Chapter 663 - 411: The White Skeleton and a Change of Mind

Chapter 663: Chapter 411: The White Skeleton and a Change of Mind

"I’m heading to these coordinates now. You stay here and keep watch," Wang Hao said, handing the phone back to Chen Xiaoyan.

"Let me go with you!" This was a rare lead, and Chen Xiaoyan wanted to tag along.

Wang Hao took out his own phone, opened an app, and entered the numbers he had just jotted down.

He finished entering the numbers and pressed confirm, and the location was immediately marked on the map.

When he saw the coordinates were in the wilderness outside the city, his brow furrowed. Hearing that Chen Xiaoyan wanted to go with him, he immediately refused.

"The location is in the wilderness. It’s better if I go alone."

As soon as Chen Xiaoyan heard the location was in the wilderness, she immediately gave up on the idea of going with him.

Her power was only at the high level of Tier One. If she went into the wilderness and they encountered a Mutant Beast, she wouldn’t just be useless—she’d be a liability.

Still, she asked doubtfully, "That’s strange. Why would Liu Menglong’s phone show up in the wilderness?"

Wang Hao had wondered the same thing when he saw the location on the map. But the investigation into Liu Menglong’s whereabouts had hit a dead end. This was a rare lead, and no matter how questionable it was, he had to go check it out himself.

"It is strange," Wang Hao said. "Once I get there, I should be able to unravel this mystery."

Then, he got into Chen Xiaoyan’s car and drove off alone, heading quickly toward the outskirts.

"This case has been one twist after another," Chen Xiaoyan muttered to herself as she watched the car disappear.

Afterward, she walked down the street, turned at the corner, and continued for another four or five hundred meters before stepping into a noodle shop for lunch.

With both Wang Hao and Chen Xiaoyan gone, only Zhu Daqi was left behind, his stomach rumbling with hunger.

He desperately wanted to ask Chen Xiaoyan to bring him back some takeout after her lunch.

But he only dared to think about it; he didn’t have the guts to actually ask.

"What a mess," Zhu Daqi grumbled, looking utterly dejected. "If I’d known it would turn out like this, I would’ve done anything to get out of this surveillance mission."

Then, he got back into the car, took his phone out of his pocket, and ordered himself some takeout.

...

The sun blazed fiercely, its golden rays beating down on the wilderness. The lush green plants, drained by the intense heat, drooped listlessly, swaying gently with the occasional breeze.

In the center of a muddy swamp, the murky water suddenly began to churn, and a massive silhouette broke the surface.

The creature was over twenty meters long, its body covered in purple scales, with a single, sharp red horn growing from the top of its head. It was the Red-horned Purple-scaled Lizard Beast. Because of its previous battle with Lin Li, it no longer carried its usual arrogant air.

It warily scanned its surroundings. Once it confirmed there was no danger, it began to swim toward the shore.

SPLASH...

The water churned violently, and the movements of the Red-horned Purple-scaled Lizard Beast stirred up the sediment, making the swamp even murkier.

After crawling onto the bank, the Red-horned Purple-scaled Lizard Beast didn’t move any further. It stood motionless, a faint sound issuing from its mouth.

PLOP...

After more than a minute of straining, something was ejected from the Red-horned Purple-scaled Lizard Beast’s rear.

ROAR...

Having relieved itself, the Red-horned Purple-scaled Lizard Beast let out a satisfied roar and crawled back into the swamp.

The water churned once more. A moment later, the Red-horned Purple-scaled Lizard Beast’s silhouette vanished, and the swamp grew calm again.

On the bank, the sun shone down on the Mutant Beast’s droppings. One didn’t need to look closely to see that what the Red-horned Purple-scaled Lizard Beast had excreted was, shockingly, a pristine white skeleton.

The skeleton’s sternum was crushed. And right then, inside the pocket of some clothing that had yet to be corroded away, lay a cell phone.

Upon seeing the light of day again, the phone—nearly broken and unable to make or receive calls—sent out a single transmission.

...

「Spirit Realm. Dongwu City, Chu Kingdom.」

Inside the magnificent Zhu Residence, Lin Li, having eaten and drunk his fill, rested for a short while before being escorted to the main gate by Miss Zhu.

In front of the vermilion main gate, Lin Li smiled at Zhu Xinru and said, "Miss Zhu, this is far enough."

"Alright." Zhu Xinru nodded. She then took a large paper bag from her maid, Chunxiang, and held it out to Lin Li.

"What’s this?" Lin Li looked quizzically at the paper bag she was offering.

The serenely gentle Zhu Xinru smiled and explained, "Mr. Lin, I saw how much you enjoyed the pastries made by our family’s Pastry Chef, so I had him make some for you to take."

"Miss Zhu, I’ve already imposed on you by feasting at your home. Now I’m taking pastries as I leave... I feel a little bad about this," Lin Li said, looking embarrassed.

"We’re friends. You don’t need to be so formal with me when you’re a guest in my home," Zhu Xinru said as she pressed the bag of pastries into his hands.

"Thank you." Unable to refuse her earnest generosity, Lin Li accepted the pastries.

Just as he was about to leave, Zhu Xinru stopped him.

"Wait a moment."

"Yes?" Lin Li looked at Zhu Xinru, puzzled.

"Um..." Zhu Xinru gently bit her rosy lower lip, her face filled with hesitation.

’What’s wrong with her? Is she in some kind of trouble...?’ Seeing the look on her face, Lin Li thought to himself before speaking to her.

"Miss Zhu, if you’re having some trouble, please tell me. If there’s anything I can do, I’ll do my best to help."

When Zhu Xinru heard him say this, the hesitation on her face disappeared, and a faint blush crept onto her fair cheeks.

"Since we’re friends now... just like with my cousin, let’s call each other by our given names!"

Seeing Zhu Xinru’s hesitation and how embarrassed she was to speak up, Lin Li had assumed she was facing some serious trouble.

He never expected it to be something so trivial. He was stunned for a moment.

"Of course!" Lin Li quickly recovered and said with a smile to the slightly bashful Zhu Xinru.

Zhu Xinru let out a sigh of relief now that the matter was perfectly resolved, and a brilliant smile lit up her lovely, fair face.

"Was there anything else? If not, I’ll be on my way," Lin Li said.

"No, that’s all," Zhu Xinru said. "You should come visit more often. My father has been wanting to meet you, but unfortunately, he had business and wasn’t home this time."

"Alright. I’ll visit again when I have time," Lin Li agreed with a smile. He then walked toward the intersection ahead, carrying the bag of pastries.

Carriages didn’t travel down Fugui Road, so to catch one, he had to walk to the end of the street first.

Zhu Xinru watched Lin Li until he disappeared at the intersection. Only then did she avert her gaze and turn back toward the residence.

"Miss, Mr. Lin has such a huge appetite! He ate enough for three or four people all by himself," the maid, Chunxiang, exclaimed as she looked at her cheerful mistress, recalling the meal.

"A good appetite is a blessing! There’s nothing wrong with eating a lot," Zhu Xinru said with a radiant smile.

"..." Chunxiang fell silent. She seemed to recall her mistress previously thinking that overeating was a bad thing.

...

After leaving Fugui Road, Lin Li walked over to a roadside tree and stood in its cool shade. He opened the paper bag and glanced inside.

’There are so many pastries in here. No wonder the bag felt so heavy.’

He reached into the bag, took out an exquisitely crafted pastry, and took a bite. The sweet flavor was identical to the one he had eaten in the carriage earlier. They were clearly made by the same Pastry Chef.

’I’ll give some of these to Su Yue when I get back. She’ll love them,’ Lin Li thought as he ate the pastry.

’But she’ll probably ask where I bought them. I need to figure out what to tell her.’

’This is such a hassle. At this rate, I’m going to become an expert storyteller.’

While Lin Li was pondering how to handle Su Yue’s potential questions, he saw an empty carriage approaching in the distance and waved it down.

WHOA...

Seeing someone on the roadside waving at him, the coachman immediately reined in his horse and stopped the carriage in front of the man.

Lin Li swallowed the pastry in his mouth, climbed aboard, and once inside the carriage, gave the coachman an address.

GIDDYAP...

Once his passenger was settled, the coachman flicked the reins, and the carriage set off toward its destination.

...