A Good-for-Nothing

231. Shielding He Zheng (I)

Translator: Dragon Rider

He Zheng had a dream.

He was standing in black mist which was, for all intents and purposes, identical to the demonic Qi he’d seen countless times.

He was enveloped in the mist, feeling stuck fast in it as though it were asphalt, and the black gas was invading his body. He was unable to call for help or breathe, his mind in a fog.

He Zheng started struggling violently, but it was no good. The black gas, which seemed to penetrate everything, permeated through his skin, his bones and his every fibre bit by bit.

He Zheng felt the black gas surge through his blood vessels several times, and something moving with great momentum was trying to fly out of his Dantian, roaring and dashing against his meridians.

But subconsciously, He Zheng was aware that that was not a good thing, that he had to restrain it…

While He Zheng’s consciousness was becoming more and more shallow and vague, a silvery phoenix cry drowned out all other sounds like a blaze of light flaming through the dark night. On hearing this cry, He Zheng’s mind which was in a stupor was gradually restored to clarity.

He opened his eyes but didn’t see any iridescent phoenixes. There was only a gray chick circling above his head on and on. The chick was not big – rather small, actually. The poor little thing was piteously fluttering its small wings, squeaking.

The little gray chick looked no different from those in documentaries broadcast on Agriculture Channel, except for the three erect plumes on top of its fluffy little head. He Zheng’s attention was focused on the chick, so he failed to notice that as the chick showed up, the black gas ebbed away like tide.

Having been rid of the black gas, He Zheng poked the gray chick’s round belly. It affectionately rubbed itself against his palm in response. However, when He Zheng fingered the erect plumes on its head, it was irritated and gave a cry as though he was not supposed to do that. Squeaking, it pecked at He Zheng’s finger with its yellowish beak. As far as He Zheng could tell, it was angry and seemed to be warning him not to touch the plumes on its head.

He Zheng had a faintly numb sensation in the pulp of his finger. The touch didn’t feel like this was a dream. He Zheng believed he was feeling real pain.

But this kind of touch didn’t strike He Zheng as unpleasant. Instead, he felt some kind of closeness in it. Also, for some unknown reason, at the sight of this little gray chick, Li Zong’s face appeared in his mind.

He admitted that there was indeed little similarity between the two.

He Zheng shook his head and dismissed these thoughts from his mind.

Suddenly, the chick gave him a hard peck on the finger, chirping and fluttering up and down in mid-air, as though trying to tell him something.

“What’s wrong? What is it you want me to know?”

Behind He Zheng, the black gas that had just faded away like tide was gaining ground on him once again.

The little gray chick squeaked for quite a while. Seeing He Zheng still couldn’t understand, it steeled itself and gave He Zheng’s index finger a peck with all its might. He Zheng was confused as to why it was so anxious. Feeling a pain in his finger, he lowered his head to look at it and found that his finger had punctured, blood flowing from the fingertip.

It was the somewhat distinct pain that helped He Zheng wake up from the dream.

He Zheng abruptly opened his eyes with a start and sat up from the bed. For quite a while, he was in a daze. Then he pinched his face and, feeling the pain, confirmed that just now he had indeed been in a dream.

“Why did I have a dream like that?” He Zheng was perplexed. After a few moments’ trance, he got out of bed. The broad bed was empty. Li Zong had some time ago left.

Watching the empty bed, He Zheng felt rather annoyed, thinking that those high-ranking geriatrics of the Supernaturalism Management Bureau (SMB) not only didn’t spend enough quality time with their family members but also kept young staff members from doing so, that sooner or later they would get their comeuppance.

Inwardly cursing them along the way, He Zheng walked to the bathroom, turned on the tap and was just about to wash his face with the water he cupped in his hands when he caught sight of a patch of something red in the clean water. Pupils contracting drastically, He Zheng stared at the pulp of his forefinger.

Soaked in water, the wound in his forefinger looked more noticeable.

Was that not a dream, by any chance?

What was going on exactly?

In the SMB.

Li Zong’s clearly stating his stand made a lot of things much easier to handle.

In fact, what with his unduly great powers and lack of interest in almost everything, Li Zong counted as a fairly dangerous man. If he had not joined the SMB and gone down any of the dark paths, it would have been one of the greatest disaster the SMB had ever seen.

However, although Li Zong had clarified his position, which had relieved them greatly, the meeting was not over yet, and their opinions on another issue diverged.

Zong Xian said, “Where the Demonic Seed is concerned, no compromise is acceptable. Since the Zhu family and the He family are both involved in this matter, we should pick a time and visit these two families.”

“I think we must investigate He Zheng as well, given that he’s a descendant of both the Zhu family and the He family,” observed Zhang Jingqiu.

Li Zong’s eyes casually rested on Zhang Jingqiu. As though having been waiting for this moment all along, Zhang Jingqiu continued with a smile, “Don’t you feel that it’s a little strange? I heard that He Zheng successfully performed the Quintuple Lightning Enchantment. If my memory serves me well, it’s been only three months or so since He Zheng joined the Qingwei Sect and participated in the Special Talents Training Program (STTP).

Within three months, he’s grown from a common person with no powers at all into an exorcist capable of performing the Quintuple Lightning Enchantment which some disciples of Taoist sects are unable to master after training all their life. He Zheng wouldn’t have done that if his talent is the only thing at work. It’s no exaggeration to say that he’s been covering a thousand miles down his path of cultivation on a daily basis.”

Hands on the desk, his fingers bent, Li Zong said without the slightest change of his countenance, “So what’s the point you’ve been trying to make, Group Leader Zhang?”