A Good-for-Nothing

79. A Lover Thousands of Miles Away (1)

Translator: Dragon Rider

The fall and his performance of the incantation had indeed taken a heavy toll on He Zheng. It was with bodyguards’ assistance that He Zheng managed to get in a car. No sooner had he sat down than he passed out, so he was totally unaware of what happened next.

When He Zheng was on the verge of coming around from the coma, he seemed to hear Li Zong murmuring beside his ear, though the voice was not very clear. Unclear-minded, he managed to open his eyes only to find that there was something not quite right with his body. He was aching all over due to sore muscles, and what surprised him even more was that beneath his head was not a pillow but something else feeling quite soft.

Bland voice of a man talking to someone came from a nearby spot. “Chief, that pearl is indeed a South Pearl contaminated by demonic Qi. Actually, there was indeed a Dragon Vein underground there, but the soul of the dragon has ascended heaven long ago, leaving only some dragon Qi. Demonic Qi contaminated the dragon Qi and reduced the land of extraordinarily good geomantic omen into one of peril and evil, which is the very reason why there has been several murders in a row.”

In misery, He Zheng shook his head and with that someone gently put their long and slightly cold fingers on his forehead. “Are you awake?” A voice merged into the faint murmur he had been hearing. He Zheng regained more of his consciousness and managed to open his eyes. First he saw a vague figure. Though merely a vague figure, it was familiar enough to him – that was Li Zong.

Li Zong helped him sit up and held a Thermos bottle to his lips. He Zheng, mouth parched and tongue scorched, hurriedly took a couple of sips of water. After that, he felt much better, and his mind gradually became clear.

“You really know how to get yourself into trouble. You dared to draw a Fu and use it when you’d just learned Qi-gathering technique.” Li Zong’s bland face gave little away, but for some reason, He Zheng kept having this feeling that Li Zong seemed to be a little angry.

Zu Zhichong, who had cleverly shut up a moment ago, hurriedly made an effort to smooth things over. “Chief, it’s not like that. The circumstances were really exceptional. It was purely because someone tricked us that Cutie fell victim to the trap.”

Li Zong softly raised his eyes, and the commanding look in them instantly reduced Zu Zhichong to shutting his mouth.

“You told me that Zu Ming was soft in the head. I have no doubt you are his brother.”

Zu Ming, who had been doing nothing but listening quietly, found it quite hurtful.

Zu Zhichong was at a loss for words.

‘Chief has changed. He’s capable of using such hurtful words now.’

He Zheng kneaded his temple, looked around and found that apart from Li Zong, Zu Zhichong and Zu Ming were also present. With so many people in his room, it seemed as if there was some kind of family meeting going on.

He Zheng was not a thin-skinned person, but he still felt it rather embarrassing to be held in another man’s arms like a vulnerable girl, especially when some others were boldly watching.

He Zheng, who had partially restored his vital essence, immediately pushed Li Zong aside, a frown on his face. “If my memory serves me well, this is my room.” He paused, twisted his head aside to look at Li Zong whom he had not expected to see in this place, astonishment gleaming in his eyes. “By the way, why did you suddenly come here?”

He remembered that Li Zong was supposed to go to the Coastal City to report on his work first. ‘Was it because something else happened in this place? Something related to the incident last night?’ he wondered.

He Zheng assumed that, given what kind of man Li Zong was, he would directly tell him the reason, but unexpectedly, Li Zong gave a chuckle and, in a voice tinged with a tone of ridicule, which was quite rare, replied, “Someone said that absence made the heart grow fonder, so naturally I’d got to come here.”

Others present raised their heads to look at the ceiling. Though their faces were calm, they were secretly clicking their tongues. ‘My goodness. Who said that the marriage between Supt. Li and this good-for-nothing was an arranged one? The affection between them is an unbearable torture for bachelors like me.’

He Zheng was fairly surprised. As a rather thick-skinned man himself, He Zheng, naturally, wouldn’t let Li Zong outdo him in this regard. He slid Li Zong a sideways glance and said, “Aren’t you a good boy?”

Li Zong slightly tightened his hold on He Zheng’s hand and responded in a bland tone, “If there are mountains and seas between me and my love, I’ll flatten the mountains and fill up the seas.”

This remark reduced others to goosebumps. He Zheng… He Zheng was not the kind of man who flushed easily, but hearing Li Zong utter these saccharine words in such a casual way, even he failed to retain his composure. His cheeks flushed red and he had to turn his face aside.

‘There’s a new guy here.’ Zu Zhichong, who couldn’t stand it any more, gave a cough and said, “Chief, it’s time we get down to business. Let’s not forget Helen of Troy.”

He Zheng had just consumed Li Zong’s tea, which was quite nourishing and typically drunk by old people, and also had a good sleep the night before, so he was in a much better state now. He propped himself up and got out of bed so that he could talk to them in a standing position, which made him feel a lot less awkward.

Seeing the look in Li Zong’s eyes, He Zheng hurriedly said, “I’m okay now.”

The couple of people in the room, especially Zu Ming, felt a sense of relief. ‘My goodness,’ Zu Ming secretly sighed. When Li Zong showed up and saw unconscious He Zheng the night before, the expression on his face nearly scared Zu Ming to death.

Seeing He Zheng looked better and indeed had made a noticeable recovery, Li Zong didn’t insist on his lying in bed. “Director Tan has been expecting us in the Counter-demon Committee. Since He Zheng has woken up, let’s go there together.”

Others hurriedly inclined their heads. Zu Zhichong had something to say but held back the words on the tip of his tongue. Li Zong, who could tell what he had in mind, observed, “About what happened last night, the three of you are to report on it to Director Tan face to face. This is not the Coastal City. Director Tan has the right to know everything.”

“I understand.” Zu Zhichong hastily nodded. Due to his impulsion, he had almost forgotten the rules.

He Zheng recalled that before he blacked out, he had heard Zu Zhichong and Jin Qianlai talking about getting that pearl back. Quite curious about what happened after the thrilling incident the night before, He Zheng queried, “Did you find that… South Pearl or something?”

Zu Zhichong nodded. “Jin Qianlai has already taken the pearl back.”

With a slightly strange expression on his face, Li Zong raised his eyes and flicked Zu Zhichong a glance. “You let Jin Qianlai take it to the Counter-demon Committee?”

“What’s wrong with that?” Zu Zhichong had no idea why his Chief was having this abnormal reaction. Under the regulations, he should have kept this kind of thing himself, but the night before, Jin Qianlai patted himself on the chest and promised that he would take it back safely, and then begged him for quite a while. Thinking that Jin Qianlai was a staff member of the bureau as well and could save him some trouble, he had given the pearl to him.

Li Zong mulled over something for a while and then gave a smile, “Nothing. You’ll see real soon.”

Zu Zhichong was at a loss for words.

He kept having a premonition that something bad was going to happen.

He Zheng was also in perplexity, having no idea what was going on. It was not until he arrived at the Counter-demon Committee and saw Jin Qianlai’s empty hands that he finally understood what had happened.

Once again, they walked into the fairly dilapidated office, which seemed quite like a retro-themed teachers’ office.

Like the last time, Director Tan was sitting on a chair with a cup in her hands. There was a striking similarity between her demeanor and that of a teacher teaching Chinese in a junior middle school.

“Welcome. Make yourselves comfortable.”

It was unmistakable that staff members of the Wuwei-shizi Counter-demon Committee were very excited about their arrival, for all of them had been looking forward to seeing the legendary Supt. Li.

As a result, after Li Zong sat down, within merely three minutes there had been quite a few people coming into this office to see Director Tan on various pretexts, most of them being female staff members of the right age for marriage. Eventually, He Zheng went angry. ‘I’m still breathing! This is way too explicit!’