Chapter 40: Shadows in the Old District

Late at night, it was not just Ye Feifan who was startled; Old Black's face was also so dark that any change in expression was completely invisible.

"Kid, is it still too late for me to back out now?"

"Don't you want your stamina essence anymore?"

"Even if I, Old Black, were to run away tonight, have my whereabouts leaked, and get caught, I am definitely not going to look for those Buddha statues!"

Old Black stomped his feet in anger, his teeth-gnashing expression transmitted live into the broadcast room, making it look as though he were genuinely about to throw in the towel and quit.

"I'll give you a pound of stamina essence. If you refuse to do it, I'll hand it over to Big Yellow instead."

"You're ruthless! I was just joking with you a moment ago, why are you taking it so seriously? Fine, I'll go, won't I..."

"Then hurry up and go in through the residential house."

"Got it."

Having previously reviewed the footage provided by Ye Feifan, Old Black was somewhat familiar with the environment. He quickly located the secret passageway through which the leader had escaped last time and cautiously squeezed inside.

What shocked Ye Feifan the most was that Old Black had actually wrapped several layers of cotton around his four paws to ensure he wouldn't leave any footprints... Was he the reincarnation of an elementary school student wearing glasses? How could he be so thorough in his considerations!

The pitch-black passageway was completely devoid of any sound!

The Liu family was, after all, a prominent clan in Tianzi City, equipped with powerful spiritual perception capabilities. The moment Old Black used spiritual energy to dampen the sound of his movements, his whereabouts would be exposed... Wrapping his paws in cotton could be considered a primitive yet safe method.

Stopping outside a doorway, Old Black did not rush in immediately; instead, he pressed his ear against the wall to listen to the conversation inside.

"Has that shop assistant kid come back yet?"

"Not yet... The pursuit of Xiao Martin failed last time, and for no good reason, it provoked a bottomless pit... The master is furious and has summoned him back home for punishment. Chances are he'll lose a layer of skin even if he survives."

"We've been guarding this place for over a dozen years, and we've never seen anyone break in. Do you think they've all lost their minds?"

"They get to drink and eat meat while we're stuck waiting down here in the basement... But what can we do? Who told them to be our bosses?"

"I don't care anymore. So many people have died in the clan. If the enemies want to crush the Liu family, they'll have to go to the main estate to do it. There's nothing much for us to guard here anyway."

"Why don't we head up and have some fun?"

"If the boss finds out, none of us will have a good end."

"He's still lost in some comfort zone right now; we can just head back down a bit earlier tomorrow morning."

"Alright..."

"Let's go, let's go..."

The footsteps gradually faded into the distance, but Old Black remained entirely still.

After waiting in silence for a few minutes to confirm that there were no sounds of breathing or heartbeats inside, his body emitted a flash of dark light, allowing him to effortlessly merge into the wall.

Wall-passing technique!

Far away in Wuju Town, Ye Feifan was stunned by Old Black's maneuver. Are the random friends Big Yellow meets outside all this heaven-defying?

A lucky orange cat!

Truly well-deserved!

If this weren't a dream, Ye Feifan would have loved to grab Big Yellow and shower it with kisses; it was simply too lucky!

Navigating with practiced ease, Old Black arrived before the faceless Buddha statue, leaned in for a deep sniff, and then turned to melt back into the wall. He had already memorized the scent of the ash.

"Let's just hope I haven't missed any..."

Escaping the secret passage, Old Black paused at the Beichen Teahouse for a moment before charging forward through the rain, following the scent.

Passing the Welcome Hotel, Old Black followed the direction in which the bus had vanished into an area with a complex network of streets—an area Ye Feifan remembered Xuan Tianxing referring to as the "Old District."

Making a few turns through the Old District, Old Black arrived outside a massive courtyard.

The Liu family!

"There's a Buddha statue inside!" Old Black said, though his four paws were instinctively backing away out of primal fear.

"Never mind that one for now, look for the other Buddha statues."

"My thoughts exactly."

Casting one last deep look at the Liu family residence, Old Black returned to the Old District once again.

Just as he rounded a street corner, his eyes caught a fleeting afterimage. Nervous, Old Black asked, "What was that?"

"You saw wrong, there was nothing there." While comforting Old Black, Ye Feifan furrowed his brow.

There truly had been a dark shadow flashing across the screen. Because it was moving too fast, it appeared somewhat blurred, and he had no idea what it was. If Old Black heard about it, he would likely abort the mission... That was an outcome Ye Feifan did not wish to see, so he decided to keep it to himself for the time being.

Not entirely convinced by Ye Feifan's words, Old Black pressed himself vigilantly against the wall, ready to use his wall-passing ability to flee at the first sign of danger.

After waiting for a while without any further developments, he could only conclude that he might just be overly paranoid.

Temporarily setting aside his vigilance, Old Black wandered through the Old District, not immediately seeking out the Buddha statues. He first needed to ensure there were no threatening entities in the surrounding area before making a move, otherwise, he might easily fall victim to someone else's scheme.

After patrolling the Old District several times without spotting the shadow again, Old Black let out a sigh of relief while simultaneously locating a civilian dwelling close to the Liu family estate.

The closer one got to the Liu family, the stronger the sense of crisis became, leaving Old Black with nothing to say in the interest of self-preservation... As it turned out, that household was no ordinary family either; they were secret operatives planted by the Liu family.

Perhaps the rainy weather had made them careless, as all the operatives were sound asleep with no one guarding the basement, presenting Old Black with an opportunity.

Utilizing his wall-passing technique to enter the underground chamber, Ye Feifan could not help but feel a mild surprise: three identical Buddha statues stood before them.

"Hehe, consider yourself lucky, kid. Three statues, but two are traps; only one is real. Triggering the mechanism would be extremely dangerous."

With his exceptional sense of smell, Old Black pinpointed the Buddha statue on the left and skillfully replaced the genuine artifact with a counterfeit.

Having swapped the statue, Old Black could not help but sigh, "Your opponents actually have some brains. The fact that you've managed to survive this long means you're quite a lucky fellow."

"Sooner or later, I'm going to wipe him out."

Old Black chuckled without responding. Just as he was about to leave, he paused—there was another secret chamber right next door, which had almost eluded his nose.

Slipping into the adjacent chamber via the wall-passing technique, he found another Buddha statue resting on an offering table, causing even Old Black to draw in a sharp breath.

"A trap within a trap, vicious!"

"Watch out for mechanisms."

"There are no mechanisms!"

Producing another forged Buddha statue, Old Black gently swapped it for the genuine article. The real Buddha statue was slipped into a spatial pouch containing a few fragments of chaotic jade.

"On to the next location!"

"Wait, let me look around a bit more."

...

After searching for the better part of the night, Old Black harvested a rich bounty.

Thanks to the thunderstorm, Tianzi City was filled with nothing but the sounds of wind, thunder, and rain. Coupled with the various murder cases rumored previously, absolutely no one would be outside after dark, and even if someone were, they would be no ordinary person.

Fifty red-robed faceless Buddha statues had been placed throughout the Old District; Liu Decai's meticulous caution genuinely shocked Ye Feifan.

If one were to have a showdown with Liu Decai right now, they wouldn't even be able to sleep in peace. Only by turning the man into dust could one breathe a sigh of relief.

...

A trace of light appeared at the edge of the sky; dawn had arrived!

Realizing he could no longer search for other Buddha statues for the time being, Old Black had no choice but to find a place to hide until nightfall.

"Why don't you go hide in the Zhang family's warehouse for the day?" Ye Feifan attempted to persuade him.

"In your dreams!"

Old Black was practically driven to fury, baring his teeth as he snapped, "Yesterday's bus stopped right at the Zhang family's warehouse. If I go there, isn't that seeking death?"

"It's not that serious, you're overthinking it."

"Impossible, you're a terribly wicked kid, don't even think about tricking me."

Seeing that Old Black's attitude was resolute, Ye Feifan abandoned his attempts at persuasion... He couldn't quite figure Old Black out; if the creature decided to forgo the stamina essence altogether, he would find himself in a troublesome spot.

"Where are you going then?"

"I have my own places to go," Old Black replied smugly.

Having wandered the Old District all night, Old Black had a clear picture of what was located where, and he quickly found a resting spot.

His refuge was a cellar that had just been stocked with a fresh batch of wine brewed seven days prior. The owner wouldn't be coming down anytime soon, allowing Old Black to hide underground with complete peace of mind.

Though Old Black showed no sign of carrying a spatial pouch or any other storage magical treasure, the moment he removed the cotton from his paws, a large chunk of beef jerky materialized in them.

Tossing the jerky into his mouth and chewing voraciously, Old Black also tilted a nearby jar of wine directly into his mouth.

The beef jerky was a small gift presented by Ye Feifan (marinated with star anise and spices, roasted over an open flame to eight-percent doneness, while the remaining two percent of doneness was achieved by wrapping it in dough and baking it in an oven, and finally air-dried into a culinary delicacy), which could be said to be the most delicious food Old Black had ever tasted.

If not for the temptation of the delicious beef jerky, Old Black might not have bothered coming over to help Ye Feifan hunt down those Buddha statues.

"Old Black, stop drinking. Drinking ruins matters!"

"Stop nagging, kid. Lord Dog is known as the Immortal of Wine; could mere jars of wine possibly get me drunk?"

"You better take it easy. Don't you want your stamina essence?"

Hearing Ye Feifan mention the stamina essence, Old Black reined himself in a bit. After finishing the beef jerky and drinking a single jar of wine, he ceased his consumption.

Pulling out one of the Buddha statues to examine it, Old Black gently tapped its belly, producing a dull "thud-thud-clank" sound.

"It really is hollow. Where did you get your footage from, kid?"

"I bought it from a supreme being. As long as you have spiritual stones, I can buy footage of you too. Do you believe me?"

"Re... really?" Old Black felt a twinge of guilt; some matters were meant to remain hidden in the dark, and if others found out about them, his good days would come to an end.

"Don't be so serious, I'm just telling the truth. You'd better be careful from now on." Seeing Old Black cowed, Ye Feifan chuckled inwardly.

The stability of the cultivation world was only temporary. Once Old Black realized how unsafe the outside world was, he would probably think of turning to him for refuge... By then, he would finally find out what Old Black's true situation was.

"Stop talking about it, it gives me the creeps."

Taking a deep, heavy breath, Old Black calmed himself down for a long while before stowing the Buddha statue away and asking, "That Liu family is no simple entity. How on earth did you manage to provoke them?"

"The Buddha statue in your spatial pouch is the evidence. They provoked a master at the Mahayana stage, a ghost immortal who formed her cultivation after being wrongfully murdered. I rescued her to return her ashes to her rightful place, and she'll owe me a favor in the future."

"You really know how to do business, kid."

Old Black's eyes rolled as he weighed his options, refraining from acting rashly or turning hostile just yet... That mysterious person sold footage; if he could figure out the trading channel... then he could travel the entire cultivation world at will without having to cower in some little mountain ravine.

"Kid, can you tell me the contact method for the person who records these image-recording stones?"

"What are you planning to do?" Ye Feifan caught the look in Old Black's eyes and immediately grew vigilant; judging by that expression, it was definitely nothing good.

"I have great use for it."

"Talk to me after you've gathered all the Buddha statues. I'm not in the mood right now."

Rolling his eyes, Old Black kept his mouth shut and muttered, "I'll believe that when I see it!"

"Stop wasting your breath, hurry up and get some sleep so we can continue searching tonight."

"Got it."

Finding a dark, well-hidden corner, Old Black tucked himself away and closed his eyes to fall into a deep sleep.

[PS: Prosperity, democracy, civility, harmony; freedom, equality, justice, the rule of law; patriotism, dedication, integrity, friendliness.]