Warmth

In his predecessor's memories, Cheng Shuisheng had always seemed to like insects, fish, flowers, and plants. He had even kept a centipede for a while, until it escaped and bit "Cheng Sheng."

Wu Li had a huge fight with him over it, and after he opened the travel agency, he was too busy to come home most days. He had set the hobby aside for years and only now picked it up again.

"Gold lion goldfish aren't worth much."

Cheng Sheng stood opposite Cheng Shuisheng, looking at the fish tank as he spoke. "I'll buy a few expensive ones to put in there later."

"What do you know? These are feng shui fish."

Cheng Shuisheng shook his head. "Besides, do you have the money to buy expensive ones?"

"Here!"

Cheng Sheng took out a stack of cash and waved it in front of Cheng Shuisheng, finally drawing his gaze away from the fish.

Cheng Shuisheng looked at the money and froze for a moment. Then he looked at Cheng Sheng, his expression suddenly turning serious.

"Where did you get the money?"

"The boxing gym. Allowances and bonuses."

Cheng Sheng explained.

He had planned this long ago. He had saved more than two hundred thousand yuan, and he could take out ten thousand to improve his image in front of his family. Though he didn't care much about that himself, why not do it when it took so little effort?

Cheng Shuisheng fell silent for a few seconds after hearing Cheng Sheng's answer, and then...

"Honey!"

"What is it?!"

Wu Li came rushing out of the kitchen, still holding a spatula.

When she learned that Cheng Sheng had brought ten thousand yuan home, she was so delighted that she hardly knew what to do with her hands and feet!

"My son's made something of himself! He can earn money now! But keep this money for yourself. Boxing is hard work, so buy yourself some nourishing supplements. Knowing you thought of us is enough for your dad and me..."

Wu Li tried to stuff the money back into Cheng Sheng's pocket, but Cheng Shuisheng came over and snatched it away. "We're taking it! Our son gave it to us, so why shouldn't we?!"

He turned and ran to the cabinet to get some liquor, then looked at Cheng Sheng. "Have a drink together at lunch?"

Cheng Sheng smiled and nodded.

Cheng Shuisheng stopped feeding the fish and went to get the liquor ready, humming a tune.

He was a very traditional father. On the one hand, he doted on Cheng Sheng, his only son; on the other, he hated that he didn't live up to expectations. Though he rarely gave him a pleasant look, he seldom hesitated when money needed to be spent on him.

Now that Cheng Sheng had, for once, made something of himself, his stern-father act crumbled in an instant, and he no longer bothered to keep it up.

In the blink of an eye, the whole living room was filled with warmth and cheer, except for... Cheng Yue, who was sitting on the sofa watching TV.

Cheng Sheng saw Cheng Yue's grip on the remote tighten bit by bit, as though she were doing her utmost to restrain something.

Only then did he recall that Cheng Yue had brought home scholarships more times than he could count over the years, yet she seemed never to have received such treatment...

"Mom."

With that thought, Cheng Sheng spoke up. "Use the money to buy Cheng Yue a new phone. And... I don't have much use for the computer in my room now, so move it into her room later..."

Before he had finished speaking, Cheng Yue shot to her feet from the sofa.

"Who wants... your lousy computer?"

Cheng Yue paused, tossed out those words, and went straight back to her bedroom to hide. This time, though, the slam of the door seemed a little softer than usual.

Lunch was harmonious and warm. Wu Li kept putting food in Cheng Sheng's bowl, chattering all the while.

"...Now that we've merged with Golden Valley, our Roaming ranks among the top travel agencies in all of Qingsha.

Golden Valley had to pay a lot of compensation after what happened on Sucha Street. Their boss was still holding out and refusing to agree, but luckily your dad pulled some strings and got someone from the Red Ba Gang to speak to him. That's how we finally managed to settle the deal..."

"The Red Ba Gang?"

Cheng Sheng's chopsticks stopped, and he looked a little surprised.

He had robbed two Red Ba Gang thugs in Pawan District before, and he hadn't expected Cheng Shuisheng to turn around and ask them for help.

He was just about to ask a few more questions when Cheng Shuisheng, unwilling to say more, even scolded Wu Li. "Why tell the kid about that?"

He turned back and started lecturing Cheng Sheng. "You can earn money now, but it's not a long-term plan. From what I've seen, those boxers end up riddled with ailments when they get old. You still need to find a proper job...

"I won't force you if you don't want to help out at the travel agency. Your cousin Kang Chong is coming back on leave next month, and your uncle has asked everyone to get together for a meal. Come along when the time comes..."

Cheng Sheng agreed, though naturally he didn't take it to heart.

After lunch, Wu Li washed the dishes, Cheng Shuisheng went back to tending his goldfish, and Cheng Sheng returned to his bedroom. Before giving the computer to Cheng Yue, he went online and searched for information about Zhou Wenye and the Zhou family.

So the Zhou family got rich through telecom fraud. No wonder they have so much money...

Five minutes later, Cheng Sheng pulled away from the computer, his expression a little strange.

Nantu's illicit and gray-market industries were thriving, and the government's police force might as well not have existed. Qingsha City was relatively well-off; the farther north one went, the closer one got to the areas overrun by the Black Tide, and the more chaotic things became.

Since the Zhou family had made its fortune through illicit businesses, it probably had influence on both sides of the law in Qingsha City. Cheng Sheng didn't much care, though-once a man was dead, what good were his connections and all that crap, his fortune and everything else? By then, the people under him would probably be too busy fighting over the Zhou family's inheritance.

However, personal information was still relatively private in this era. He couldn't find Zhou Wenye's home address online at all, only the location of a shell company.

Sulai might know, but never mind whether she'd tell me if I asked. If anything happened to Zhou Wenye, she's smart enough that she'd probably think of me as the culprit right away...

Find someone to follow Zhou Wenye for a few days? He has bodyguards. I might expose my intentions before I even make a move...

Cheng Sheng frowned deeply, unable to think of a good solution for the moment.

Zhou Wenye certainly wouldn't call the police over the "disappearance" of the nose-ring man and his companion, but if enough time passed and he noticed something was wrong, he might send more people over.

Cheng Sheng couldn't keep passively "taking their moves," nor was that in his nature. Striking first to gain the upper hand was the way to go.

I'll cultivate the Hell Plague Fly first. Then I'll have another way to respond, whether I advance or retreat...

That afternoon, Cheng Sheng went to the "Plague Fly cultivation base" again and cast the spell around the dirt pit a second time.

Then he did it a third time that evening.

By the next day, the number of flies gathered in the pit was terrifying.

Green-headed ones, red-headed ones, bloodsuckers, and ones that didn't suck blood... They crowded the pit so densely that they even spilled out of it, like a thick carpet of flies. One look would probably have set off an ordinary person's trypophobia.

The fresh innards in the pit were almost completely consumed by the second morning, so Cheng Sheng added another cartload.

By the third day, all the flies in the pit had vanished. In their place was a dark yellow film like orange jelly, covering the top of the pit. Beneath the translucent film, countless maggots wriggled...

He continued the three incantations that day.

Soon, the fourth day of Cheng Sheng's fly cultivation arrived.

Splash-

Nearly half of Cheng Sheng's body was sunk in the pit as he forcefully pushed aside the mass of disgusting, jelly-like gel in front of him.

He was fully equipped, wearing one-piece diving pants, thick rubber gloves, a helmet, a gas mask... Hardly a gap was left anywhere on his body.

Even so, he couldn't keep out the all-pervasive stench of decay.

As Cheng Sheng moved, pale maggot corpses rolled over him. The whole undertaking was scarcely any better than doing the butterfly stroke in a cesspit.

Cheng Sheng endured the overwhelming nausea, held his breath, and groped around in the pit for a long time.

At last, his foot seemed to touch something soft.

He reached down and fished it out. When he saw what he was holding, his eyes lit up.

"I did it!"