Chapter 69 – Intuition

“Grandfather, I’ll talk to you later. I need to go out for a bit.”

Lu Yuan abruptly ended his conversation with Lu Yueping, grabbed the book he had set aside, and hurried out the door.

“Will you be back for dinner? I’ll cook fish for you tonight!”

“I got it!”

Lu Yuan didn’t go far. He waited at the intersection at the end of their street.

After a while, a taxi pulled up in front of him. The door opened, and Lu Yuan quickly stepped forward to help a girl inside, who was carrying a bulging backpack.

“Thank you~”

Cheng Yue, her cheeks slightly flushed, struggled to get out of the car with her head lowered.

“No problem,” Lu Yuan said, and then tried to pay for the ride, but the taxi sped off, probably having been booked through an app.

“I’ll take it.”

Lu Yuan took Cheng Yue’s backpack, unzipped it, and saw that it contained about eight or nine books.

He took out the books, then placed his own book inside, all the while glancing at the titles.

“The Epic of Salan’er”

“The Changes in Geography and Topography (From the Middle Ages to Modern Times)”

“Savagery and Civilization”

“Entering the Baishan Era”

Most of them were the ones he needed. There were a few unfamiliar ones, but their titles piqued his interest.

Cheng Yue held the backpack and said softly, “Two of them were checked out. I checked the return dates; they should be back by next Wednesday. I’ll call and remind them for you.”

“Thank you, Cheng Yue.”

Lu Yuan sincerely thanked Cheng Yue. He couldn’t go far from home lately, so he had been relying on Cheng Yue, who worked part-time at the Library, to borrow books for him.

He felt both grateful and a bit embarrassed that she always delivered the books personally.

“Let me treat you to a meal sometime, Cheng Yue,” Lu Yuan said earnestly. “Any Dining room you want, you pick.”

“You’re so generous. What if I pick an expensive place?”

Cheng Yue couldn’t help but laugh, covering her mouth. “I hope you can afford it.”

Cheng Yue’s tone carried an inexplicable hint of something—perhaps regret—but she quickly returned to normal.

“Really, you can choose anywhere you want to eat,” Lu Yuan reiterated. He then placed the books he wanted Cheng Yue to return into her backpack, zipped it up, and slung it over his shoulder.

“I’ll call a taxi for you.”

Lu Yuan pulled out his mobile phone and used an app to book a ride for Cheng Yue.

Cheng Yue didn’t refuse. She pouted a little and stood beside Lu Yuan with her hands behind her back, occasionally glancing towards the end of the street as if counting which house might be Lu Yuan’s.

“Want some gum?”

Cheng Yue suddenly took out a pack of gum from her pocket and offered it to Lu Yuan.

He shook his head, so she popped a piece into her own mouth.

“You asked me about ancient religions related to crows. I asked my Senior Brother about it.”

Cheng Yue said while chewing her gum.

“What did he say?”

Lu Yuan’s eyes lit up at the mention. He immediately put down his mobile phone and looked at Cheng Yue.

“He said he doesn’t know either.”

Cheng Yue shook her head. “Crows are almost a universal symbol in cults. Many strange sects have some connection to crows. If you dig into it, there are just too many to investigate thoroughly.”

“Alright then.”

Lu Yuan wasn’t too disappointed. It was just a casual question, after all.

Cheng Yue, however, was curious. “Are you looking into this because of that recent explosion case?”

Lu Yuan nodded.

Cheng Yue took out her mobile phone and said, “I’ve been following it too. I heard that the chemical plant in the south district, where the incident happened, was built on an old mass grave site. Many people died there, and the crows got used to eating dead bodies, so they never left. This time, workers claimed to have seen something unclean before the explosion happened.”

Lu Yuan listened to Cheng Yue speak, his expression unchanged.

He had heard numerous versions of similar rumors over the past few days. The explosion at the chemical plant in the south district, with the involvement of a large number of crows, added an eerie twist to the story.

Rumors online grew more and more outlandish, forcing the authorities to step in and debunk them. Both the cause of the explosion case and the presence of crows were given reasonably plausible explanations.

Lu Yuan had no energy to sift through the truths and falsehoods circulating online; he was simply curious. His intuition told him that the truth behind this incident wasn’t so simple. Just before the explosion, he happened to see a shuttle dart across the sky overhead.

“It might be related to the missing persons case that hasn’t been solved yet,” Lu Yuan speculated.

“Mobile phone number ending in 7499.”

At that moment, a taxi pulled up in front of them. The taxi driver honked and leaned out of the window to ask.

“That’s us,” Lu Yuan responded, then helped Cheng Yue into the car.

Cheng Yue waved at Lu Yuan from inside the car, her smile tinged with reluctance, which made Lu Yuan momentarily see the likeness of his Elder Sister, Lu Jing.

He instinctively picked up his mobile phone and opened his chat with Lu Jing.

“I’ll video call you later.”

That was the last message Lu Jing had sent two days ago, once again failing to follow through as usual.

He tapped on Lu Jing’s profile picture, and her posts about archaeological digs and Xixu’s scenic views were frozen in time from two weeks ago.

So…

“Lu Jing, what exactly have you been through recently?” Lu Yuan murmured, then silently slung his backpack over his shoulder and headed home.

“Swish—”

“Whoosh—Swish—”

“Snap—”

The low whistling sound of a heavy axe cutting through the air, occasionally accompanied by sharp, firecracker-like snaps.

Lu Yuan stood on the rooftop, his gaze focused, continuously making punching and kicking motions in the air. It was as if he was facing an invisible, formidable opponent.

Suddenly, Lu Yuan’s eyes sharpened. The force in his legs suddenly increased, and the whistling sound through the air became piercing.

With a kick like a battle axe, he struck a massive concrete block.

“Boom—”

“Crack—Crack—”

The kick landed with a deep, thunderous sound, and long, clear cracks appeared at the base where the concrete block was joined to the ground, as if it had been struck by a colossal beast.

Lu Yuan stopped and bent down, gently rubbing his shin where he had just kicked, letting out a small hiss.

“Ow”

The sound of pain.

“After my agility points increased, my boxing power and leg strength did improve significantly. But it seems like my stamina can’t quite keep up. The basic Four Attributes really do complement each other; none can be lacking.”

Lu Yuan touched the Concrete Block that served as his target. He had no idea what it was originally used for, but with a diameter of two meters and a height of one and a half meters, the solid concrete block was perfect for his boxing stance practice.

He had wrapped one side of the Concrete Block with thick layers of cardboard, blankets, old clothes, and rubber skins, with cotton, sand, and other fillers in between. Yet sometimes, if he hit too hard, it still hurt.

After rubbing his leg for a bit, Lu Yuan stood up.

He walked to the edge of the rooftop and saw a child standing on the balcony of the neighboring building’s fourth floor. The child was holding binoculars and seemed to be watching him.

Lu Yuan squinted, trying to get a better look, but it seemed to scare the child.

The kid, holding the binoculars, was startled and quickly retreated into the room, pulling the curtains shut with a swish.

Shortly after, even the lights in the room went out.