DT |Chapter 9: Nineteen Coffins Nine

The sun was high in the sky, and only a few students at Yunhai University were hurrying from the cafeteria to the library. Sheng Feng was worried that the dozen or so mummies exposed to the air might cause problems, so just a day later, he borrowed a truck from the aftermath department and chose to move them back to the morgue of National Security Group 7 at noon, when the yang energy was strongest. To reward the field agents of Group 7, Sheng Feng treated the whole team to a good meal. In the blink of an eye, the tables were filled, and they ate until past three in the afternoon, costing Sheng Feng half a month’s salary. Playing along, Sheng Feng wasn’t very skilled at the social games at the drinking table, and the rough field agents didn’t care about rank once they started drinking, forcing Sheng Feng to drink heavily. It was Tian Nan Di Bei who helped block a few drinks and said a few polite words, allowing Sheng Feng to slip out of the restaurant. Both of them had drunk, so they couldn’t drive. Sheng Feng had to find a designated driver online, but the nearest one would take at least twenty minutes to arrive. In this desolate university campus, there was no place to cool off, so the two of them sneaked into Yunhai University’s library to pretend to be students and enjoy the free air conditioning. “Captain, what exactly is the black market in the Xiyi Realm? How can it produce both nails and bugs? It’s like a hardware and pet market combined,” Tian Nan Di Bei whispered, pretending to be a cultured youth with a book. Looking at the cover, it was “The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists.” Sheng Feng resisted the urge to punch him and said through gritted teeth, “The Underworld says it’s something called corpse bugs, originating from the deepest part of the netherworld, and sold in large quantities in the Xiyi Realm and Nugu Realm. So it’s not just the Xiyi Realm black market that has had such transactions. Nowadays, these bugs have almost disappeared from the market.” As soon as Sheng Feng finished speaking, he looked up to see Tian Nan Di Bei’s wandering eyes, his mind clearly elsewhere, not listening at all. Anger flared in Sheng Feng’s heart, and he slapped Tian Nan Di Bei hard on the head. “Ouch, ouch…” Tian Nan Di Bei yelped, but when he met Sheng Feng’s murderous gaze, he swallowed the rest of his cry, waving his hand frantically to signal Sheng Feng to look in a direction. Sheng Feng turned slightly, pretending to glance casually in that direction, and saw a scholarly male student with glasses sitting at a table, writing something with a pen. However, a faint black aura surrounded him, so faint it was almost undetectable. Even for someone like Sheng Feng, who traversed between the living and the dead, he had to squint to see a hint of it. Sheng Feng stared at the black aura for a while, then looked at the student’s face, feeling a sense of familiarity. “Captain, should we warn him? Maybe he went somewhere unclean and got involved with something dirty,” Tian Nan Di Bei, being a “dirty thing” himself, said this with a straight face, earning Sheng Feng’s admiration. Sheng Feng had studied Yi Jing with Huang Rongxin for three years and was very sensitive to divination and feng shui. In his early years in this line of work, he would see people with black auras on the street and try to subtly warn them, only to be cursed at in return. Some divinations cannot be made, and some secrets cannot be revealed, as the saying goes: “There are three things in life that cannot be calculated, and four divinations that cannot be seen.” “Why do I feel like he looks familiar?” Sheng Feng tried to recall, standing up and walking towards the bookshelf next to the student, not forgetting to glare at Tian Nan Di Bei, signaling him to stay put. Sheng Feng casually walked to the student’s side to pick a book, but his eyes were always on the student, who was oblivious, seemingly lost in the sea of books. He held a book on design. Wait! Design major. Looking again at the bespectacled student’s face, wasn’t he the design major top student “He Bin” from the marketing accounts? “He Bin?” Sheng Feng murmured, forgetting that the library was silent. Even though his voice was soft, the other party could hear it clearly at such a close distance. Sure enough, He Bin looked up sharply at Sheng Feng. Sheng Feng’s heart skipped a beat. The vigilance in He Bin’s eyes was not something an ordinary college student would have. He casually pulled out the chair opposite He Bin and sat down, secretly glad he was in casual clothes today. “So it really is you, He Bin. I didn’t expect to meet you in the library today.” However, Sheng Feng’s friendly smile didn’t relax He Bin at all. He Bin closed his book, his eyes showing nothing but wariness towards Sheng Feng: “I don’t know you.” “There are so many people in the design major, and you study so diligently every day. How could you recognize us who just muddle through?” Sheng Feng said ambiguously, his beautiful eyes sincerely looking at He Bin. He Bin’s earlobes turned red under his gaze, and he awkwardly looked away, relaxing a bit. “Do you… need something from me?” He Bin pushed up his black-framed glasses. Sheng Feng kept praising He Bin while quickly scanning him. In a simple long-sleeved casual shirt and shorts, Sheng Feng soon noticed something odd. The cuffs, which should have been rolled up, were tightly fastened by He Bin. Although the library’s central air conditioning was blowing cold air, it couldn’t withstand the nearly forty-degree heat outside, and Sheng Feng didn’t feel cold. “Your sleeves are so tightly fastened. Are you cold?” Sheng Feng suddenly probed, giving He Bin no time to think. He Bin’s face turned pale instantly, stammering, “I… I’ve been afraid of the cold since I was a child,” he said, picking up his book and standing up, “I… I have something to do… I’ll go first.” With that, he hurriedly walked towards the library door. As he got up, his sleeve rolled up a bit, revealing a small knife wound. The smile on Sheng Feng’s face vanished instantly. He moved quickly, pulling out a small paper figure from somewhere, and with a gentle wave, the paper figure floated silently, attaching itself to He Bin’s belt as he left the library. “Captain, he’s really strange,” Tian Nan Di Bei immediately ran over to sit where He Bin had been, “Should we have someone keep an eye on him?” Sheng Feng replied coldly, “No, he’s very alert. If he finds out, it will alert the enemy, and we’re not even sure if he’s directly related to our case. It’s not good to catch the wrong person.” Why would a college student, unrelated to anything, be so vigilant in the university where he’s lived for years? After a few more minutes, the designated driver arrived, driving Sheng Feng’s car to take them directly to National Security. Before getting on the elevator, Sheng Feng instructed Tian Nan Di Bei to check He Bin’s file at Yunhai University. He needed to review it to be at ease. If it was just an ordinary dirty thing, it was fine, but if it was related to the case, that wouldn’t be good. But Sheng Feng couldn’t worry about that now. He just wanted to rush into the office, enjoy the long-lost coolness, and maybe take a nap in his personal office. As soon as he opened the door, he smelled something burning. The paper bride had found a brazier from somewhere and was burning food and drinks in it, filling the office with smoke like a scene from Journey to the West. Seeing Sheng Feng suddenly return, the paper bride quickly put down her things, looking guilty. “What’s going on?” Sheng Feng suppressed the anger rising to its peak. Unexpectedly, Shen Yan, the colorful “big fluttering moth,” floated leisurely out of Sheng Feng’s inner office, holding a large bucket of popcorn, a bag of chips, and a cup of cola. Sheng Feng realized something was wrong the moment he saw Shen Yan. He rushed over to push open his office door, only to see the desk piled high with various snacks and drinks, almost burying his computer. He wanted to explode, was furious, but couldn’t beat him. “Captain Sheng, you’re back late. I wanted to save some for you. I still have some bread I just bought. Do you want some?” Shen Yan’s words almost made Sheng Feng choke on his breath. Enough is enough! “Clean up my office and move all your stuff out!!!” “Now! Immediately! Right away!” A flock of sparrows startled from the treetops outside, losing a few feathers. Under the cover of daylight, He Bin cautiously made his way back to his assigned single dormitory on campus. He quickly shut the door, not forgetting to lock it from the inside. Beads of sweat dripped from his face like rain. Only when the surroundings were completely silent did He Bin collapse onto the bed. He quickly unbuttoned his shirt, revealing a man-made knife wound on his right arm. As he stared at the wound, the air in the room seemed to condense, mist rising, and the temperature plummeting. He Bin watched in horror as a figure appeared out of thin air in the room—a short, hunched figure with a back arched like a shriveled shrimp. He was covered in a gray-black cloak, leaning on a cane taller than himself, with an intricately carved owl on it. Seeing him, He Bin clung to him like a lifeline, his initial fear turning to anger: “I think I’ve been discovered. What do we do now? I said from the start this was too dangerous, but you insisted… If we’re found out, I…” “Useless thing, just a small National Security captain scared you into this pathetic state!” The other dismissed him, his voice sharp and hoarse, like phlegm stuck in his throat, his chest heaving with a wheezing rumble as he spoke. This statement made He Bin sit back down in fear, stammering, “You… you said the person who talked to me just now… he… he’s the National Security captain?!” “What are you afraid of? No matter how high his rank, he’s just a mortal, with a bunch of useless subordinates. They can’t make any waves.” The room’s temperature had dropped to its lowest with his words. He wobbled over to He Bin’s desk drawer, tapping it confidently. “This is our most important leverage right now. I’ll put it in a jade gourd for you. You must carry it with you and feed it regularly.” He Bin’s eyes showed hesitation as he sat nervously on the bed, his hands trembling. The strange man walked over, gripping his shoulder, squeezing lightly. The stench of decay accompanied his approach, and He Bin, unable to escape, held back his nausea. The strange man chuckled, “Don’t worry. Do as I say. As long as you feed it well, you’ll only get better grades, more scholarships than before. You’re about to graduate. I remember there’s a design exhibition next week, right? Don’t you want to take this opportunity to shine?” He Bin frowned, thinking for a moment, then nodded heavily several times.