Chapter Thirty-Eight: Seeing the Red-Clad Driver Again

The pressure felt at this moment was even more daunting than when I first encountered the orange cat; that black dog was definitely no ordinary creature.

Da Huang hopped from Ye Feifan’s face onto his other shoulder and shouted into the alley, "Old Black, I’m here. Come on out."

The alley fell silent.

"Little kitty, is he your master?" A gravelly voice emerged, sounding somewhat like a ten-year-old boy, yet carrying a weary, seasoned tone. Ye Feifan even felt a sense of loneliness emanating from it, much like his own.

"I have a name! It’s Da Huang. How many times do I have to tell you?" Da Huang complained indignantly.

"Hmm, having a name doesn't change the fact that you’re a cat." In broad daylight, a black dog over a meter tall emerged from the corner.

The dog’s fur was sleek and lustrous, its face set in an expression that hovered between weeping and smiling, its eyes like those of a deity... it bore none of the decadent air Da Huang had described.

"A Husky!" Ye Feifan gasped, completely taken aback; he had never expected the black dog to be a breed he recognized so well.

"What Husky? What-sky? I am the noble Chaos Destroyer. My brothers in the trade call me the Destroyer out of respect; those who don't call me Old Black. Kid, don't push your luck."

Ye Feifan’s choice of words clearly displeased the dog, who made a point to emphasize his name.

"Fine... Old Black."

Except for its solid black coat, the dog before him was a carbon copy of a Husky, built as sturdily as a sled dog. It was impossible not to identify him as one.

"You’re covered in ghostly energy and yet you’re still alive—not bad at all... What do you want with me?" Old Black asked, crouching slightly on his hind legs. He likely knew something—fearing Ye Feifan might be after his blood, he was already preparing to bolt.

"Are you willing to come with me?"

"Go with you?" Old Black sneezed dismissively, eyeing Ye Feifan askance. "What can you offer me?"

Are all dogs this shrewd these days?

"Three meals a day, all-inclusive, plus this!"

Ye Feifan produced a test tube containing a single drop of glowing yellow liquid, though he kept the cap tightly sealed.

Old Black’s nose twitched, and his eyes lit up. Even with the tube tightly capped, the scent leaking from the cheap rubber stopper was enough for him to catch the aroma.

"I could consider it. How about you give me the tube first?"

"Come and take it." Ignoring Da Huang’s pained expression, Ye Feifan placed the tube on the ground.

The moment it touched the floor, the tube vanished. Ye Feifan only caught a glimpse of a black shadow, but when he looked up, he saw Old Black holding the tube in his paw.

What incredible speed!

After staring greedily at the tube for a long moment, it vanished from Old Black’s grasp in a flash.

A spatial pouch?

Ye Feifan felt a bit perplexed. He hadn't seen any rings or pouches on the dog, immediately bringing to mind the supernatural ability of "storing objects within one's sleeves."

Old Black’s origins were definitely mysterious!

Judging by his strange speed, while Old Black could help him progress with certain tasks, he certainly wouldn't become a mere pet—they could only ever be business partners.

At first, Ye Feifan hadn't been sure of Old Black’s capabilities, but the situation reminded him of a loophole in the hidden side quest, [Accumulated Resentment]. The system prompt only stated that the Buddha statues had to be destroyed, the ashes gathered, and then scattered into the Drowning River; it never said he couldn't hire help in advance.

"How about we strike a deal?"

"What kind of deal?" Having received the benefit, Old Black’s voice turned somewhat fawning.

"There’s a pile of faceless Buddha statues draped in red robes hidden beneath Tianzi City. How about you help me swap them all out?"

"Tianzi City?" The black dog’s face darkened, and he didn't immediately agree.

"I can provide you with Energy Liquid, three meals a day, all-inclusive."

"Let me think about it."

Glancing around, Ye Feifan said, "Follow me."

A short while later, the dog, the cat, and the man arrived at the inn and stepped into Ye Feifan’s room.

"Take a look at this."

Spending some system points, Ye Feifan had obtained a Memory Stone, which recorded the footage of the innkeeper hiring men to surround and kill him that night.

The wall projected a clear image accompanied by the voices of the people involved. Da Huang, too, perked up to watch.

After watching, Old Black fell into deep thought.

"You can hide those statues and the ones from the footage in your spatial pouch... hide the pouch somewhere the brothel won't find it. When necessary, use some Chaos Jade fragments to disrupt the heavenly secrets. I’ll reimburse you once the job is done."

Chaos Jade fragments were precious stones formed from the shattering of rules when the world was first created. A single shard could mask the heavenly secrets of cultivators and treasures; attempting to forcibly calculate them would result in a backlash from the Heavens. It was an incredibly expensive item in the cultivation world.

Hearing about the reimbursement, Old Black was tempted. He sighed, "This is a difficult task, you know."

"What’s so difficult about it?" Knowing Old Black was just fishing for more benefits, Ye Feifan felt a bit exhausted. When did dogs start negotiating like humans?

"I can sense heavy Yin energy in that footage. If they find me, they’ll definitely drain my blood to ward off evil. Are you sure you aren't working with them?"

"To be honest with you, this involves a favor from a Great Completion-stage expert. Are you sure you don't want to consider it?"

"Actually, I don't think it's that difficult. I'll do it, alright?" Old Black immediately agreed.

"I’ll leave it to you, then. I’m going to find someone to craft a batch of fakes. You get ready."

"Got it!"

...

The blacksmith shop in Wuju Town closed for a week; they had taken on a private job to forge a batch of faceless Buddha statues.

About two thousand statues were made. They were hollowed out and filled with the ashes of beasts... Ye Feifan even used some beast blood to create a set of red robes identical to those the innkeeper wore in his dream.

The entire set of statues cost Ye Feifan several thousand gold coins. If not for the assassins from the Liu family he had killed previously, he might not have been able to afford the blacksmith’s fee.

After returning to his residence with the statues and practicing for a while, Ye Feifan impulsively performed a daily draw, and a bizarre single pull yielded a miracle!

"Congratulations to the host for obtaining a one-time Immersive Live-Streaming Watch!"

[Immersive Live-Streaming Watch: Allows the audience to experience the streamer's perspective. Supports verbal interaction. Lasts for one week.]

"Doggy, you’re about to get rich!"

"What the hell is this?"

"Tie this to your leg. I’ll be able to contact you later."

It was clearly a large Husky, but now it had a pink watch tied to its leg. The bizarre sight made Da Huang nearly laugh himself to death.

"When do I leave?" Despite his impatience, Old Black forced himself to endure it, all for the sake of the Great Completion-stage expert’s favor and the Energy Liquid.

"Tonight."

...

By nightfall, an unusually heavy rain began to pour, accompanied by thunder and lightning.

Someone died again!

Ye Feifan’s first instinct was that Tianzi City was likely falling into crisis once more.

In the dark of Wuju Town, only the heavy rain fell. The townspeople had all turned off their lights to sleep, but in the pitch black, two faint yellow lights appeared.

The No. 88 Bus!

Ye Feifan paused, realizing it intended to pass through Wuju Town.

"Hurry, the plan has changed!"

"What is that?"

"Someone you don't want to provoke."

Though he felt uneasy, Ye Feifan was being so reckless that Old Black had no choice but to bite the bullet and follow.

The effect of the Energy Liquid had driven Old Black wild; he had even considered killing Ye Feifan—the only reason he hadn't was that he couldn't see through the orange cat's origins, and for now, this kid couldn't afford to die.

The heavy rain soaked Ye Feifan, but he didn't care; he raised his hand.

The bus’s rules usually forbade stopping, but the driver in red hesitated, then brought the vehicle to a halt in front of Ye Feifan.

"Get on!"

Old Black’s legs trembled, but he gritted his teeth and jumped into the open door.

Ye Feifan followed, dropping a green banknote into the fare box.

"We meet again."

The driver in red turned his head—he was identical to the portrait in the newspaper. His first words were, "Have you seen my Nini?"

"I have!" Ye Feifan replied firmly, his eyes scanning the windows. He didn't see the bloodied person Zhang Da had mentioned; there was only Old Black on the bus, no other passengers.

"You really saw her?" The driver blinked, his clothes becoming even more vibrant, and his lips appeared to be bleeding.

"Do me a favor, and I’ll help you find your answer. How about it?"

"Speak..."

"Take him to the Beichen Tea Pavilion in Tianzi City. You don't need to worry about anything else. Deal?"

"Fine. And my Nini..."

"I will help you!"

The man and the ghost locked eyes, neither backing down. Old Black, who had slinked to his designated seat, felt a wave of anxiety—the aura coming from the driver was far more oppressive and dangerous than the innkeeper in the footage.

"I’ll trust you for now."

"I’m counting on you."

Ye Feifan stepped backward off the bus, his gaze never leaving the driver.

The driver in red gave Ye Feifan a meaningful look, closed the doors, and drove off into the dark, rainy night.

No matter how hard Ye Feifan tried to look, he couldn't see the bloodied person on the bus, only bloody handprints.

"Where could she be hiding?"

Because the bus had arrived so suddenly, Ye Feifan hadn't been fully prepared. For the sake of his life, he didn't intend to board just yet, missing his best chance to explore the bus.

"I'll have to wait for next time." Once the bus lights vanished, Ye Feifan finally returned to his room at the inn.

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