Chapter Ninety-Eight: Wang Dalong

Leaving Kelly's apartment, Li Changqing could tell that Bai Chuan looked grave, and asked, "Was the one in Kelly's dream the evil god Jugras? Was he trying to..."

"He wanted to tempt Kelly into releasing him from beneath the earth," Bai Chuan said calmly. "Perhaps the malevolent aura had not yet fully dispersed from Kelly's body. Borrowing that power, he finally tried to lure him."

"Fortunately, your detective friend had no greed in his heart and did not fall for it."

The two reached the roadside, pulled open the car door, and got in. After they were seated, Li Changqing asked, "Will it come after Kelly again?"

"Whether it will go after Kelly is uncertain, but it will surely come for the Losetti family. The bloodline of the Losetti family may be connected to the seal of this evil god."

Bai Chuan opened the window, and fresh air poured in from outside. He rested one hand on the window frame and glanced toward the apartment.

Then he turned back and said, "Next, you need to prepare yourself properly. Soon, people from headquarters will come to test you. Once your identity is confirmed, there will be a centralized assessment mission, something like a major exam. After you pass, you can officially join."

"Headquarters? A major exam?" Li Changqing asked with curiosity. "Since I'm already about to join, can you tell me about our organization?"

All he knew so far was that there was the Thirty-Sixth Bureau and the Thirteenth Bureau, and that the organization specialized in dealing with monsters and ghosts, with some background in the Federal government. He knew nothing else.

"Our full name is the Vermilion Bird Federal Bureau of Anomalous Investigation. We are not under the local governments of the Federation, but receive orders directly from the highest levels of the Investigation Bureau."

"There are branch bureaus below us, each responsible for its own region. Our Thirty-Sixth Bureau handles the anomalous affairs of Southlin City."

"Those of us here obey the Investigation Bureau and can obtain many cultivation arts for refining spiritual energy, as well as guidance in combat techniques."

"In fact, there are not many people like you or me who join the Thirty-Sixth Bureau midway. More often, people are like Hu Xiong, discovered and cultivated from a young age."

Only then did Li Changqing nod, feeling that one of the doubts in his heart had been answered.

An organization as vast as the Investigation Bureau could not possibly solve its manpower problems by simply recruiting outsiders.

Most of its people must be trained in-house.

"The children in the Bright Grace Orphanage are future personnel being cultivated by the Thirty-Sixth Bureau. They are all abandoned children who possess a talent for spiritual energy."

"The Thirty-Sixth Bureau adopts them, teaches them skills, and has them cultivate spiritual energy. When they turn eighteen, after a spiritual assessment or an evaluation of ability, if they meet the requirements for frontline combat personnel, they are brought in."

"If they do not meet the requirements, they are transferred to clerical positions."

"Your major exam after the monster assessment will be an ability evaluation together with those eighteen-year-olds. Only those who meet the standards will be formally recruited."

This had been carefully considered. These children, raised from childhood, had a far deeper understanding of monsters and ghosts than ordinary people, and the Investigation Bureau also needed a large number of clerical staff.

Their loyalty to the Investigation Bureau was also stronger than that of others.

At the very least, stronger than Li Changqing's.

"The world's various forms of demonization have also become more and more severe in recent years. Our Vermilion Bird Federation and the Lamera Empire are in somewhat better shape, but the smaller countries around us are facing an increasingly grim situation."

"Many monsters and ghosts, even underground evil gods, are awakening and stirring."

"..."

Bai Chuan, a man of few words, kept talking this time and introduced many things to Li Changqing.

Listening to him, Li Changqing gradually came to a more complete understanding of the Investigation Bureau and the world of the uncanny.

By the time he finished, it was already three in the morning.

Bai Chuan drove to the tea pavilion bun shop...

The shop lights were still on. In the middle of the night, Tang Xiaoyu rested her chin in one hand at the dining table, idly spinning a pen holder, while Li Lin had already gotten up and was busy at work.

This was the daily life of the bun shop.

Rising early every day to prepare.

"Sis."

Li Changqing smiled as he walked into the bun shop. Li Lin poked her head out from the kitchen, frowned, and said, "Why did you come so late? Xiaoyu has been waiting for you all night and still hasn't slept."

Li Lin came out of the kitchen, wiped her hands on her apron, and said, "Hurry and take Miss Xiaoyu home to rest properly. Oh, and if you have nothing to do tomorrow afternoon, go to Qingxue's school and help her with the parent-teacher meeting. I have to go in and buy another batch of flour tomorrow afternoon."

"Oh, and if the homeroom teacher criticizes you, keep your mouth shut. Every parent-teacher meeting ends with a scolding."

"Mm, got it."

Li Changqing nodded with a smile, then asked, "By the way, I remember Qingxue's teacher is the homeroom teacher, right? Does her teacher like smoking and drinking?"

Li Lin seemed to realize something and said, "They're an elite school. The teachers' salaries aren't low, so don't get any crooked ideas. If you go to give gifts, they won't accept them."

"I even bought cigarettes and liquor to give him last time, and he flatly refused them, saying that was his duty."

Li Changqing blinked. "Sis, where did you give them to him?"

"His office."

"I'll try tomorrow."

He led Tang Xiaoyu home to rest.

The next morning, Li Changqing changed into a suit and combed his hair into a grown-up style.

After all, he was going to a parent-teacher meeting.

"You're going to a parent-teacher meeting, not on a blind date. Why dress up so handsomely?" Tang Xiaoyu could not help but complain from the side.

"Come on, come on, go out with me to buy a few things," Li Changqing said, and took Tang Xiaoyu out with him.

At this hour, the sky was only just beginning to brighten. The grass by the roadside still held droplets of dew, and a breeze passed through, bringing a faint chill.

Walking into a tobacco and liquor shop, Li Changqing did not buy what was appropriate, only what was expensive.

He bit the bullet and bought five bundles of Southlin Gate cigarettes, each bundle costing four hundred Lang coins.

He also bought two bottles of Zhu Ping liquor, each at three hundred seventy Lang coins.

This was already considered a generous gift.

Along the way, he also spent a hundred Lang coins to have a ceremonial banner made.

Nearly three thousand Lang coins in all—almost half a month's salary even for a teacher at an elite school.

Li Changqing had indeed spent lavishly on this, but of course, it was very important.

At noon.

Dressed in formal attire, Li Changqing and Tang Xiaoyu walked into Flower Language High School. After asking where the office of the homeroom teacher, Wang Dalong, was, he led Tang Xiaoyu there at once.

There were quite a few other teachers in the office as well, either grading homework or preparing lessons.

Li Changqing gently knocked on the door and asked, "Excuse me, is Teacher Wang Dalong here?"

Wang Dalong stood up and looked at Li Changqing in puzzlement. "May I ask who you are?"

At this age, he did not look like a student, nor like a student's parent.

What had he come to see him for?

"I was your student before, and I've come specifically to thank you, Teacher Wang."