UCS Chapter 22

After the sealing, the Gao family’s life returned to normal. Gao Shi and Gao Gusheng went back to work and school respectively, but they weren’t sure how to arrange for Taoist Ying. After some thought, Gao Shi simply registered Taoist Ying at his workplace and placed him in the family rest area.

 

Gao Shi was truly scared by the previous incident where Ying Bujie was lured away by half a steamed bun. He feared that one day Ying Bujie might disappear again, and a few days later, Gao Shi would have to go to Lu Xingzhi to retrieve him, facing news headlines like “Certain fraud gang eaten into bankruptcy,” “Certain illegal coal mine eaten into bankruptcy,” or “Certain trafficking group eaten into bankruptcy.”

 

Speak of the devil, just as he thought of Lu Xingzhi, Captain Lu called, “Shi-zi, we’re not meeting this weekend.”

 

Gao Shi frowned, guessing Lu Xingzhi had a mission.

 

Mission details couldn’t be discussed, but such urgent temporary reassignment meant it was either urgent or significant. With similar jobs, there was no need to say much. Gao Shi only said, “Call me if anything happens.”

 

However, after hanging up, Gao Shi had a vague sense of unease, as if something was about to happen.

 

“Captain? What’s wrong? Want some Oreos?”

 

Gao Shi’s thoughts were interrupted, and he casually took a cookie.

 

Chang Yang shook his head and sighed, “If only Oreo could come out with a new flavor, just ‘O-O’ without the ‘re-re'[mfn]”O-O” refers to the two cookie parts of an Oreo. “re-re” refers to the cream filling in the middle.[/mfn].”

 

Ran Qiu loudly objected, “No! Oreos without the ‘re-re’ are incomplete!”

 

As the two jokers argued, Ran Qiu glanced up amidst his busy work, pausing the Oreo war to tell Gao Shi, “Boss, there’s a notice. Da Xiong has been temporarily transferred to City A.”

 

Chang Yang was surprised, “Huh? Didn’t Da Xiong just finish a mission? Why is he going again?”

 

Ran Qiu munched on Oreos noisily while focusing on his computer. Gao Shi walked behind him and saw the notice.

 

The notice only briefly mentioned the temporary transfer without explaining the reason.

 

Remembering his earlier call with Lu Xingzhi, Gao Shi suddenly asked, “Qiu-zi, didn’t you say earlier that cases in City A have increased?”

 

Ran Qiu nodded repeatedly, “Not just City A, Boss. Our workload has increased too. I think your previous theory about ghost resurgence might be true.”

 

Gao Shi pondered, “Compile statistics on increased dispatches for the Anomaly Management Bureau and Spirit Management Office. See if it’s spreading outward from City A as the center.”

 

“Got it!”

 

Chang Yang rolled his chair to Gao Shi’s side, “Captain, do you mean there’s a problem in City A?”

 

Gao Shi replied, “Just a guess.” He lowered his gaze, his long, straight eyelashes casting small shadows on his eyelids. “The previous incident in City A is still unresolved.”

 

Chang Yang asked, “You mean the missing persons case Brother Huang was following?”

 

“Yes.”

 

The missing persons case in City A was initially thought to be ghost-related. All Anomaly and spirit police in City A were mobilized, even temporarily transferring personnel from City B. In the end, they only caught a group of human traffickers without finding any trace of ghost activity.

 

They thought the matter would end there, but no one expected the disappearances to continue.

 

However, the frequency of disappearances became lower, and with City A’s large and mobile population, ordinary disappearances might not be noticed for some time. Neighbors and landlords might assume the person had just gone on a long trip, greatly increasing the difficulty of tracking.

 

Huang Shan frowned, his expression grave, “We definitely didn’t sense any yin energy that time. Why have they transferred Da Xiong away again? Have they discovered something?”

 

At this moment, the sound of Ran Qiu’s typing stopped. “It’s done!”

 

He didn’t look up, staring intently at the screen with furrowed brows. The cold light of the screen made his face appear deathly pale.

 

“The captain was right.”

 

“Since the beginning of this month, with City A as the center, the closer to City A, the more dispatches the Anomaly Management Bureau has had. Up to now, City A’s bureau has been dispatched 32 times, more than triple compared to the previous month.”

 

Ran Qiu looked up, adding a fact everyone knew in a hoarse voice, “It’s only the 22nd of the month. There are still nine days left.”

 

Gao Shi said in a deep voice, “Report it immediately.”

 

Except for City A, even neighboring City B didn’t show such an abnormal increase. Given that ghost activity is naturally more frequent in summer than winter, it would be easy to mistake this abnormal increase for a normal phenomenon.

 

Ran Qiu immediately reported it and received a reply notification the next second. However, the atmosphere in the entire office didn’t ease.

 

They walked between the worlds of yin and yang, knowing all too well how harmful ghosts could be to ordinary people.

 

Gao Shi let out a soft sigh, “Alright, cheer up. Why are you all so gloomy?”

 

He gave Ran Qiu a pat on the back, making Ran Qiu yelp, “Boss, you hit me again!”

 

“Keep a close eye on notifications these days. The classification of ghosts might change.”

 

The classification of “charm” and “ghost” that Ying Bujie mentioned last time had already caught the attention of the Spirit Management Office. They had contacted Gao Shi, and a new ranking system would likely be introduced in the coming days.

 

…..

 

After work, Gao Shi took Ying Bujie to Cheng Zeqi’s place.

 

Without Kong Miao watching over him, Ying Bujie didn’t have the common sense to bring everyday clothes, coming down the mountain in his Taoist robe.

 

After being lured away by the pyramid scheme organization, the leader thought his Taoist robe was too conspicuous and wanted him to change, but Ying Bujie refused.

 

Since he wouldn’t change, there was nothing they could do. They couldn’t beat him, so they had to let him be.

 

Gao Shi had thought of the possibility that he might not have brought everyday clothes and contacted Uncle Chen to buy some clothes for him, but that was the extent of it.

 

When instructing Uncle Chen, Gao Shi was busy analyzing cases with Lu Xingzhi and, in his distraction, Uncle Chen ended up sending a large batch of meticulously crafted formal suits.

 

Gao Shi: “…Uncle Chen, how did you come up with sending these?”

 

Uncle Chen: “Young Master, I thought you wanted me to prepare clothes for the old master’s birthday banquet.”

 

…Well, that wasn’t wrong.

 

Great-grandfather’s birthday was approaching, and Uncle Chen had not only prepared formal wear for him and Lele, but even for Ying Bujie.

 

But they couldn’t wear formal attire to a street food stall, could they? That wouldn’t be appropriate.

 

Uncle Chen smiled and suggested, “Why not contact a few of our regular collaborators to custom-make some clothes for Taoist Ying?”

 

Gao Shi waved his hand, “No need. He doesn’t have any change of clothes now and needs them urgently. I’ll take him to Old Qi’s place to pick out a couple of outfits.”

 

Gao Shi’s requirements for clothes had always been clean, neat, and comfortable. Knowing his own tendencies, if he were to choose clothes for Taoist Ying, who knows what he might pick – he might even end up choosing two high-end versions of old man’s undershirts.

 

So it’s better to let Cheng Zeqi help.

 

…

 

Gao Shi was driving, with Ying Bujie sitting in the back seat.

 

Through the rearview mirror, he could see Ying Bujie earnestly eating pan-fried buns.

 

The pan-fried buns were small and cute, with a crispy bottom layer and filled with juicy meat. The meat juice was delicious, and the filling was chewy.

 

Ying Bujie held the bag with his left hand and used a bamboo skewer with his right, eating one bun at a time.

 

Somehow, he managed to eat such homely food with an ethereal air, as if he were eating dragon liver and phoenix marrow instead of pan-fried buns.

 

Perhaps sensing his gaze, Ying Bujie looked up, meeting his eyes in the mirror.

 

Ying Bujie’s eyes were very dark, reminiscent of a deep well – seemingly clear but unfathomable. People with ulterior motives who stared into them for too long might inexplicably feel a chill down their spine.

 

Gao Shi didn’t feel that way.

 

Although Ying Bujie usually seemed expressionless, when he ate something he liked, he would show interesting micro-expressions, like a child.

 

Gao Shi smiled at Ying Bujie.

 

To Gao Shi’s surprise, Ying Bujie blinked, like a child seeing the world for the first time. He imitated Gao Shi’s expression, slowly curving his eyes and lifting the corners of his mouth.

 

It was as if ice and snow were melting.

 

….

 

At Wanxing Entertainment’s headquarters, on the top floor of the building, almost all rooms had been combined to form a 400-square-meter office hall.

 

This was the exclusive office area for Wanxing’s CEO.

 

Three sides of floor-to-ceiling windows provided an excellent view for this floor. Standing in front of the huge windows, one could overlook the beautiful city view from the 27th floor.

 

“President Li, here’s the information on Gao Gusheng.”

 

The secretary respectfully bent down, handing a stack of documents to the man sitting in the executive chair.

 

The man was currently overlooking the bustling city at dusk, with a tumultuous sea of fiery clouds on the horizon, as if about to set the city ablaze.

 

The light and shadow fell on the man’s chiseled face, but did nothing to soften his sharp aura. The secretary dared only a glance before looking away.

 

He sat amidst the red glow of the sky, like a demon lord controlling heaven and earth.

 

He didn’t immediately take the documents, but asked, “Did Xiao Yusheng have any further contact with him?”

 

“No, not anymore.”

 

He sneered, his knife-edge features carrying an indescribable mischievousness, “I didn’t expect him to notice him too. Interesting.”

 

He was Li Mochen, the one Xiao Yusheng had mentioned. He had gone viral with just one interview photo, gaining popularity that many stars couldn’t achieve in a lifetime of hard work.

 

The head of the Li family, only 28 years old this year, could already maintain a poker face regardless of his emotions. Or rather, someone who had weathered great storms wouldn’t be moved by the flow of a small river.

 

He had always prided himself on this self-control.

 

…Until he saw the photo of Gao Gusheng before his haircut.

 

Li Mochen suddenly sat up in his chair, quickly closed the private chat, took a deep breath to calm his heartbeat, then carefully opened it again—

 

Gao Gusheng’s overly avant-garde eyebrows, one up and one down, seemed to say “Hi” to him.

 

Li Mochen’s fingers trembled slightly as he closed the file.

 

Damn it… I must be having a nightmare.

 

---