Chapter 185: The Lurkers Are All Big Shots

It was June 10th, the seventh Friday of the semester.

The old man got up early in the morning to make his trademark dish — Chinese soup dumplings. This had been his specialty when he had become a star chef back then. At one time, his soup dumplings had dominated Breakfast Street, and because of it, he had been bestowed the title King of Dumplings.

An excellent soup dumpling usually had three special qualities: it had to have thin skin and generous filling, and it had to be juicy. Grandfather Wang's soup dumplings had a fourth, very special quality: it could very easily remind people of the taste of their mothers' cooking. Just one bite could cause a person to tear up uncontrollably, as if they had been hit with tear gas.

So this morning, when Father Wang saw the Chinese soup dumplings specially made by Grandfather Wang, he very conscientiously prepared two large wads of paper napkins well in advance on the table.

Of course, not everyone would shed tears after eating the old man's soup dumplings.

Wang Ling wouldn't — after all, tears would really ruin the cold image that he had built for himself. Thus, while he ate the soup dumplings, he used his spirit energy to seal off his acupuncture points and block his tear ducts.

During breakfast, the old man and Father Wang had a habit of watching the news.

When Father Wang turned on the TV, it just happened to be broadcasting the morning news. The female broadcaster had on a solemn expression as she reported, "Next is breaking news. As of six thirty-eight this morning, thirty-two Riceball Takeout delivery employees have gone missing since yesterday. This horrendous mass disappearance has caused widespread panic in takeout delivery circles. The cultivation police held an emergency conference last night. They suspect that there is a high probability that this mass disappearance of takeout delivery employees is linked to the Master of Shadow Stream, Jiang Liuyue, who is still at large. At the moment, this incident is still under investigation..."

When he saw this news, the old man sighed. "The world is so dangerous nowadays — you can lose your life even just by delivering takeout."

"Dad, you think this has something to do with the Master of Shadow Stream? Didn't the police say that they only suspected that she was involved? They still haven't found any proof." Father Wang took a bite of his soup dumpling, then wiped at his tears.

"I was just saying it casually. But if this had been in the past and the suspect had ordered my soup dumplings as takeout, it wouldn't have been unusual if this could help solve the case." The old man looked at the Chinese soup dumplings on the table and sighed at the unforgiving passage of time. "I've only been busy growing vegetables after I retired. My cooking skills are already no longer what they were when I was at my peak. In the past, the soup dumplings which I made could cause people to tear up just from its aroma."

Father Wang and Wang Ling: "..."

The old man: "In the past, my Chinese soup dumplings were like tear gas grenades; they were even used by the police who went undercover as deliverymen to send them to criminals. As soon as those criminals smelled my soup dumplings, they would be almost blinded by the tears in their eyes. This was the moment when the police would sweep in and apprehend them."

Father Wang and Wang Ling: "..."

...

This mass disappearance of Riceball Takeout delivery employees was probably the second major event to have happened in recent times following the Shadow Stream incident. Wang Ling thought that the police's suspicion made sense; from a criminal investigation point of view, it was indeed very easy to link these two events together.

Furthermore, Wang Ling knew that this Master of Shadow Stream was currently injured. He had blasted apart her spirit clay clone, causing her to straightaway lose six hundred years' worth of cultivation. Her real body would certainly have been injured by the backlash; this definitely would have affected her cultivation in seclusion, and she would require some time to heal.

During this period, nutrition would obviously be vital. Although a true cultivator could give up their food cravings and absorb the nutrition they required through natural spirit energy, an injured person had to eat when they needed to... this was the best way for their body to recover quickly.

To sum up, Wang Ling felt that this wasn't a simple matter, and in his heart he strongly agreed with the police's opinion that this most likely had something to do with the Master of Shadow Stream.

Although the Shadow Stream incident had come to an end, the final "tail" had ultimately still escaped, after all. She was an unpredictable element who made Wang Ling very uneasy. The view of the rest of the world was that there was already no way that Shadow Stream could make a comeback after this. Wang Ling, however, felt that until this Master of Shadow Stream was apprehended, this matter was not over.

As it turned out, it wasn't just Wang Ling who thought this way.

Great minds did think alike...

Opening his group chat, Wang Ling found quite a number of people discussing this matter.

Everyone knew that Shadow Stream this terrorist organization wasn't completely done for until its leader was caught. In cultivation circles, anyone with even the smallest sense of righteousness was looking into information on her.

Speaking of good people with righteous hearts, there were of course plenty of people in this group who wouldn't lose out to Grenade-Throwing Senior Immortal.

When Wang Ling went online, Cailian Zhenren happened to be discussing this issue with the other people in the group.

Cailian Zhenren: "This incident is a little strange, what do you think?"

Bulang Blade Immortal sent a meme of a man pushing up his glasses. "I have a friend who works at the police station. They say that those deliverymen all went missing in the same area."

Cailian Zhenren: "Are there specific coordinates for the place?"

Bulang Blade Immortal: "Yes, and it's been determined that the delivery orders came from a convenience mart in the basement of a luxury apartment. But that mart has already been abandoned for a long time, and the people in the surrounding area have no idea who's living there. Because there aren't any surveillance recordings of the basement, the police currently can't confirm whether this convenience mart has anything to do with those missing deliverymen."

"That's easy enough to do, we can collect the evidence." Cailian Zhenren nodded before she swiftly replied, "I remember that Immortal Toya developed a soul-gathering incense which can collect ghosts from ten li around in half an hour. If these deliverymen died tragically, then these vengeful ghosts will act as evidence."

But after Cailian Zhenren said that, Immortal Toya didn't immediately reply. Grenade-Throwing Senior Immortal specifically @-mentioned him in the chat. "Brother To, are you here?"

Very quickly, Immortal Toya sent a sweat meme. "I'm refining elixirs... I have a lot of soul-gathering incense. If you need any help, I can come back from Chrysanthemum Island at any time. I'm more familiar with how to use it and I can control the range for collecting souls. If someone else handles this and draws malicious spirits over, that'll ruin everything."

"Very well, then Brother To is in charge of collecting the souls. But even if we do collect evidence, from a lawful point of view, we still need to catch the suspect." Grenade-Throwing Senior Immortal nodded and said, "I have something on today and I can't go myself, so someone else needs to come forward now. It would be best if they can disguise themselves as a delivery employee and go to that convenience mart to act as bait..."

A moment later, Cailian Zhenren was the first to volunteer. "How about I go?"

Immortal Toya: "Are you done with your period?"

Cailian Zhenren: "Not yet... but it only hurts a little, it's not a big deal."

Lightning Dharmaraja: "Then what about I go?"

Cailian Zhenren: "If Dharmaraja goes, there'll be a problem... he'll definitely lose control of his lightning power and fry the takeout. To put on a performance, your cover must be perfect, otherwise it'll be too fake."

Lightning Dharmaraja: "..."

At this moment, the group briefly fell into a dead silence.

After a few minutes, Grenade-Throwing Senior Immortal spoke again. "Then how about this, let me appoint a person!"

As soon as he said that, he straightaway @-mentioned Wang Ling. "Brother Ling, are you here?"

Seeing this, Wang Ling was silent at first, then he replied with an ellipsis. "..."

In front of his screen, Grenade-Throwing Senior Immortal smiled with satisfaction. "Hah! I knew it! Brother Ling, you were lurking!"

Wang Ling: "..."