Chapter 335: Avoiding Calamity
You Xuehan, codename Tangyuan, was a Scholar. In Puluo, Scholars were known as Literary Cultivators.
Logically, Tangyuan would not usually take part in handling relatively primitive anomalies like this, because they could not understand human speech and had no understanding of human culture. Most of a Scholar's abilities were ineffective against them. However, this was an emergency. Aside from Chuunibyou and Lightbulb, she had arrived the fastest.
There were two abilities that suited this situation best.
The first was a word-based attack that was called Word Worth a Thousand Gold in Puluo. This silkworm could not read, but that did not affect the effect of Word Worth a Thousand Gold. This ability drew on the power of words and the cultivator to deal heavy damage to the enemy. For example, if someone wrote the word "shatter" on the silkworm's body and their cultivation level was high enough, they could make the silkworm break apart on the spot.
This was the best option for a Literary Cultivator when dealing with primitive anomalies, but why did Tangyuan not use it? That was because Word Worth a Thousand Gold was a level-six ability, while Tangyuan was only a level-four Literary Cultivator.
Even then, her level-four cultivation had been gained through the Outer Provinces' technology, drugs, and training. Tangyuan's actual combat experience was quite limited.
The second was materialized words. In Puluo, this ability was called Counting Ink Blots to Find the Lines. This was a level-four Literary Cultivator ability, so Tangyuan could use it.
This ability also used the power of words and the cultivator to materialize words and make them fight the enemy. However, in the current situation, this ability was not a good choice.
The materialized words turned into hundreds of warriors, attacking everyone present without distinction.
But if he fled, what would happen to Qin Minghui?
Qin Minghui was not even the worst off. The two children were in the most danger, as they did not even know the most basic defensive moves.
Tangyuan found a way out between the lines and escaped from the words. She had held back because she had considered that others might get caught in the crossfire.
Now, she faced a dilemma. Should she save Qin Minghui or the two children first?
While Tangyuan was hesitating, Qin Minghui used the moment when the silkworm was fending off the words to break free. He threw himself toward the two children and shielded them beneath him.
He still had not escaped the ability's range. Several lines of words surrounded Qin Minghui and attacked him, leaving him covered in wounds.
Seeing that, Tangyuan quickly deactivated the ability. However, she had not expected that this was a poor move too.
She had held back earlier, so the silkworm had not suffered any serious injuries. Now that the ability had been deactivated, the enraged silkworm charged at Qin Minghui again. And Tangyuan could not think of a way to deal with it.
At this critical moment, Blockhead rushed into the factory and knocked the silkworm over with one punch. The silkworm writhed and struggled on the ground, trying to get up. But Blockhead stepped forward and kicked it again, breaking off its mandibles.
Seeing that the silkworm now seemed too weak to resist, Blockhead took a syringe from his waist, stabbed it into the silkworm's skin, and injected a drug. The silkworm struggled for a while, then it lay still on the ground.
Tangyuan quickly called an ambulance and sent Qin Minghui and the two children to the hospital.
***
Qin Minghui had suffered quite a few injuries, but fortunately, none of them were life-threatening. His wounds were treated, and he was put on a drip with pain medication. Soon after that, he fell asleep.
The next morning, Blockhead and Lightbulb returned to the Dark Star Bureau to write their reports, while Tangyuan stayed at the hospital to look after Qin Minghui.
Chen Changrui arrived at the hospital to check on Qin Minghui. When he learned that Qin Minghui was in a stable condition, he let out a long sigh of relief.
As part of the benefits of working in the Dark Star Bureau, Qin Minghui had been placed in a private, single-bed room.
While no one else was in the room, Chen Changrui had a word with Tangyuan.
"Tangyuan, Chuunibyou and Lightbulb are newcomers, so I will not talk about them. But how many years have you been with the Bureau?"
Tangyuan lowered her head. "Ten years."
"If I remember correctly, you became a Dark Ability User when you were eight."
Tangyuan nodded.
"I remember your father even specially found you a master in the Bureau to teach you Scholar training techniques. You're talented too. You have already reached level four at your young age."
Tangyuan bit her bottom lip and said nothing.
Chen Changrui looked at Qin Minghui. "Chuunibyou and Lightbulb are both newcomers, so I will not talk about them. But you have been with the Bureau for ten years and have the power of a level-four cultivator. So how did this mission turn out like this?"
Tangyuan's face flushed red with shame.
Chen Changrui sighed. "This is not your fault. It is mine. I have given you too few chances to gain battle experience. You are not the only one in our team with this problem. During the last mission, Glasses, Sugar Cube, and the others made a complete mess of things too. Whenever we run into a slightly difficult mission, the only ones who can handle a tough fight are veteran team members like Blockhead. If those veterans can no longer fight one day, I don't know what our Public Security Team is even capable of doing then."
Qin Minghui woke up during that conversation.
Tangyuan felt unbearably ashamed and could no longer sit still. Seeing that Qin Minghui was awake, she made up an excuse to leave the room. "I will go get some hot water."
Chen Changrui looked at Qin Minghui and said, "Little Qin, well done. You did not embarrass me. I will apply for a commendation for you at the Bureau tomorrow."
Qin Minghui shook his head. "Captain, I heard what you said just now. We did not do well on this mission."
Chen Changrui smiled. "You did very well."
"Bad is bad, no matter who it is. I thought back over the whole process, and we made quite a few mistakes."
"Don't think about that. You are a newcomer, and this was your first time dealing with an anomaly. Being able to do this much is already pretty good."
"What is that anomaly called?"
"Its name..." Chen Changrui thought for a moment. "According to our classification, it should be a primitive-type Lepidopteran anomaly."
"What do they call it in Puluo?"
"You know about Puluo too?"
"I heard you mention it before. You said it is a place where people can truly build real skills."
Chen Changrui smiled. "In Puluo, this anomaly is just called a Silkworm."
"From the name, it sounds like people do not take it very seriously."
"Take it seriously? How should I put this?" Chen Changrui said with a bitter smile. "In Puluo, there is a special kind of place called New Land. There, any random hunter can easily take down a Silkworm. It is just that Silkworms do not have anything valuable on them, so hunters can't be bothered hunting them."
Qin Minghui listened with great focus. "In that case, does that mean Puluo has very powerful lands?"
Chen Changrui shook his head. "The people of Puluo are tough, but Puluo itself is not powerful. Once you have been there, you will understand."
***
Ma Wu stared into Qin's eyes for a long time.
The day before, he pulled the root of love out of Huo Ling's eyes, and Huo Ling quickly returned to normal.
However, he could not seem to pull out the root of love in Qin's eyes, no matter what he did. It was like a soft thorn, making it hard to apply any force when he tried to pull it out.
Fortunately, Qin had sobered up somewhat. Ma Wu told her not to watch any more films, and she listened to him. She obediently stayed at the newspaper office for the night.
When he checked again the next morning, the root of love in Qin's eyes was gone.
He asked Qin again about the film The Legendary Bloodblade Detective, but she did not feel anything special about it.
"It was just something new to watch. As for whether it was that good, not really."
Huo Ling agreed as well. "I watch films for the excitement, but this one was not all that exciting. It did lecture quite a bit about principles, though."
Ma Wu found it even stranger. Could he really have been overthinking it? Could these two women really have watched it just because it was something new?
He had Bai Qiusheng get him a travel permit. Then he bought a train ticket and prepared to make a trip to Girdle-Slipping Hollow.
Huo Ling was unhappy. "Darling Wu, what are you going there for? Are the two of us not enough for you?"
"You just advanced in your cultivation, so you should show some restraint," Qin advised him.
Ma Wu looked at the bloodstain on the handkerchief. Huo Ling had left it behind.
Was this really a root of love? Perhaps only she could verify it.
***
At Medicine King Gully Station, Li Banfeng got off the train and asked around the plaza in front of the station about the rickshaw driver with the fire wheels.
Since he had made this rare trip here, it would be best if he could meet the rickshaw driver and ask about the level-seven ability.
An old rickshaw driver who knew the rickshaw driver with the fire wheels said, "That brother went home yesterday afternoon. He said he needed to hide from calamity and even told me to go home and hide too. But how can I hide? If I miss even one day of work, I cannot get by. My whole family is still waiting to be fed."
Hide from calamity?
The rickshaw driver with the fire wheels was an important figure among Wanderlust Cultivators, and his use of the ability Seeking Fortune and Avoiding Calamity could not be underestimated. If he said he needed to hide from calamity, something had to be wrong.
What could it be?
Li Banfeng heightened his guard. Instead of taking a rickshaw, he walked straight to Inner Gully.
Inner Gully truly felt familiar to him. This had been Li Banfeng's first stop in Puluo. Memorial Arch Street was particularly memorable. Every shop felt familiar to him, including the Elysian Melody Dancehall that he had blown up.
The dancehall had been rebuilt, and its storefront looked much the same as before. He heard it was still a Jiangxiang Gang business.
Should I blow it up again? Another day perhaps. First, I have to find Shopkeeper Feng.
When Li Banfeng arrived at Feng's General Store, the shop doors were shut.
Where has he gone off to enjoy himself this time? Is Chun Sheng not here either?
Yu's Cloth Shop next door was closed too.
What's going on?
Li Banfeng was just about to find someone to ask when he suddenly sensed someone approaching from behind.
He abruptly turned around and found a tall, thin man speaking to him.
"You came back and did not even let me know?"
Having run into Li Banfeng on the street, Qiu Zhiheng was filled with joy.
Perhaps they had grown used to this tacit understanding. Li Banfeng did not say much, and Qiu Zhiheng did not ask much either. He simply took Li Banfeng straight to Qiu's Medicinal Trading House. "Come on. Let us go home and eat."
When they arrived at the medicinal trading house, Qiu Zhiheng introduced Li Banfeng to his wife. It was then that his wife finally realized this man was Li Qi. Qiu Ziheng's wife was very happy to meet Li Qi, and she cooked for him and her husband.
Business at the medicinal trading house was thriving. After struggling for years, Qiu Zhiheng finally had a business of his own, so he ran it with exceptional care.
Qiu Ziheng's wife prepared a table of food and wine.
After the two men had a few drinks, Qiu Zhiheng said, "Take a look at the account books later, then we can calculate your profit shares."
They had made things clear back then. Li Banfeng would put up the money, and Qiu Zhiheng would do the work. The profits would be split fifty-fifty. When it came time to divide the money, Qiu Zhiheng certainly would not let Li Banfeng take a loss.
Li Banfeng waved a hand and replied, "Use my share of the profits for now. Let us grow the business. I came to find Shopkeeper Feng of Feng's General Store. Do you know where he went?"
Qiu Ziheng's wife answered, "He said he's leaving to hide from calamity, and he even told us it would be best to close shop for the next two days."
Why is Shopkeeper Feng hiding from calamity too? What exactly is going on?
Qiu Zhiheng said, "Our business has only just opened. How can we close whenever we like? I reckon the Jiangxiang Gang is coming to stir up trouble. I would like to see what tricks they can pull here."
Is it really the Jiangxiang Gang? It makes sense for Shopkeeper Feng to hide from the Jiangxiang Gang. But why would the rickshaw driver hide from the Jiangxiang Gang? Is there something else going on here?
At this moment, Qiu Zhiheng's son ran in with a rosy smile. "Big Sis Leafy is here."
Leafy? Which Leafy?
Li Banfeng went out to take a look, and it really was the Leafy he had met on Mount Bitterfog.
Leafy stood at the entrance of the medicinal trading house with red-rimmed eyes. There was a horse-drawn carriage behind her.
Beside the carriage stood a man who looked around sixty. He was dressed in a short jacket, had his hair parted neatly, and wore a deep smile.
He spoke to Leafy with the tone of a wise elder, "I will say something, and do not take it badly. But what is the point of you doing this kind of work? How much can you earn from one delivery of medicinal herbs? You still want to open a medicinal trading house? You still want to do big business? Take a good look at yourself. Are you even cut out for that? Think about it. Do you have that kind of fate?"
The moment Leafy heard the man's words, she broke into an uncontrollable sob.
Surely, it was not that bad, is it? Li Banfeng thought. Back on Mount Bitterfog, Leafy risked her life to gather herbs. Surely, she would not cry over a few words from this old bastard, right? Who was this old man to her?
While Li Banfeng was still observing the situation, Qiu Ziheng's wife rushed outside, grabbed Leafy, and pulled her into the medicinal trading house.
Qiu Zhiheng said to the customers in the medicinal trading house, "Sorry, everyone. We are closing for the day. Please come again another time."
The customers were very unhappy. What time was it? How could the shop just close like that?
Qiu Zhiheng did not explain. He saw all the customers out and immediately closed the door.
Li Banfeng asked, "Elder Brother Qiu, what happened?"
Qiu Zhiheng frowned deeply. "I have been away from Medicine King Gully for too long, so I am not well-informed anymore."
His wife interjected, "Nonsense! Shopkeeper Feng told you to hide from calamity, but you would not listen!"
Qiu Zhiheng was really annoyed. "He did not make it clear. I thought an enemy of his had come. Who knew this thing would show up?"
As they were speaking, the old man shouted from outside, "What is the meaning of this? You close the door the moment I arrive? Is this any way to run a business?
"I will say something, and do not take it badly. But if your medicinal trading house treats customers like this, things will definitely not go well for you in the future!"
Qiu Zhiheng gritted his teeth. "What bad luck!"
Li Banfeng asked, "What exactly does this man do?"
"He is a Mourning Cultivator!"
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