Lu Yingheng let out a long sigh and looked calmly at Zhu Yuan and Qingyi. "I'm going to make a call."
The call connected almost instantly. A languid, magnetic male voice came through the receiver, tinged with amusement:
"Well, if it isn't the Dragon Emperor! What a rare honor. What can this mayor do for you?"
Lu Yingheng sounded somewhat exasperated:
"Heh, the people at your Public Security Bureau have gotten awfully bold. They all want to detain me.
"Out of nowhere today, I nearly got killed by a car that had gone out of control. And then your officers stopped me for questioning instead!
"It looks like they're planning to take me in, too. One of the officers is named Zhu Yuan. Look up her file and handle the rest yourself."
There was a moment of silence on the other end. "No way. What did you do? How could you get hit and still be the one getting arrested?"
"Oh... I just accidentally slapped the car into the ground..."
The mayor burst out laughing:
"Didn't I warn you not to use your super strength casually when you were out in public?
"You slapped someone's car straight into the ground! Who the fuck else would they arrest? You're basically a walking nuke!
"And you nearly got killed by a car? What kind of car is that badass? I'd believe you if you said aliens were driving it!
"If you really got taken out by a car, I'd have to go dance on your grave.
"All right, all right, I'll stop messing with you. Give the phone to that officer. I'll talk to her myself."
Lu Yingheng nearly forgot to breathe. Gripping his phone, he walked toward the two, who were on high alert.
The moment Zhu Yuan saw the man in the black mask approaching, she tensed and aimed her gun at Lu Yingheng.
Qingyi immediately raised a hand and drew the three-section staff from her waist. It snapped open, and electricity flashed:
"Don't come any closer!"
Faced with the two of them like this, Lu Yingheng was dumbfounded.
Lu Yingheng: (￢_￢)
What, am I some kind of super big boss?
Didn't I just slap a car into the ground in front of you?
He held out his phone. "Here, it's your mayor."
Zhu Yuan froze. "I'm not authorized to contact the mayor directly. Why did you call him?"
Lu Yingheng couldn't tell whether the girl was genuinely dense or just pretending:
"I'm telling you to take the call! It's the mayor of New Eridu! Do you understand?"
The moment he said that, the scene fell dead silent.
Belle: ...
Zhu Yuan: ...
Qingyi: ...
Just then, an ancient-style BGM started playing without warning:
"Accidentally~trespassed~on~the~imperial~household, advised~me~to~let~go~of~the~sand~in~my~hand..."
Belle looked around in confusion. "That's strange. Where's that BGM coming from?"
[Oh no, she really did trespass on the imperial household this time!]
[About that time you arrested your ultimate boss on the street... Little miss, you've got quite a bit to say on the subject!]
[That's right up there with my first day at work, when I somehow ended up chewing out a company executive.]
Lin Xingyao couldn't hold back her laughter. "Pfft... You went and offended Lord Dragon Emperor. You really kicked an iron plate!"
Zhu Yuan took the phone, half-convinced, and held it to her ear.
Three minutes passed...
Zhu Yuan's expression grew increasingly blank: (ﾟ⊿ﾟ)ﾂ
Lu Yingheng didn't need to think hard to guess at a glance that the mayor on the other end must have recited everything in her file and her résumé, leaving her completely stunned.
A moment later, Zhu Yuan respectfully returned the phone to Lu Yingheng with both hands and raised her hand in a crisp, textbook Public Security salute:
"I'm terribly sorry, sir! I deeply apologize for rashly interfering with your undercover operation!"
Beside her, Qingyi was silently ranting:
What kind of normal person goes on an undercover mission wearing a conspicuous black mask?
How is that undercover? It's more like he's afraid people won't notice him!
Lu Yingheng waved a hand casually, his expression calm:
"It's fine. I still have an undercover mission to carry out, so I'll be leaving now."
As he finished speaking, his expression grew slightly serious, and he gave her a careful instruction:
"Officer Zhu Yuan, there's something odd about this accident with the car going out of control. It probably wasn't an ordinary accident. Your Public Security Bureau must investigate it thoroughly."
Then Lu Yingheng turned to look at Belle beside him:
"This is a Proxy I've worked with for a long time. Your Public Security Bureau can contact her about any future matters involving entry to or exit from Hollows."
Belle was completely stunned on the spot: ((유∀유|||))
When did Brother Heng become an undercover officer for the Public Security Bureau?
What exactly was wrong with that car accident?
And he just casually exposed my identity as a Proxy in front of everyone?
[Look at your Brother Heng throwing his teammate under the bus!]
[Wait? Doesn't that mean my dear husband is going to disappear again?! I don't want that!]
[Why is Lord Dragon Emperor disappearing again? I'm already sick of looking at those photos! I've got no material left to mine!]
Mount Yunkui.
Today, Ye Shunguang had been granted a rare opportunity to go out. It was also a chance to relax that she had been looking forward to for many days.
The elders had always kept her under strict supervision, leaving her no chance to go out.
This time, Sect Master Yijiang happened to come up the mountain to inspect the disciples' cultivation. With the elders too busy to watch over her, she had finally been allowed to go down the mountain and enjoy herself.
Before she left, the elder responsible for watching her repeatedly warned her to be careful what she said outside and not to speak casually about sect affairs.
She skipped happily down the mountain, but just as she rounded the back courtyard, she heard an elder talking with Sect Master Yijiang in a courtyard nearby.
Curiosity welled up in Ye Shunguang. She immediately stopped and hid around a corner of the wall, with a large bluestone water vat behind her.
Just as she was listening intently, a clear, lively voice rang out, breaking the courtyard's silence:
"Sister!"
In the courtyard, the solemn-faced Yijiang sighed softly at the sound and signaled for the elder present to withdraw.
The elder bowed and quietly departed.
A woman who looked remarkably like Yijiang came walking quickly over with a smile, liveliness radiating from her.
Yijiang had always been stern and aloof in public.
As sect master, after all, she always presented a dignified, proper appearance before all the disciples and elders, inspiring awe.
But whenever she faced her younger sister Yixuan, that facade immediately fell apart. All her sternness vanished, leaving only gentleness.
Ye Shunguang was all too familiar with this. Yixuan was the master who taught her.
It was Sect Master Yijiang herself who had established their master-disciple relationship, assigning the irresponsible Yixuan to be her master.
She had also heard that, back then, an expert had intervened and divined that she would face a calamity one day, and that she needed to become Yixuan's disciple to come through it safely.
But her master was playful by nature and loved wandering down the mountain. She was away from the sect year-round, and though Ye Shunguang had been at Mount Yunkui for many years, even seeing her once was exceptionally difficult.
So most of the time, she cultivated diligently on her own and was kept under particularly strict discipline by the elders.
Yixuan came up to Yijiang, grinning as she was about to tease her, but Yijiang stopped her.
Yijiang spoke with exasperation:
"I've told you many times that when outsiders are present, you must address me as Sect Master. Yixuan, have you been listening at all?"