Sun Shun had been doing very well lately.
According to the information Zhou Zhi had received, in the past two days, Sun Shun alone had already completed four Strange Incidents, and with a rather high degree of completion.
He seemed to have temporarily given up on the [Suhui Central Academy Pathogenization] incident and turned to other Strange Incidents instead. He had indeed reaped quite a lot.
The day after his daughter Su Rongrong went missing, Su Xing from the neighboring clinic came to see Zhou Zhi.
Although he didn't like Zhou Zhi, for some reason, he had the thought that if he wanted to find his daughter, the Apprentice Plague Exterminator before him was the most likely person to help.
His daughter had gone missing, and the Arrest Center, which handled non-Strange Incidents, had accepted the case. But so far, they had almost no leads.
"Zhou... Zhou Zhi, could the Epidemic Prevention Center help out too? I suspect there's more to this than meets the eye."
Su Xing was anxious, but he still managed to stay calm.
That was a basic part of a Plague Exterminator's professional discipline.
At that moment, Zhou Zhi sat in a chair in the clinic with his eyes closed, as if resting.
After a while, his eyes slowly opened.
"Doctor Su, there's more to this than meets the eye."
"The Epidemic Prevention Center hasn't issued a mission, but I've got a few leads."
His gaze swept over the area around the clinic.
In a corner where no one would notice, a strange triangular symbol lay hidden.
Zhou Zhi frowned slightly.
Then, another inexplicable message came to him.
[Great Compassion Longevity Sutra (Cancerous Mutation True Sutra) Fragment]
[Someone once recited a strange incantation here to muddle the mind and shatter reason.]
[Excerpt: At daily meals, keep your mouth shut and sit upright. Let no thought arise; forget all worries. Preserve the spirit and settle the mind; let the eyes see nothing...]
[Reciting it for a long time may raise the Pathogenization Index.]
[Reciting it for a long time has a very small chance of granting Void Gaze and mastery over a special power.]
[Reciting it for a long time has a very small chance of winning the recognition of "Cancer."]
[An aura of revival drifted through the air, as if life itself were stirring here.]
[But the distortion lurking behind it constantly corroded the human heart.]
[In this world, what could live forever?]
The Great Compassion Longevity Sutra...
The Longevity Path!
Zhou Zhi's eyes flickered.
He had gained a deeper understanding of how the messages in his mind worked.
When it came to people, the messages relied almost entirely on what he already knew about them. They rarely revealed anything beyond his understanding.
But when it came to the environment, the messages in his mind were highly sensitive to changes... As long as pathogenization or spirit power had flowed through an area, he could glean something from it.
"Then, Zhou Zhi, let's hurry and find her. Rongrong's my only daughter. I'm really scared..."
Zhou Zhi cut Su Xing off. "Doctor Su."
"How strong are you?"
Su Xing froze.
"For an Apprentice Plague Exterminator like me, I don't really want to get too involved in this incident. I've picked up a few clues, and the truth is, if it weren't for Rongrong, I'd have pretended nothing was wrong."
Zhou Zhi continued, "The lotus leaf buns are delicious, so I'd like to ask: how strong are you, Doctor Su?"
"To put it simply... could you beat an injured [Official-level Plague Exterminator]?"
Su Xing fell silent for a moment.
His gaze settled on Zhou Zhi's calm face.
As an Official-level Plague Exterminator, he couldn't read the thoughts of the young man before him at all.
His forty-odd years of experience seemed completely suppressed.
"I can."
Su Xing replied coldly, "I wouldn't lose to an ordinary Official-level Plague Exterminator."
As the short, thin middle-aged man spoke, his entire bearing changed.
As expected.
Zhou Zhi's thoughts stirred.
Xuanyuan lay thousands upon thousands of miles from Chengyun. A man who had traveled so far was bound to have a few secrets of his own.
"That's enough."
Zhou Zhi rarely smiled, but now he did.
It was a smile meant to put Su Xing at ease.
"Then please wait for word from me, Doctor Su."
Zhou Zhi gave a slight nod.
He picked up the Blade Case, left the Su Family Clinic, and headed straight into the inn.
After greeting Aunt Mei, Zhou Zhi went up the stairs to the second floor.
[Room 202].
The room of that strange couple.
He stopped outside.
"Open the door."
Zhou Zhi's voice was even, his words delivered without a hint of emotion.
There was no reply from inside.
"Open the door."
Zhou Zhi repeated himself.
"Who is it?"
A man's voice came from within, dry as a well gone barren.
"Zhou Zhi."
Zhou Zhi gave his name without hesitation.
From inside the room, all went quiet, as if someone had blown out a candle.
The door stayed shut.
Zhou Zhi sneered.
"You two useless fools can't even pick the right target. Now I have to clean up your mess."
At his words, a strange sound seemed to come from inside the room.
Then the door opened a crack.
Zhou Zhi calmly pushed it open.
Behind the door!
A vicious face appeared, a dagger in hand, stabbing toward Zhou Zhi from behind!
The man's huge pupils were blank, yet brimmed with malice.
"Clang!"
The Blade Case jolted. The man was slammed to the floor, and Zhou Zhi sat on top of him.
The middle-aged woman was by the bed, now on high alert.
"Your minds are still holding up. What a shame."
Zhou Zhi shook his head.
"At daily meals, keep your mouth shut and sit upright."
"Let no thought arise; forget all worries. Preserve the spirit and settle the mind; let the eyes see nothing..."
"Guard your mind within, regulate your breath without pause. Breathe out gradually; do not let the breath break. Let it seem to exist, yet not exist."
The man and woman's faces changed.
"You are..."
Zhou Zhi wasn't looking at either of them.
"You two idiots were told to act as you saw fit, yet you still dared to kidnap Su Xing's daughter."
"That man came looking for me today. It seems he found out something... He's an Official-level Plague Exterminator, not someone from the Epidemic Prevention Center. If you don't provoke him, he won't come looking for trouble!"
The man's struggles gradually stopped.
"The higher-ups of our [Longevity Path] are currently keeping the Plague Exterminators of Changdu occupied, and this is how you handle things?"
"If we weren't short-handed lately, I'd kill you right now."
The Blade Case came down on the man's face. He didn't dare say a word.
"You..."
The woman seemed to realize something. She forced a smile. "Just who are you...?"
"Someone with a higher standing than you trash. If it weren't for your screwup, I'd never have shown my face in front of you."
"My mission is far more important than yours."
Zhou Zhi spoke coldly.
"Out of all the groups, yours is the only one that's caused trouble."
At those words, the woman seemed certain of Zhou Zhi's identity.
Her face turned ugly, and she began to stammer out an explanation.
"Sir, not every student in the Spirit Power Class has spirit power. Since the superior gave the order, all we subordinates can do is our best."
"Besides, the superior said that as long as we regain our strength... none of this will be a problem."
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