opposite side of the mountain road. From their dress-up, he could tell that they were not ordinary mountain villagers, but they were unlike tourists too.
Among the four of them, the two women appeared to be of similar age. Both were young and were just about in their twenties. One was wearing a white long dress and had a clear, refreshed-looking face that had some light makeup on her delicate facial features, but still, she was still a few steps away from being called beautiful. The other girl was wearing heavy makeup on her exquisite facial features. Her body was curvy and she was dressed in a light gray professional suit, looking like a secretary.
The two men were at least 20 to 30 years old apart. The younger one was also in his twenties. He had thick brows, big eyes and was dressed in brown casual clothes, appearing to be thriving with vitality. The older one seemed to be in his fifties. The perfectly tailored black suit on his body made him look uncouth that gave off a kind of awkward feeling. However, there was a hint of fierce look hidden between his brows that allowed nobody to look down on him.
When the old police officers saw the features of the four people clearly, his face twitched right away as he crumpled the cigarette that he had only managed to take one breath. “Be alert, Little Liu! Let’s pay attention to this!” After saying so, he hastily ran down the mountain.
The young police officer who was still immersed in his emotions of having his idol slandered asked in shock, “What’s wrong, Captain Han?”
“Of the four people who walked across us just now, I’ve seen that young guy’s photo in the information file of Heng Xiang before! He’s one of the shareholders so this means that he must be up to something coming here to Guawo Village. Let us watch them just in case something bad happens again!”
Hiding behind the rockery in the fish pond of Heng Xiang Group’s courtyard, Zhang Lisheng, who had transformed into a brutish giant of more than three meters tall, whose muscles were as strong as steel, attacked, using the omniscient power ‘Devour the earth and sky, resize itself as it might’, easily killed the burly man who came to Guo Zhongxiang’s rescue. After that, he changed the transformation power back to lizard from Money Toad again.
The entire transformation process only took about six to seven minutes but even so, the office not far away had already started to be lit up with light.
Seven to eight people ranging from the driver, security guard, and staff living in the building, rushed out and yelled in a panic on the corridor, “What happened? What happened? Is it an earthquake?”
“How can there be an earthquake out of nowhere? It sounds like a storm to me because the sound is similar to the typhoon that I used to encounter during a shipwreck last time.”
“Typhoon? Brother Xu, this is Western Sichuan here! The typhoon will never reach here… What in the name of God? CEO Guo’s office is gone!”
Upon hearing the cries of surprise from Heng Xiang’s employees, Zhang Lisheng smiled coldly. Concealing his body, he soundlessly snuck out of the Heng Xiang Group’s courtyard and began to run and leap out of the city along the street of Qu County that was completely vacated, except for the street lights still shining down on the street.
Not only did his trip to the county seat not solve the mystery in his heart, it might even attract the attention of other powerhouses from the Gate of Witchcraft too, causing him to feel that he had obtained both gains and losses at the same time.
The gain was that he was now one step closer to the Gate of Witchcraft and the chance to cultivate the secret method of the Witchcraft’s Gate of Sacrifice. After all, his original intention of coming to China was to obtain the cultivation method of the Gate of Sacrifice. He would be willing, even if he had to risk a lot to obtain this.
As for the loss, well, it was none other than the fact he had killed Guo Zhongxiang and had lost the simplest opportunity to find out about the hidden secrets in his ancestral home. It was very likely for him to create unexpected losses for himself in the future.
However, be it the gains or losses, both were not within Zhang Lisheng’s grasp right now so no matter how much he pondered over it, it was still useless. The only thing he could do now was just wait and observe quietly.
For this reason, after returning to Guawo Village, the young man began to stay in to study the ancient books obediently every day. Today, in addition to having some contact with Tao Lielin who sent food to him in a timely manner, he lived an almost isolated life.
Just like this, after waiting quietly for two days, less than an hour after he finished eating his lunch, Zhang Lisheng heard a series of knocking sounds resonating from the door again. His body turned stiff right away. Putting down the ancient book made of silk in his hand, with a mixture of joy and worries, he muttered to himself, “Have they come now?” and shut the lid of the wooden box, before walking out of the main house on his cloth shoes.
When he had just arrived in the yard, Tao Lielin’s sound immediately resonated from outside. “Mountain Worm, Mountain Worm, open the door now! Two policemen came to find you, wanting to ask you some questions. It’s not nice to delay their time.”
Then, another strange voice asked agitatedly, “Chief Tao, w-what’s wrong with you? Didn’t we tell you not to spill it out?”
“Aiya, Officer Liu. You prohibited me from saying it earlier but the thing is, if I don’t tell him that the policemen have come, he won’t open the door at all. He’s a US citizen so he puts a great deal on human rights and privacy. If we don’t make it clear to him and he refuses to open the door, what else can we do? The reason I told him that the policemen are coming is because I want to facilitate your work…”
In the courtyard, when the young man heard Uncle Ah Lie’s words, he realized that it was the policemen who came for some questioning. At once, he could not help but feel disappointed, but even so, he still opened the door.
Outside the door stood Tao Lielin with two police officers, one old, one young, on the mountain road.
When Zhang Lisheng opened the door, the young police officer showed his credentials right away. When he saw that the young man in front was obviously a young mountain inhabitant, surprise filled his eyes. Even so, he still took the lead to speak in fluent Mandarin, “You must be Mr. Zhang Lisheng. We’re from the criminal investigation unit of Qu County’s Public Security Bureau and we would like to ask you a few questions.”
“Sure, officer. Just ask me anything.” Zhang Lisheng suppressed the annoyance in his heart and nodded cooperatively.
“Very well, Mr. Zhang. May I know where were you on Wednesday, that is, at 12:30am on July 6th?”
“Wednesday night? Let me think… hmm oh yeah! I spent a night at the campfire at the village entrance and then I came back home reading for a while lying on my bed before falling asleep.”
“Any witness?”
“Oh, there were many witnesses on the campfire party. I’ve stayed there until the fire was completely extinguished. But after I came back, nobody could become my witness already.”
The young policeman was stunned for a while. Turning his head, he looked at Tao Lielin and asked, “Chief Tao, was there a campfire party in your village on the 6th of July?”
“Officer, this campfire party is being held everyday in our village. When night falls, hundreds of firewood will be burned to roast pig and sheep. We even roast an entire cow on every first and fifteenth of the month. The party would always last till eleven to twelve o’clock every night.”
“A campfire party every night that lasts till so late every time? This sounds a bit too far-fetched to me!” The young officer frowned.
“Far-fetched? If you don’t believe me, you can go ask all of the tourists in the village. Oh yeah, it’s even introduced on the tourism websites of our municipal government and county government too. Can we even lie about this?”
“Who can prove that he…” The young officer pointed at Zhang Lisheng. “…has attended the campfire party on the 6th of July?”
“Those who are in charge of the barbecue are the villagers of our village. You’ll find out after I’ve brought you to ask a few families later.”
Tao Lielin’s words rendered the young police officer speechless right away. At this time, the old police officer on the side suddenly asked very politely. “Mr. Zhang, may I know why did you come back to China this time?”
“I’m sorry, this is my privacy. I don’t have any comment on that,” Zhang Lisheng finally started to become impatient as he replied in English.
The old police officer was dumbfounded. The young police officer frowned and said, “Mr. Zhang Lisheng, please answer the question in Mandarin.”
“Officer, please don’t ask anything regarding my privacy issue,” Zhang Lisheng said with a shrug.
“Is the reason why you came back to China counts as a privacy issue?” The young police officer snapped angrily but was pulled by the older police officer instead. “Enough, we’re here to just make a casual investigation. We’ve asked what we wanted to ask so just drop it. Well then, thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Zhang. Bye.”
Then, he pulled the young police officer and walked away.
“Captain Han, why did you pull me? So what if he’s American? We were merely asking questions but look at that attitude!”
“Attitude? Well, that’s the American attitude.” When the old police officer saw how frustrated his young colleague was, he advised with sincerity and patience. “Little Liu, you’ve just come so you have no idea yet. In the recent years, our Qu County has become filled with foreigners. You’ll know after you’ve interacted with them many times. It’s already considered as not bad today, at the very least, he didn’t create a scene of wanting to find his lawyer, the consulate, the embassy and so on. Besides, this Zhang Family in Guawo Village is very eerie. We came here asking questions as a last resort to save a hopeless situation and just to carry out instructions from the Municipal Public Security Bureau’s Director Yang. There’s no need to be too serious. From what I can see, that boy doesn’t look as though he’s lying. He must have attended the campfire party on the 6th of July as he claimed. We’ve most likely made a vain trip here.”
Then, as the old police officer had predicted, more than ten people could testify that Zhang Lisheng did indeed participate in the campfire night and had even stayed until the very end.
Other than the villagers from Guawo Village, a few foreign tourists who had not left yet because they enjoyed the beautiful mountain scenery and the village life here in Western Sichuan could also testify for Zhang Lisheng. Zhang Lisheng’s thinness and his horrifyingly huge appetite had left a great impression on them.
The mountain villagers might have made a false testament to cover up for Zhang Lisheng but the credibility of ordinary tourists would undoubtedly be high.
Upon completion of the inquiry, the old police officer led the young police officer whose head was hanging low to walk on the mountain road. When he saw his ‘little apprentice’s dejected look, he suddenly smiled and asked, “What? You’ve given up now?”
“Not dejected, Captain Han, but I just feel that it’s another fruitless day today. I really don’t know what I should do next. I first thought that we can get a breaking point with Director Yang’s instruction but who knows…”
“A breaking point? Do you think that Yang Zhengqi is a god? Oh kid, didn’t you see nobody wants to budge when he asked all of us to come to Guawo just now in the morning? In the end, it’s him who personally submitted an official request and only then did this chore fall upon the two of us. An office in perfect condition just disappeared without a trace like that, without any explosion and collapse. The walls were sliced off so clean as though it was cut off neatly by a knife or an axe. It would be even more strange if the public security bureau of just a county seat can solve this mystery. I think Director Yang just wanted the county bureau to explore and take the risk first. All the things that he said about how the provincial department is planning to send a working group here and that he wants to make some substantial progress in the case first before this working group arrives here are all bullsh*t…”
“Captain Han, h-how can you talk about Director Yang like that? He’s a famous detective in the entire Western Sichuan! Even our police academy has included the cases that he has managed before in our case analysis!” Even though nothing was like having a man on the spot to smooth the way, the young police officer had always felt that the old police officer was very slacking in his work, and not only that, he always talked recklessly as well. When he heard the old officer slandering his idol, he finally exploded and snapped in annoyance.
“Oh oh! Look at you getting worked up now. Director Yang is indeed capable but…” The old police officer was very laid-back. Chuckling, he took out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it up. After inhaling a satisfying mouthful, he suddenly saw two men and two women who were walking towards their direction at the opposite side of the mountain road. From their dress-up, he could tell that they were not ordinary mountain villagers, but they were unlike tourists too.
Among the four of them, the two women appeared to be of similar age. Both were young and were just about in their twenties. One was wearing a white long dress and had a clear, refreshed-looking face that had some light makeup on her delicate facial features, but still, she was still a few steps away from being called beautiful. The other girl was wearing heavy makeup on her exquisite facial features. Her body was curvy and she was dressed in a light gray professional suit, looking like a secretary.
The two men were at least 20 to 30 years old apart. The younger one was also in his twenties. He had thick brows, big eyes and was dressed in brown casual clothes, appearing to be thriving with vitality. The older one seemed to be in his fifties. The perfectly tailored black suit on his body made him look uncouth that gave off a kind of awkward feeling. However, there was a hint of fierce look hidden between his brows that allowed nobody to look down on him.
When the old police officers saw the features of the four people clearly, his face twitched right away as he crumpled the cigarette that he had only managed to take one breath. “Be alert, Little Liu! Let’s pay attention to this!” After saying so, he hastily ran down the mountain.
The young police officer who was still immersed in his emotions of having his idol slandered asked in shock, “What’s wrong, Captain Han?”
“Of the four people who walked across us just now, I’ve seen that young guy’s photo in the information file of Heng Xiang before! He’s one of the shareholders so this means that he must be up to something coming here to Guawo Village. Let us watch them just in case something bad happens again!”
