Free Web NovelAlthough the average combat strength of the Night Watch of Mountain City seemed somewhat mediocre due to the drag of Lin Kele, the various Gan Yuans of the Shancheng Si Ye Hui, each specializing in different fields, worked together with surprisingly high efficiency.
Not long after Lu Yibei left, the Gan Yuans of the Shancheng Si Ye Hui arrived at Qixinggang Lower Lane and found Jiang Hao, who had already removed her disguise.
Perhaps disturbed from his sweet dreams, and in a bad mood, a middle-aged man, who resembled a male gorilla in both physique and hairiness, had been muttering and complaining ever since he appeared.
And when he saw Lin Kele, unconscious beside Jiang Hao, his face suddenly changed. He strode over to Lin Kele, roughly checked her condition, and then, with a dark face, looked at Jiang Hao, “Who told you to bring her to a place like this?”
“Don’t you know she’s not good at direct combat? If anything happens to her now that she’s so injured, don’t even think about passing your review!”
“Are you done?” Jiang Hao said expressionlessly, “Lin Kele just fainted from fright; she isn’t injured.”
Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man seemed to suddenly fall into a drunken state, his face turning ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) beet red, his chest heaving a few times, unable to speak for a long while.
His own disciple had fainted from fright due to a Strange Tale, and he had reprimanded others without even clarifying the situation first. It was truly embarrassing. “I care about her as much as you do. If she’s with me, I will definitely ensure her safety,” Jiang Hao said.
Although Lin Kele hadn't had the chance to formally introduce her Master to Jiang Hao, judging by the middle-aged man’s behavior, he should be Lin Kele’s Master—Zhong Huai, the foremost person in the Shancheng Si Ye Hui.
It is said that with his talent, he could advance to Calamity at any time and become a new Guardian of the Night Watch.
After briefly explaining her discoveries in the basement of Hanye Studio to Zhong Huai, Jiang Hao turned and walked towards a black multi-purpose vehicle parked on the roadside not far away. The Gan Yuan responsible for archive management and a group of Special Operations Team members of the Shancheng Si Ye Hui were there, organizing the painter’s personal belongings.
The Gan Yuan responsible for archive management in the Shancheng Si Ye Hui was a slender young man, wearing glasses with lenses thicker than beer bottle bottoms, with messy hair, and missing one arm. He was currently hunched inside the multi-purpose vehicle, operating a laptop with one hand, completely absorbed.
Arriving in front of the black multi-purpose vehicle, and walking past the Special Operations Team members who were loading boxed items into the car, Jiang Hao stopped behind that Gan Yuan, observed for a moment, nodded slightly, and silently praised, “Very high standard.”
Given her competitive nature, and being a Gan Yuan responsible for similar matters in the Hua City Si Ye Hui, she naturally couldn’t help but compare the young man to herself. For her to praise him from the bottom of her heart, the young man’s standard was evident.
After Jiang Hao observed the young man for one or two minutes from behind, the young man finally noticed her presence, his cheeks flushed slightly, and he stammered, “Gan Yuan Jiang Hao, may I help you?”
“May I see the information you’ve organized?” Jiang Hao asked.
“Of course!” the young man said, his face red. “Sister Kele said you’re also responsible for archive management in Hua City, right? This is all that’s been organized so far.”
As the young man spoke, he turned the computer screen towards Jiang Hao.
The computer screen displayed two folders. One was named 【Qin Qioming Personal Information】, and the other was named 【Summary of Qin Qioming Artwork Buyers’ Personal Information】.
“Qin Qioming?” Jiang Hao tilted her head and asked, “Isn’t this the person involved in the previous incident where the international student committed suicide at the mine?” If the painter was Qin Qioming, then he had another murder case on his hands.
Although some Night Watch Gan Yuans, when facing urban legend or Spiritual Energy attacks, become numb to numbers after seeing too much shocking slaughter caused by suspects, subconsciously feeling that a few or a dozen make no big difference.
Anyway, isn’t it all blood for blood? You can’t kill them multiple times.
But Jiang Hao never had such thoughts.
In her opinion, every innocent life lost is a sin; murdering ten people is not the same as murdering eleven!
This was also why she had always been worried about Lu Yibei going astray. If Lu Yibei one day couldn’t control her urban legend’ instinct and harmed innocent people, she felt she might forgive Lu Yibei, but she wouldn't know how to face Lu Yibei.
“That’s right,” the young man explained. “When we searched that studio just now, we found four identification documents that could prove the painter’s identity. However, those documents, apart from the photos being the same person, had completely different names, ages, and addresses.”
“Among them, the motor vehicle driver’s license we found had the name Qin Qioming written on it, so I took the liberty of tentatively setting his name as Qin Qioming.”
Seemingly worried that Jiang Hao would question his professionalism, the young man paused briefly, then hurriedly added, “However, this isn’t the final draft! I’ll revise it after it’s thoroughly verified.”
Like Lin Kele, the young man also seemed to be a Gan Yuan specializing in information analysis and management.
In fact, for organizations like the Shancheng Si Ye Hui, where Gan Yuans perform their respective duties in addition to daily night duty, this is the working model that the Night Watch has always advocated. However, due to the scarcity of talent, it can only be implemented in major cities and cannot cover all cities within Z Country.
“Can I see those four documents?” Jiang Hao asked. “My Spirit Mark Power has the ability to distinguish authenticity, which might help a little.”
“Oh? That’s great! Please wait a moment, I’ll find them for you.” The young man said, then jogged around to the multi-purpose vehicle’s door, got into the car, and rummaged through the boxed evidence.
While the young man was searching for Qin Qioming’s documents, Jiang Hao clicked on the other folder—【Summary of Qin Qioming Artwork Buyers’ Personal Information】—and began to browse.
Zhang Chen, male, 44 years old, founder of X Internet Company, currently hospitalized long-term at Shancheng Central Hospital due to malignant liver tumor. Wang Shiyi, female, 21 years old, university student, currently due to malignant bone tumor.
Zhang Shuisheng, male, 75 years old.
As she browsed through the pieces of information, looking at the highlighted disease records in the identity information, Jiang Hao frowned slightly.
Everyone who bought paintings from Qin Qioming, without exception, suffered from malignant tumors. The woman who committed suicide earlier because she couldn't bear the torment of her illness was also in the same situation.
Why would they buy paintings from Qin Qioming?
Could it be that Qin Qioming promised them something? Jiang Hao thought.
As the night grew longer, along with the surge in urban legend, there were also various illegal Spiritual Energy organizations and bizarre, incredible beliefs. Incidents of exploiting terminal illnesses, using patients’ desire for health to gain profit or achieve some terrifying goal, were not uncommon.
As she was pondering, her gaze inadvertently swept over a file named “Qing Fangyu Personal Information.” Her hand, controlling the laptop’s touchpad, trembled uncontrollably.
Qing Fangyu—that was Jiang Hao’s mother’s name. Perhaps it was just a coincidence of names?
Although her mother’s surname was relatively uncommon, it wasn't impossible for someone else to have the same name.
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Opening the file and briefly browsing its contents, Jiang Hao’s expression immediately became more solemn. “Qing Fangyu, female, 46 years old, specific information not yet verified.”
If her mother were alive, she would also be 46 years old by now.
Seeing this, her heart, which had gradually calmed down after the Dream Come True Entertainment City was destroyed and the Big Boss became a “machine” producing chips for the other two major urban legend, began to stir once again.
It was already a relatively rare name, and the same age.
Could it really be such a coincidence?
In fact, even if she fell into the hands of Dream Come True Entertainment City and became goods that could be exchanged with chips, she wouldn't necessarily lose her life. What if...
As Jiang Hao was thinking, the young man’s voice broke her train of thought. “Gan Yuan Jiang Hao, I found them! These are the documents. Would you like to see them?”
“Gan Yuan Jiang Hao, why are you staring at this identity information? Is there something wrong with this person named Qing Fangyu?”
“No,” Jiang Hao collected herself, shaking her head calmly. “I just find it unusual that there’s a buyer whose personal information can’t be found. Perhaps they deserve special attention.”
As she spoke, she activated her Spirit Mark Power, and as a green light flashed in her eyes, she returned the four documents to the young man’s hand.
“Alright, this passport and this driver’s license are both real. As for why the names are different, I guess he might have changed his name?” “Yes, yes, I’ll go have the Special Operations Team investigate right away. Gan Yuan Jiang, you’ve been a great help!” The young man said, taking the documents Jiang Hao handed him, and jogging away.
After the young man walked away, Jiang Hao turned her head back to the information on the computer screen, her gaze deepening.
In the early hours of the morning, over the Gobi Desert.
Under the night sky, tall earthen platforms wound and stretched, each over a hundred meters, resembling coiled yellow dragons. In the distance, faint howls could be heard, seemingly from wolves or some other wild beasts.
One U-shaped earthen platform, about ten meters high, was as sturdy and thick as a city wall. Within the embrace of this “city wall,” some green plants could vaguely be seen.
Although this earthen platform had a peculiar shape, it was an excellent place to shelter from wind and sand. Experienced people who needed to spend the night in the Gobi Desert usually chose such a place.
Behind the earthen platform, near a bonfire, two tents were set up. One was very simple, made of sheepskin and wood, while the other was constructed from windproof and cold-resistant fabric.
The elaborate tent was set up by a group of Miracle Order members for Fang Ji.
According to Fang Ji’s thoughts, he didn’t want this tent. Anyway, even if he slept naked in the sand, he would miraculously be unharmed.
This tent was too obvious a target. The Night Watch Yumen Pass Investigation Team’s base camp was just over twenty kilometers away; they might be discovered.
But then he thought, if he could cause trouble right under the Night Watch’s nose and not be discovered, that would be a true miracle! So he accepted the tent.
And that sheepskin tent was the temporary dwelling of a shepherd passing by.
The night was deep, and the warming bonfire had dwindled for a long time, almost extinguished. Fang Ji, who had been sitting by the fire for most of the night, stretched, took some firewood from behind him, and threw it into the fire, causing a crackling burst.
“Young man, still awake?” Perhaps awakened by the crackling of the burning firewood, or perhaps because of his age and shorter sleep time, the old shepherd emerged from the sheepskin tent, came and sat beside Fang Ji, and handed him a waterskin. “Want some? It’s sheep’s milk wine I brewed myself.”
“Good! Thank you, old man.” Fang Ji said, taking the waterskin, pulling out the stopper, and taking two hearty gulps. “Phew—! Good wine!”
“Haha, young man, slow down, this wine can be quite intoxicating!” The old shepherd laughed, the wrinkles on his dark face layered like the undulating earthen platforms. “Speaking of which, I didn’t feel comfortable asking you before, what are you doing coming to a place like this all by yourself?”
“Well,”
“It’s a pilgrimage, I suppose?” Fang Ji shrugged. “Old man, you don’t know, there’s always been a voice in my mind telling me that there’s a holy land for me in this Gobi Desert.”
“You young people...” The old shepherd shook his head. He had herded sheep in this Gobi Desert for decades and had seen too many “artistic youths” like Fang Ji.
“Old man, do you know what a miracle is?” Fang Ji asked abruptly.
The old shepherd thought for a moment and said, “If you ask me, if one day this Gobi Desert turns into a grassland, that would be a miracle.”
“Then, old man, do you think it’s a miracle if a mother, who was thought to have passed away, suddenly reappears before her children?” Fang Ji asked, staring intently at the bonfire in front of him, his words seemingly having another meaning.
“Yes, of course it is.”
“Hehe,” Fang Ji smiled. “So, I think, resurrection from the dead, that’s a miracle!”
“Whether it’s a lifeless Gobi Desert regaining vitality, or a deceased person reappearing, both are”—
Meanwhile, in Mountain City.
After Lu Yibei fled from Qixinggang Lower Lane as if her life depended on it, she returned to the vicinity of Nine Street, and then spent quite some time finding the guesthouse whose address Ju Meng had given her.
As soon as she arrived at the quaint door of the guesthouse, she saw a figure sitting on a rattan chair in front of the door. “Ah Meng, are you staying up late playing games again? Won’t you rest?”
Hearing Lu Yibei’s teasing, Ju Meng slapped her phone onto the chair with a “Snap” sound, glaring at her and saying, “You can play games anywhere. Use your pig brain and think, why would Sister be here?”
“Could it be... waiting for me?” Lu Yibei probed. frёewebηovel.cѳm
“Heh, you dog! Good that you know!” Ju Meng cursed.
“No, why are you waiting for me?” Lu Yibei asked, puzzled. “You usually at home too—”
Mid-sentence, she suddenly remembered her agreement with Ju Meng—to accompany her tonight for something “immoral and exciting.” “Remembered?” Ju Meng rolled her eyes. “Then hurry up!”
“Now?”
“Now!”
