A Good-for-Nothing

286. It’s All About Acting Skills

Translator: Dragon Rider

Chen Weiguo had just received a phone call from Zhang Jingqiu and come to know that something had happened, but Zhang Jingqiu’s voice had not been serious, and he had not mentioned anything about arresting anybody, so Chen Weiguo naturally did not know what was going on exactly. To be on the safe side, Chen Weiguo had contacted his team members on patrol and told them to come back as quick as possible.

Chen Weiguo was wavering while waiting for his team members to return. After hearing Li Zong’s words, he was swayed somewhat, which was why when Li Zong asked him whether the Circle was located in the place where the lightning was the most concentrated, Chen Weiguo subconsciously inclined his head.

After a few moments’ silence, Chen Weiguo, regarding Li Zong as a junior, said, “Li Zong, even if you’re going to check the Circle, you can’t do it alone. It’s too dangerous.”

His eyes rested on He Zheng who was sitting on Li Zong’s shoulder.

Li Zong, as though pondering over something, lifted his eyes and said, “If I go there alone, I’ll be able to come back in one piece, but if I bring He Zheng with me, I’m afraid I might not be able to get him out of there unharmed. Uncle Chen, this is a pressing matter. I need to do it alone. As for He Zheng … I’d appreciate it if you took care of him before I return.”

Chen Weiguo furrowed his brows. It struck him that Li Zong was not lying. Of course, he had never suspected Li Zong. The department had indeed called him and instructed him to have Li Zong stay in the base, and most importantly, He Zheng must not leave. Therefore, after hesitating for a while, Chen Weiguo nodded his approval.

Li Zong gingerly took “He Zheng” off his shoulder, put him down on to the table, stooped and said in a gentle voice, “Behave yourself and do as Uncle Chen says. I’ll be back soon, okay?”

The “He Zheng” sitting on the table with his head down nodded docilely.

Li Zong softly ran his fingers across his face and then shifted his gaze to Chen Weiguo. “I need to get going, Uncle Chen. I’ll be back in the evening, if things go well.”

Chen Weiguo was still a little worried and felt that there was something peculiar about this whole thing. “Are you sure you don’t want me to go with you?” he asked.

“The Nalingrad Gorge is called ‘the Gates of Hell’ because firstly, there’s vast swamp in there, to which the unwary could easily fall victim, and secondly, it’s frequently visited by thunderbolts. If I go there alone, my powers will be enough to ensure my safety, but if I take someone with me, I won’t be able to protect them.”

Chen Weiguo, having been standing guard in this area for many years, naturally knew better than anyone how perilous it was. And Li Zong, the youngest vice director general in history, was no doubt in the top flight in terms of magical skills. Chen Weiguo knew in his heart of hearts that his powers could not hold a candle to Li Zong’s, that if he ventured into that place, he would probably end up becoming a burden to Li Zong.

As a result, after weighing up the pros and cons, Chen Weiguo nodded, a somewhat apologetic look on his face. “Xiao Li, I would never let you take such risks alone were I powerful enough to help … I’ll lead you as far as I could, and I’ll wait outside with my team for you to come back.”

“That won’t be necessary. I’m counting on you to take care of He Zheng for me,” said Li Zong, shaking his head and looking at the fake He Zheng who was playing on the table with his head down.

On hearing these words, Chen Weiguo came to realize that he had almost forgotten the most important thing. The department had just called him and commanded him to have He Zheng stay in the base, by hook or by crook. He had nearly let things get out of perspective.

Chen Weiguo, having been reminded by Li Zong, knew that time was short, so without further ado he handed the map and some files to Li Zong and cautioned, “Be careful. If things go south, do not venture any deeper into it.”

Li Zong nodded and, having confirmed the approximate direction he should be going, set off. Chen Weiguo watched as Li Zong left. Soon Li Zong disappeared into the sandy air.

Chen Weiguo waited for a while, then looked back at He Zheng who was still sitting on the table and, feeling faintly relieved, made a phone call back to the headquarters.

The Nalingrad Gorge was vast. Though Li Zong had a map, it was still very difficult for him to find the correct direction. If Li Zong had not been pointed in the right direction before departure, the situation would have been even trickier, which was why he had come to see Chen Weiguo first instead of going directly into the gorge.

He Zheng crawled out of the pocket and held Li Zong’s neck. Unable to understand what Li Zong had just done, he asked Li Zong, “That old man is no match for you. You could have left directly. Why did you go to that much trouble?”

“Uncle Chen is a very powerful exorcist. I might not necessarily be able to defeat him in a fight without suffering any injuries.”

From one incarnation to another, Li Zong, in order to stay under the radar of the Divine Law, had willingly given up his many amazing abilities. Currently, he had less than one thousandth of the powers he had had several millenniums ago. In this incarnation of his, in particular, the couple of SMB leaders all had fathomless internal energy, and even Li Zong might not be able to defeat them unscathed.

After a moment’s pause, Li Zong said, “I don’t want to make enemies of them unless I have to.”

For Li Zong, finding that lost soul of He Zheng’s was the most important thing, but he did not want to come to blows with those whom he used to fight side by side with.

He Zheng licked his lips and then gave Li Zong a kiss. He found that Li Zong’s angular face wore a grave expression. Soon they entered the gorge.

This place, as rumor had it, indeed boasted vast areas of herbage which were interspersed with wild flowers of otherworldly beauty. It looked like a quiet paradise, but in some spots, green grass had been replaced by blackened ground littered with carbonized bones, which lent an ominous air to the gorge.

Not the whole Nalingrad Gorge was frequently struck by lightning. Thunderstorm occurred frequently in only some parts of it. In the year when the couple of SMB leaders had sealed a part of the Demon King’s body in this place, they had specially marked the location on a map. There was also a similar mark on the map that Chen Weiguo had given Li Zong, so the latter found the place without much difficulty.

This was a small hill. Its surface was not very different from the flat ground in the vicinity, but it was covered by blackened soil.

It was called Jiaowo Hill. On the hilltop was a gigantic magic circle, which was exactly the same as the one that Li Zong had seen at the bottom of the crater in the north-west not long ago.

Beneath the circle was buried part of the body of the Demon King who had once wreaked havoc in the world.

When approaching this place, He Zheng found himself having difficulty breathing. Though his body was made of mud, he could still see that he was wreathed in black gas as thick as asphalt. The air was not moving, as though it had solidified.

“Li Zong, there’s demonic Qi everywhere. I feel very comfortable … ” He Zheng held Li Zong’s neck. He would have been sweating buckets if his body were not made of mud and could not perspire.

As though buried in a swamp where the air was being removed, he could not breathe freely.

“Calm down and try to sense that soul of yours,” said Li Zong, lightly poking He Zheng in the forehead with his finger. Curiously enough, He Zheng’s senses should have been severely dampened, but when Li Zong’s finger touched his forehead, he seemed to cool down.

The restlessness he had been feeling was subdued. He Zheng murmured, “What do I need to do to find it?”

“There are some innate connections between your souls and sub-souls, just like the one between you and Dan Zhu. Try using your mind’s eye to look for it.”

He Zheng didn’t fully understand, but he closed his eyes and began to recall how he had felt when summoning Dan Zhu. Every time he had inwardly called Dan Zhu’s name, the bird had flown out of his forehead.

Should I summon it?

He Zheng cleared his mind and inwardly repeated his own name. Since the soul belonged to him, it naturally bore the same name as his.

However, after He Zheng called many times, nothing happened in his Consciousness Sea. It was as quiet as usual.

He Zheng did not know that every time he repeated his name, Li Zong’s face became a shade paler. The one who had taken the soul of He Zheng’s probably had cast some kind of spell on it, so that whenever He Zheng tried to find it, pain would be inflicted on him.

However, the culprit probably had not bargained on Li Zong transferring He Zheng’s pain to himself. He Zheng’s calls for his lost soul were causing Li Zong unbearable anguish.

“Li Zong, I couldn’t see it,” said He Zheng, his eyes still closed, his brows knitted, appearing to be in deep distress.

“Keep looking.” Li Zong’s voice was quick, firm and faintly urgent, but He Zheng did not give it much thought and resumed repeating his name inwardly as Li Zong said.

Slowly, some thunderclouds massed in the sky above Jiaowo Hill, and hisses began to issue from the air in the vicinity, which were similar to the sounds of flints rubbing against each other. Faint electrical sparks were glittering menacingly in mid-air.

Li Zong, naturally, had noticed it. The lightning which was peculiar to this gorge of death and had tortured this area for thousands of years was finally coming. The energy it contained was enough to take the life of any living thing on this planet. As the first thunderbolt came, Li Zong, suppressing the knifelike pain in his head, quickly dodged aside. The flash of lightning violently hit the blackened ground and left a deep yellowish chasm in it.

Li Zong immediately conjured a protective sphere of enchantment around He Zheng. No harm would come to him as long as he stayed inside it.

These thunderbolts were different from those conjured by He Zheng’s Quintuple Lightning Enchantment. They had no particular targets and their energy was inexhaustible.

The first clap of thunder was just the signal for an all-out attack. The carbon dioxide level in the air abruptly increased and countless thunderbolts struck down. Li Zong swooshed between them so quick his figure was a rapid blur of movement. Accompanied by the lightning was excruciating pain in his head. What with a lapse of concentration, a flash of lightning brushed past Li Zong’s back, leaving a burnt wound on it. His pallid face became even more sickly, beads of sweat the size of soybeans rolling down from his forehead, making him look a little the worse for wear.

The black gas also seemed to be intimidated by the almighty lightning and was no longer churning.

Jiaowo Hill had no vegetation whatsoever, so there was nowhere for Li Zong to hide. After a few flustered moments, he found a regularity of the thunderbolts – there was always an interval of several seconds between a thunderbolt and the next one. Li Zong, taking advantage of these intervals to rest and regain his strength, managed to last until He Zheng finally sensed his lost soul.

“Li Zong! I’m seeing it! It’s right beneath the magic circle!”