Chapter 178 - Here It Comes
Chapter 178: Here It Comes
Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio
When Great-Grandma entered the house, she was startled by the sight of a woman hanging from the house. She was deliberately silent, cajoling her great-grandson into the room while eating watermelon. Her great-grandson was also startled. That was Great-Grandma’s mischievous personality.
After they were scared, both Great-Grandma and Li Xianyu ignored her and thought she was in the way. They then sat on the threshold eating watermelon. The reason they didn’t handle it was that they didn’t know where the female ghost came from. What if she had something to do with Old Man Xu…?
Things in the world were about cause and effect. Neither of them would have struck so easily until they knew the truth.
“Sir, can you wash some pears for us? I have something to talk to my colleague.” Li Xianyu pointed to the stolen pears that were placed on the table. Old Man Xu nodded and went out with the pears. As soon as he left, Li Xianyu raised his head and blew a breath out. The yellow talisman paper shook, then drifted slowly.
The ghost on the beam lost its grip and changed in shape. It was as if she had cataracts and red blood trickled out. Her skin was bulging with terrifying blue and black blood vessels, revealing her fangs as she lunged towards the two.
Well, instead of chasing Old Man Xu, he’s targeting me and Great-Grandma, proving that Old Man Xu wasn’t the killer.
Great-Grandma exhaled softly, and a strong gust of wind blew in the house, tearing apart the ferocious ghost in the wind. It turned into smoke and vanished.
It’s effortless for Great-Grandma to destroy a vengeful spirit, but as Li Xianyu’s strength had steadily improved, her powers had gradually became apparent. If it was Li Xianyu, he wouldn’t have done it as effortlessly as she had.
“Great-Grandma, what should we do now?” Li Xianyu asked.
“First, check the surrounding area of the reservoir. If that thing is gone, we’ll go back. If it’s not, we’ll stay here and wait for it.” Great-Grandma pinched her fair chin.
“Let’s dive into the water and find it,” Li Xianyu proposed.
Great-Grandma waved her little hand and hit Li Xianyu on his head. “You have to remember two things when you go out in the world. First, don’t be too ostentatious. Second, when you go to a strange place, remember to scout the place. Do you know why you want to scout the place?”
“Yeah I know, because it’s other people’s turf.”
“Other people’s territory are dominated by others, and you can’t be reckless even if you are far better at fighting,” Great-Grandma advised earnestly. “The water is the territory of foreign species, and in the water, it is definitely more ferocious than we are. Don’t go into the water so easily. Even if you have a self-healing ability, it’s not fool-proof.”
Li Xianyu nodded slightly.
As they chatted, Old Man Xu walked in with wet pears in his hand.
Li Xianyu took two, and told the old man, “We’re going to go around the reservoir, you don’t have to follow.”
The old man cautioned, “Be careful, there are wild boars in the mountains.”
Great-Grandma’s eyes immediately lit up. After this reminder, Great-Grandma’s mind was mostly in the mountains, and her glance swept across the mountains, observing for any motion.
After all, it was his mission so Li Xianyu focused on checking the suspicious traces by the reservoir. A month after the monster arrived at the reservoir last week, Li Xianyu presumed it to be a reptile, such as a crocodile. It would have been impossible to find any trace of its entry by now, but if it left the reservoir, there would be traces of crawling along the bank.
The reservoir was big, and their walking stamina were not comparable to those of ordinary people, but after walking the perimeter of the reservoir, the sky was dark.
Unfortunately, no suspicious traces were found. Old Man Xu said that he had been patrolling the reservoir all the time, how could he survive if the monster was still there?
“Gran, do you think that thing transformed into a human and left?” Li Xianyu asked worriedly.
The ability of a foreign species to transform into a person meant that it possessed the combat power of a senior employee. On land, Li Xianyu could not win against a senior employee in a one-on-one battle unless she was a female. His chance was even lower if it was a water battle.
“Boar meat is delicious,” Great-Grandma murmured.
“What?”
“Boar meat is delicious. I have had it with your father once before.” Great-Grandma swallowed her saliva, and her expression was so sincere.
“I’m on a mission. Can you be more serious?” Li Xianyu exclaimed in frustration and wanted to pinch her cheeks and squish it.
“I know, I know,” she said, “I’m going to help you out. What’s there to be afraid of? After this mission ends, let’s go to the city, I want to buy something.” She knew Li Xianyu spent 20 points to exchange for 200,000 dollars.
Li Xianyu replied, “Mhmm.”
There were 70 ways to cajole women. One was shopping. The other was 69. Of course he couldn’t do 69 with Great-Grandma, so that left shopping.
They didn’t return to the dilapidated house but entered the deep mountains. They were looking for a wild boar, but didn’t find it, so they caught two Mount Jinwei chickens, one for the old man and one for their dinner.
“That’s too nice of you.” Old Man Xu was flattered and looked at the two young police officers.
Catching wild chickens on this mountain was a lot more difficult than fishing. He didn’t hear any gunshots. The two wild chickens were alive and well when they returned, and there were no wounds on the chickens.
“There’s no boar. I don’t see a boar.” Great-Grandma was obsessed with wild boars.
“The wild boars are deep in the mountains and occasionally come to the reservoir. You have to encounter them by chance,” Old Man Xu said.
Deep forests had no natural gas, but they had earthen stoves and coal stoves. They made chicken stew in coal stoves, and used the earthen stoves for cooking rice and vegetables. The old man added his treasured spices to the chicken soup, such as star anise, cinnamon, pepper and fennel. If they hadn’t caught the chickens, they would have eaten only some vegetables tonight.
“It’s hard to catch fish so I really think it’s still in the water.” The old man steamed vegetables and said, “I haven’t caught a fish in days.”
“You can’t go on like this. You can’t stay here all the time. What do you do when you’re sick and you’re injured? When we get back, we’ll contact a nursing home and arrange it for you.” He didn’t say that the old man and his family could get reunited. Something happened and it was hard to return to the old days.
It was like how it was too late for Great-Grandma to try to be a dignified ancestor. Li Xianyu couldn’t forget the way she was coddled and threw tantrums, or the way she spent money like it was flowing water.
“Alright, it’s done, we can eat it.” Great-Grandma squatted by a coal stove, sniffing the smell of chicken. She looked on with big eyes and looked particularly adorable.
There were three dishes and a pot of chicken. There wasn’t a big pot, and they placed the small pot of soup on the table.
A layer of oil floated on the chicken soup, and the chicken was stewed. It melted in the mouth, and when one gently sucked, the skin was also sucked into one’s mouth. When the food slipped into the stomach, there was a lingering fragrance in the mouth.
“It tastes exquisite,” Li Xianyu commented. His wallet was filled with cold food, canned food and so on, but it wasn’t convenient for him to take them out.
“Chicken soup is more delicious.” Great-Grandma held the bowl in her hands and drank it with satisfaction.
“When I catch the monster, I will bring it back to the village so that everyone knows I’m telling the truth,” Old Man Xu declared with determination.
After they finished eating, Old Man Xu started to talk about his little grandson. “Heaven is blind. God knows why I didn’t die. I am old now and I’m suffering even if I survive. My grandson was only 10 years old. I have two things I want to do now. First is to catch that monster and avenge my grandson. The next would be for my son and daughter-in-law to give birth to another grandchild. Otherwise, my bloodline will be gone.” The ordinary old farmer had his own insistence. He had lost his beloved grandson, but had not yet fallen apart, perhaps because of his determination to prove his innocence.
Great-Grandma felt the same way. “It’s time to give birth to another. The world says there’s no big deal beyond life and death, but I don’t think that life and death are serious matters. The most important thing is to have descendants and carry on the bloodline.”
Pity that I have only one cub left in the Li family, Great-Grandma thought.
“Rest assured, we’ll help you,” Li Xianyu comforted. “Are you really not considering about nursing homes?”
According to the company’s regulations, the contents of the mission were absolutely confidential to ordinary people, and the bodies of the monster would certainly be taken away. They could not let Old Man Xu drag it down the mountain. However, Li Xianyu thought if it was an ugly looking freak, he could allow some liberties.
It’s too early to think about this. Wait till we catch the monster.
Ring ring ring. The bell rang in the evening wind from far away. It was quiet in the mountains, so it was vaguely audible.
“What’s that sound?” Li Xianyu looked out of the house.
Old Man Xu’s body shook and he stood up almost violently. He knocked over the stool, and his mouth trembled with agitation. “Here comes the monster! It’s caught in the net!”