Chapter 25 Solving the Problem from its Root

After his encounter with the Du brothers yesterday, Wang Yunxiao felt somewhat reflective.

The level of these two men was so low it was like punching cotton.

And indeed, he had been a bit too careless.

He hadn't regarded them as worthy opponents, and clearly, they also didn't see him as one.

Neither Lv'er nor the Du brothers could truly be said to be "laying a trap"; at best, they were just "exchanging the pieces."

The ultimate goal of the person behind the scenes was always to pry into the secrets of the school. Whether he had Wang Yunxiao or not wasn't important to them. At most, they would use him as a hostage to threaten Principal Zhou into revealing the truth.

This type of opponent was one Wang Yunxiao felt deserved a bit more of his attention.

Although he didn't know why he felt he needed to take it so seriously.

It could be due to the original soul's instinct to protect his siblings, or perhaps it was because of his own inner feeling that not showing his teeth would make others think he's a free-for-use bike.

His past memories were always foggy, it felt like some key memories had been blocked. His mind was almost turning into Jerry's favorite Swiss cheese.

There was a deliberate sense of alienation.

It was as if Little Karami, poor and unimpressive, who roamed the streets with the Ghost Fire Brothers every day, suddenly remembered, "My grandfather is a big shot in the Military Department, my father is a terrorist, and if I don't repaint my beloved little electric scooter's rubber tires, I'm going to inherit a billion-dollar fortune..."

Even though he couldn't recover his past memories, Wang Yunxiao felt that he must have been a proud and confident person.

He couldn't tolerate these underhanded tricks that just couldn't see the light of day.

He frequently couldn't suppress the urge to cover his face and corner those despicable cowards, who only knew how to manipulate and conspire, to crush every single one of their bones.

Could it be that in my last life, my name was Bruce Wayne, or was I some kind of street vigilante?

These tactics of threats made over the phone were just too clumsy, or rather childish. A real professional investigator could effortlessly trace the problem back to its root and find the mastermind behind it all.

Let alone in this world, there are also some not-so-scientific mystical forces at play.

Yesterday on the phone, Wang Yunxiao faintly heard the sound of glass objects clinking. If he wished, in the area between the school and the police station, finding a shop that installed phones and sold glass products would be almost effortless.

He just had to follow the phone line.

As for why it was a shop and not a private house... This area was all working class, there wouldn't be any grand mansions here.

But there was no need to compete with the relevant departments for this kind of work.

Watching the direction of the grey military uniforms as they moved, they couldn't be far. They hadn't even driven over, probably for fear of alerting the target.

Wang Yunxiao wasn't in a hurry and seriously finished his pancake fruit and tofu brain.

Not until those in grey military uniform had gone far away and the police station's entrance was completely quiet did the door of a nearby shop cautiously open from the inside. A sneaky figure came out, closed the door, and quickly walked away in a different direction.

Wang Yunxiao patted Guozi on the shoulder and, without drawing attention to themselves, followed after.

Indeed, mysterious powers existed in this world, and it was possible that they might encounter entities that couldn't be overcome by mere mortal flesh and blood.

But Wang Yunxiao wasn't very afraid.

He remembered reading the Luo Family's collection of Cthulhu mythos novels when he was in school.

His heart didn't stir in the slightest.

What kind of future can a guy who only threatens others over the phone with words have? And how capable can the person backing him really be?

The man was very alert, his head twisting around every now and then to take a look behind him.

However, Wang Yunxiao and Guozi had no intention of hiding their presence at all, allowing him to see them clearly, which only made him more panicked.

Seeing that someone was following, the man became erratic in his pace and just as he reached the mouth of an alley, he twisted his body and darted in.

If he had continued to walk on the main street, Wang Yunxiao wouldn't have been able to do much to him, but as he had chosen to run into the alley himself, Wang Yunxiao and Guozi immediately rushed forward, taking three steps as if they were two.

"What do you want! Don't come here!"

The man, desperate and directionless, had run about fifty or sixty meters before Guozi grabbed a brick from the side and smacked it right onto his back, making him fall face down to the ground.

He got up and pulled out a small knife from his chest, waving it around trying to intimidate, but Wang Yunxiao kicked the knife out of his hand, grabbed his arm and twisted it behind him, pinning him to the ground and asked coldly, "Do you know what's good for you?"

"I know your moth..."

"Gag him!"

Wang Yunxiao didn't bother to argue with him, calling Guozi over to stuff something into the man's mouth that they'd picked up from the ground, and then he snapped one of the man's fingers.

"Uuuuuuuh—!"

The man began to struggle violently in an instant.

Guozi gave him a slap in the face, which silenced his screams once again.

"Do you know what's good for you now? Can you understand human speech?"

Wang Yunxiao asked again, and this time the kid finally got the message and nodded vehemently.

"I ask something, you answer. One more word of nonsense, and I'll break another one of your fingers!"

Wang Yunxiao pulled out the gag from his mouth and asked quickly, "What's your name?"

"Big bro, you've got the wrong person, I don't know... Aaaah uuuuu..."

After repeating the process, Wang Yunxiao asked again, "What's your name?"

"Liu Jinfa! Big bro, please don't... Aaaah uuuuu..."

"Still can't understand people? I ask something, you answer. Don't call me big bro, don't try to cozy up to me! Say it again, what's your name?"

"Liu Jinfa!"

After breaking three fingers, the man finally got a bit smarter. But judging from his bloodshot eyes and tears and snot streaming down his face, he seemed to be on the verge of passing out.

Wang Yunxiao then asked about his work and life, to which he answered honestly, no longer daring to pull any tricks.

"Who are you hanging with now?"

"Third Master Ding! The Third Master Ding from Nanshi, who deals with incense and candles!"

This loafer, if directly confronted, might have refused to talk, standing firm out of some misguided sense of loyalty to the Jianghu World. But after the mix of soft and hard tactics, it was much easier to get him to talk.

"Incense and candle business? Dealing in the dead's wealth?"

Such shady businesses always find a more "respectable" name for themselves. For example, a thief wouldn't call himself a thief; he'd dub himself Buddha Master. Tomb robbers wouldn't admit what they do; they'd just call themselves Grave Diggers.

"Yeah, doing Ghost Marriage Arrangements, making Funerary Objects, crying at funerals, relocating graves, all that kind of business..."

Having already spilled the beans about his affiliation, Liu Jinfa no longer hid anything and spilled everything like pouring beans from a bamboo tube.