Mo Chuan was lost in thought as he walked, suddenly saying to Abe Haruko, "Did I forget something?"
Abe Haruko was also stunned, thought for a long time, and said to Mo Chuan, "You're doomed."
"???"
"My sleep spell wore off ages ago. You should check your phone right now."
Mo Chuan seemed to realize something and quickly looked down at his phone. As expected, Mo Fei had called him incessantly from just past one in the afternoon until six in the evening, but his phone had been on silent because Mo Chuan was on a mission. And now it was already ten at night...
It's over, he's cooked.
"You have to find a way to save me later."
"Good luck to yourself~"
With that, Abe Haruko made a drifting stop, unceremoniously dumping Mo Chuan at the entrance of the hotel, then hit the gas and sped away.
"I'm really unlucky..."
Mo Chuan got up from the ground, looked back at the hotel entrance – it wasn't a hotel entrance! It was the gate of hell!
...
"Where did you go?"
"Went to the Joint Jianzhou Public Security Bureau to apprehend someone..."
"Then why didn't you answer your phone?"
"Afraid of revealing my location..."
"Why didn't you tell me!"
Mo Fei's eyes welled up with tears as she shouted, "Mo Chuan! I'm your sister! You hid your early awakening from me when we first awakened! And you didn't tell me this time either! I haven't even eaten! Because I don't know anyone here!"
"Girls really hold grudges..." Mo Chuan thought, then decisively threw his dignity away and asked with a standard kowtow, "My dear sister, I am truly sorry! You can do whatever you want now! I'll stay with you and play until the day after tomorrow."
Mo Fei turned her head to the side and pouted. Hearing Mo Chuan's words, she glanced at him subtly and then said, "Since you're apologizing so sincerely! Then take me to get some late-night snacks first!"
"Okay!"
Mo Chuan had just sighed and was about to stand up when Mo Fei suddenly summoned her Chengying sword and slashed open the chest area of Mo Chuan's clothes. (Mo Fei couldn't actually hurt Mo Chuan anyway.)
The injuries Mo Chuan sustained from fighting the old man had been healed, but he still had to clear the subcutaneous bruising himself, so the marks remained.
"Is this an injury? What exactly did you go through?! Tell me everything clearly!"
"No, no... don't rush..."
...
Mo Chuan and Mo Fei sat at a small table, eating barbecue.
"The barbecue in Jianzhou is really different from the barbecue in Qingzhou..." Mo Fei said vaguely, holding a skewer of meat in her left hand and a bottle of Arctic Ocean soda in her right, "It feels like the flavors are stronger than back home."
"Actually... Dragon Country barbecue is divided into four major schools: Eastern, Western, Northern, and Southern. There's Linzi barbecue from Qingzhou; Red Willow grilled meat from Suzhou; assorted barbecue from Bazhou and Jiaozhou, including but not limited to mushrooms, offal, insects, etc.; and then there's this Northeast barbecue from Jianzhou."
"Oh! Mo Chuan, you know quite a bit about food."
Mo Chuan and Mo Fei turned their heads at the same time. They saw Zhang Henshui smiling as he asked Zhang Hanshan, "We ran into each other, want to join us?"
"Sure, sure, Captain Zhang, please sit. Mo Fei, this is Old Zhang's third brother, Zhang Henshui, who is also my superior at the Public Security Bureau," Mo Chuan introduced Zhang Henshui. "Brother Zhang, this is my sister, Mo Fei."
The group was already familiar with each other, so after a while, they were talking freely. After their third bottle of beer, Zhang Henshui said to Mo Chuan, "Mo Chuan, come with me to buy some cigarettes."
Mo Chuan sensed that Zhang Henshui had something to tell him, so he stood up and followed him into a convenience store.
"Want one?" Zhang Henshui offered Mo Chuan a cigarette. Seeing Mo Chuan refuse, he lit one himself and took a puff, "Two things. First, we've reported the situation upstairs. The Supernatural Ability Administration noticed you, and someone will come to find you tomorrow or the day after. If you pass the interview, then upon becoming official, you'll likely be assigned to the Capital or Shanghai, or even get to choose one."
Mo Chuan raised an eyebrow. Nan Shanzi had mentioned the Supernatural Ability Administration to him before. He had planned to work as a police officer for a few years first, but he didn't expect them to come to him so soon.
So Mo Chuan asked, "Brother Zhang, do you think I should join?"
"I suggest you do," Zhang Henshui said directly. "While I have to admit you're a very useful tool... no, a good subordinate... but as Zhang Hanshan's brother, I'm also like a half-elder to you. I still suggest you pursue further studies at the Supernatural Ability Administration because..." Zhang Henshui seemed to hesitate but quickly continued, "because although the Supernatural Ability Administration has a lot of work normally, its internal personnel are almost all old monsters and little monsters from various deep mountains and forests. Their methods, cultivation techniques, and myriad inheritances are definitely opportunities that ordinary people wouldn't have."
"And most importantly, the direct superior of the Supernatural Ability Administration is the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches."
Mo Chuan was stunned at this point. It wasn't that he didn't know about the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, but he found this piece of information incredibly surprising.
The Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches were almost the twenty-two strongest people in Dragon Country. Xin Lei, Bing Huo, and Yi Mu from before were three of the Heavenly Stems.
As far as Mo Chuan knew, the current Heavenly Stems were Jia Huang, Yi Mu, Bing Huo, Ding Yang, Wu Tu, Ji Feng, Geng Jin, Xin Lei, Ren Yin, and Gui Shui.
The Earthly Branches were Xuan Shu, Zi Niu, Bai Hu, Tao Tu, Qing Long, Dian She, Xuan Ma, Hui Yang, Jin Ji, Chi Yuan, Huang Quan, and Cha Zhu.
These individuals often had extraordinary talents and received focused cultivation from the country or various sects. They could basically be compared to Mo Chuan, the cheater.
Zhang Henshui was right; they were the strongest on the surface.
As for those beneath the surface?
It was laughable; anyone who knew something and spoke about it would be imprisoned for at least ten years. Too much criminal liability.
Not to mention far away, the items held by the Kong family in Qingzhou were probably no simple matter. Otherwise, during the Hundred Ghosts Night Parade, why did they only wait for the Heavenly Stems to act?
It was obvious that the higher-ups didn't allow them to act, deeming it unnecessary.
"The second matter concerns that fat monk."
Zhang Henshui took out his phone, opened his photo album, and showed Mo Chuan several pictures from the scene, saying, "When our staff thoroughly investigated the scene, they sent me these pictures. I think you should know something, so please take a look."
Mo Chuan took the phone and was immediately stunned.
Because the first picture was that familiar statue.
...
Xin Lei, along with Ding Yang and Ren Yin, arrived in Shengjing.
The three walked along the Shengjing avenue, holding pieces of dry rations, which served as their dinner to stave off hunger.
"Uncle Lei, what about the next brocade pouch?" Ding Yang asked after swallowing his rations.
Xin Lei scratched the back of his head, took out a brocade pouch labeled "肆" from his bag, and slowly opened it.
"At two in the morning, arrive at the Marshal's Bathhouse."