Chapter 228: Chapter 172 Let’s Sleep Together
At one thirty in the morning, soaked through, Zou Guoming (Big Head) entered the Dark Star Bureau Building and found Sun Haoran, who was on duty.
Just like Light Bulb, Sun Haoran was a newcomer to the Public Security Team, but their situations were completely different.
Sun Haoran was exceptionally talented, quick-witted, and deeply appreciated—seen as a rising star of the Dark Star Bureau.
His nickname was indeed ’Star’, which was several notches above Light Bulb’s.
Seeing Big Head in such a disheveled state, Sun Haoran quickly stepped forward and asked, "Brother Ming, what happened?"
Zou Guoming wiped his face and said, "I found Hu Lishan."
"Hu Lishan?" Sun Haoran couldn’t quite remember.
Zou Guoming glanced at Sun Haoran.
There were some things Sun Haoran would never forget, such as what type of alcohol Chief Xiao preferred or what kind of cigarettes Captain Chen smoked. But there were other things Sun Haoran often couldn’t recall, like what cases he had on hand.
"The college girl who went missing at Flower Lake Park a few days ago. I found her."
"The college girl from Flower Lake Park! I’ve been so busy lately I forgot. Where is she? How’s her mental state? Do we need to take her statement immediately?" Sun Haoran pretended to rub his forehead. He still couldn’t remember, but he had to put on an act.
Big Head waved his hand. "No need for a statement. I didn’t find a living person, but a corpse. Get someone to retrieve it."
"A corpse?" Sun Haoran was taken aback. "Brother Ming, how did you find her?"
"I watched the surveillance footage and looked for traces. It’s too complicated to explain here; we’ll talk at the scene."
Sun Haoran nodded. "I’ll notify the two captains immediately."
Big Head had asked Sun Haoran to arrange for the body to be retrieved, but Sun Haoran’s first thought was to contact the captains.
No wonder this guy was destined to be a star.
...
Late at night, Li Banfeng crawled out from under his covers, feeling refreshed, and got dressed.
He had made a promise to Elder Yao, so naturally, he had to follow through. Li Banfeng had accompanied Yu Nan for dinner, drinks, and had even slept over.
Elder Yao had a point: two people huddling together for sleep was indeed warmer.
But Yu Nan hadn’t slept a wink.
Because Li Banfeng, apart from sleeping, had done nothing else!
He just slept like that, without making a single move!
Watching Li Banfeng’s retreating back, Yu Nan covered her mouth and began to sob.
...
Li Banfeng placed the Intestinal Wheelworm in front of Qin Tianjiu.
He had explained all the pros and cons, leaving the decision to him.
Without a second thought, Qin Tianjiu picked up the Intestinal Wheelworm, swallowed it with Elder Yao’s medicinal liquor, and said, "Brother Seven, anything you give me is surely good. I, Qin Tianjiu, will forever remember this kindness. Even if I can’t handle this good thing, it’s because my fortune is meager and my life is short; I deserve this tribulation. I definitely won’t blame you, Brother Seven!"
Li Banfeng nodded. "With courage like that, you’re someone destined for great things."
After chatting for a moment, Qin Xiaopang brought up the news received by the Three Heroes Gang:
"Lu Dongjun hasn’t been heard from, and many say he’s dead. Our Copper Seal said that Old Master Lu, Lu Maoxian, has made it clear that Lu Dongjun was killed by Monkey Qiu."
Li Banfeng asked, "Did Monkey Qiu admit it?"
"Of course he couldn’t admit it! No matter how big the uproar, Monkey Qiu shouldn’t have killed a member of the Lu Family. Monkey Qiu bit back, claiming Lu Maoxian did it. It looks like the two families are about to go to war, and our two Gold Seals are also involved."
"Where will they fight? Greenwater City or Hai Chi Ridge?"
"I heard it’s still in Greenwater City, but there’s trouble at Hai Chi Ridge too. This information came from Brother Liu. After Lu Dongjun left, the businesses at Hai Chi Ridge were taken over by the He Family and the Ling Family. They divided the spoils unevenly and now seem ready to come to blows."
The Ling Family? When did the Ling Family get involved in Hai Chi Ridge’s affairs?
Xiaopang continued, "At Hai Chi Ridge, all the major and minor gangs are preparing to make their move. The Qingyun Society is siding with the He Family, and the Hundred Flowers Gate is backing the Ling brothers."
"What about the Jiang Xiang Gang?"
Xiaopang scoffed, "The Jiang Xiang Gang? What are they? In a major confrontation like this, how could it be their turn?"
"Which side is your Three Heroes Gang on?"
"The First Master is closer to the He Family, while the Second and Third Masters are on better terms with the Ling Family. But our Silver Seal said that business is business, and friendship is friendship. When it actually comes to fighting, the situation could be very different. Also, there’s another grudge that’s about to be settled. A few days ago, Monkey Qiu sent a message to the Chu Family’s Second Miss, telling her to hand over the Hundred Joy Gate within a month. The Chu Family’s Second Miss said that she manages Hundred Joy Gate together with the Fifth Young Master Ma Family, and this matter needs to be discussed with him. The Fifth Young Master Ma Family... we’ve met him, at the Peddler’s... that Fifth Young Master... Fifth Young Master..."
Halfway through his sentence, Xiaopang broke out in a cold sweat, unable to continue.
"What’s wrong with the Fifth Young Master?" Li Banfeng’s worst fear had materialized; Chu Er, that crazy woman, had stirred up trouble.
"Brother Seven, I... I need to eat something..." Xiaopang wiped his sweat and grabbed a pancake, starting to chew.
After quickly devouring two pounds of pancakes, Xiaopang regained some strength and said to Li Banfeng, "I still have leftover rice in the pot. I’ll heat it up, and we can eat together..."
Li Banfeng shook his head. "I’m not eating. You tell me about the Fifth Young Master first. I find it quite interesting."
"The Fifth Young Master hasn’t made a move, and no one knows where he is. The Chu Family’s Second Miss has moved into Blue Poplar Village, and she’s not leaving! Monkey Qiu is furious. He said he’ll settle the accounts with Blue Poplar Village as well, which is also Lu Family turf. Ma Wu seized Blue Poplar Village without informing the Lu Family..."
Seeing Xiaopang constantly wiping sweat, Li Banfeng figured he still hadn’t eaten enough.
He left Xiaopang one hundred Ocean Dollars, urging him to make sure he didn’t go hungry.
Leaving the courtyard, Li Banfeng headed to Feng’s Grocery Store.
The matter of the Guide Token was still unresolved. Li Banfeng purchased some canned food, biscuits, fuel, and lubricating oil.
With all preparations complete, Li Banfeng returned to his Portable Residence. He had just finished stowing his things and was about to depart when he suddenly noticed the door to the outer room was open.
Upon entering, he saw the Red Lotus Petals unfurled; two Lotus Seeds had been refined.
He held the Lotus Seeds in his palm and watched them slowly burst open. The first Lotus Seed yielded ninety-eight Gold Yuan Pills.
This was a piece of Pan Dehai’s very core. An intact Lu Dongliang had yielded eighty-one Gold Yuan Pills, so just a piece of Pan Dehai’s core could yield ninety-eight? Was there such a vast difference in quality between them?
The second Lotus Seed, upon bursting, yielded thirty-six Gold Yuan Pills.
A Lin Li monster, with a cultivation level not even reaching the Fifth Layer, produced Gold Yuan Pills numbering only two fewer than those from the Eighth-Layer Straw Moth Lady. This native abomination was truly remarkable.
Adding the remaining sixty Gold Yuan Pills from Lu Dongliang, the total came to one hundred ninety-four.
These Gold Yuan Pills represented nineteen thousand four hundred days of time—equivalent to fifty-one years and a little over a month.
Li Banfeng felt an impulse; he suddenly wanted to swallow all the Gold Yuan Pills in one go!
Because if he did, he would become an Eighth-Layer cultivator!
He had Blue Leaf Pills. Although the quantity was somewhat low, with only one hundred fifty-eight remaining, this difference wasn’t significant proportionally.
Initially, Li Banfeng had just been calculating casually.
After calculating for a while, he got carried away.
An Eighth-Layer cultivator!
Having spent a lot of time in Puluo State, he knew exactly what that meant.
Holding the pills in his hands, his eyes gleaming with greed, he was just about to stuff them into his mouth when a whirlwind burst out of the Copper Lotus Flower, stopping him.
This suicidal maniac! No one had any idea what he was trying to do!
The gust from the Copper Lotus Flower also brought Li Banfeng back to his senses.
Indeed, I couldn’t consume them all. My Home Cultivation is only at the Third Layer, and so is my Traveling Cultivator level. If my Traveling Cultivator level were suddenly elevated to the Eighth Layer while my Home Cultivation remained unchanged, wouldn’t I just drop dead?
After calming down, Li Banfeng took one Gold Yuan Pill along with a Blue Leaf Pill. He waited for his body to recover, then, following the route through New Land, he hurried towards Blue Poplar Village.
...
By the lake in Flower Lake Park, relevant personnel were retrieving a corpse.
Xiao Zhenggong despised such minor cases and hadn’t come to the scene. Sun Haoran was reporting to Captain Chen:
"Investigator Zou Guoming and I reviewed the on-site surveillance footage and discovered several overlooked details. We found the gloves Hu Lishan had abandoned by the lake. Following this lead, we found Hu Lishan’s corpse..."
Light Bulb spat to the side. "That shameless bastard! It was Big Head who found the corpse! He’s just a messenger, and he doesn’t even blush when stealing credit!"
Big Head smiled and said, "Let it be. Closing the case is what matters; who gets the credit isn’t important."
Sun Haoran continued reporting the details of how the case was solved. Captain Chen listened with a smile, while Dumpling diligently took notes.
Once he finished his report, Captain Chen nodded. "As expected of our bureau’s star. You handled this case so efficiently."
Dumpling, at his side, nodded and said, "A star’s future is limitless."
Sun Haoran smiled modestly. "It’s all thanks to Brother Ming’s guidance; finding Hu Lishan’s corpse was entirely due to his extensive experience. I was just assisting him. My senior colleagues in the team take good care of me. Captain Chen and Chief Xiao, of course, have been very supportive, and Sister Xuehan and Brother Ming have also been exceptionally kind to me."
You Xuehan (Dumpling) said nothing.
Whether in private or in official settings, Sun Haoran often flirted with You Xuehan.
You Xuehan also admired this sunny, handsome, and ambitious junior, but she felt his actions today were somewhat inappropriate.
Big Head was a senior in the team, and Sun Haoran shouldn’t have stolen his credit.
Captain Chen hadn’t made his stance clear either. He smoked his cigarette, looking at Big Head Zou Guoming with a meaningful expression.
Big Head was chatting with Light Bulb, seemingly indifferent to who received the credit.
It was just a resolved missing person case; indeed, it wasn’t a major achievement for the Dark Star Bureau.
But Old Chen always felt something was slightly off, yet he couldn’t pinpoint the problem.
After the corpse was retrieved, Zou Guoming said he had been too exhausted these past few days and requested a week’s leave. Captain Chen approved and handed over the entire Hu Lishan case to Sun Haoran.
Sun Haoran was thrilled.
Light Bulb was furious. Driving Big Head home, he complained the entire way:
"Why the hell are you taking leave now, Big Head? Aren’t you just handing that kid an advantage? Aren’t you worried he’ll end up climbing over your head later?"
Big Head shook his head and smiled. "He’s bound to climb over my head sooner or later. He knows how to play the game; I’m just someone who knows how to do the work."
"I just can’t stand his damn scheming..." Light Bulb continued to grumble, while Big Head’s gaze drifted towards the Western-style houses in the park.
Hu Lishan’s case didn’t matter. What was important was that for the first time in my life, I had seen New Land. I had never been to Puluo State; New Land was a place unique to Puluo State, yet now I had seen it in the Outside Provinces. He Jiaqing found Hu Lishan’s corpse in New Land. He Jiaqing fabricated all the traces by the lake. Whose credit it was didn’t matter; giving the case to Sun Haoran was the better choice. As long as Hu Lishan’s case is closed, nothing about New Land will be revealed. In the Dark Star Bureau, I’m fated to be nothing more than an investigator for life. The one who can truly change my destiny has already appeared.
PS: How exactly did He Jiaqing win over Big Head?