Chapter 24: Chapter 24: A Visitor at Home
Yang Wenqing waited until dark, but the medical examiner still hadn’t provided any new clues. Perhaps he was getting in the way, because Ding Lang kicked him out before long.
Before his shift ended, he went to Vice Director Gao’s office and reported the case’s progress in person again. Vice Director Gao seemed to listen to the report very seriously, but he didn’t ask for any details about the case. He just chuckled and told Yang Wenqing, "Don’t rush. Be patient," and told him to go home and get a good night’s rest, suggesting that perhaps a new clue would turn up tomorrow.
Yang Wenqing returned to his office and picked up the case file written by Liu Qin. After reading it carefully, he realized that rushing was indeed useless right now. He could only wait for the results from the medical examiner and the port’s public security office.
Wu Yan handed him a file he had compiled himself. "This is a case Team Two handled in a previous year, also related to a life-draining array," he said. "They compiled a list of all the wealthy households in the county whose members were nearing the end of their lives, as well as some registered Qi Cultivators. I’ve circled six people who might be connected to the port case. If the victim’s identity is confirmed and he has a connection to any of these six, then that person’s suspicion will be the highest."
Yang Wenqing gave Wu Yan an appreciative look and picked up the case file to read. It turned out to be an unsolved case. The victim had been found hanging from a banyan tree outside the city, and there were traces of a life-draining array around the tree. It was clearly a case of life-draining via the wood element.
After taking note of the six people Wu Yan had circled, Yang Wenqing carefully flipped through the remaining list of wealthy individuals and Qi Cultivators nearing the end of their lives. He then looked up and out the window, noticing that the sky had already grown dark.
"Xiaoxian, you can head home for now."
Yang Wenqing said, glancing at Liu Qin. Then he turned to Wu Yan. "Old Wu, you can go home too."
Liu Qin looked a little embarrassed. After Wu Yan left, she picked up her small bag and walked out of the office. The team didn’t have a night shift, so evening communications were handled by the dispatch center. If anything came up, the dispatch center would notify Yang Wenqing immediately, but only Yang Wenqing could contact the other team members.
Half an hour later, Yang Wenqing finally got up and left the office. On his way out, he took another look at the medical examiner’s lab. Ding Lang was gone, but two junior examiners were there, measuring something on an array.
He had no choice but to leave the lab.
It was late by the time Yang Wenqing walked out the main gate of the bureau. The runic streetlights on both sides of the road cast a dim, steady yellow glow. He habitually walked back to Dongning Community. The evening wind on his face carried the chill of early spring, and it helped clear his head as he sorted through the details of the case.
As he neared the community entrance, he saw a familiar figure in the distance, squatting on the curb. Bathed in the glow of a streetlight, the person was hunched over, gnawing on a hard, dry rice cake. They wore a faded, washed-out old cotton jacket and had a slightly stooped posture. Two bulging burlap sacks sat by their feet.
It was his father, Yang Jianmu.
Yang Wenqing’s steps faltered. A complex mix of emotions washed over him—surprise, a pang of bitterness, but also a trace of warmth. He then quickened his pace and walked over.
"Dad!" Yang Wenqing called out.
Hearing his voice, Yang Jianmu looked up. When he saw his son, an awkward smile immediately appeared on his face. He scrambled to his feet, brushed the dust off his pants, and tucked the half-eaten rice cake into his pocket.
"Wenqing, off work?"
"Yeah. You could have come to the bureau to find me." Yang Wenqing glanced at the sacks by his father’s feet, then at the expressionless armed guards at the community entrance. He understood at once. His father didn’t have identification, so of course he couldn’t enter the strictly managed Dongning Community.
"It’s fine. I figured you’d be getting off work soon, so I just waited here." Yang Jianmu rubbed his hands together, a proud smile on his face. "You’re a Qi Cultivator now. The place you live must be special. I didn’t dare just barge in."
Yang Wenqing didn’t say any more. He bent down and lifted the two heavy burlap sacks. "Let’s go. We’re going home."
He walked to the community entrance and showed his badge. After verifying his identity, the on-duty guard saluted and let them pass. Yang Jianmu followed closely behind his son, his steps tentative. He looked around with a mix of curiosity and restraint at the tidy environment and the buildings that faintly emanated fluctuations of Spiritual Qi.
Back at Apartment 305 in Building Three, Yang Wenqing opened the door and carried the sacks into the kitchen. He opened one and took a look inside. It was full of ground rice and flour, along with fresh vegetables.
"Dad, have a seat!" Yang Wenqing said, looking back at his father who had followed him in. He gestured for him to sit in the wicker chair in the living room and turned on the lights.
Yang Jianmu’s gaze was immediately drawn to the ’Solid Yuan Array’ in the middle of the living room. He then looked up at the bright lights. As if suddenly remembering something, he stood up and said, "You haven’t eaten yet, have you? I’ll make you something."
"I’ll do it. You sit and rest," Yang Wenqing said, stopping his father. He added with a smile, "I’m a Qi Cultivator now. Theoretically, I can practice Fasting."
Yang Jianmu immediately replied, "The clan elders say that even Qi Cultivators have to eat. It’s not right otherwise. I made sure to pick some vegetables with a high Spiritual Attribute for this trip."
Yang Wenqing just smiled and didn’t respond. He walked into the kitchen to wash the rice and vegetables.
Several times, Yang Jianmu started to get up to go into the kitchen and chat with his son, but after taking a couple of steps, he would always retreat. The father and son had seen little of each other ever since Yang Wenqing enrolled in the Police Academy at sixteen. Every time his father came to the city to deliver rice and flour, he would only say a few words before leaving in a hurry.
The meal was ready quickly: a simple vegetable soup, the pickled vegetables his father had brought, and steaming hot white rice.
The two of them sat at the small dining table, eating in silence. Yang Jianmu would steal glances at his son from time to time. He wanted to ask if work was going well or if his cultivation was tiring, but the words would die on his lips. He just kept putting more food on his son’s plate instead.
After the meal, Yang Wenqing cleared the table. Yang Jianmu insisted on helping with the dishes. The two grown men squeezed together by the small kitchen sink. The sound of running water, SPLASH SPLASH, filled the air. They still didn’t exchange many words, but a silent warmth flowed between them.
This was just how they were as father and son—not good at expressing themselves. All their care and concern was hidden in this silent companionship and these simple actions.
After they ate, Yang Wenqing took the initiative to ask about family matters, inquiring about his younger siblings and his mother. Yang Jianmu explained everything in great detail.
Time slipped by unnoticed. As the clock on the wall approached eleven-thirty, the fatigue on his father’s face became apparent. Yang Wenqing set his father up to rest in the master bedroom, while he himself went to the desk in the living room, planning to inscribe some Spell rune paper. He could now inscribe twenty sheets of rune paper a day.
But this amount of money was just a drop in the bucket compared to the cost of a Qi Cultivation array. Moreover, he wanted to provide a better life for his family as soon as possible.
But just as Yang Wenqing finished inscribing one sheet of rune paper, his father came out of the bedroom. With a flushed face, he told Yang Wenqing he needed to use the toilet. Yang Wenqing immediately stopped what he was doing and led his father to the bathroom, teaching him how to use the various clever arrays inside.
...
The night passed without incident.
Yang Wenqing’s internal clock woke him at four-thirty. Not long after, his father emerged from the master bedroom.
"I have to catch the early bus back," Yang Jianmu said. He was already dressed and ready. After speaking, he went to the bathroom first.
Yang Wenqing didn’t try to persuade him to stay. For one, he didn’t like persuading people. For another, he knew his father was stubborn and it would be useless anyway. He simply followed him out the door and escorted him to the public transport station. There was a maglev bus that departed at five-thirty in the morning and passed through Sanhe Town.
Yang Wenqing wanted to take his father for breakfast, but his father refused, saying, "If I eat too much, there’ll be nowhere to use the toilet on the way."
After seeing his father off, Yang Wenqing walked slowly back to the community. The sky was still dark. Instead of going home, he went to the community’s training ground to practice his forms.
It was only when faced with his father that Yang Wenqing understood why there were so many geniuses in the City Defense Bureau, yet so few who were truly astonishing. Most of them were tied down by the trivial matters of reality. Even Yang Wenqing himself was no exception. He had to solve the case of the body in the submerged wooden box, even though the case did nothing to advance his Cultivation.
This kind of thing would likely follow him for a long time, until he reached a point where he could make the rules of the game himself. And that would be an arduous path. After all, even the top brass at the City Defense Headquarters had to operate within the rules.
"You need to have enough patience!"
He suddenly recalled what Vice Director Gao had told him during their two conversations. Shaking his head, he buried these thoughts deep in his consciousness.
A short while later, an acquaintance appeared in his line of sight. It was Xiao Liang, his former captain at the public security office.
"Heard you ran into a case with an evil cultivator yesterday?" Xiao Liang asked.
"Yes!" Yang Wenqing wasn’t surprised that Xiao Liang knew about the case.
"I heard about it from a contemporary of mine at the port security office. When I heard you took the case, I made a point to ask a few more questions," Xiao Liang said quietly. "These kinds of cases are very troublesome. Sometimes, even if you catch the killer and all the clues point to them, you just can’t find any valid evidence. Not unless you have the clout to apply for a Soul-Searching Technique to be used on the suspect."
As he spoke, he assumed a ready stance and continued, "The best cases for the Major Case Team are the ones where the killer is obvious and all you need to do is hunt them down to close it. Those are the easy ones to get credit for, too."
Yang Wenqing read between the lines and asked in a low voice, "Are you saying..."
"Don’t overthink it!" Xiao Liang cut him off. "It’s fine even if you can’t solve it. Your superior probably won’t give you a hard time."
Yang Wenqing nodded silently. He understood Xiao Liang’s underlying meaning, and also sensed that he had said all he was going to say.
Sure enough, after finishing a set of forms, Xiao Liang went home. Yang Wenqing cast a ’Dust Clearing Skill’ on himself before leaving the community gates and heading toward the bureau.
