Chapter 57
Chapter 57
Before Li Wenbo could even finish his sentence, several voices rang out in the hospital room, telling him to get lost.
Li Wenbo acted as if he were both deaf and blind, ignoring everyone else and looking only at Qin Ying. “The benefits are negotiable.”
Old Miao was so angry he even let out a curse in his hometown dialect. “Li Wenbo, do you think I’m just going to take this lying down?”
He then looked at Qin Ying. “Don’t listen to him. Our place…”
Old Miao wanted to summarize the advantages of his Third Cultural Heritage Preservation Institute, but after thinking it over, he couldn’t find any.
Low wages, poor benefits-it didn’t seem like the kind of place that could keep people.
Qin Ying needed medicine to treat her eye condition. At the Cultural Preservation Institute, she would have to file reports and applications and wait slowly. But if she went to the Emergency Management Department, with Li Wenbo’s authority, he might be able to get it for her by tomorrow.
Just as Old Miao was at a loss for words, Qin Ying spoke up.
“No, thank you. The Third Cultural Heritage Preservation Institute is close to my home. It’s convenient for work.”
Her reason was quite logical upon reflection, leaving Li Wenbo unable to argue for a moment.
When he had reviewed the Dream-Embracing Grass incident, he noticed that Qin Ying’s performance was quite good. Furthermore, the Dream-Embracing Grass seeds obtained from her were highly active, making them a rare and precious sample.
Li Wenbo didn’t really want to share the credit with the Third Cultural Heritage Preservation Institute once the samples were submitted to Headquarters, which was why he had the sudden urge to poach her.
He wanted to say more, but when his eyes met Qin Ying’s, the words wouldn’t come out.
Qin Ying had almond-shaped eyes with a small red mole at the corner of her right eye. Originally, she had a bright and soft appearance, but when she looked at someone directly, her gaze was sharp and piercing.
It felt as if no one could lie in front of her, as if all calculations were laid bare.
Li Wenbo instinctively frowned and looked away. The feeling of having his ulterior motives seen through made him drop the idea of poaching her. The Emergency Management Department already had enough troublemakers; there was no need to add another.
Li Wenbo followed the flow and said, “Then I will respect your choice.”
With that, he gave a brief instruction: “The culprit carrying the Dream-Embracing Grass is still at large. At the latest, a field team will be sent down the day after tomorrow. I hope all parties will cooperate with the arrest efforts.”
He directed these words at Old Miao and Qin Zhiguo.
After his brief statement, Li Wenbo prepared to take his leave. He intended to set off immediately to escort the samples taken from Qin Ying and Zhang Tao back to the Headquarters in the capital.
As soon as Li Wenbo left, Yin Minmin grabbed Qin Ying’s arm. “Sister Ying, you’re so loyal!”
Qin Ying gave her a slight smile. “You should go back and rest first.”
Yin Minmin had been working non-stop, and her eyes were as red as a rabbit’s.
Qin Ying still had to stay in the hospital for a full day of observation and isolation; there was no need for everyone to suffer through it with her.
After they left, Qin Ying, who had consumed the Jiarong Grass, also seemed very weary. She pulled the bed curtains shut and lay there with her eyes closed all night.
Around nine o’clock the next morning, the police arrived to take a statement. Since a serial murder case was involved, this was a necessary procedure.
Because the matter involved things that couldn’t be discussed openly, the police left after a simple questioning.
Qin Ying remained under observation in the hospital for twenty-four hours, eating a hospital meal and some fried stinky tofu that Yin Minmin had brought over.
It was already afternoon when she was discharged. Qin Zhiguo was the one who came to pick her up.
On the way back, Qin Zhiguo held the steering wheel in silence.
It wasn’t until the car stopped in front of the building that he suddenly spoke. “Qin Ying, you should still quit that job.”
Qin Zhiguo was truly scared. He had originally thought he had found a do-nothing job for his niece, but he hadn’t expected her to run into such a mess on her very first day.
Most importantly…
Qin Zhiguo turned on the car radio and cranked up the volume. He looked at Qin Ying and asked, word by word, “Your eyes… are they already healed?”
Qin Ying nodded.
An excuse like wearing contact lenses could only fool people she wasn’t close to; it couldn’t be hidden from Qin Zhiguo.
Having received her confirmation, Qin Zhiguo took a deep breath. He ran a hand through his hair and didn’t press her further. “You’re an adult now; you should know what you’re doing.”
“Don’t do anything reckless!”
Qin Ying smiled again. Before getting out of the car, she said, “I know, Uncle. You should smoke less.”
Qin Zhiguo shook his head helplessly. “Now you’re the one looking after me.”
“Get some good rest at home for a few days. I still have to head back to the team to clean up this mess.”
Qin Zhiguo looked disgruntled. He had no idea how far the repercussions of this incident would spread, and just thinking about it made him angry.
After watching his car drive away, Qin Ying went home and took a long, hot bath.
By her calculations, several days had already passed in the World in the Box. She wondered if Han Lie had made it back to Yunwu County City safely.
She opened the box and saw the perspective shift to the sky above Yunwu County City, which immediately put her mind at ease.
Scanning the city, she spotted Han Lie on the city walls, seemingly on his daily patrol.
Qin Ying initially intended to call him to the Corner Tower to ask about the changes in the World in the Box.
But before she could speak, a peal of thunder rang out.
In the blink of an eye, rain began to pour down over the World in the Box.
It was the white deer, Fuzhu, who had returned from its travels, bringing rain to alleviate the drought.
This white deer was a glutton and quite the opportunist, returning to Yunwu County every few days to collect its rations.
For the first two times, it had settled for some white rice, but later it began demanding meat.
Having discovered that Han Lie carried the same aura of the Supreme Deity as itself, Fuzhu acted like a spoiled brat toward him every time it visited.
It would block the gates of Yunwu County City and roll around on the ground shamelessly.
While it had no intention of harming people, having such a massive creature firmly blocking the city gate was a nuisance.
Han Lie had no choice but to compromise. Whenever he went out to drive away the Monstrous Beasts that symbolized the drought, he would bring back some game or livestock.
After the cooks at the Commandery Governor’s Mansion prepared the meat, it was transported to Fuzhu by the cartload.
Fuzhu took the benefits but still acted ungrateful. It would often roll its eyes while eating, disparaging the skills of the Yunwu County cooks and claiming the food wasn’t as good as the meat prepared by the Supreme Deity herself.
Today happened to be the day for ‘Lord Fuzhu’ to collect its rations. Han Lie had prepared two carts of roasted pigs and sheep along with two jars of fermented wine early on.
As the rain grew heavier, Fuzhu trotted through the water on hooves as white as jade.
Han Lie was about to order the men to send the food out when he suddenly frowned.
He saw beads of blood continuously welling up from Fuzhu’s snow-white back.
The deer didn’t look particularly energetic either; its usual shameless air had faded significantly.
Han Lie’s brow furrowed as he put on a Straw Raincoat to go meet it.
As he drew closer, he saw the wounds on Fuzhu more clearly.
It must have encountered and fought with a small pack of Monstrous Beasts.
Upon seeing Han Lie, Fuzhu let out a few weak bleats.
*Meat, I want meat! Roasted meat!*
Han Lie was very experienced in dealing with this glutton. He waved his hand, signaling Team Officer Shang Lin to bring over the roasted meat.
After several encounters, Shang Lin and the County Commandant, Xu Tan, were no longer afraid of Fuzhu.
The two of them followed along to check the situation.
While Fuzhu devoured the meat in the rain, Xu Tan walked around the creature twice.
Unlike the Jade Balance Army, he didn’t deal with Monstrous Beasts professionally and couldn’t recognize what had injured Fuzhu.
He wondered aloud, “What kind of thing would dare to provoke a Disaster Beast like Fuzhu?”
Fuzhu, with half a roasted Fei Yi hanging from its mouth, looked up with a very human-like expression and rolled its eyes at him. *How rude of this person to call a deer a Disaster Beast to its face!*
Xu Tan gave a sheepish laugh. “Slip of the tongue, don’t mind me.”
He wanted to ask Han Lie and Shang Lin what had wounded Fuzhu, but when he turned around, he saw that both of them looked grim.
Xu Tan’s heart skipped a beat at the sight. *Is there more trouble coming?*
Before he could think the worst, Han Lie stepped forward and plucked a brown feather from Fuzhu’s water-repellent fur.
The feather was stained with traces of blood. As Xu Tan leaned in closer, he caught a powerful, foul stench coming from it.
During the previous great drought in Yunwu County, there were dead bodies everywhere.
This was exactly like the pungent smell of those corpses when they were half-rotted under the scorching sun.
Xu Tan covered his nose with his sleeve. Before he could even feel impressed by Han Lie for picking the thing up with his bare hands, he saw Shang Lin take the feather and bring it to his own nose to sniff.
Just as Xu Tan was about to gag, Shang Lin looked up. “The smell of rot mixed with sulfur. It’s a Yong Bird.”