I Am Your Natural Enemy-Chapter 505 - 204: Clues, Statue (5k)_3

"It’s alright, I just heard about what happened. I heard you were especially angry—I was worried you got hurt, so I wanted to check on you right away."

"When I run into people like that, of course I’m angry! I wish I could catch every last one of them!"

"As long as you’re okay, that’s good. I’ll hang up now."

"Brother Wen, if you ever need anything, you have to let me know, okay? If you get any intel, especially about criminals like this, you must tell me. I’ll help without a second thought—just call and I’ll be there."

"Alright... okay, got it. I’ll remember."

After hanging up, Wen Yan gazed up at the sky, his chest tightening as if he couldn’t even breathe.

Amazing—someone who can’t drown is actually feeling suffocated just from a phone call.

The Scorching Sun Department in Haidai County really struck gold with this one.

To be honest, Wen Yan was starting to suspect that maybe Haidai’s Scorching Sun Department sent Niu Zhiqiang out to get some experience because even they felt suffocated around him.

As soon as he hung up, Wen Yan replied to Lord Zhu with a message.

The gist: Don’t worry, Niu Zhiqiang is a really good guy—takes the lead, a true warrior. He wouldn’t target ghosts for no reason.

He had barely finished sending the message when Feng Yao’s call came in.

"Wen Yan, I just looked into that Hao Mingyang guy. Found something new."

"Go on."

"This guy, he’s bought burial goods sets. His phone can’t be found, but according to what we’ve dug up, he’s bought burial sets more than once. He’s definitely a Netherworld player."

"Hmm?" Wen Yan furrowed his brows, but then his expression softened in understanding.

No wonder he’d felt like there was no way to avoid this. That explains it—he got it now.

It’s related to the Netherworld.

"No wonder we couldn’t dig up much. Now it makes sense—something must have happened in the Netherworld."

"Don’t tell me I’ve got to run into the Netherworld again?"

"For now, you don’t have to. But if what Hao Mingyang said is true—whoever’s responsible for what happened to him might be a major headache."

"Got it..."

Wen Yan was a little speechless. Basically, if it comes to it, they’re gonna make him take a trip to the Netherworld.

That damn place—he really doesn’t want to go back.

Unless...

"Let me be clear—if I really do have to go to the Netherworld, I’m not saying it’s impossible, but you’ll have to prep me with some serious firepower. I feel super unsafe in that place."

"Deal. If I find anything else, I’ll let you know."

...

In the dim wilderness, a rundown little temple sat quiet and solitary on the land.

The temple’s outer wall had half-collapsed, and a gaping hole had opened up in the ceiling. The place was a mess inside, but on the altar at the center of the main entrance, there stood a wooden deity statue whose paint had nearly all flaked off and whose body was already starting to rot.

The statue’s eyelids drooped, face serene and merciful, holding a gesture of blessing in its hand.

As time passed, the rotting form slowly and subtly began to heal; the worm-eaten holes were gradually filled in.

Outside the little temple, a thin player appeared.

The only things on him were incense sticks and candles—obviously, he knew that only burial goods of a certain level could be brought into the Netherworld.

Apart from the incense and candles, he had nothing else.

He stepped into the temple, planted two red candles on either side of the offering table, then reached for a box of matches there, struck them to light the candles, and then carefully lit some incense.

He held the incense above his head, bowing deeply and respectfully, then placed them upright in the incense burner.

"Disciple Nan Yuncai pays respect to the great deity."

Nan Yuncai kowtowed, waiting quietly. Only when he heard the faint creak of wood did he slowly raise his head.

Looking up, he saw the statue’s lowered eyelids had lifted, revealing two gemstone-like eyes underneath.

Nan Yuncai quickly lit three more sticks of incense, raising them above his head.

"Disciple has an unreasonable request—I wish to change my fate..."

The statue remained motionless, those gemlike eyes seeming to look quietly down from above.

Nan Yuncai kept lighting incense, filling the burner over and over, bowing repeatedly and offering incense, until he was physically exhausted. At last, with some regret, he turned and left the little temple, vanishing from sight.

...

The next day at noon, in a private restaurant in Guanzhong County.

Lin Jue, finally allowed out after several days of waking from a vegetative state, was at last permitted to go for a walk.

The first thing he did was indulge in a little "squandering." His hobbies were never that expensive, and now he’d finally found a place to burn through some cash.

That was buying paper money—real paper money that you could actually burn for ghosts.

He said that he’d been looked after by someone—it was only because someone helped extend his life that he came back alive.

That person wanted for nothing; there was nothing he could give. All he could offer was money.

Giving cash directly would just be insulting, wouldn’t it?

So, what to do? Paper money, of course—this stuff is actually useful.

And it’s not cheap, either. From papermaking, to ink, to woodblock carving—every step had to be handmade, and the process itself was basically an intangible cultural heritage.

It’s gratitude, support for intangible heritage, and also a way to help out any Taoist temples and monasteries that still honestly keep up their cultivation despite wind and rain.

With all those reasons, Lin Jue’s family had nothing left to say.

All they could note was that Lin Jue was finally doing something proper, even if it cost a pretty penny.

Lin Jue forked out heaps of cash, and finally managed to buy a stack of paper money that could actually be used.

Now a friend had asked him out to eat, worried he wouldn’t like noisy places, so they’d picked this private restaurant instead.

There were just three or four people at the gathering, all pretty close friends.

Before long, everyone had arrived.

Nan Yuncai was among them.

Once the meal was nearly done, the talk naturally turned to Lin Jue’s days in a coma.

Nan Yuncai looked at Lin Jue and said,

"So, have you still been gaming these last few days?"