"Hahaha..."
Yuan Chengfang let go, unable to hold back her delighted laughter, and gave Li Feng's shoulder another hearty pat.
"Good lad! It's only been a few days, and you've already broken through again!"
Yuan Chengfang could not detect breakthroughs in his Mind Space or the realm of his soul, but she could tell at a glance when his body cultivation advanced, especially during Skin Tempering.
"Hehe, just luck! Just luck!"
Li Feng rubbed his arm, still aching from Yuan Chengfang's grip, and answered with a chuckle.
"Ha, you brat...
There's no such thing as luck in cultivation!"
After teasing him, Yuan Chengfang turned serious again.
"You're progressing so quickly. Aside from your considerable talent, you must be putting a great deal of effort and care into your cultivation..."
"Well, isn't that what you're supposed to do?"
"That's true, but cultivation is no game. You need to balance effort with rest. You mustn't push yourself too hard.
Even with the Human Cultivation Method, overdoing it can lead to disaster..."
Yuan Chengfang warned him solemnly.
Even in Li Feng's previous life, excessive exercise could damage the body, let alone in this Paranormal Entity world.
If someone cultivated too much, the pain, the intrusion of hallucinations, and other effects experienced during the process could send their cultivation astray, even causing genetic collapse or bodily mutations.
That was why Yuan Chengfang kept warning Li Feng not to rush his cultivation or overdo it, and to balance training with rest.
"I know, Captain. Look at me now. I'm perfectly fine, aren't I?"
Li Feng flexed his arm and clenched his fist hard.
He knew Yuan Chengfang had his best interests at heart.
However, his circumstances were rather special, and not something he could easily reveal to others.
With the mind fog present, no hallucinations affected him at all during cultivation. That was what allowed him to train for longer.
Seeing his response, and finding no sign that his cultivation had gone astray, Yuan Chengfang simply gave him another solemn warning before smiling again.
Then her expression grew serious once more.
"Li Feng, I have a case here. I was planning to send you along with Wu Cheng or Zhao Fei.
But now...
Since you've broken through again, ordinary people should be no match for you anymore.
And with the Delivery Ghost you control, along with the Ghost Cat...
Right, Sheriff.
You should have no trouble dealing with ordinary anomalies or Vengeful Ghosts.
So I've decided to let you handle this case on your own..."
"Huh? Can I really do that?"
Li Feng felt startled and apprehensive.
With his current meager strength, could he really investigate a case alone?
"You're strong enough. This isn't a serious case.
Besides, you're only going there to investigate."
"Oh, all right! I'll make sure I complete the mission..."
"Good. Remember, staying alive comes first. We're only Investigators. You're going there to investigate."
"Right!"
Li Feng nodded firmly.
"Old Xu, bring over the file!"
"Yes, Madam Yuan..."
A middle-aged man in his thirties or forties hurried over and, at Yuan Chengfang's signal, handed Li Feng a sheet of paper.
Li Feng took one look and immediately understood why Yuan Chengfang dared to send a rookie like him to investigate alone.
A man named Lu Bingyi from Xinli Residential Compound had reported that every night, he heard repeated banging from next door, as though someone were chiseling the wall.
But whenever he confronted his neighbors, they denied it.
Unable to contain his anger, he had reported it.
However, when officers from the Public Security Bureau arrived, they found nothing wrong.
Nor were there any signs of chiseling on the wall next door.
The officers stayed that night to observe the situation, but heard nothing and eventually had no choice but to leave.
Yet once the officers left, the banging of someone chiseling the wall would start again.
After several rounds of this, Lu Bingyi was on the verge of a nervous breakdown, with dark circles under his eyes every day.
The Public Security Bureau officers had considered the possibility of a supernatural incident.
However, since no one had been harmed and the Tracking Compass detected no supernatural power, they classified it as an ordinary incident. They even suspected Lu Bingyi was lying.
Otherwise, if a supernatural incident were taking place in Lu Bingyi's home, poor sleep would hardly have been his only problem. He would have died many times over by now.
But as Lu Bingyi grew more haggard by the day and did not appear to be lying, they finally passed the case to the Investigation Department.
After receiving the report, Li Feng examined it carefully and felt that even if it were a supernatural incident, the anomaly or Vengeful Ghost involved had to be extremely weak.
Otherwise, Lu Bingyi would not still be alive and well after so long.
Thus, she had planned to have Wu Cheng or Zhao Fei take Li Feng along to gain some experience.
But now that she had discovered Li Feng had reached major skin refinement, and considering the Delivery Ghost and Ghost Cat he controlled, she decided to send him to investigate alone as a training exercise.
After reading the file, Li Feng breathed a sigh of relief and assured Yuan Chengfang.
"Don't worry, Captain. I'll make sure everything's handled properly..."
"Good. Stay safe!
Remember, we're Investigators, not soldiers!"
"Understood!"
Li Feng nodded again, then turned and headed into the parking lot.
Old Chang was already waiting there.
Since this was Li Feng's first solo assignment, Yuan Chengfang had sent an experienced driver along with him.
After getting into the car, Li Feng greeted him first.
"Uncle Old Chang!"
"Investigator Li!"
"Uncle Old Chang, just call me Li Feng like you usually do!"
"That won't do. This is your first assignment. We can't let anyone look down on you!"
"Hmm... All right, then!"
After a moment's consideration, Li Feng ultimately accepted Old Chang's kind gesture.
Vroom!
With a roar of the engine, the car quickly left the parking lot.
They happened to run into Wu Cheng at the gate.
Seeing Old Chang and Li Feng in the car, Wu Cheng could not help asking in surprise.
"Huh?
Li Feng, what are you two...?"
"Oh, there's a small case. The captain asked me to investigate it..."
"Oh. Be careful, then!"
Wu Cheng nodded in understanding.
"I will, Brother Wu. We're off!"
After they said goodbye, Old Chang stepped on the accelerator, and the car quickly drove off toward Xinli Residential Compound.
Watching the car leave, Wu Cheng frowned slightly.
He knew that since Yuan Chengfang had assigned the case, it had to be a minor one that Li Feng could currently handle.
Even so, he still felt worried.
Paranormal Entity incidents were never that simple.
Otherwise, so many Investigators would not have died.
Nor would Yuan Chengfang have needed to keep stressing that an Investigator's job was only to investigate.
The truth was that Investigators died during investigations every year, leaving the Investigation Department short-staffed.
Every Investigator was incredibly precious to them.
Their bodies tipped slightly forward with the car's momentum as Old Chang brought it to a smooth stop outside Xinli Residential Compound.
Li Feng and Old Chang got out, walked up to the compound's gate, and called to the security guard.
"Sir, could you open the gate, please?"
"Who are you? What are you here for?"
The guard looked Li Feng and Old Chang up and down. Once he was sure he did not recognize them, he questioned them immediately.
"We're handling a case for the Investigation Department. Open the gate."
Old Chang spoke with a cold expression and an icy tone.
Seeing Old Chang like this, the guard couldn't help but jump in fright.
"Huh? Well..."
Still, he hesitated. Who knew whether these two really belonged to the Investigation Department?
"Hmph! Here's my identification. Open the gate!
If you hold us up, you'll have hell to pay!"
As he spoke, Old Chang took out his identification and held it in front of the guard.
After checking the identification, the guard finally confirmed that the two were Investigators from the Investigation Department and immediately plastered a smile across his face.
"Haha, so you're esteemed Investigators from the Investigation Department! Please come in! Please come in!"
The guard hurriedly opened the gate and respectfully ushered Li Feng and Old Chang into the compound.
Once inside, Old Chang glanced at the guard and said calmly:
"I'm not an Investigator. The gentleman beside me is."
"Oh, yes, of course! Greetings, Investigator!"
Hearing that, the guard hurriedly bowed to Li Feng and greeted him with a somewhat fawning air.
"Mm."
Li Feng nodded and strode into the compound.
Watching Li Feng and the other's retreating backs, the guard immediately returned to the security office and called his supervisor.
After receiving the call, the compound's management hurried over.
Inside the compound, Old Chang spoke quietly to Li Feng:
"There's no need to be too polite to them. It might hold things up, or even ruin things..."
As he finished speaking, a flicker of sadness crossed Old Chang's eyes.
Clearly, ordinary people ruining things was something that might actually have happened before.
"Yes, I understand, Uncle Chang."
Li Feng nodded to show he understood.
Before long, they reached the foot of Building Five in Xinli Residential Compound.
Looking up toward the fourth floor, they saw nothing unusual.
He took out the compass to check, but it showed no reaction either.
Li Feng shook his head, then turned to Old Chang and said:
"No reaction. Maybe it really is just an ordinary prank..."
"Mm."
Old Chang nodded.
Still, even if it really were a prank, they needed to examine the scene in person.
The tallest buildings in Xinli Residential Compound were only five stories high, and there were no elevators.
However, Li Feng had long since surpassed ordinary people, and Old Chang had exercised regularly for years.
A mere four floors were nothing to either of them.
In less than a minute, they had easily reached the fourth floor.
Knock, knock, knock...
Old Chang knocked firmly on the door of Unit 403.
"Who is it?"
Only after a long while did a weak voice come from inside.
"Investigation Department!"
"Investigation Department?"
The voice grew louder, followed by a clatter of things falling over and rapidly approaching footsteps.
Click!
The door opened, revealing a face with heavy dark circles, exhausted yet tinged with excitement.
Looking at the slovenly, unkempt middle-aged man before him, Old Chang asked expressionlessly.
"Are you Lu Bingyi?"
"Yes, yes, that's me. I'm Lu Bingyi. Are you Investigators?"
"This is Investigator Li Feng!"
Old Chang stepped aside to introduce Li Feng.
"Oh, oh! Hello, Investigator Li Feng! You're finally here..."
Lu Bingyi excitedly stepped forward, reaching for Li Feng's hand.
"What are you doing?"
But the moment he moved, Old Chang stepped forward and blocked his path.
"Uh... hahaha, I just got a little too excited. You're finally here.
If you hadn't come soon, I don't think I could've held on much longer..."
Lu Bingyi gave an awkward smile and rubbed his hands together, looking embarrassed.
Only then did Old Chang step aside again, leaving the rest to Li Feng.
"All right, tell me. What exactly happened?"
Li Feng asked as he entered the apartment, surveying his surroundings.
Perhaps because of everything that had happened lately, Lu Bingyi hadn't been in the mood to tidy up, so the apartment was rather messy.
The tiled floor beneath their feet, however, was fairly clean, clearly reflecting the three of them.
"Right, well, every night, there's this constant banging against the wall next door. It's really loud, too. The noise makes it impossible to sleep..."
Lu Bingyi then carefully explained everything from beginning to end.
His account mostly matched what Li Feng and Old Chang already knew, with only a few minor differences in the details.
The banging came from the bathroom, which shared a wall with Unit 1, Apartment 401.
"Oh? Where's your bathroom?"
"This way, this way. It's right over here..."
As Lu Bingyi led Li Feng and Old Chang toward the bathroom, he complained:
"If I hadn't just bought this apartment and spent practically everything I had on it, I'd have moved out already..."
Li Feng followed Lu Bingyi to the bathroom.
At the sight of the bathroom and the mirror behind the sink, Li Feng's steps briefly faltered.
It was clearly an ordinary bathroom, yet something about it felt off to Li Feng, as though it was terribly out of place.
For the moment, though, he couldn't say exactly what was wrong.
Li Feng immediately lowered his gaze to the Compass in his hand.
The needle remained perfectly still, as though everything in the apartment was normal.
After a moment's thought, Li Feng summoned a wisp of Ghostly Energy and slowly fed it into the Tracking Compass.
Bzzzt!
A faint white glow gradually enveloped the Tracking Compass.
At the sight, Lu Bingyi's eyes lit up with anticipation.
Old Chang, however, wasn't surprised. He already knew that Li Feng had taken control of a Vengeful Ghost.
He was also familiar with the Tracking Compass's properties.
Infusing it with supernatural power would naturally activate its supernatural properties, allowing it to detect nearby paranormal forces more keenly.
The Tracking Compass's needle immediately began spinning rapidly.
In the end, however, it pointed toward Li Feng himself.
That meant there were no other paranormal forces nearby besides the Ghostly Energy emanating from his body.
Li Feng couldn't help frowning slightly.
Holding the Tracking Compass, Li Feng slowly approached the bathroom, his eyes fixed on its needle.
When he reached the bathroom doorway, Li Feng finally noticed the Compass needle twitch several times.
His expression changed slightly at the sight.
No matter how slight the Compass needle's movement, it meant that another paranormal force was indeed present.
But such a faint fluctuation in paranormal energy wasn't enough to conclude the investigation without locating its source.
Li Feng stopped and considered for a moment, then decided not to overlook anything suspicious. He turned to Old Chang.
"Uncle Old Chang, there really are paranormal fluctuations here. Take Mr. Lu downstairs first...
And notify the Public Security Bureau. Have them evacuate the residents in the nearby units..."
Before you continue