Chapter 6

After all that thinking, Ye Fu still couldn't help swearing:

"Fuck! I'm still thinking about that pot of chicken soup! A five-year-old hen!" He said it in Mandarin.

Unless he was speaking with the locals, he was still more accustomed to the native language he had used for nearly thirty years.

Then he spent some more time releasing all the divine sense that belonged to him as an Immortal, exploring every part of the world and every corner of the universe. Yet after exhausting every possibility, he discovered he could no longer find his home. It was as though that brilliant blue planet didn't exist in this universe.

It was a crushing discovery. It was like someone whispering in your ear, "You can't go back. You can't go back home."

He stood beneath the arched bridge for a long time before a faint sigh finally escaped him.

It had already happened. What else could he do? He'd just have to make do.

He climbed out from beneath the arched bridge, and only after he was standing on the bridge did he realize he hadn't needed to climb. A little leap would have brought him up. Sure enough, a way of doing things he'd grown used to over nearly thirty years couldn't be changed so readily.

"I'll have to get used to it little by little."

Feeling dejected and restless, he couldn't be bothered to shelter from the rain and wandered through the rainy night. Only when the icy rain fell on him did it give him a faint sensation he could actually feel, allowing him to clearly sense the existence of the world and himself.

After he'd walked a while, a voice suddenly came from behind him-

"Hey, young brother! Wait a moment."

Ye Fu looked back and saw a tall, skinny man and a short, fat man running toward him. The thin one was like a bamboo pole, and the fat one like a round stone. Three fat men stacked together wouldn't be as tall as the thin man, and three thin men put together wouldn't be as wide as the fat man.

They came running over, one hopping and the other bouncing.

Ye Fu asked, "Can I help you?"

"Wanted to ask you something." The short, fat man caught his breath, then pointed in a direction behind him. "Young brother, did you come from that way?"

"What's the matter?"

"Just asking. You must have seen that old temple, right?"

"Mm, the wind blew it down," Ye Fu said.

The short, fat man asked again, "Then did you see the divine statue?"

"The divine statue?" Ye Fu said. "Wasn't it inside the old temple?"

The short, fat man and the tall, skinny man looked at each other, exchanging bewildered glances.

"It wasn't. There wasn't even a scrap left," the short, fat man said.

Ye Fu smiled. "Don't tell me the statue sprouted legs and ran away."

The short, fat man said seriously, "You joke, but that's really possible."

"Oh?"

"There's something wrong with that statue."

"What sort of problem?"

"That temple was originally dedicated to the river god of the White Conch River, a tributary here by the Sunken Bridge River, and the statue was of that river god. But for some special reasons, the White Conch River's river god was branded an 'evil god,' and the temple became an 'illicit shrine.' There have long been rumors around here of the statue hurting people. We brothers came here to investigate that very matter."

"You two are constables?"

"Constables..." The short, fat man smiled. "You could say that."

Ye Fu smiled faintly.

Then the short, fat man said seriously, "Now that the statue has gone missing, it most likely ran away. And from the looks of it, it only escaped recently, so it might still be nearby. It's dangerous for you to travel alone in the middle of the night. You'd better come with us."

Ye Fu looked at the fat man and the thin man's reflections in the water and smiled. "It's all right. I'll be fine."

"Ah, I understand you're young and full of spirit, but this isn't the time to risk your life," the short, fat man said.

"I'm not that young anymore. I know my limits. Sorry for the trouble," Ye Fu continued with a smile.

"No trouble, no trouble. As you know, we're constables, so naturally we're responsible for the people's safety," the short, fat man said cheerfully. "Look at you, dressed in rags like that. In weather this cold, you could easily catch a chill."

Dressed in rags... Ye Fu looked down at his short-sleeved shirt, shorts, and slippers. Compared with them, he really was dressed in rags.

He looked at the line of the city wall in the distance and said, "It's not far to the city from here. You two should get back to your important business."

"Hey, even if it's only a short way, you can't let your guard down. That statue is an evil god, you know!"

"Wasn't it branded an evil god? Who knows whether that's true?"

The short, fat man said seriously, "You mustn't underestimate anyone."

Ye Fu said cheerfully, "True, you mustn't underestimate anyone. Since you insist, I'll accept. I only hope I won't hold you up."

Delight appeared on the short, fat man's face. Swinging his round belly, he walked ahead to lead the way. "Let's go, then, young brother."

Ye Fu nodded and followed.

The short, fat man and the tall, skinny man took the front and rear, with Ye Fu in the middle.

"The rain's heavy, so let's take the flagstone path closer to the White Conch River. That official road may be an official road, but it isn't paved with stone, after all. It's a soupy mess and inconvenient to walk on."

Ye Fu smiled without speaking and calmly followed behind the short, fat man.

The three proceeded in single file along the flagstone path by the river.

Along the way, the short, fat man kept chatting with Ye Fu about this and that.

The tall, skinny man behind them, on the other hand, didn't say a word. Even his footsteps couldn't be heard.

As they walked, Ye Fu asked with a smile, "How long have you two been in this line of work?"

"A year or two. I mean as constables. We've been constables for a year or two," the short, fat man answered.

"You're as fat as a catfish, and you still managed to become a constable?"

The short, fat man paused, then smiled. "Ah, they aren't too strict about that around here."

"What's not strict?"

"Black Stone City isn't too strict about that either."

"So that's why you do this?"

"Of course. I may look fat, but I still have a heart set on protecting the people's safety."