DaoLao Ghosts of Yuezhou

The Judge's Brush burned the translation by the Ninth Room.

Li Banfeng didn't understand the meaning of the Judge's Brush, and the record player was also curious. "My lord, what exactly did the translation say?"

Before Li Banfeng could speak, Judge's Brush's Pen interjected, "That's all nonsense!"

It's extremely rare for the Judge's Brush's pen to respond on its own initiative.

He not only answered the questions proactively, but even offered to help. "Paper!"

The gloves were used to lay out the white paper.

"Ink!"

The gloves were used to grind ink for the Judge's Brush.

"Photo!"

The gloves held the photo up steadily.

Hong Ying was stunned and asked, "What's wrong with you? You just do whatever he tells you to do?"

After a moment's thought, the glove said, "It's all for the sake of the head of the household; there's nothing shameful about it."

The gloves that usually dared to defy the old man were so obedient in front of the Judge's Brush.

Before long, the Judge's Brush finished writing several paragraphs of translation using the photograph as a reference.

The first paragraph translates as: The boundary comes from the annihilation of matter and antimatter, and the source of antimatter comes from the regular fluctuations of dark matter.

Li Banfeng was surprised. "This is the result of research on boundaries?"

The Judge's Brush didn't care about that; it only focused on translating.

The second paragraph is a derivation and calculation of the triggering process for matter-antimatter annihilation.

The third paragraph translates as: Error analysis during the calculation process.

The translation consisted of only three paragraphs. After finishing, the Judge's Brush returned the pen to its shelf and shouted, "By!"

This time, Li Banfeng was more experienced. He quickly took a silk handkerchief and covered the Judge's Brush with it.

The Judge's Brush flipped his pen, and the handkerchief fell to the ground.

"Too slippery, use newspaper!"

He didn't like silk, so Li Banfeng found another newspaper and covered the Judge's Brush with it.

Upon seeing these translations, the record player perked up, saying, "My lord, please entrust these things to your Little Slave, and allow Little Slave to study them at my leisure."

Li Banfeng took the account book and walked up to the Judge's Brush: "A'Bi, could you please translate this account book for me again?"

The Judge's Brush turned over and ignored Li Banfeng.

Li Banfeng walked around to the Judge's Brush's pen and continued, "There will be plenty of good food and drink; let's make a fair trade."

After waiting a while, the Judge's Brush seemed to have fallen asleep, so Li Banfeng could only put away the account book first.

While the magical artifacts were still eating, Miglov and a dozen of his men sat down at the table.

Li Banfeng said to the gloves, "Keep a copy for A'Bi, and discuss the translation of the account book with him when you have time."

The man with the gloves sighed, "These capable people are indeed difficult to deal with. Boss, don't take it to heart."

Li Banfeng pushed open the door to the second room and looked towards the Ninth Room.

"Grandpa, is that guy from the Ninth Room really Wenxiu?"

Portable Abode was studying the Mud Castle and hadn't paid much attention to what had just happened. "It should be Wen Xiu, but I guess she doesn't know Rafshaven. Scholars sometimes make grand pronouncements, and after a while, they start to believe them themselves."

This is not as simple as just talking big; she is guiding me to do something, or rather, guiding my Wife to do something.

She can fool me, and even the old man, but she can't fool the Judge's Brush. Why is that?

That evening, the gloves successfully persuaded the Judge's Brush to help Li Banfeng translate the account book.

The ledger contained more than a dozen strange names, and judging from the accounts, the Birch Hermit Association regularly collected debts from these people.

The next day, Li Banfeng went to the Dark Star Bureau and summoned Tangyuan: "There are a few people I'd like to ask you about. Have you heard of this person, Lü Green Walk Black?"

"Green Walk Black?" Tangyuan shook her head and asked, "Seventh Master, is that a person's name?"

Li Banfeng wasn't sure if it was a person's name.

He wrote three characters for Tangyuan, Tangyuan looked at them for a long time before asking, "Is it 'Night Walk Green Shade'?"

What is "Night Walk Green Shade"?

"A group of dark power enthusiasts who worship the God of Green Shade and have a habit of gathering in the wilderness late at night."

"Does this group Birch Hermit Association?"

Tangyuan was stumped. Li Banfeng thought about the information provided by Chuunibyou, which mentioned the Night Walk Green Shade organization, which had very close ties with the Birch Hermit Association.

Li Banfeng simply called Chuunibyou over and showed him a name: Yellow Decline.

This doesn't sound like a person's name. After thinking for a long time, the Chuunibyou asked, "This should be Yellow Flower Leaf. This is also a group of dark ability enthusiasts. They believe that withering and decay are the beginning of new life, and they especially like to use withered yellow leaves as props for rituals."

"Does this organization Birch Hermit Association?"

"Yes, Yellow Flower Leaf is a dark ability group that we are focusing on because this group is in the gray area between experts and laymen."

They have mastered many destructive Dark Energy rituals, which have brought many hidden dangers.

Last year, they held a gathering on the outskirts of the city and performed a ritual called "Summon Yellow Leaf." The ritual failed, causing Dark Energy to go out of control, resulting in premature ripening of a large number of agricultural products in the surrounding area and causing considerable economic losses.

The bureau severely punished the organization and placed it on a watch list. The ritual to Summon Yellow Leaf originated from the Birch Hermit Association.

According to my investigation, more than half of the organization's Dark Energy rituals originated from the Birch Hermit Association. The reason why the Birch Hermit Association would provide assistance to this organization is unknown.

The reason is actually not complicated: this help is not free.

Li Banfeng opened the ledger and looked at the amount collected. Yellow Flower Leaf had to pay a large sum of money to the Hermitage every month.

The subsequent investigation went much more smoothly. During the translation process, the Judge's Brush translated the name of the hobby group into a personal name, but in fact, with a slight adjustment based on the meaning, the corresponding group could have been found.

Miglov, the head of the Birch Hermit Association, sells ritual procedures, drug formulas, and some low-level Dark Energy Carrier as commodities to these enthusiast groups at high prices, which has become their means of making money.

Now that Miglov is gone, Birch Hermit Association also disappear? Or will someone else take his place?

Li Banfeng summoned Chen Changrui and assigned him a task. "Focus on monitoring the movements of these dark ability enthusiasts. If they receive help from other groups again, or have financial dealings with other groups, inform me immediately."

The record player kept deriving the formula, piling up calculation papers several feet high, but still couldn't get the result he wanted.

Li Banfeng took out the Hermitage's blueprints and showed them to his Wife. His Wife said, "This might be a device used to break the boundary. But you can't call it a device. Judging from the size, it looks more like a building, like a tower—"

After looking at it for a moment, the record player put the blueprints aside. "My Little Slave, I don't want to look at the blueprints. Little Slave just want to solve these problems. Otherwise, Little Slave feel too uncomfortable."

"The math problem can be left to the Calculation Cultivator in the Eighth House. Why should my Wife suffer this hardship?"

"I showed it to that Calculation Cultivator, and after his calculations, he said that two pages of blackboard writing were missing, according to his calculation process..."

The subsequent results cannot be derived at all.

These two pages of blackboard writing are key to proving the correlation between the degree of matter-antimatter annihilation and the direction of Dark Matter Stream. I tried many methods to derive these two pages of blackboard writing, but each method was missing some key steps. So, my dear husband, what are you doing with that Oil Pot?

"It's nothing," Li Banfeng said with a look of rapture, "I just feel that when my Wife talks about calculations and deductions, both her figure and appearance are particularly charming."

"Pah!" Record Player 2 spat at Li Banfeng. "Am I more charming, or is that slut more charming? Are you thinking of your university professor again?"

"I really didn't think of her, all I thought about was my Wife!" Li Banfeng hugged the record player from behind.

"Let me solve this riddle before I serve you, sir." The record player was completely focused on solving the riddle and had no interest in anything else.

Li Banfeng felt sorry for the record player and helped his Wife with its operation.

All night long, nothing was found. The record player was truly persistent; the deduction process just wouldn't connect. She was so anxious her voice changed. "Husband, why don't you go—"

The record player seemed to want to say something but then stopped.

Li Banfeng asked, "My Wife, where do you want me to go?"

The trumpet-shaped mouth turned towards Li Banfeng, but the Wife was still somewhat angry. "No, I can't go! I can't let that slut look down on me!"

Li Banfeng asked, "Does my Wife want me to go find Teacher Song?"

"Who said we need to find her? Can't we get anything done without her?"

After a moment of silence, the record player continued, "You can talk to her, but you can only tell her about this mystery, nothing else!"

Li Banfeng laughed and said, "My dear Wife, what else could I possibly tell her? Don't you trust me?"

The Wife was displeased. "If it were anyone else, it wouldn't matter, but this slut could definitely bewitch you. I just don't trust her!"

Li Banfeng comforted the phonograph twice, and the phonograph extracted the derivation process in the middle and handed it to Li Banfeng: "Just tell her to solve the problem, but you can't tell her the reasons before and after. This hussy is very capable and her background is definitely unusual. If she finds out about the boundary, she might report her husband."

Li Banfeng wasn't worried that Teacher Song would report him, but he really didn't want to drag Teacher Song into trouble.

They arranged a time over the phone, Li Banfeng went to school in the afternoon to work on the problem with Teacher Song.

"Ban Feng, you've already researched this far?" Teacher Song was very surprised when she saw the derivation process.

Li Banfeng smiled and said, "I am indeed very interested in dark matter."

"I suggest you go back to school, improve your academic qualifications, and specialize in dark matter research."

Li Banfeng shook his head. "Education is not important, what is important is knowledge."

Teacher Song greatly admires Li Banfeng's attitude. Even though she didn't have class today, she was still wearing a white shirt and black trousers, which showed her respect for and rigor in academics.

The derivation process was indeed not easy. Teacher Song's foundation was better than Wife's, but the derivation failed several times.

Sweat soaked his hair and slowly slid down his face. Li Banfeng bought cold drinks for the teacher, looked up information, did some basic calculations, and diligently assisted him.

At 4:30 pm, as the sun was setting, Teacher Song suddenly clutched her chest.

Li Banfeng was startled. "Is your heart bothering you?"

"A little bit—" Teacher Song's breathing became a little rapid.

Worried that Teacher Song might have a relapse, Li Banfeng quickly asked, "Did you bring your medicine with you?"

Teacher Song shook her head and said, "It shouldn't be necessary— Ban Feng, I'm afraid we won't be able to solve this problem today."

Li Banfeng put away the scratch paper. "Teacher, get some rest. I'll go back and do some research first, and then come back to ask you for advice in a few days."

Teacher Song nodded, and the two walked out of the teaching building together. Li Banfeng headed towards the school gate.

"Ban Feng!" Teacher Song suddenly called out to Li Banfeng.

Li Banfeng turned around, and after a long silence, Teacher Song said, "I'm happy to see you so focused on your studies. But be careful about everything else."

Li Banfeng nodded repeatedly, waited a moment, and seeing that Teacher Song didn't say anything else, he turned and left.

Teacher Song actually had other things to say.

She felt palpitations just now because she had a connection with a magical artifact on campus.

That magical artifact encountered a dangerous person.

Teacher Song was worried that the dangerous person might pose a danger to the school, so she wanted to tell Li Banfeng about it.

She asked Li Banfeng to help her solve the problem.

But she didn't want to involve Li Banfeng in danger, so after thinking it over, she decided to handle it alone.

She arrived at the campus supermarket, and the magical artifact that resonated with her was the supermarket's locker.

The dangerous person was He Jiaqing; he had stored something in the locker.

The school lockers are a highly sophisticated security feature; ordinary people cannot obtain the items inside through violent means, not even Teacher Song could do so.

But Teacher Song had another way. She and the lockers were friends, and friends have a special way of communicating.

Teacher Song explored each cabinet door one by one, engaging in a dialogue with the storage cabinet.

The cabinet door vibrated rhythmically, conveying a message to Teacher Song: "I'm reminding you that He Jiaqing was here before, out of our friendship. Protecting the guest's belongings is a responsibility I must bear."

The locker was unwilling to hand over the items stored by He Jiaqing to Teacher Song.

Teacher Song tapped the cabinet door lightly with her fingertips, conveying her intention. "I am a teacher at the school, and it is my responsibility to protect the safety of the students. I suspect that the items stored by He Jiaqing may cause great harm."

The locker quickly provided feedback. "Based on my observation, the item itself will not cause any harm or disaster."

Teacher Song gently knocked on the cabinet door again. "Could you tell me what the item is?"

"It is an information storage device."

"What kind of information is stored inside? Is the information itself harmful?"

The locker cannot answer.

Teacher Song promised, "Give me half an hour. If the information is not harmful, I will return the item immediately."

After waiting a while, the third cabinet door in the second row popped open automatically, and He Jiaqing's deposited items were inside.

It is a USB flash drive.

Teacher Song carefully examined the USB drive and confirmed that it would not cause any other harm. She took the USB drive back to her office and plugged it into her computer.

The USB drive contained only one video file. Upon opening it, the video showed surveillance footage of an abandoned construction site.

During this period, there were many abandoned construction sites in Yuezhou City. After observing them carefully for a while, Teacher Song determined from the scenery outside the window that this was a residential complex in Cloud Embroidery District.

The video is about 30 minutes long, and for the first 20 minutes, there is nothing unusual about the footage.

At 21 minutes and 16 seconds, a dark shadow suddenly flashed by.

Teacher Song rewound the surveillance footage and slowly rewound frame by frame to carefully observe the black figure.

After capturing the keyframe, Teacher Song was able to see the outline of the dark figure.

His limbs were short and thick, and his body was rounded, with almost no sharp edges.

After taking a closer look at the shadowy figure's movements, Teacher Song was taken aback.

This is DaoLao Ghost!

DaoLao Ghost has appeared in Yuezhou!

Teacher Song immediately drove to the construction site. Dealing with a DaoLao Ghost was not difficult for her.

But as she approached Cloud Embroidery District, she remembered another crucial issue.

Did one DaoLao Ghost come, or a whole group?

If we rush to the scene now, can the situation still be brought under control?

Knife Ghost Ridge can move. Is it DaoLao Ghost that came to Yuezhou, or the entire Knife Ghost Ridge?

This could trigger a disaster, a disaster for the entire Yuezhou, and even the entire Huan Kingdom.

The scene must be brought under control, and more manpower and a wider range of actions are needed.

She took out her phone and dialed a number.

Li Banfeng returned to his residence and tidied up his calculations. Although he did not get the final answer, he had made some progress.

He was about to return to his Portable Abode to hand the calculations to his Wife when he suddenly heard the projector say, "Seventh Director, there's information from the Dark Star Bureau."

Li Banfeng read the message: "An anomaly has occurred in He Sheng Community, Lion Peak Road, Cloud Embroidery District. All combat personnel of the Dark Star Bureau are to assemble in the residential area."

All combat personnel?

This is not just the Public Security Team.

What kind of emergency could be so serious?

Li Banfeng handed the calculations to his Wife and then went to Hesheng Residential Area. Shen Jingye was already waiting at the entrance of the residential area. Cars arrived one after another, and the Public Security Team, the demolition team, the investigation department, the biological and chemical control team, the electromagnetic control team, the air defense team, the water control team, the poison control team, and the special emergency team were all present.

"Little Shen, what happened?"

Shen Jingye said, "Someone discovered DaoLao Ghost' in this neighborhood."

"What did you find?" Li Banfeng wondered if he had misheard.

Shen Jingye repeated carefully, "DaoLao Ghost! A mutated creature formed by the cross-infection of Dark Energy and pathogens. You must know about this thing in Pro State, so I don't need to explain it to you."

Li Banfeng asked, "Where did the information come from?"

"Surveillance footage from Building 9 in the residential complex."

"When was the video recorded?"

"Two hours ago, DaoLao Ghost was probably in the neighborhood or somewhere else. The situation is very urgent. DaoLao Ghost may bring unimaginable disaster to the entire Yuezhou!"

This is the most severe challenge we have faced since the Green Water Bow incident, and we cannot afford to make the slightest mistake.

Has DaoLao Ghost arrived in Yuezhou?

If true, it would indeed bring about a disaster. Theoretically, one DaoLao Ghost can create countless DaoLao Ghost, until a city is destroyed.

How could the DaoLao Ghost possibly appear in Yuezhou?

Li Banfeng was very familiar with the habits of the DaoLao Ghost. After being modified by Cui Tike, the DaoLao Ghost underwent many changes, but their range of activity was limited and they could not stray too far from Knife Ghost Ridge.

What experiments did Cui Tike conduct?

Has a plan to destroy all of humanity been launched?

Or perhaps Dao Guilian was moved to Yuezhou by him?

Shen Jingye ordered the complete sealing off of the construction site area, the evacuation of surrounding residents, and the deployment of unmanned reconnaissance aircraft to conduct a comprehensive search of the construction site.

The entire Dark Star Bureau team is on standby, ready to enter the scene at any time.

Li Banfeng said, "If it is confirmed that there is DaoLao Ghost at the scene, Dark Energy User below the sixth level are not allowed to enter the scene."

Shen Jingye shook his head and said, "This is not something you or I can decide. I know the scene is extremely dangerous, but this is the mission of all the combat personnel of the Dark Star Bureau! Everyone in the Dark Star Bureau, including myself, must be prepared to sacrifice."

Li Banfeng said, "A mission and needlessly sacrificing one's life are two different things. Sacrifice is not the solution. Sending one more person in might just add another DaoLao Ghost to the list of dead. Don't you understand this principle?"

Shen Jingye said, "Everyone understands the truth, but now we don't have time to reason. What we are talking about now is our responsibility and duty!"

Li Banfeng looked at Shen Jingye and said, "When Green Flower came, where were your responsibilities and duties? You sold me out, do you think I've forgotten about it?"

Shen Jingye pursed his lips and said, "The situation was different back then—"

"What's the difference? Isn't Green Flower a greater threat than DaoLao Ghost?"

Shen Jingye couldn't answer; for him, the two situations were indeed different.

His promotion documents have been approved and will be printed this week. We can't wait and see now, and we can't afford to make any mistakes.

Multiple rounds of unmanned reconnaissance aircraft were launched, but no results were found.

Shen Jingye was about to send the investigation team to the scene, Li Banfeng shook his head and said, "We can't let them go!"

Shen Jingye said, "We must show the proper attitude."

"The DaoLao Ghost' can't see your attitude; your attitude is worthless in his eyes!"

Shen Jingye looked into the distance; his attitude was definitely not meant for DaoLao Ghost.

Du Wenming stood at a distance; he did not take command of the operation, but simply watched from afar.

Shen Jingye glanced at the two people beside Du Wenming: "See? He brought the unobservables with him." "What are unobservables?" Li Banfeng looked at the two people beside Du Wenming. "Aren't they visible?"

"Unobservable beings are not those who cannot be seen, but rather those who use dark abilities in ways that cannot be observed or explained."

To put it bluntly, the fact that the sorcerers from Pro State brought them along shows how much Director Du values this operation.

Li Banfeng said, "Is your attitude meant for Du Wenming?"

Shen Jingye said, "Even if he's not here, we still have to take action."

"I'll go." Li Banfeng roughly checked his equipment.

Shen Jingye asked in surprise, "You're going alone?"

Li Banfeng looked at Shen Jingye: "How about we go together?"

Shen Jingye pursed his lips. "Someone has to stay on site to direct operations."

Li Banfeng said, "You mean you want me to stay here and command?"

Shen Jingye remained silent. If he said another word, Li Banfeng would send him to the construction site.

Sending him in would only be a burden, so Li Banfeng eventually went to the construction site himself.

The construction site is expected to build twelve buildings, three of which have already been topped out, while the remaining nine range in height from just the foundation to more than thirty stories.

Scanning each building, Li Banfeng felt no danger whatsoever.

The footage of DaoLao Ghost came from the surveillance video of Building 9. As Li Banfeng walked to the foot of Building 9, he suddenly turned around.

He noticed someone standing Fifth Building, silently watching him.

The figure was extremely blurry, and Li Banfeng immediately became vigilant.

The drone hovered over Li Banfeng's head, and the video footage was quickly transmitted to the investigation department.

Shen Jingye stared at the monitor screen, wondering why Li Banfeng had stopped.

The drone adjusted its camera direction, following Li Banfeng's line of sight, and filmed a blank screen.

I didn't get any pictures.

Shen Jingye picked up the walkie-talkie. "Director Li, what's going on?"

Li Banfeng did not answer; the person in the distance was slowly approaching him.

She was wearing a white shirt and black trousers, with short hair that reached her ears. She adjusted her glasses and said to Li Banfeng, "I've checked Building 9, and I didn't find DaoLao Ghost."

Teacher Song?

What is she doing here?

Li Banfeng knew that Teacher Song's identity was special and that Teacher Song's cultivation level was not low, but he did not expect that Teacher Song would appear directly at this construction site.

Teacher Song put a finger next to her lips, signaling Li Banfeng to be quiet.

Is she worried about being discovered by outsiders?

Do people outside not know she lives in the neighborhood?

Li Banfeng looked up at the drone in the sky. From this angle, the drone could see Teacher Song.

Teacher Song shook her head and said, "It can't see me. Its video and audio equipment can't capture me, and your walkie-talkie can't capture my voice either."

Which Daoist sect's technique is this?

Shen Jingye's voice came through the earpiece. "Director Li, what exactly happened? Please reply!"

Li Banfeng said, "I'm observing the surrounding situation, don't panic!"

Being reprimanded by Li Qi in front of so many people from the Investigation Department was quite Shen Jingye, but now was not the time to worry about saving face.

In the surveillance footage he saw, there was only Li Qi, no one else.

Teacher Song pulled a retractable pointer from her sleeve and gently brushed it past Li Qi's earphones. "Ban Feng, you can talk to me now. They can't hear you right now."

Li Banfeng asked, "Why are you here?"

"I'll explain this to you later, Ban Feng. What are your plans?" No matter how urgent the situation was, Teacher Song's tone remained gentle towards Li Banfeng.

Li Banfeng said, "Use my techniques to sense danger and find the target as quickly as possible."

Teacher Song nodded. "I will cooperate with you. From now on, I will follow your instructions."

"Have you already checked this neighborhood once?"

Teacher Song nodded. "I checked every building. Maybe it's because my perception isn't good enough, but I didn't find DaoLao Ghost."

After a moment's thought, Li Banfeng decided to start the investigation from Building No. 9 again.

Li Banfeng walked ahead, his steps quick.

Teacher Song followed closely, wary of what was behind her.

The two quickly searched every corner of Building 9 but found no DaoLao Ghost, and Li Banfeng did not sense any danger.

Next is Building 10, which is adjacent to Building 9.

At the main gate of the Dark Star Bureau, a melodious harmonica tune drifted out, and the gatekeeper dozed off to the sound.

As the gatekeeper drifted off to sleep, a cloud of smoke drifted into the lobby.

The Dark Star Bureau building was unusually quiet today, with almost all the combat personnel out on the mission to capture DaoLao Ghost.

The smoke entered the stairwell through the crack in the door, drifted up the stairs to the fifteenth floor, passed through the stairwell door, and entered the iron gate.

Behind the iron fence was a room, where Big Head sat, staring at a cloud of smoke in front of him.

Having worked at the Dark Star Bureau for so many years, his experience told him that this cloud of smoke came from a very high-level Dark Energy User.

A voice came from within the smoke. "Big Head, it's me."

He Jiaqing!

Big Head was startled and looked around at the surveillance equipment.

The smoke dispersed, obscuring all the cameras. He Jiaqing spoke through the smoke, "Big Head, I have a question for you: are you willing to come with me to Pro State?"

Big Head lowered his head and did not answer.

He Jiaqing continued, "If you don't want to go, you might be locked up for life, and your wife might not be released for a long time. Your children will never be able to hold their heads high again."

Big Head took a deep breath and said, "But what will happen to them if I leave?"

"I'll come with you, we'll all go to Pro State. I'll give you a better life, definitely much better than it is now. Can you trust me, brother?"

A glimmer of hope flashed in Big Head's eyes, but that glimmer of hope quickly faded.

"This is the Dark Star Bureau; I can't escape."

"Normally you can't escape, but today you can. Today is the best time. I created this opportunity specifically for you. "Big Head looked at the smoke in front of him and then at the iron fence outside the door.

He nodded toward the smoke.

PS: He Jiaqing once used the lockers in the campus supermarket to store Red Lotus, but he used Li Banfeng's face at the time.

Dear readers, it's almost the end of the month, so please give all your monthly votes to Salad.