Here Lies The Wicked - Chapter 48

Chapter 48: University City

As he stared at Mr. Yang, from his body alone,

He was able to sense a cloud of Grey Qi,

Fang Zheng said a single statement in his mind,

‘One will search high and low only to find it when one least expects to.’

If Fang Zheng had remembered correctly, Mr. Yang’s shop had been there for several years already by this street.

‘It’s unbelievable for you, Mr. Yang, to act like that!’

Yang Feizhang felt extremely uncomfortable when he was greeted with Fang Zheng’s gaze in the Hall of Four Season Pharmacy.

At this moment, a flurry of thoughts ran through Fang Zheng’s mind.

He suddenly realized that if there was a day someone close to him strayed away and ended up becoming strangers again, he would have no idea how he should greet them.

Would he actually be expected to say, “Hi, Mr. Yang… I never expected you to be a store owner with hidden skills.” Right?

Or…”Mr. Yang, did you just return from killing a demon?” That would be extremely stupid!

If he was being a little more blunt, he could say…”Mr. Yang, where exactly is your team’s headquarters located? Why are you still working a second job as a medical professional?”

Fang Zheng had gone through plenty of different thoughts in his head at that moment, some of which were extremely peculiar. The human mind was a complex organ. It was capable of conjuring more than ten different thoughts in a single second and was so detailed that it made sure to include how each step would end.

However, the overall reflex speed for the other parts of the human body could not even come close to competing with the reaction speed of the human brain.

Through the corner of Fang Zheng’s eyes, he noticed a metal box containing tea leaves beside the counter, behind Mr. Yang. It was labeled Xian Tai Tea Mountain.

His quick-thinking proceeded to kick in.

There was a famous tourist spot in Zhou City called the Xian Tai Tea Mountain.

The scent of the tea leaves spread through the misty mountain fog and the taste of the tea itself was enough to cleanse one’s soul.

At the foot of that mountain would be the adjacent neighboring University City.

Most of the tea one would find in University City was mostly sourced from Xian Tai Tea Mountain. The immediate period before and after Qingming[1] was the best time to harvest the leaves and was, therefore, when fresh leaves would hit the market.

Any conflicting thoughts would only take a split second. The very instant he laid eyes on that metal box containing tea leaves, his mental reflexes reacted faster than his physical body, hence changing all of what he had intended to say initially to something else. He said, “Mr. Yang, were you visiting University City?”

Yang Feizhang was surprised as he replied, “How do you know I went over to the University City today?”

Fang Zheng was already in the store at this very moment. He pointed at the metal box and said, “The wrapper hasn’t even been unwrapped yet. That gave it away.”

“Sherlock Holmes, Fang Zheng,” Mr. Yang replied with a thumbs up.

It was only at that moment that Fang Zheng noticed Little Xue who was being obscured by Mr. Yang earlier doing her homework. This young middle school girl who was wearing rather reserved thick-framed glasses looked up immediately to see Fang Zheng who had just entered the store after she heard some sounds up front. She chuckled coldly, and although she had not said anything, her mocking undertone was obvious to anyone.

Fang Zheng had shivered instantly while cursing in his mind as to why the clues of the Supernatural Investigation Bureau would lead to Mr. Yang.

His Achilles heel would be meeting the store owner’s daughter.

Tsk!

He took a deep breath and inhaled the cold air. He could feel a dull sting in his molars.

“Daddy, Fang Zheng’s back for some more Leonurus.” Little Xue turned her head around to speak to her father.

Yang Feizhang was unconvinced. He said, “Nonsense, no man would buy Leonurus.”

Little Xue guiltily avoided staring at Fang Zheng with a smug look on her face. She turned her head around and replied to Mr. Yang, “Daddy, Fang Zheng has a girlfriend now. It’s for his girlfriend.”

“Oh, is that so?” Mr. Yang’s spirits were lifted slightly and flames of curiosity burned in both of his eyes.

“Congratulations, Fang Zheng. How long have you two been dating, and where does she live, what does she work as, when would you invite your old neighbor to your wedding?”

Fang Zheng’s face instantly dimmed.

‘Little Xue tossed a pack of dog food at you, and before she left, she glanced at your dog face and had even closed the doggy door for you to feel the desperation of being single.

‘At the same time, Mr. Yang had also tossed you a pack of dog food… no two…three…87, 99, 999. You felt an incoming 10,000 point damage.

‘And you decided to reject the offer of dog food and even kicked away the doggy bowl,’ he thought. Fang Zheng could already see the news of him having a girlfriend spreading across the entire town.

“Don’t interrupt when adults are talking.” Fang Zheng glared at Little Xue guiltily which resulted in her cold scoffing glare.

Hehe.

Fang Zheng stayed in the store for about thirty to forty minutes but had no luck in attaining the Gray Qi.

Fang Zheng was disappointed and it seemed that this pharmacy was only used as Mr. Yang’s house and had zero correlation with anyone from the Supernatural Investigation Bureau, their headquarters, and the branches.

It seemed it was only a coincidence to have gone there at the right time. Perhaps, Mr. Yang had just returned after ridding himself of any evil, which would allow him to run into the Grey Qi.

Before Fang Zheng left the store, Mr. Yang generously insisted on giving him a gift to congratulate him on finally getting himself into a relationship.

Mr. Yang decided to give the unopened tea leaves he bought to Fang Zheng. However, he refused to accept it simply because it was not in his nature to take advantage of anyone.

“Daddy, why don’t you give Fang Zheng a box of Liuwei Dihuang Tea Pills.” This statement alone had seemingly sounded like a knife stabbing his heart to Fang Zheng. This damage alone was over a million hit points.

Yang Feizhang replied, “The younger folks aren’t a fan of tea. Fang Zheng, this is a box of Liuwei Dihuang Tea Pills… Hey, where did he go?”

Fang Zheng had already fled the scene and escaped the pharmacy.

The moment he made it to a corner of the street, he ran into officer Wei who was just calling a cab.

Fang Zheng was stunned since it was the first time ever in his life seeing officer Wei in casual clothes. She was usually seen in her police uniform which made her look strict and caused a sense of distance in people since such uniforms made people feel tense. It never occurred to him that seeing her in casual clothes would make her look stunning. It felt different.

Wei Youran stopped the car while curiously staring at Fang Zheng. “I think I might’ve heard uncle Yang mention the Liuwei Dihuang Tea Pills?”

The next day.

Before seven in the morning, the Hall of Four Season Pharmacy would open up its doors.

When Fang Zheng went out to buy some breakfast. He intentionally passed by Hall of Four Season Pharmacy and noticed Mr. Yang just opening up his store. He was no longer able to collect any Gray Qi.

However, not long after that, Fang Zheng got onto the bus that was heading in the direction of the university.

The tea leaves that came from the Xian Tai Tea Mountains,

Had made its way to University City.

It was rare to have any sort of clues surface, and he was no longer blind. At the first break of dawn, Fang Zheng was extremely excited to head over to University City in order to try his luck to find the Supernatural Investigation Bureau or perhaps other clues. He was so excited he began rubbing his hands together on the bus. Fang Zheng had never forgotten about his huge sheep’s wool jacket.

At this same moment, Fang Zheng took out his domestically made smartphone to once again access the forums.

This had become a part of Fang Zheng’s morning routine.

He missed the days of hearing the people who wore sheep’s wool in the Zhou City hospital yelling, “Morning, Master!”

However, it seemed for the last couple of days, it was completely silent.

[Another success! I’ve successfully taken a picture of an old Daoist master in secret and entered the hospital in Zhou City! The original poster, I’ve decided to go on this risky adventure!]

Fang Zheng was ecstatic.

He immediately switched to another cab.

[1] The Qingming Festival is a festival where families visit the tombs of their ancestors to clean the gravesites, pray to their ancestors, and make ritual offerings. It is usually celebrated on the 15th day after the Spring Equinox which equates to around 4th to 6th April every year.