Chapter 270
Chapter 270
My brow furrowed at once. If Liu Junyan had gone out of his way to mention a disagreement, it couldn’t possibly have been a minor one.
A bad feeling stirred inside me. “Something went wrong, didn’t it?”
Liu Junyan nodded and said through gritted teeth, “That Corpse Fiend nearly died by my hand. I was so close — just a hair’s breadth away!”
His expression remained calm as he spoke, but the rise and fall of his chest betrayed his fury.
I asked anxiously, “What about the Golden Scale? Did you get it?”
“We did,” Liu Junyan replied. “But the Corpse Fiend escaped into the mountains with the Three-Eyed Toad. Moqiong’s men are tracking them, but once a Corpse Fiend slips through your fingers, it only becomes harder to take down the next time.”
Tonight’s operation had mobilized nearly every force at our disposal.
That was how many things worked: the first charge carried the strongest momentum, the second weakened, and by the third, it was spent…
If Liu Junyan had managed to secure even the Golden Scale, how could he have let the Corpse Fiend slip away so easily?
With that thought, I asked, “Did something unexpected happen along the way?”
As we spoke, he led me back the way we’d come. Only then did I notice that several tents had been erected at the foot of the mountain at some point.
“Come take a look,” Liu Junyan said. “You’ll understand soon enough.”
The first tent wasn’t large. Uncontrollable sobbing came from inside, and the shadows cast on the canvas showed Old Madam Hui clutching Hui Xiaotiao as she wept.
I was about to go in and check on them, but Liu Junyan led me farther ahead. From somewhere nearby came Hui Moqiong’s furious roar.
Liu Junyan lifted the flap of a large tent. Inside, a dozen or so people were either standing or crouching.
Hui Moqiong stood in the middle of the tent, railing at the elderly man leading the group.
A dozen young people stood behind the old man, all with their heads bowed and their expressions dejected.
Farther back, Fang Chuanzong was crouched with a cigarette between his fingers.
On closer inspection, the cigarette wasn’t even lit. He was merely holding it, lost in thought.
“Weren’t you people supposed to be so capable? So righteous? Now that the Corpse Fiend has escaped, go after it! Go catch it and bring it back! Why are you all standing around now? You were awfully capable when you stopped me and tripped up our Seventh Master! Go on, then! Show me what else you can do!”
The old man raised a finger to adjust the reading glasses perched on his nose. Guilt was obvious in his voice. “This Corpse Fiend is no ordinary specimen. We’ve been observing it for many years. Its research value is extremely high, and it might even revolutionize the current state of our research into the Ancient Battlefield, so-”
“So this young master is done!” Hui Moqiong cut him off harshly, washing his hands of the entire affair. “If you’ve got what it takes, catch it yourselves! If you actually manage it, I’ll gladly admit defeat, and you can study it however you like! You can take it home and tuck it into bed with you for all I care!”
With that, he threw up a hand and turned to leave.
A young woman in crisp, practical clothes hurried out from behind the old man and reached for Hui Moqiong’s arm. “Sir… Sir, please don’t be angry…”
Before her hand could touch him, Hui Moqiong dodged aside and snapped with even greater impatience, “What are you doing? If you’ve got something to say, then say it. Why are you getting handsy? This young master is pure as driven snow and intends to stay that way. Think about how this looks.”
His rebuke made the young woman choke on whatever she’d been about to say. Tears instantly welled in her large eyes.
Another young man stepped forward and shielded her behind him. Restraining his irritation, he explained, “Sir, we were in the wrong this time. We failed to understand just how dangerous the Corpse Fiend truly was. As their Eldest Senior Brother, I apologize to all of you on behalf of every Junior Brother and Junior Sister here for what happened earlier.”
Their apology was sincere, so despite the resentment simmering inside him, Hui Moqiong could hardly continue berating them. He folded his arms, gave a cold snort, and moved to stand behind Liu Junyan.
It was then that Fang Chuanzong noticed us as well.
He crushed out the cigarette in his hand, walked over, and said, “Seventh Master Liu, Shopkeeper Xiao Jiu, may I have a word with you in private?”
Fang Chuanzong was the Manager of the Huaguo Special Affairs Handling Office’s East China region. After the incident at Niuhu Mountain, he had once offered me a position.
More than once, when I’d run into a difficult situation, I’d considered asking him for help.
Although I had never actually gone to him in the end, his status still commanded respect, and I had to show him the proper courtesy.
Hui Moqiong said, “I’m going outside for some air. You two talk to him.”
He had fought all night and was already exhausted. Now, with all that anger bottled up inside him, he needed time to cool off.
Liu Junyan nodded. “Go ahead.”
After that, Liu Junyan and I followed Fang Chuanzong to his RV.
I had to admit, Fang Chuanzong was seriously loaded.
The RV had clearly been custom-made. It looked plain and unassuming from the outside, but inside, it had everything one could possibly need.
The tents outside had obviously been brought along with it as well.
None of us was even in the mood for water, so we sat across from one another at the small table.
“Seventh Master Liu, what happened tonight was indeed our fault,” Fang Chuanzong said helplessly. “Elder Mo is the undisputed leading figure in Jiangcheng’s archaeological community. He has devoted his entire life to archaeology. He said that if the Corpse Fiend in Chang City could be thoroughly studied, it would mark a major step forward in the history of human civilization…”
“But human civilization can only progress if there are still humans alive in the first place, can’t it?”
By then, I had already guessed what had happened earlier.
Liu Junyan must have successfully retrieved the Golden Scale and subdued the Corpse Fiend. Then, just as he was about to destroy it, Elder Mo and that group of young people had rushed over and begged him to spare the corpse.
I was angry too, and my tone came out rather harsh. “That was a Corpse Fiend! There are another eighty-one zombies in the mine tunnels underground! If they can’t be contained, this entire area will be devastated and countless beings will suffer. Elder Fang, can you bear that responsibility?”
Fang Chuanzong nodded repeatedly. “Shopkeeper Xiao Jiu, I understand how serious this is. I never wanted to bring them here in the first place. Elder Mo was one thing, but I truly didn’t want to bring those dozen or so little brats. Unfortunately, given my position, I had no choice.”
At the end of the day, a superior’s command left no room for refusal.
Someone higher up had given Fang Chuanzong a direct order.
I asked, “Who exactly are those young people?”
Fang Chuanzong replied, “Four of them are Elder Mo’s students and assistants. The other seven were sent over by Maoshan to gain practical experience.”
Maoshan Sorcerer?
That explained it.
Those young people possessed some real skill, but they lacked experience. They had been so intent on taking the creature “alive” that they had failed to recognize the limits of their own abilities.
People like them were indeed the hardest to manage. They couldn’t get anything done, yet they were remarkably good at causing trouble.
No wonder Hui Moqiong had been so furious.
“Forget it,” Liu Junyan suddenly said. “The one bright spot in all this is that Xiao Jiu completed her mission perfectly. I also recovered the Golden Scale, and Hui Cong was successfully captured. Elder Fang, as for what comes next, do you intend to take over everything, or…”
“Seventh Master Liu, I need your help,” Fang Chuanzong said sincerely. “I’ll send Elder Mo and those young people away tonight, seal off the entire area, and fully cooperate with your operation…”