A Good-for-Nothing

280. Counterplot

Translator: Dragon Rider

In the United Front Work Department, SMB.

In the office, Xiang Hailou was briefing Wei Cheng and the deputy captain on what to expect. Tao Wujiu and Chen Qianlin and some others would be going on this mission with them. Tao Wujiu had arrived early and was standing by. Seeing the familiar sitting figure in the doorway, Tao Wujiu suspected that he was hallucinating. He rubbed his eyes, which widened before he looked carefully at that person sitting there.

Tao Wujiu hurried up to the man gazing emptily at the ground with his head down, gave his shoulder a push and called, “Chichi!”

“B–Brother Tao.” Qi Ming, startled, hastily scrambled to his feet and stroked his hair. Tao Wujiu excitedly patted Qi Ming’s shoulder. “I’m so glad to see that you’re okay! Was it Wei Cheng who found you? What on earth happened that day?!”

“Ye–Yeah,” stammered Qi Ming, looking somewhat shamefaced. At the mention of what had happened on that day, Qi Ming’s fair-skinned face seemed to become a shade whiter. “That day, when He Zheng went to the restroom, I felt a call of nature as well, so I followed him. When I went inside, He Zheng was on his way out. I was just about to speak to him when someone … someone … ”

Qi Ming’s eyes dilated slightly and he appeared aghast, wringing his hands.

“Don’t be afraid, Chichi. Take your time.”

Qi Ming nodded and swallowed before he continued, “I saw someone. He was wreathed in some kind of black gas. His face looked terrible. It was as though it were not one face but a combination of countless faces. He attacked He Zheng. I wanted to warn He Zheng but found myself unable to speak.”

Qi Ming’s eyes gradually turned scarlet. “Afterward, when I woke up, I didn’t know where I was. My cellphone was gone, and I didn’t have anything I could use to make contact with others. I slipped out of the room and walked for a very long time before I finally met someone, borrowed his cellphone and made a phone call to Wei Cheng.

I’m so useless, aren’t I? When He Zheng was assaulted, I was terrified. I thought I’d die there as well … ” Qi Ming looked like an injured little cub, his voice so hoarse it sounded quite poignant.

Tao Wujiu had not bargained on Qi Ming being so upset. His hand holding aloft, he did not know whether or not he should offer a few words of comfort.

“It’s okay now, Chichi. There’s no need to concern yourself. He Zheng’s fine as well,” sighed Tao Wujiu.

While they were talking, the door opened and out of the room walked Xiang Hailou and Wei Cheng. Wei Cheng looked calm, but at the sight of Qi Ming’s red eyes which suggested that their owner had been crying, the look in Wei Cheng’s eyes turned apprehensive.

As Xiang Hailou looked in this direction as well, Qi Ming immediately sprang to his feet and stuttered, “G–Group Leader.”

Xiang Hailou nodded. Having noticed the state Qi Ming was in, he said to Wei Cheng, “Let Xiao Qi go back to have some rest. He may sit this one out.”

“I–I’m okay, Group Leader! I can handle it!” After hearing his words, Qi Ming quickly pulled himself together, looking like a little warrior, determined to participate in the operation. “Group Leader, I want to be a part of it. Please let me go with you! I promise I won’t be a burden to you. Besides, you need a note-taker … I–I’ll do a very good job!”

Qi Ming’s imploring eyes rested on Wei Cheng, whose lips twitched before their owner said, “Group Leader, let him come. I’ll keep an eye on him.”

Xiang Hailou’s forehead corrugated in a frown as he looked from Wei Cheng to Qi Ming and back again. Eventually, he said to Xiang Hailou, “Since he really wants to come, take him with you.”

“Wei Cheng, I have no intention to interfere in your love life, but I hope you won’t end up like Zhao Fei.”

The matter of Zhao Fei had caused quite a stir in SMB lately. On that day, when Zhou Yize had divulged the secrets of the Zhou family, the power of the evil enchantment in him had been regurgitated against him. After he breathed his last, Zhao Fei had found that Zhou Yize was the person he had been looking for all these years.

In fact Zhao Fei’s joining SMB had been purely accidental. Previously the spirit of the jade Cong had been working for the Department of Counter-Demon Operations. Afterward, the jade Cong had been destroyed. When the jade mirror, which had been kept in a dedicated cabinet all along, had developed its own sentience, its spirit had had nowhere else to go and thus chosen to stay in the Department. He had been looking for the jade Cong while serving the government.

Now the cover identity of the jade Cong’s spirit was clear. After Zhou Yize’s death, Zhao Fei was not willing to stay in SMB any longer and had directly resigned, deciding to go out to look for the jade Cong. Though aware that it was a long shot, he believed that maybe the spirit of the jade Cong could be resurrected for a second time, given its previous resurrection. Zhao Fei had left a letter which said that he did not want to lose his soul mate again.

This decision of Zhao Fei’s was most willful. The sub-bureau in Hang City had been blindsided by the news, and leaders in the headquarters were also vexed about whom they should appoint as leader of the Hang City Special Action Group in his stead. But unlike Zhang Jingqiu and the others, Zhao Fei had not signed any service contract with SMB, which meant that they had no right to have Zhao Fei stay if he wanted to leave.

Zhao Fei’s resignation had sounded an alarm to the couple of leaders of SMB. They had realized that Li Zong might be in a similar situation, that if anything happened to He Zheng and Li Zong left SMB, they would have a very hard job to regroup the department. Therefore, Zong Xian had eventually decided not to mete out any punishment to Li Zong for him leaving without reporting to the superior first.

During the meetings in the past few days, Zong Xian had warned and reminded Xiang Hailou and his other subordinates again and again, which was why Xiang Hailou had thought of this matter when seeing Wei Cheng and Qi Ming.

Qi Ming’s face whitened momentarily and then flushed, his cheeks instantly becoming so red as though blood were about to ooze out of them.

Wei Cheng also appeared rather embarrassed.

Qi Ming, a pink blush on his face, explained stutteringly, “Group Leader, you misunderstood. Wei Cheng and I are … not in that kind of relationship.”

“It doesn’t matter whether I misunderstood or not. The point is you two must always remember what you’re supposed to do.”

Tao Wujiu was standing on the side, filled with mingled embarrassment, resignation and self-pity. He felt embarrassed because of the inexplicable feelings Wei Cheng and Qi Ming had for each other; he was resigned because he could not understand why so many of his colleagues were gay; he felt self-pity because he, a half-straight man, found his life becoming insupportable! Why was the providence being so cruel to bachelors?!

“Well, if there’s nothing else, go back and start making preparations. We’ll depart on time.”

Qi Ming bobbed his head stiffly. Before anybody else left, he shamefacedly hastened off. Wei Cheng stood where he was for a moment and then followed him out of the corridor.

Qi Ming was standing beside a fountain, topped with a giant, multicoloured crystal which reflected what was behind him. Qi Ming still appeared rather shy, but his eyes were staring at the reflection on the surface of the crystal. When he caught sight of Wei Cheng following him out of the building, a watery, odd smile appeared on Qi Ming’s innocent face.

“Chichi, about what Group Leader Xiang said just now … you don’t have to take it seriously.” Wei Cheng’s deep voice came from behind Qi Ming and with that Qi Ming’s facial expression returned to normal. He turned on his heel and stared unblinkingly at Wei Cheng.

Qi Ming’s eyes were big, almost as big as those of the fox teenager that He Zheng had met previously. Qi Ming was smiling a faint smile, his face scarlet, appearing somewhat timid. “It–It’s nothing. That matter’s not bothering me.”

Wei Cheng inclined his head and cautioned, “I want you to stay close to me during the operation. I’ll keep you safe.”

“Okay,” said Qi Ming with a meek head bob. As he saw that Wei Cheng was about to leave, Qi Ming called his name to stop him, struggling on the verge of speech.

“Is there anything else?”

“B–Brother Cheng, tonight’s operation … is it about assisting the first action group to locate the Demon King’s hidey-hole?”

“Yeah.” Wei Cheng nodded.

Qi Ming asked in a seemingly casual tone, “How do you know … where the Demon King’s hidey-hole is? You planted some informers among his minions?”

Wei Cheng smiled a bland smile, walked up and rubbed Qi Ming’s hair. “We have some inside information. I can’t tell you much, but we do have some informers among the Demon King’s underlings.”

The look in Qi Ming’s eyes flickered. He did not dodge Wei Cheng’s intimate action. After quite a while, Qi Ming gave a docile smile. “Oh, okay, I see. I’ll go back and get my stuff ready.”

Wei Cheng nodded. “Go.”

Before turning around, Qi Ming smiled a somewhat shy smile at Wei Cheng.

Soon Qi Ming left. His dorm room was not very far away from this spot.

After Qi Ming left, a man walked out of the shadows. He was none other than Xiang Hailou who had left just now. After a few moments’ silence, Xiang Hailou said to Wei Cheng, “Why do you suspect Qi Ming?”

In fact it had been Xiang Hailou who had assigned Qi Ming to Wei Cheng. Qi Ming, whose job was to document the details of operations, had always made a good team with Wei Cheng.

“His story strikes me as suspicious. The culprit abducted He Zheng. Why did he let Qi Ming go? Though Qi Ming’s capabilities are below average, he’s still a cultivator.”

Xiang Hailou said, “You suspect him just because of this?”

“There’s something else,” Wei Cheng sighed slightly. “When I found him, he was a sorry sight, but he did not even groan. Previously, when I was on a mission with him, he seemed to fear pain very much.”

Wei Cheng, eyes bloodshot, pulled a gadget from his pocket. It was a ruler. When Wei Cheng produced it, it rotated madly for a moment and eventually stopped, pointing in the direction that Qi Ming had just gone.

“This is a replica of the Dragon-Locating Ruler. Lin Zhuo made it a couple of days ago. It’s not as handy as Supt. Li’s, but still pretty useful. I tested several times, and it’s been in good working order all along. But that day, after Chichi called me and asked me to pick him up, I departed from the office and forgot to leave this equipment in the department.”

Wei Cheng forced a smile before continuing, “When I approached him, this replica in my pocket moved, and I knew that Chichi might have died … After the first case of an exorcist being attacked, Chichi went missing for some time, and I suspect that during his absence, the real Chichi was already … ”

Wei Cheng’s voice was weirdly tremulous. He stopped speaking. Xiang Hailou raised his eyes, glanced at him and found that Wei Cheng’s eyes were faintly red. Xiang Hailou lapsed into silence, at a loss for words.

“You … ”

“Group Leader, you don’t have to console me. I know what I’m supposed to do, and I know what I am doing as well.” Wei Cheng was a man of inflexible will, but he was not very good at expressing his feelings.

He pocketed the replica of the Dragon-Locating Ruler before his eyes rested on the real one in Xiang Hailou’s hand. “The Dragon-Locating Ruler moved just now, I suppose? My speculation proved right.”

“Yeah.”

Wei Cheng inclined his head silently.

“I’ll avenge Chichi’s death.” His voice was so soft it was barely audible. His eyes had been staring in the direction that “Qi Ming” had gone, and he did not look away for a long time.