Chapter 12

"What do you think I do? I'm the one who manages you little bastards who run amok with your abilities after awakening them.

You want to try and hit me? Do you think I'm made of mud? If I didn't have some skills, would I have come over to deal with you so easily?

Never mind whether you can beat me; even if you could, do you see this phone in my hand? It has GPS..." Old Taoist Qingfeng said while pulling out a mobile phone to show off.

After hearing Old Taoist Qingfeng's words, Zhao Lingyu was also startled. Could this old geezer be from the legendary Dragon Team?

"Don't, sir, don't get excited. What exactly do you want to do? I haven't really done anything bad. I just awakened my ability and came out to test it. Don't get excited, let's talk this over properly," Zhao Lingyu quickly conceded.

Seeing Zhao Lingyu concede, Old Taoist Qingfeng felt quite smug. It seemed that this newly acquired privilege and the phone he had just received had quite a strong deterrent effect. No matter how impressive an ability user was or how powerful their ability, even the highest martial arts still feared a kitchen knife.

"It's good that you know fear. Let's go, come back with me and give a proper account of the situation." Saying this, he urged Zhao Lingyu to walk in the direction he had come from.

After walking past a small grove, they saw an off-road vehicle parked by the side of the path. Old Taoist Qingfeng took out his keys, unlocked the car's electronic lock, and nimbly climbed into the back seat. Looking at Zhao Lingyu, who was stunned outside the car, he said, "What are you standing there for? Get in and drive."

"So you drove this thing here? I was wondering how you got here so fast—you showed up right after I finished testing my ability. I actually thought you had traveled here using some kind of Daoist technique like 'Golden Light Inch-Travel' or 'Shrinking the Ground to an Inch.' Turns out you just drove here?"

After hearing Zhao Lingyu's words, Old Taoist Qingfeng clicked his tongue. With a slightly flushed face, he said, "What 'Golden Light' or 'Shrinking the Ground'? Young people should watch fewer myths and not be so superstitious. Those things don't exist. What Taoist arts or spells? I have a car, why would I waste that effort?"

Looking at Old Taoist Qingfeng's somewhat embarrassed old face, Zhao Lingyu teased, "Is it that they don't exist, or that you don't know how to use them? Seeing how high-spirited you were earlier, looking down on my ability and wanting to teach me a lesson, your confidence wouldn't happen to come from that phone you use to call for backup, would it? No way, no way—could it be that there really is a Taoist who doesn't know any Taoist arts and relies entirely on calling for backup to scare people?"

"Cut the crap! If you keep talking nonsense, you don't have to go back with me. I'll deal with you right now and let you see my real skills!" Old Taoist Qingfeng shouted at Zhao Lingyu, his face red and his neck thick. As he shouted, he prepared to get out of the car, looking like he wanted to get down and spar with Zhao Lingyu.

"No, no, no, you're the best, you're the best, okay? It's my fault for not being worthy of you using Taoist arts against me, okay? I'll drive now." Zhao Lingyu quickly got into the car. He didn't dare fight Old Taoist Qingfeng; it was hard to say whether the old man had any Taoist arts or could win a fight, but if the old man got angry and called for backup, it would be hard to clean up the mess.

After getting in the car, he didn't need Old Daoist Qingfeng to give directions. The Daoist temple was quite conspicuous; Zhao Lingyu had seen it when he was wandering around the area checking if it was crowded before he came here to test his skills.

Ten minutes later, they arrived at the Daoist temple by car. The temple was not large, with just one main hall in the front dedicated to the Three Pure Ones, and a few rooms and a small courtyard in the back for living quarters. Old Daoist Qingfeng took Zhao Lingyu to a room in the back, which looked like a guest room.

After entering the room, Old Daoist Qingfeng took out a small notebook, sat on the only chair in the room, and had Zhao Lingyu stand in front of him to begin the questioning.

"Name, age, where is your home, when did you awaken your ability? Tell me everything, and don't try any tricks."

In truth, Old Daoist Qingfeng didn't know what to ask either, but he wanted to enjoy the authority of the appointment he had received today and show off. As the saying goes, if you have power and don't use it, it expires.

Seeing the smug, arrogant look on his face, Zhao Lingyu had no choice but to cooperate and say, "Zhao Lingyu,

18 years old, currently living in District E, Residential Area A of D City, awakened my ability just last night." He wasn't lying; his skill, Summon Heavenly Thunder, was indeed obtained last night.

Old Daoist Qingfeng, seeing Zhao Lingyu being so cooperative, actually felt a bit unsatisfied. Looking for trouble, he said, "I asked where your home is, why are you telling me where you're staying temporarily, huh? Are you trying to play tricks? I can find out how many people are in your family, how many acres of land you have, and how many cows are in your field with just one phone call, you know? Tell me the truth, don't play tricks, or you'll suffer, you hear me?!"

After hearing Old Daoist Qingfeng's words, Zhao Lingyu rolled his eyes, walked to the bed, sat down, crossed his arms, and said to him, "If you can really find that out, then please do. I actually want to know, too. I've lived at the Qidian Orphanage since I can remember. If you can really find out who my parents are, then please help me look into it. If you find them, please notify me; I'll have to go over and give them a couple of slaps."

Hearing Zhao Lingyu's words, Old Daoist Qingfeng felt a bit embarrassed, thinking he had touched a sensitive spot. So, he stopped trying to enjoy his authority or look for trouble, and said awkwardly, "Well, seeing as you're quite honest, let's leave it at this for today. It's getting late, we'll talk about anything else tomorrow. You can stay in this room tonight; I'm right next door, call me if you need anything." With that, he walked out.

After all, Old Daoist Qingfeng wasn't a bad person. Without confirming whether Zhao Lingyu had committed any crimes, it wasn't right to make things difficult for him. Plus, feeling he had said the wrong thing, he awkwardly ended this anticlimactic interrogation.

Of course, Old Daoist Qingfeng wouldn't trust Zhao Lingyu so easily. So, after returning to his room, he made a phone call and had someone check Zhao Lingyu's whereabouts over the past few days. With a name and address, recent movements were relatively easy to track. Then, he had someone check if anyone in D City had been inexplicably electrocuted or struck by lightning recently...

The next morning, when Zhao Lingyu got up to take a leak, he saw Old Daoist Qingfeng already up and practicing Tai Chi in the courtyard. Although, apart from his appearance when he first showed up—which was quite impressive, like a high-level Daoist master—he looked more like an old rascal or a hoodlum, but he was a Daoist after all, and his Tai Chi was actually quite decent.

"You're awake. You got up pretty early. The toilet is behind the house. After you're done, go to the room on the far left to wash up, then come eat. We'll talk after breakfast." Hearing Zhao Lingyu come out of the room, Old Daoist Qingfeng said this to him without turning his head or stopping his movements.

The results of the investigation Old Daoist Qingfeng had ordered yesterday had come in. It hadn't rained in D City during this period, and there were no reports of anyone being struck by lightning on a clear day or being electrocuted for no reason. Plus, the kid was indeed an orphan who had been laying bricks at a construction site to support himself after finishing the college entrance exam, so he felt a bit of compassion and his attitude toward Zhao Lingyu improved quite a bit.

Born into humble circumstances, he hadn't done anything harmful after suddenly gaining power—though it was possible he hadn't had the chance before being brought back—but he hadn't committed any crimes either. He was acceptable; all in all, he wasn't a bad person.