Chapter 85: Incident

Chapter 85: Chapter 85: Incident

He tapped open his phone’s messages, and line after line of text appeared.

"Brother Xing! Hahaha, you won’t believe how incredible little Erhei is! The thief came back for the feed, just like you said. He was a trained martial artist and almost got away. But thank god for little Erhei! He’s just too amazing. I barely saw what happened, but little Erhei bit that bastard’s leg twice. Now he’s lying on the ground, can’t move at all, haha!"

A slight smile curved Ye Xing’s lips. ’Little Erhei is a Demon Beast, after all.’ Even though it was only a Level 1 Demon Beast, dealing with an ordinary person was a piece of cake. Even if that person was a trained martial artist, they were absolutely no match for little Erhei. As long as the thief dared to show up, his capture was a foregone conclusion.

Of course, they lived in a society governed by law. Ye Xing had already instructed little Erhei not to inflict serious harm. Just ensuring the man couldn’t escape was enough. If the thief were seriously injured, it would likely lead to a mountain of trouble and legal issues. A minor injury, however, was no big deal. The guy was a thief, so even if the police got involved, Ye Xing wouldn’t be in the wrong.

Ye Xing had left little Erhei at Zhu Dazhuang’s house precisely to catch the thief. He wanted to see who was behind this and smoke out the forces backing them. Ye Xing was certain the thief wasn’t working alone; there had to be an organization behind him. A common burglar would have nabbed a few valuable fish while they were at it. After all, a single fish was worth hundreds, even a thousand yuan. Grabbing just a few would net them several thousand yuan. Yet this thief ignored the fish, his target fixed solely on the feed.

’Stealing fish feed to research it and reverse-engineer the formula... that’s not something an ordinary person can pull off. It has to be the work of an organization.’

Ye Xing didn’t want someone constantly spying on his operation. He had to catch this thief and follow the trail right to the top. Now that Zhu Dazhuang had the man, the first step was complete. All that was left was to make the thief talk, and Ye Xing had plenty of ways to do that.

Swiping his finger across the screen, Ye Xing immediately dialed Zhu Dazhuang’s number.

A recorded voice answered—

"Sorry, the number you dialed is powered off."

’Powered off? What’s going on?’ Ye Xing froze for a second, his expression filled with confusion.

’Did his battery die, or what? Never mind, I’ll just go to his house and check.’ With a decisive look, Ye Xing retracted the Purple Light Group. He channeled his True Qi and activated his Lightweight Skill. Pushing off the ground, he flew into the air and leaped out of the ancient well.

It was early morning, just past seven. A refreshing coolness tinged the fresh air.

Ye Xing locked the door to his ancestral home and headed for Zhu Dazhuang’s house.

He had just turned into a small alley when suddenly—

"Cousin Ye Xing! Cousin Ye Xing! Haha, fancy seeing you again!"

A boy’s voice called out from down the alley.

Ye Xing turned and couldn’t help but roll his eyes. It was his younger cousin, Cheng Xiaohai. Cheng Xiaohai was carrying a bag that seemed to contain a white martial arts uniform.

"Little Hai, off to the dojo to practice martial arts?" Ye Xing smiled. "How’s your training going?"

"Yep, today’s Sunday. I practice two days a week," Cheng Xiaohai said with a sly grin. "It’s going pretty well. I’m an amazing fighter now; pretty much no one in my class can beat me. Hey, Cousin Ye Xing, how about I teach you a move or two? My instructor taught us; they’re super useful in a real fight."

"Don’t be ridiculous," Ye Xing chided with a laugh. "You’re supposed to be learning martial arts for discipline and exercise, not to go around picking fights. By the way, how come you’re by yourself? Where’s your mom?"

"I told her to go home. I’m a big kid now, I don’t need her to walk me," Cheng Xiaohai said with a pout. "If my classmates found out, they’d laugh their heads off. Besides, her shop is really busy, and I told her not to come, so she didn’t. Bilin Village isn’t even that far from Luoxian County. It’s just one bus ride and a short walk to the dojo. My mom’s always worried I’ll get lost or something, trying to scare me with stories about kidnappers. Hmph, I’m so good at fighting now, if a bad guy actually showed up, I’d just punch them and they’d run away scared!"

"Haha, it’s good to be independent, but you still need to be careful on your own," Ye Xing said. "I’ve got something to take care of right now, so I can’t take you to Luoxian County. Be careful on the bus, watch out for cars, and remember to call me if you run into any trouble."

"Okay, no problem! Well, Cousin Ye Xing, I gotta go, or I’ll be late. Hehe, my instructor is teaching us a new move today, and I heard it’s super awesome!" Cheng Xiaohai said, then dashed off toward the Bilin Village bus stop with his bag in hand.

"Haha, that kid is something else," Ye Xing said, shaking his head with a smile. He then continued on his way to Zhu Dazhuang’s house.

Zhu Dazhuang’s home was a two-story house. Previously, he hadn’t had the money for renovations, so the walls were just exposed red brick. But in the two months since he started working with Ye Xing, he’d made a good amount of money. The house’s exterior was now finished with cement and tile, making it look much better than before.

"Dazhuang, you home?" Ye Xing called out toward the house.

"WOOF!" "WOOF WOOF WOOF!"

A series of excited, high-pitched barks came from inside. It was little Erhei. It had clearly heard Ye Xing’s voice and was yapping with joyful excitement.

CREAK!

Ye Xing pushed open the main gate to Zhu Dazhuang’s house. The moment it swung open...

SWOOSH!

A small black shadow shot forward and leaped excitedly into Ye Xing’s arms. It nuzzled its little head against Ye Xing’s stomach, whining for attention.

"Hahaha, that tickles! Erhei, calm down," Ye Xing said with a laugh, patting Erhei’s little head. "Hey, why is the yard so quiet? Where’s Zhu Dazhuang? Do you know?"

"WOOF WOOF!" Little Erhei shook its head to say it didn’t know. After helping catch the thief, it had been standing guard in the yard.

Ye Xing went inside to look around and found the house empty. Zhu Dazhuang really wasn’t home.

’That’s weird. Where could he be? And his phone is off... could he have gone to the county to deliver fish?’ Ye Xing wondered.

Zhu Dazhuang drove to Luoxian County every morning to deliver large batches of Immortal Flavor Old Fish to the major restaurants and hotels. So, Ye Xing guessed he might have gone to make his deliveries. But even so, his phone shouldn’t be turned off. It was a little worrying.

"Oh, Axing, what are you doing here? Looking for Dazhuang?" an old man asked as he happened to be passing by the house, seeing Ye Xing step out.

"Yeah, I am. Uncle Liu, do you know where Dazhuang is?" Ye Xing asked quickly. Since Uncle Liu was Zhu Dazhuang’s neighbor, he might actually know where he was.

"Dazhuang got beat up this morning. He’s laid up in the village clinic now," Uncle Liu said with a sigh.