I Am Your Natural Enemy

Wen Yan quickly picked out a villa—it was just to the east of his, with only the one Zhang Laoxi lived in separating them, and another empty one besides.

It was certainly close enough, and it was already renovated by Boss Wu himself; just needed to move in some furniture and appliances.

"This one, then. How much is it? Boss Wu, give me a fair price."

"This place, renovated and all, going by the current market rate—one and a half million. Calculated per square meter, it's even cheaper than an apartment building."

Wen Yan did a quick calculation and nodded. Wu wasn't overcharging.

"Alright, I'll take this villa."

Wu Tingsheng handed over the keys straight away, passing them to Wen Yan.

"Here are the keys, Wen Sheng. Hold onto them for now. How about coming over for a cup of tea at my place? I actually have something I'd like to ask your opinion on."

Wen Yan took the keys in hand, a bit embarrassed to turn him down.

He followed to Wu Tingsheng's villa, and as they sipped tea and chatted pleasantly, Wu Tingsheng finally spoke up.

"Actually, I've been wanting to visit you for a while now, Wen Sheng. There are some things I'd like to ask for your help with, but I didn't want to trouble you without reason."

Wen Yan laughed—this guy had been peeking at him since his first day here, Wen Yan was well aware.

But he'd also heard from Feng Yao about Wu Tingsheng, so he hadn't paid it much mind.

"Wen Sheng, I know the market prices, don't worry—just help me take a look. Even if nothing comes of it, I can't let you work for nothing. Since you just bought that place, I'll furnish it for you with all the appliances and furniture you need.

If you can actually figure out what's going on, consider that villa my thank-you gift.

If you solve the problem, I'll have further rewards for you."

"Let's not talk about that yet. Tell me what's going on first."

It's said you can't hit a guy with a smile, so Wen Yan didn't have the heart to firmly refuse.

Wu Tingsheng sighed.

"Here's the thing. My kid, when he was younger, never listened—I'd told him a thousand times not to go near the water, but he went to play in it anyway."

"Once, he went in the water and something happened."

"After he came back, he was... a little slow."

"The doctors said it was due to prolonged lack of oxygen—damaged his brain."

"But I asked other people to take a look, and they said my kid had lost part of his soul."

"I've tried a lot of things, honestly, but nothing's really worked."

"A few months ago, there started to be times when my kid would suddenly regain a little lucidity."

"But then a new problem came up—some of the things he talked about, I had no idea about."

"I had people look into it, and those things really happened."

"It got me wondering—maybe my kid isn't really him anymore."

Wen Yan glanced at Zhang Laoxi, who immediately spoke.

"You haven't had anyone check on him?"

"I have. They all say my kid's getting better, just missing a bit of his soul—not completely gone. But... sigh..."

"Is your son at home now?"

"He's in Yu State, with my old mother looking after him. I just couldn't stay, so I came back here to live myself."

Wen Yan understood. He'd actually assumed Wu Tingsheng was going to ask if he could solve the problem with the villas—as in, make them more sellable, get the price up.

When it came to that villa district's problems, Wen Yan honestly couldn't help. The basement under Old Zhao's villa—for instance—he still hadn't dared to take a look.

He hadn't expected Wu Tingsheng's problem was something else entirely.

Feng Yao was right—Boss Wu probably didn't care much about property anymore, given his net worth.

"I'm pretty busy these days—not sure I'll have time to go to Yu State."

"I'll bring my son back here tomorrow, then."

"Do you remember exactly where your son fell in the water?"

"I remember—it was in the West River, not even twenty li from here."

"The West River, huh..."

"Wen Sheng, is there a problem?"

"It's nothing—let me meet him first. Can't say anything until I've seen him."

When they left Wu Tingsheng's place, Zhang Laoxi spoke right away.

"Honestly, I think we should stay out of this."

"Let's see how things go first. We're neighbors now, and he's treating us well."

It's just that Aunt Gan warned us: don't mess with things from the water system."

We're still waiting for the Scorching Sun Department to finish with Wang Xueqi—haven't even started yet."

And now here's another case tying back to the West River."

If I'm not mistaken, the pond where Wang Xueqi drowned, that little river—it's part of the West River water system, isn't it?"

Wen Yan had a bad feeling—felt like Aunt Gan's warning was about to come true.

He didn't want to get involved, but sometimes, you can't avoid it.

Just like with Wang Xueqi's case, he couldn't possibly ignore it.

If he had to get involved once, might as well take care of everything at once.

Zhang Laoxi looked worried too.

"Yeah, it's all part of the same system. There was always a water ghost in that river—chances are, the West River has something lurking too. Just don't know if it's awakened."

Our Fuyu Mountain really doesn't get along with things in the water."

"I remember, even when I was little, I heard that a senior uncle from the previous generation—already Initiated—drowned."

At this, Zhang Laoxi switched topics.

"The way I see it, I moved here from Binhai County and started mixing around mostly 'cause the atmosphere suits me and it's easy money—but there's another reason."

"Down south, by the sea, they worship Mazu. Our Fuyu Mountain has never had any beef with Mazu."

"But here in Wei State, the locals worship the Dragon Mother. A thousand years back, still no grudges with us Fuyu crowd."

"Besides, the Dragon Mother still has temples—people are still worshiping her. So she's probably a gentle spirit."

"I'd bet there's not much to worry about."

"Really?"

"Really... probably really..."

Zhang Laoxi used to be pretty sure of himself, but after meeting Gan Tang this time—even Gan Tang said to stay away from the water—he wasn't so confident anymore.

The two of them stared at each other, clearly not very confident.

...

Outside the Duanzhou Chemical Plant.

In a makeshift tent, Feng Yao leaned in close to Cai Qidong and whispered,

"Minister, we've searched thoroughly—no sign of the Wooden Armor Mask, and the fake Mo Zhicheng's glasses are missing too."

Cai Qidong frowned slightly.

"Don't bother looking for the mask. Qin Kun said the Flying Zombie from Fuyu Mountain took it. It's better off with her anyway—something that dangerous shouldn't be in the hands of the living."

Feng Yao drew in a sharp breath, thinking to himself: so you knew it was gone all along, and didn't tell me?

"And the glasses?"

"Qin Kun didn't say where the glasses went. That probably means the flying zombie didn't take them. If she wanted them, she'd have taken them openly and nobody would say a word. Keep searching."