Chapter 30: 29. A Race Named Huogu

29. A Race Named Huogu

A single sentence from Lin Ling sent Li Jiahong's heartbeat plummeting to the bottom, where it stayed for a long time; his heart had already gone half-cold. After a blink, a ripple of emotion stirred in his dull eyes, and the man said in a dry voice, "It... are you saying it will come back?"

"That possibility cannot be ruled out." Lin Ling gave a rather vague answer.

"It will definitely come back." Just as Li Jiahong's emotions were fluctuating, Wei Jiang's voice suddenly appeared behind him.

Li Jiahong was startled internally and turned his head abruptly, discovering that the man in red robes had moved behind him without him knowing.

Ever since he discovered this shop was unusual, he had clearly been very alert. Even during his serious conversation with Lin Ling, he had not relaxed his hearing; as long as he heard any strange footsteps approaching, he would react immediately. But now, it seemed his calculations had failed?

No! It was that this person had no footsteps at all!

Li Jiahong began to break out in a cold sweat. He did not understand the principle behind Wei Jiang's silent footsteps, but it was precisely this inability to understand that brought about a panic that made one shudder upon deep thought. His mind began to recall his previous interactions with Wei Jiang, and it was only at this moment that he slowly realized that when Wei Jiang was leading the way earlier, his feet also seemed not to touch the ground?

He did not know if this was his panic causing his brain to feed him false memories, or if that was truly the case. He now had the urge to flee immediately.

But thinking of what Wei Jiang had just said, and the man's serious demeanor, he had to suppress his cowardice; at the very least, he had to finish hearing the other's explanation.

"You mentioned an Abnormal creature named Huogu earlier, right?" Wei Jiang said with a trace of complex reminiscence, his breathing steady. "Huogu is a cowardly, insane creature. Raising cubs is not actually their preference; they simply have reasons that force them to do so. It is said that in the development of their unique civilization, the Huogu race has already attained infinite lifespan. But fortune and misfortune are interdependent; when God opens a window for you, He also closes a door. This race has lost the ability to reproduce and the ability to heal."

This situation leads to the fact that even though Huogu creatures possess physical fitness far exceeding that of humans, they are still very protective of their lives. To compete for resources in the universe and ensure their race can function normally, they have stretched their demonic claws toward the still-weak races of other civilizations in the universe. By means of what we perceive as a Mysterious Sacrifice, which is actually a Signal Matrix used to contact them, they conduct what are effectively unequal 'equivalent exchanges' with other cosmic races via the Copper Pot Ritual.

They give the person holding the ritual what they want, and in return, they take what they want—which is children. Three-year-old human children seem to be the most suitable age for them to adopt among the human race... They will cultivate the children of other races into spokespeople, or machines for war or labor."

Listening to the hair-raising descriptions from Wei Jiang's mouth, Li Jiahong did not know for a moment if he had gone mad, or if the man talking so eloquently before him was mad. But the other's earnest appearance did not look like he was making things up, which could not help but make him consider that if this were the truth, then the environment his child was in would be even worse than he had imagined, and likely in grave danger.

"These... how do you know all this?" Li Jiahong felt his brain was in chaos, and his breathing became labored.

Wei Jiang said calmly, "I once communicated with someone who escaped from the side of a Huogu."

"Where is he!?" Li Jiahong gripped the Feather tightly and stood up excitedly to ask.

Wei Jiang said with a face full of regret, "Regrettably, the last time I communicated with him was when he was not long for this world. He should be resting in peace now."

As he spoke, Wei Jiang continued to maintain a serious expression and said, "And the reason I am convinced they will make a comeback is precisely because I have met those humans who once looked directly at the true form of a Huogu; without exception, they all eventually died unnatural deaths. Including the person I just mentioned, he only enjoyed freedom for a short while before he could not escape death in the end.

If they realize that in the Sacrificial Ritual your wife participated in back then, there was still someone who witnessed their existence and is still alive to this day, they will definitely come again."

Lin Ling listened to Wei Jiang's supplementary knowledge with interest and chuckled lightly at the bewildered Li Jiahong, "That is how it is, Mr. Li."

Li Jiahong looked at the Feather in his hand, then glanced at Lin Ling and Wei Jiang, and asked Lin Ling while holding up the Feather, "What is the use of this Feather? Is it an amulet?"

"It is indeed an amulet." Lin Ling nodded and said with a smile, "However, remember one thing: the Feather has an expiration date. When you find the second Feather, you need to return the Feather. Remember, all the Feathers, before you find the third one."

"Is there no fixed date?"

"Yes, the expiration date varies from person to person," Lin Ling said, revealing a troubled look.

Seeing Lin Ling's distressed appearance, Li Jiahong's eyelids twitched slightly, and he asked another question: "What will happen if I fail to return the Feather in time?"

"The breaking up of your family," Lin Ling said, enunciating each word clearly.

With Lin Ling's final warning echoing in his ears, Li Jiahong paid the deposit for renting the Feather and prepared to leave with a wooden expression.

"Mr. Li." Before Li Jiahong left, Wei Jiang called out to him again and handed the other a Business Card with a red demon mask on it. Wei Jiang said, "I left an address and a string of numbers on it. Although that person is already dead, that is the place where he once lived; perhaps you can find some clues there... If you still want to know more about the Huogu, you can ask the owner of that number. If she asks who you are, report the name of this shop, and she will understand."

Li Jiahong took the Business Card, and when he touched Wei Jiang's fingertips, he felt an abnormally chilling cold. He shuddered, and seeing the trace of concern in Wei Jiang's eyes, his mind cleared a little, and he said, "Thank you, Mr. Wei."

Thinking of his previous suspicion and distrust of Wei Jiang, he felt a bit uneasy and deeply guilty.

Wei Jiang smiled, shook his head, nodded slightly, and cupped his hands to see the guest out: "You are welcome to come again next time."

After seeing the guest off, Wei Jiang turned around and apologized solemnly to Lin Ling: "I am sorry, Boss, I did something unnecessary just now."

"Ah, why are you apologizing?" Lin Ling, who had just taken a bag of pork jerky out of the refrigerator, was stunned upon hearing this and asked in confusion, "Didn't you do quite well? It's spotless now, and I'm even at leisure."

"Uh, I mean I interjected a few times while you were negotiating with the guest." Wei Jiang scratched his head in a somewhat foolish manner.

Lin Ling suddenly realized, squeezed his forehead wrinkles, and smiled: "So that's it. You don't need to worry about that. Receiving guests is also part of your job, and what you wanted to say is exactly what the guest wanted to know. Answering questions and resolving doubts for guests is also within the scope of our little shop's business."

Wei Jiang still felt it was somewhat inappropriate and said seriously, "Although you might not mind, I still feel something is not quite right. I will try my best to restrain myself in the future... After all, I am no longer a Mysterious Investigator, no longer human; some things cannot be done as they were before." He said this with much emotion while touching his abdomen, which was empty inside.

Lin Ling watched Wei Jiang's expression with an appreciative gaze, as if recording the way the other expressed his emotions at this moment.

Subsequently, Wei Jiang looked a bit embarrassed and said, "Also, Boss, I have only been working for a few days, and I have already handed out my Business Card so casually. Although it is a function written in the contract, is it still not quite right to do so?"

"These are all your personal choices; I will not stop you." Lin Ling chuckled and winked mysteriously at Wei Jiang, "Besides, I bestowed these eyes upon you; you actually know very well what kind of person is worth you giving out a Business Card."

Wei Jiang's eyes brightened in response, and a point of scarlet light flickered in his pupils. These eyes allowed him to see the merits and sins of a life clearly.