Yin Ling

Shen Jingye invited Li Banfeng to dinner in Li Banfeng's office. They drank beer one can after another, and Shen Jingye enjoyed it more and more.

Speaking of Du Wenming, Shen Jingye sighed repeatedly, "I originally thought that Du Wenming had gotten to where he is today entirely because of his teacher's support, but I never expected that this person had such a powerful background."

He's the Third Boss of Snowflake Port, an elder of the Birch Tree Gang, the Gang Leader of the Ferry Gang, and ostensibly also a director. He's got connections on all four major streets.

Li Banfeng took a sip of wine and encouraged Little Shen, "Don't always envy him. Now that Du Wenming has stepped down, the director's position should be yours."

Shen Jingye sighed deeply, "It's not my turn. I offended Du Wenming's teacher. During the meeting today, Du Wenming's teacher kept criticizing me, saying that I'm too opportunistic in my work."

The implication was that I deliberately pushed Du Wenming down.

I didn't tolerate him. I confronted him directly at the meeting, saying that one must be strong to succeed. What consequences would have occurred if his actions hadn't been discovered in time?

When I said that, the old man's face turned pale. He's a shrewd man; Liao Zihui and I had both suffered at his hands before. He's definitely held a grudge, and my chances of getting promoted to director are definitely over. Thinking about it now, I regret saying less; perhaps things could have been resolved."

Li Banfeng laughed and said, "Even if you hadn't said that, would you have gotten the director's position?"

Shen Jingye did not respond.

Li Banfeng then asked, "Even if you didn't discover Du Wenming's matter, but rather the Dark Matter Research Lab did, and it has nothing to do with you, do you think you'd get the director's position?"

Shen Jingye laughed, "When I first met you, I thought you were really annoying. You were so irritating. But now that I think about it, you're not so irritating after all. You're just telling the truth."

After taking a couple of bites of food, Shen Jingye remembered something, took out a draft document, and handed it to Li Banfeng: "This is the topic we're going to discuss at the meeting next week. Take a look at it first, so you don't embarrass me at the meeting."

Li Banfeng saw that this was a personnel issue. A number of people had been transferred, and several had retired, leaving many positions vacant. This meant that a number of people would be promoted.

Tangyuan and Light Bulb were both promoted. They hadn't completed their Chuunibyou school and were included in the reserve talent list along with the Star. The core members, including Mijian, Zhuizi, Huajia, Crabapple, Juzi, Wotou, were also promoted.

One person caught Li Banfeng's attention.

Sugar Cube, who had been doing well all along, was transferred from the Public Security Team to the logistics department to take charge of management work.

Her job rank wasn't lowered, and it even rose slightly, but her position wasn't highly regarded.

Li Banfeng said, "Has Sugar fallen out of favor?"

Shen Jingye frowned and said, "I've never spoiled her. It's just that her family has connections. Actually, Tangkuai is a good person. Her family is so wealthy, yet she's not arrogant at all. When we're on missions, I know she's not very capable, so I always give her odd jobs, and she doesn't complain."

But the Public Security Team really wasn't a good fit for her. She had to be responsible for other people's lives, as well as her own. She was quite meticulous, so I transferred her to logistics, gave her a promotion, and that way, things would be more transparent with the higher-ups. It also made things easier for other people's tasks.

Li Banfeng had no objection, Shen Jingye was pleased. "Things we didn't do right before, we should do some right now. Can we call someone else over for a drink?"

"Is it someone you know?"

"It's someone I know! Chen Changrui."

"Isn't his wife sick?"

"Don't listen to his nonsense. He just doesn't want to drink with me. He's been Team Leader for so many years, it's time for him to be promoted. But if he wants to be promoted, it's not something I can decide on my own. I have to ask my superiors for permission, and he has to cooperate with me."

Shen Jingye took out his phone and called Chen Changrui: "Old Chen, come to the station—you're still trying to talk nonsense with me, aren't you? Still bringing up your wife? Your wife went to play mahjong with my sister, she told me everything, you better come over right now!"

After hanging up the phone, Shen Jingye said to Li Banfeng, "Chen Changrui made many contributions in the past few years, and he's done a good job these past few years. He deserves a promotion."

If he doesn't get promoted soon, the Public Security Team will run into trouble, and they'll slowly become like him, giving up on everything.

Shen Jingye saw things very clearly, but for so many years he had been pretending to be confused and waiting for Chen Changrui to arrive. Shen Jingye told him about the promotion, and you could see the word "hope" on Chen Changrui's face.

After eating and drinking his fill, Shen Jingye wanted to listen to some music again. He looked at Li Banfeng's record player and said, "Could I listen to that song again, the one I heard before?"

Li Banfeng wound up the record player and played "Wild Grasses and Flowers Meet Spring" again, which Shen Jingye listened to with great interest.

He wanted to hum along, but he was afraid of drowning out the song on the record. The song was so beautiful; Shen Jingye didn't want to miss a single word.

After listening to the song, Shen Jingye picked up his jacket. "My wife is still waiting at home. She's petty, and if I don't go back soon, she'll get angry."

After Shen Jingye left, Chen Changrui sighed, "It's really not easy to get along with mental patients."

Li Banfeng asked, "What does that mean? Is it an insult?"

Chen Changrui explained, "Director Shen's wife has a mental illness. Every night at ten o'clock, if Director Shen is not home, she will start making a scene."

It turns out they were talking about Shen Jingye's wife.

Given his position, the fact that he remained devoted to his wife suggests he's a very loving person.

Chen Changrui said to Li Banfeng, "Director Li, could I hear that piece of music again?"

Do you all like this piece of music that much?

Play it again, I'd like Li Banfeng really likes this piece too.

Li Banfeng put the needle back on the record. After listening, Chen Changrui asked, "Who sang this song?"

"When I bought the record, the shopkeeper told me it was sung by Song Queen Jiang Mengting," Li Banfeng said dismissively.

Chen Changrui remained silent for a long time, then shook his head slightly. "I worked in Pro State for a while. At that time, Ma Junyang was still the Fifth Young Master of the Ma family, and he had just started running Carefree Dock. Among the first batch of singers he made famous was Jiang Mengting."

Jiang Mengting doesn't have this voice or this singing style. Even if we give her a perfect score of 100, I'd only give Jiang Mengting a 60 out of 100 back then.

I went to Green Water City a while ago, and now Jiang Mengting should have entered the voice refining stage.

Her kung fu skills might barely get a 90 out of 100; this definitely wasn't her singing.

Chen Changrui is a peeping cultivator, not Peeker. He is a peeping cultivator who has just entered the practice in Pro State. It is indeed not easy to deceive him about this.

"This album was a gift from a friend. He said it was by Jiang Mengting, but it doesn't sound like her to me," Li Banfeng changed the subject. "How many points do you think this album would get?"

Chen Changrui shook his head. "This can't be measured in points. I'd give it five hundred points, but that's an understatement. I've only heard this singing style and skill once in Pro State."

"You've heard of it?" Li Banfeng frowned, becoming wary.

Chen Changrui nodded and said, "When I was working in Green Water City, I met a businesswoman named Cheng Xueying through Liao Zihui's introduction."

This man is a theater enthusiast, and I also enjoy listening to opera. We became friends after a while, and we often went to the theater together. Director Li, let me make this clear: we just enjoy listening to opera; there's nothing more to our relationship.

Li Banfeng nodded and said, "I didn't say you had any other relationship. Please continue."

Chen Changrui continued, "One day, she invited me to her house, saying she wanted to listen to records. Listening to records was quite fashionable in Pro State, but to be honest, I didn't like it."

We have so many things here to listen to opera, like TVs and mobile phones, and the sound quality of each of them is better than that of a record player.

Besides, it's not appropriate for a man like me to go to a woman's house. We really don't have any other relationship.

"Who said you two have a relationship?" Li Banfeng frowned. "Go on and tell me more."

"But Cheng Xueying kept inviting me, and I couldn't refuse, so I agreed. When I got to her house, I heard a song called 'Mu Guiying Takes Command,' and I was stunned."

How could anyone in this world sing so well? I only listened to it once, and I felt like I'd wasted half my life. I asked Cheng Xueying who sang it, and she told me it was Yin Ling.

Li Banfeng asked, "Who is Yin Ling?"

"Yin Ling" is a legend from Pro State. It is said that there was a famous singer named Huang Yuxian who debuted at the age of eight and became famous Pro State with one song, remaining popular for twelve years.

By the time he turned twenty, when Pro State talked about actors, they would mention Huang Yuxian. They said that all the actors in the world combined couldn't match even a third of Yuxian's skill.

At the height of her Silence Vanish, Huang Yuxian suddenly disappeared. Some said her fans, unwilling to let Huang Yuxian return to the public eye, killed her; others said her colleagues, jealous of Huang Yuxian, harmed her. These various rumors, presented with apparent detail, all claimed that Huang Yuxian was dead.

A few years later, several albums by Huang Yuxian were released on the market, all of which contained songs that Huang Yuxian had never sung before. This was strange, since Huang Yuxian had been dead for so many years, how could she still release new songs?

At first, people thought these records were fake, that they weren't sung by Huang Yuxian. However, many people who had heard Huang Yuxian sing back then are still alive. After listening, they all said that these were Huang Yuxian's arias, and that no one else could imitate them.

Thus arose the legend of the Yin Ling (a type of Huang Yuxian singer). The legend says that Huang Yuxian died with resentment and transformed into the Yin Ling, continuing to perform in Pro State. Those who truly understand opera, by chance, can hear Huang Yuxian sing and even obtain her recordings.

After receiving the record, one must cherish it, for the Yin Ling will bless the person with smooth sailing in life. If one does not cherish it, or even damages the record, one will be punished by the Yin Ling; at best, one will be plagued by serious illness, at worst, one's family will be destroyed.

Li Banfeng sat in the chair, remaining silent for a long time.

Is this just a legend?

Is it just because this person named Huang Yuxian sounds somewhat like my Wife?

Li Banfeng had never heard of this person named Cheng Xueying. He asked Chen Changrui, "Are you still in contact with this friend?"

Chen Changrui shook his head and sighed, "This is my fault. I really love this record."

They offered Cheng Xueying a high price to buy the record, but Cheng Xueying refused, saying she wouldn't sell it for any amount of money.

I asked again if I could make a copy, but Cheng Xueying still refused. This time I got angry and didn't see her for several months.

Some time later, I wanted to listen to that record again. Even if she wouldn't give it to me, I just wanted to listen to it one more time. But our relationship had soured before, and I was still thinking about how to mend things when a document came from above, transferring me to the Dark Star Bureau.

Upon arriving in Yuezhou, I still thought about that record every day, and I would inquire about Cheng Xueying whenever I had free time. A few years ago, I heard that she had married into the Lu Family and her business was booming. I was genuinely happy for her, but also felt guilty about what had happened back then.

Upon hearing the words "Lu Family," Li Banfeng's cheek twitched.

He recalled some of Steward Feng's words.

Chen Changrui continued, "If it's because Yin Ling's records made Cheng Xueying's business so successful, then it proves the rumors are true."

I had another business trip to Pro State, and I prepared some gifts to visit Cheng Xueying. But when I arrived in Green Water City, I learned that something terrible had happened to the Cheng family. The whole family had just moved into a new house, and then they all died tragically. Only Cheng Xueying was still alive.

I wanted to ask about the reason, but Cheng Xueying had disappeared. I recalled the rumors from back then...

It's possible that she didn't take good care of the records, and this was an act of revenge by Yin Ling.

From then on, I believed Yin Ling was real, and I never imagined that I would hear her music again today.

As soon as Chen Changrui finished speaking, he noticed that the muscles on Li Banfeng's face were twitching incessantly, to the point that his features were almost distorted.

"Director Li, what's wrong with you?"

Li Banfeng smiled and said, "It's a bit scary that you're talking about this in the middle of the night."

Chen Changrui smiled and said, "These are all rumors, it's hard to say if they're true or not, please don't take them seriously. This song is really good, or maybe I just misheard it."

After having two more drinks, the two went their separate ways.

On the way, Li Banfeng walked slowly, repeatedly thinking about what Chen Changrui and Steward Feng had said.

Back in Medicine King Gully, Li Banfeng asked Steward Feng about the origin of the record player. Steward Feng said that a merchant from Green Water City had offered 180,000 yuan to sell him the record player.

He only said he was a businesswoman at the time, without specifying whether he was male or female, or what kind of business he was involved in. Li Banfeng had gradually forgotten about this incident, but now he remembered it.

The person who sold the record player to Steward Feng was probably Cheng Xueying.

Cheng Xueying somehow obtained a record player, which recorded a record of "Mu Guiying Takes Command," which was also Yin Ling's record.

Based on this, it can be inferred that the phonograph was Yin Ling, who was the famous singer Huang Yuxian back then.

But isn't your Wife's Zhao Xiaowan?

How did it become Huang Yuxian again?

What happened here?

From Chen Changrui's description, it is clear that Cheng Xueying cherished her records very much, and she must have cherished her record player as well. Under such circumstances, why would the Wife kill her whole family?

Was it because she did something to offend the Wife? Or was it because this matter originally had nothing to do with the Wife?

Back at his residence, Li Banfeng hid the key and went into Portable Abode.

The record player greeted them joyfully, "My darling husband, you're back."

Li Banfeng was stunned for less than a second before he hugged his Wife tightly, pressing his cheek against the large speaker and rubbing it up and down for a long time.

The record player, ticklish, laughed so hard she could barely breathe, "My dear husband, what's wrong with you?"

"It's nothing, I just miss you."

"We haven't separated. Little Slave waits for her husband to come home every day."

The Wife are all waiting at home.

With such a wonderful wife, does anything else matter?

Even if my Wife is truly Yin Ling, she has no intention of harming me. If she is willing to talk about the past, she will naturally tell me; if she is not willing to talk about it, what can I do?

In the blink of an eye, Li Banfeng hugged the record player affectionately twice, and his Wife got down to business. "My dear husband, that man named Yu Yaoming, the things he studies are quite unusual. Some of his ideas are similar to those of the Lavsha People."

"My Wife, are you saying that Yu Yaoming is also researching boundaries?"

"I read his logs and some manuscripts. He wasn't researching boundaries. This person probably doesn't even know about Pro State. But what he was researching, called wormholes, can also be used as a way to cross boundaries, just not quite the same as our previous methods."

"How is it different?" Li Banfeng perked up when he heard about the boundary.

"Our previous research method was to extinguish a section of the boundary to form a passage. If we use his wormhole, we can directly build a passage on the boundary without changing the boundary."

Li Banfeng was overjoyed. "My dear Wife, is it possible to research this method?"

"My Little Slave, it's not so bad to just look at the algorithm, but it's a whole different story when it comes to actually creating the channel. I still don't know how to operate these algorithms."

Relying solely on theoretical research is indeed too much for my Wife. Li Banfeng hugged the record player and said, "My dear Wife, would you like to go and take a look at Yu Yaoming's laboratory?"

The Wife exhaled a puff of steam and circled around Li Banfeng, saying, "This Little Slave really wants to go, but I'm afraid the old master won't agree."

"That's easy!" Li Banfeng entered the third room with a smile. "Grandpa, you've acquired quite a few good things lately. May I take my Wife out for some fresh air?"

The old man has been studying the Heaven Heart Stone these past few days. He also overheard what Li Banfeng and the record player were talking about. "It's fine to let her go out and see the world, but she can't stay for more than two hours, and she can't take the techniques out with her."

"Let my Wife take some skills with her when she goes out, so she can protect herself!"

"No, there's no room for negotiation on this!"

If they said they couldn't bring it, they wouldn't. Li Banfeng first went to Yu Yaoming's laboratory, knocked down the guards around him with Music Box, and then made arrangements with the projector and camera.

Upon entering the laboratory, Li Banfeng carried the record player out of his Portable Abode.

The record player stared at the equipment before it, speechless for a long time. "These, Little Slave, all..."

I don't know any of them.

She definitely wouldn't recognize it; this is a high-end laboratory, and even Li Banfeng wouldn't recognize most of the equipment.

"Wife, you take a look first, I'll see if I can find any instructions or something."

The equipment manual was indeed there, kept in the filing cabinet. I flipped through the record player, beads of sweat dripping from the speaker.

"This is not easy to learn!"

"Let's learn slowly, there's no need to rush."

He said he would learn slowly, but he knew in his heart that this was not a place he could come to whenever he wanted. Every time Li Banfeng went in and out, he was taking a lot of risks.

"My lord, how about we beg our lazy pen again to copy all these books down? Little Slave home and study them slowly."

Li Banfeng glanced at the thickness of the instruction manual and the number of words on each page, then shook his head and said, "If he copies this, who knows when he'll ever pay back the money. Let's just take the manual with us!"

"Will this work? It won't be good for my husband to explain this to others."

Li Banfeng glanced out the window; the investigators in the Dark Matter Research Lab were still fast asleep.

"It's alright, I'll find someone to explain for me."

The record player asked, puzzled, "My dear husband, is there anyone who can explain this?"

"Yes, and it's not just about this," Li Banfeng looked around the entire laboratory, "So many good things, we all need to give them an explanation."

The record player chuckled, "My dear husband, are you perhaps planning to take all of this with you?"

Li Banfeng nodded: "Since it's related to the boundary, these good things can't stay here." "But, but our house can't hold them all!" The record player looked at the large pieces of equipment, which were bigger than a room in his Portable Abode.

"It can fit! The old man will definitely have a way, hehehe!" Li Banfeng laughed a few times, the record player looked rather eerie.

Li Banfeng's laughter grew louder and louder because he heard the sound of a ship's horn.

The old man was laughing with him because he genuinely liked these things.

At 3:30 a. m., Shen Jingye was woken up by a phone call.

Upon seeing the caller ID, Shen Jingye rubbed his temples. It was Guan Zhengyang calling.

He tiptoed out of the bedroom, careful not to wake his wife. After finishing the call, he wanted to go back to the bedroom to say hello to his wife, but he found her sitting on the bed, looking at him expressionlessly.

Who called you?

"A colleague at the company has a customer who wants to cancel an order, so I need to rush back to the company to handle it."

"Your customers cancel orders in the middle of the night?"

"Yes, that's why he's gone too far."

"Honey, do you think I'm that easy to fool?" His wife pulled a fruit knife from under the pillow.

Pointing at Shen Jingye, he asked, "What exactly are you doing?"

"Put the knife down first, let's talk this out. This client of mine is extremely important. If I offend him, all my sales for the year will be lost!"

"Is your customer male or female?"

"It's a man, it really is a man. I'll bring him home another day so we can have a meal together."

"Why are you bringing a man home? Do you like men?" The wife, holding a knife, walked over step by step.

Half an hour later, Shen Jingye arrived at his doorstep with bandages wrapped around his hand.

His wife followed behind him, speaking softly, "Honey, don't work too hard. If a customer really wants to cancel an order, let's do it without hurting our relationship."

Shen Jingye nodded repeatedly. "I'll do whatever you say."

"Honey, what would you like to eat tonight? I'll make it for you."

"Anything is fine with me."

The wife pulled out a fruit knife. "Are you just trying to brush me off?"

Shen Jingye turned around and smiled, "I love anything you cook."

His wife stabbed the knife into Shen Jingye's neck. "You actually came up with such a cliché excuse?"

At five o'clock in the morning, Shen Jingye arrived at the laboratory from the hospital with a gauze pad on his neck.

He called Li Qi, but couldn't get through. When he arrived at the lab, Guan Zhengyang was furious. "Director Shen, what time is it? What time did you receive that call, and you're only getting here now?"

Shen Jingye sometimes felt truly fortunate for Guan Zhengyang. If Li Qi were here now, Guan Zhengyang's situation would be unimaginable.

Seeing the injury on Shen Jingye's neck, Guan Zhengyang didn't say much. He called over the head of the Dark Matter Research Lab and gave a brief explanation of the situation.

The situation was simple: the guards were on duty 24 hours a day, the surveillance footage showed nothing unusual, and a room full of equipment in the laboratory had vanished.

Shen Jingye asked, "Were any clues found at the scene?"

The head of the Dark Matter Research Lab explained, "All the personnel on site were questioned, and we have also reviewed the surveillance footage. We can basically rule out..."

"Rule out? What's there to rule out?" Guan Zhengyang said impatiently. "Is there even a question? It was definitely Du Wenming who did it!"

Logically speaking, given his position, he shouldn't have said such things so easily, as it would clearly interfere with the investigation.

But his younger brother has gone missing and is likely dead at the hands of Du Wenming. Based on this alone, it's hard for Guan Zhengyang to remain rational.

Shen Jingye said, "Director Guan, some issues still need further verification; the on-site investigation has only just begun..."

"An investigation? How long will this investigation take? This was clearly done by Du Wenming. His Ferry Gang, Snowflake Port, Birch Hermit Association all implicated! You made serious mistakes during the arrest of Du Wenming; otherwise, this wouldn't have happened. You must take responsibility for this lab theft..."

"Whose responsibility is it?" Shen Jingye suddenly interrupted Guan Zhengyang, his gloomy face causing Guan Zhengyang to unconsciously distance himself from Shen Jingye.

"Does the Dark Star Bureau bear absolutely no responsibility?" Guan Zhengyang's voice was a little soft.

Shen Jingye looked at Guan Zhengyang and asked, "Whose responsibility is it to guard the laboratory?"

When questioned by Shen Jingye in public, Guan Zhengyang was somewhat Shen Jingye: "In short, regarding this case..."

This must be dealt with quickly.

Shen Jingye arranged for the Dark Star Bureau to conduct an on-site investigation. He glanced at the head of the Dark Matter Research Lab and a group of agents, and sighed softly.

The Dark Matter Research Lab Laboratory is probably no longer in existence.

At seven o'clock, Shen Jingye called Li Qi again, but still couldn't get through. What was Li Qi busy with?

When Li Banfeng arrived in Seven Autumn City, he spent more than two hours finding a traditional type of Dark Dimension Space where the inside and outside were completely separate.

Once inside the space, Li Banfeng began unloading the cargo, removing all the equipment, large and small. Li Banfeng then reconstructed everything according to the footage recorded by the projector.

The whole family busied themselves getting everything ready. Li Banfeng carried his Wife out, asking, "My dear Wife, are you satisfied with this place?"

The record player looked around. The laboratory had no lights, no floor, and no walls. It looked rather rudimentary, but his Wife really liked it.

"Can I come here often in the future?"

"Yes! From now on, my Wife can do her research here."

"I'm afraid the old man won't agree."

"Our old man is a flexible person, we'll discuss it with him later."

The only problem now is the power supply. Li Banfeng plans to go to Du Wenming's lab and bring over the battery pack.

"Wife, you don't need to come along. Stay here and study the equipment."

The record player sucked Li Banfeng in with its speaker. "My husband, do you really trust your Little Slave that much?"

"How can I not trust my own wife?" Li Banfeng gently hugged the megaphone. "We should live life to the fullest. The world is so big, we should explore it together!"

PS: In Chapter 75, Steward Feng explained the origin of the record player to Li Banfeng.