Park Suspense Case

The journey back was very smooth, except for a slight delay in the cave.

This time, he didn't encounter Ma Lu; Li Banfeng made his way out step by step on his own.

Sitting at the bottom of the cliff, Li Banfeng felt like his legs were about to fall off his hips, but his cultivation level had indeed increased a lot, which was more than three months in terms of time.

During his rest, Li Banfeng took Blue Leaf Pill and a Golden Essence Pill. Once he had recovered enough, he was eager to continue his journey.

When passing through Blood Tooth Mountain, Li Banfeng still took the same path that Lin Li had taken before. He did not encounter Blood Tooth Monster on the way. After leaving Three Coil River, Li Banfeng was no longer restricted and ran wildly back to Inner Gully.

He originally intended to go to Feng's General Store first to see if Steward Feng could get him Travel Permit to Green Water Bay, as traveling around New Territories was rather dangerous.

As soon as they arrived at the Yu Family Cloth Shop, Yu Nan was standing at the door, beaming with joy, and said, "Seventh Master, you really came."

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

Yu Nan didn't say anything, but grabbed Li Banfeng's hand and walked into the shop. They went into the backyard and opened a separate room. Inside sat an old man with shabby clothes and gray hair and beard.

Old Man Yao!

He was actually waiting for Li Banfeng at Yu Family Cloth Shop.

He knew that Li Banfeng had arrived at Medicine King Gully and asked Yu Nan to wait at the entrance of the cloth shop.

Yu Nan brought the person over and quickly left the room. Old Man Yao took out a wine jar, poured two bowls of wine, and invited Li Banfeng to sit down.

"Young man, this business trip has been tough on you."

Li Banfeng shook his head slightly. "Business isn't tough. Delivering medicine isn't difficult at all. The hardship is something I brought upon myself."

Yao Lao laughed and said, "That's not how it works. If you hadn't worked so hard to control the Insect Plague, that old dog Pan Dehai would definitely still be causing trouble."

If he really releases the insects, countless people will die throughout Pro State.

I invited you here today for two reasons. First, to settle the matter with Wine Gourd. Since I wasn't sure if you could handle the matter back then, the contract with Wine Gourd is still in my possession.

Secondly, I'll give you an extra reward. What would you like?

Li Banfeng shook his head and said, "You've given me everything you could, there's nothing I want."

"If I say I'll give it, I mean I will. Think about it carefully. Let me and Hulu deal with this first."

The gourd rubbed against Li Banfeng, waiting for his permission.

Li Banfeng placed the gourd on the table.

"Should I leave?" Li Banfeng was about to get up when he saw Yao Lao wave his hand.

"Young man, just sit here. I only want to hear her tell me about the process of eradicating the pests. I won't ask anything else."

Pan Dehai told Yao Lao about the process of exterminating the insects. Yao Lao was afraid that Pan Dehai was not telling the truth, so he verified it again with the Wine Gourd.

The Wine Gourd recounted the events in detail, only mentioning the extermination of insects, without mentioning the Portable Abode or anything Portable Abode.

With the matter clarified, Yao Lao sighed softly, "I knew it. No poison in this world can wipe out a species. In the end, we still have to rely on Green Flower's disciple."

After saying that, Yao Lao took out a Paper Contract and burned it to ashes in front of Li Banfeng.

Li Banfeng was curious about the contract. "Does a contract always need to be made between a magical artifact and its owner?"

Yao Lao shook his head. "Low-level magic treasures don't need to be used, and high-level magic treasures, if you can control them, don't need a contract either."

"The gourd has been with me for many years, but to be honest, I'm not confident I can control it. And as for loyalty, I don't really trust loyalty."

The contract was destroyed, and the gourd returned to Li Banfeng's side.

As for whether Li Banfeng signed a contract with Wine Gourd, Yao Lao did not inquire about it, nor should he interfere.

"Have you thought about how you'll repay me? Don't say you don't want it; I hate owing people favors."

Li Banfeng actually thought of something, "I got my hands on an Intestine Roller Silkworm and want to give it to a friend, but I don't know what preparations I should make."

"Intestine Roller Silkworm?" Yao Lao frowned. "Was it a gift from Pan Dehai?"

Li Banfeng nodded.

Yao Lao gave a wry smile, "This old bastard, he just doesn't do things properly. You're not Food Cultivator, giving you this thing is obviously just asking for trouble."

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

"You mean that fat guy? His cultivation level is still at level one, right?"

Li Banfeng nodded.

Yao Lao took out a packet of medicinal powder and a wine pot. He poured the powder into the pot and filled it with wine. "Let Fatty drink this wine first, then make him eat the Intestine Roller Silkworm."

Tell that fat man that if he can't hold on any longer, he can come back to me. I can get the Intestine Roller Silkworm out, but how he deals with it is up to him.

Can't hold on any longer?

"Is it because they couldn't bear the hunger?"

Yao Lao shook his head and said, "It's good for Food Cultivator to be a little hungry. The more he eats, the faster his cultivation will grow. I'm worried that he won't be able to support himself financially. That fat guy isn't very bright and doesn't seem like someone who knows how to make money. In a year or two, he'll eat himself into poverty."

Can you really eat yourself into poverty?

Li Banfeng accepted the medicinal wine, drank a few cups with Yao Lao, and chatted for a while.

Hearing the doorbell ring, Yao Lao got up, wiped his mouth, and said, "I should go now. A car is coming to pick me up. You can have a meal, a drink, and a nap with that girl from the Yu family. She misses you a lot."

Li Banfeng replied seriously, "Eating and drinking are fine, but is sleeping together a bit inappropriate?"

Yao Lao said righteously, "What's inappropriate? Don't you sleep at night? Why don't you sleep in the same bed with her?"

"It's freezing cold, it's warmer for two people to squeeze together, and I'm not asking you to do anything else!"

"That works too," Li Banfeng agreed.

Yao Lao walked outside the cloth shop and got into a rickshaw.

The Carriage Driver didn't ask where he was going or what the price was; he just picked up the cart and drove off.

Yao Lao took out his wine jug, took a big gulp, and asked, "Do you know where I'm going?"

The Carriage Driver chuckled, "You've been out for so long, you must be heading home."

Yao Lao took another big gulp. "Do you know where I live?"

The Carriage Driver chuckled again, "I know, I often stroll around your house when I have nothing to do."

Glug glug!

Yao Lao finished the wine in the flask, wiped his mouth, and asked, "Let's discuss this. Could you perhaps find another place to pull the cart?"

The Carriage Driver shook his head and said, "I won't change. I think this place is quite nice."

Yao Lao took out another wine jug, took a sip, and said, "I'm tough; you can't outlive me!"

The Carriage Driver was quite optimistic. "I'm not in a hurry, I'll wait patiently. If you drink like this every day, you might run out of things to drink one day."

Yuezhou Third Hospital.

He Jiaqing lay motionless on the hospital bed.

Dark Star Bureau detective Zou Guoming watched for a moment at the door, inquired about the patient's condition, and then left the hospital.

In the Public Security Team, he was the most outstanding and senior detective. Because of his large head and narrow shoulders, his body proportions looked a bit strange, and the team gave him the nickname "Big Head".

When He Jiaqing first got into trouble, Zou Guoming and two other team members were responsible for monitoring his condition 24 hours a day.

Unexpectedly, He Jiaqing was in a coma for more than half a year. Big Head couldn't stay here to keep an eye on him all the time, but he would still come to the hospital to check on him every two or three days.

This wasn't an order from the bureau; it was Big Head's intuition. He always felt that there was something else going on behind He Jiaqing's back.

This trip wasn't entirely for He Jiaqing. There's a Flower Lake Park next to the Third Hospital of Yuezhou, which is one of the most famous parks in Yuezhou.

A missing person case recently occurred in this park. The missing person is a female college student named Hu Lishan. She entered the park alone at 11 p. m.

The park's surveillance footage shows her entering the park, walking in the woods, and dropping her phone, but not her leaving the park.

She disappeared in the park; they couldn't find her, only her abandoned cell phone.

According to the messages on her phone, Hu Lishan had suffered a setback in her relationship, which was likely the reason she came to the park late at night.

An investigation was conducted on her boyfriend afterward, and the details of their emotional relationship were thoroughly investigated, but this had no direct connection to the disappearance case.

Cases that yield no results are handed over to the Dark Star Bureau. The Dark Star Bureau is not focused on solving cases; they only need to confirm one thing: whether the case is related to people with superpowers.

Big Head wasn't actually interested in the case; he suspected that Hu Lishan had acted impulsively and jumped into Huahu Lake.

But following the clues provided by the surveillance footage, he circled the park and sensed that something was wrong.

He could hear some sounds, like a woman crying.

He could smell something, something like the smell of blood.

Big Head is a Level 5 Fighter, also known as a Martial Arts Master in Pro State.

Although a martial artist's perception isn't top-tier, it's still far superior to that of an ordinary person.

He followed the sound and smell all the way to a Western-Style House in the park.

The crying was coming from behind the Western-Style House. Just as Big Head was about to go around to the back of the building, a piercing screech stopped the crying abruptly.

"Please look this way, everyone. This Western-Style House is the landmark building of Flower Lake Park..."

A tour guide is leading a group on a tour.

Big Head glanced at the tour guide, then walked to the back of the Western-style building.

The area behind the building was empty; there was no more crying, nor any smell of blood.

This is the awkward situation for the Dark Star Bureau; they cannot act openly and their investigations are often subject to human interference.

But the Big Head has already determined that there's something wrong with the park.

He found a hotel nearby, booked a room for a few hours, rested for half a day, and then went into the park again at 10 p. m. that night.

Slurp! Slurp!

He soon heard a gasping sound, like someone sniffling because of the cold, or perhaps someone sobbing.

Following the sound of inhalation, Big Head saw the Western-Style House again. Here, he smelled a strong, pungent stench of blood, much stronger than during the day.

The sound and smell were coming from behind the building. Big Head went around to the back of the building and saw a woman standing with her back to him.

With each breath the woman took, her shoulders twitched and her body trembled; she was indeed sobbing.

She was wearing a denim jacket and jeans, and her Hu Lishan was exactly the same as the one seen on the surveillance footage.

Big Head didn't approach rashly. As an experienced agent, he knew that if he could see this scene, his mission was complete.

He took out his phone and called the bureau for backup, but after dialing several times, he only heard short busy signals.

The phone call couldn't get through; it wasn't a problem with the bureau, it was because his own phone had no signal.

Even when faced with this unexpected situation, Big Head remained calm.

He took another cell phone out of his pocket, held it in his teeth, pulled out the antenna, determined the antenna's direction, and then called the police station.

This is a satellite phone issued to agents by the Dark Star Bureau. It's cumbersome to use, but relatively reliable.

The number was dialed for a long time, but there was still no response.

Even satellite phone calls won't go through?

Big Head was getting a little nervous.

He saw Hu Lishan walking forward.

Where is she going?

What is her current situation?

Is she still alive?

Big Head was still hesitating whether to follow, when he suddenly realized that he had already followed.

His legs didn't move, but the distance between him and Hu Lishan remained the same; he was following Hu Lishan.

The surrounding scenery, including the ground beneath my feet and the Western-style buildings around me, was slowly receding.

The ground beneath Hu Lishan's feet suddenly began to twist, and ripples seemed to spread across the hard stone path.

It was water! In front of her, the original wall had disappeared, replaced by a lake surface shrouded in mist.

Hu Lishan walked into the lake, taking Big Head with her.

The icy lake water poured into his pants, Big Head struggled desperately, but his legs wouldn't budge.

Not only my feet, but my arms also began to stiffen rapidly, and I couldn't move my whole body.

Hu Lishan gradually disappeared from sight.

With his body stiff, Big Head, holding a satellite phone, disappeared onto the lake with Hu Lishan.

The ripples gradually disappeared, and the ground hardened again, as if nothing had happened.

Lake water kept pouring into his mouth and nose, Big Head, who was about to lose consciousness, looked at the pitch-black lake surface and was completely plunged into darkness.

He just died like that?

Died in a missing persons case?

Big Head was unwilling to accept it.

But it was no use; he couldn't move his hands or feet and could only drown.

Whew~

A hand reached into the ground and pulled Big Head out of it.

Big Head, covered in lake water and mud, lay on the ground vomiting repeatedly. Someone stood beside him, watching quietly.

Big Head raised his head and looked at the person next to him.

He Jiaqing!

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

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

"You should say thank you first." He Jiaqing smiled. "You just entered Xindi..."

Surprisingly, there are new territories in Outer State too.

Don't let your five levels of cultivation fool you; if I hadn't saved you, you would have surely died.

Do you still want to go in and take a look?

"You're a courageous person; I can take you one more time."

P. S.: The character Big Head first appeared in Chapter 5, where only his name was mentioned.