Chapter Sixty-Nine: One Hundred and Thirty Thousand Lang Coins

"Is this not too difficult for you, little master?"
"Not at all, not at all."
Li Changqing thought for a moment and asked, "Little master Jinghui, is it easy for others to discover my identity as a zombie?"
Jinghui shook his head and replied, "My master says my eyes see with Buddha’s vision, able to perceive the hidden and the visible, so I can see the black line on your chest..."
"If you hadn’t mentioned zombies and the black line, I wouldn’t have thought about it."
"As long as you don’t say anything yourself, others shouldn’t be able to notice."
Only then did Li Changqing realize his mistake in letting Jinghui discover his zombie identity.
He must never be so careless again.
Li Changqing still had a good impression of the little monk Jinghui.
Of course, this depended on Jinghui keeping the secret completely.
Having used both threats and inducements, it shouldn’t be a problem.
On his way home, Li Changqing pondered how he should handle the imminent calamity of corpse evil.
An organization like Bureau Thirty-Six should have more detailed records than the scripture repository at Tongxin Temple.
Should he ask Hu Xiong and Bai Chuan directly?
No.
Those two are not as naive as Jinghui. Besides, he couldn’t guarantee their reaction if they learned he was a zombie.
Even with some personal ties, Li Changqing dared not risk it.
One misstep, and they might destroy him for the sake of humanity.
If he’d known that visiting Tongxin Temple would expose his zombie identity, he would never have gone.
Returning to the detective agency, Tang Xiaoyu saw the heavy look on his face. She blinked and asked, "Did you find the cause?"
"Yes," Li Changqing nodded.
Seeing his grim expression, Tang Xiaoyu carefully asked, "Is it a terminal illness?"
"Will you die?"
"How much longer can you live?"
"If you die, will you become a ghost like me?"
Why were her questions so strange...
"How would I know?" Li Changqing, though troubled, relaxed a bit upon hearing her concern.
As for the calamity of corpse evil, he didn’t tell Tang Xiaoyu, since the girl was timid and he didn’t want to frighten her.

But Li Changqing was still torn.
If he officially joined Bureau Thirty-Six, he should be able to find a solution to the calamity of corpse evil.
But the risk was great. If his identity was discovered, he’d be a lamb among wolves.
He must not act blindly—even if he wanted to join Bureau Thirty-Six, he had to ensure his identity would never be uncovered.
He entered his bedroom and continued practicing talisman-making.

...

"Director, you ought to give me an explanation."
At the headquarters of Bureau Thirty-Six, inside a spacious office.
An elderly man, dressed in a black suit, about seventy years old with a head of white hair, sat in a grand armchair.
Zhang Guichuan closed his eyes slightly, reclining on the sofa. "Hu Xiong, I’ve told you, you can’t meddle with this matter, and that’s final! Do you understand?"
"Director, I promised that kid I’d protect him..." Hu Xiong clenched his fist, clearly dissatisfied. He had no intention of abandoning Li Changqing.
The director had strictly forbidden the two men from leaving headquarters.
Hu Xiong protested, "You have to give me a reason. Who is this Shen woman anyway? Is Bureau Thirty-Six really afraid of her?"
Zhang Guichuan answered sternly, "Hu Xiong, this is a directive from above. Understood? I can only tell you that until those higher up have fully investigated the secrets of the wharf, no one is to act recklessly!"
"I’m fine with that, I follow your orders, but if Bai Chuan can’t hold back, I can’t restrain him." Hu Xiong explained.
"Bai..." Zhang Guichuan’s head began to ache—Bai Chuan was always troublesome.
Hu Xiong lowered his voice, "Director, don’t you want to know what’s going on at that wharf?"
"Director, this Shen demon is not ordinary. She’s wandering right on our turf. If something happens, we’ll be the ones held responsible."
"We should at least uncover the situation at the wharf, so we know what we’re dealing with, have some idea in our minds."
Zhang Guichuan frowned, glanced around, and spoke quietly, "You think I don’t want to? Where do we get people to investigate?"
"The one I mentioned before, Li Changqing, a probationary member."
"He’s not a formal member yet, just a temp. If he investigates on his own, we can’t control him, and the higher-ups can’t blame us."
"And Li Minghao, he’s gone home to inherit his family business, not working anymore. If he investigates, we can’t control that either."
Zhang Guichuan reminded, "Hu Xiong, I know nothing about this matter..."
"Of course, it’s all my own initiative."
"But our bureau still owes Li Changqing a sum of money. If we don’t pay him, he won’t be motivated to work. Should we approve this payment first?"
Zhang Guichuan winced. "Our bureau’s budget is always tight... this hundred and thirty thousand Lang coins... fine, just give it."
Hu Xiong breathed a sigh of relief. Whether the investigation happened or not, the main point was to get Li Changqing’s wages for him.

Otherwise, how would he have the face to see Li Changqing again?

...

With the money in hand, Hu Xiong strode energetically to the door of the detective agency and knocked.
Li Changqing opened the door, said nothing, and closed it again.
"Hey, Changqing, it’s me, Old Hu. Don’t you recognize me?"
"You’re supposed to be protecting me in secret, right? Shouldn’t you be hiding in the shadows? You’re actually showing yourself?"
Hu Xiong quickly said, "I bring good news! If you don’t open the door, you’ll regret it."
"Whoever regrets it is a fool."
Seeing Hu Xiong made Li Changqing angry—this guy had let him down twice already.
"Hu Xiong, I lay on the street all day, and you never showed up."
"Oh, I thought maybe some beautiful lady would take a liking to you and bring you home."
Knock, knock.
Hu Xiong knocked again, raising his voice, "This money, if you don’t want it, I’ll take it back. A neat sum of one hundred and thirty thousand Lang coins."
"Please come in, Mr. Hu."
The door was opened by Tang Xiaoyu, her eyes shining as she gazed at the stack of money in Hu Xiong’s hand, elated.
Hu Xiong entered, saw Li Changqing standing at the door, and thought to himself, this kid has backbone—he wouldn’t open the door even for a hundred and thirty thousand Lang coins.
In truth, Tang Xiaoyu had heard the word "money" and moved so quickly that she opened the door before Li Changqing could.
Li Changqing had just stepped forward to open the door, but pulled his foot back.
Hu Xiong placed the stack of Lang coins on the table, sat casually on the sofa, and grinned, "Changqing, come here, sit down. Let me explain—it’s all a misunderstanding."
"I did have an accident that day and couldn’t protect you, but you didn’t get into trouble, right?" Hu Xiong said cheerfully.
"You have something else?"
Seeing Hu Xiong’s manner, Li Changqing narrowed his eyes. "What are you trying to do?"
Hu Xiong said seriously, "The task from above: investigate the Riverside Wharf. Don’t worry, it’s not very dangerous, I’ll protect you from the shadows."
Li Changqing: '???'
He asked, "Mr. Hu, do I look stupid to you? Easy to fool, easy to trick?"