Song Jixing decisively took Xu Kai to the company after sending everyone to their rooms.
On the way, Xu Kai looked like he wanted to say something but held back.
Song Jixing remained very calm throughout, without any reaction.
After discussing work at the company, Xu Kai still brought up the people they saw in the yard.
"Were they your friends? Or colleagues in the industry!" Xu Kai asked with concern.
Xu Kai took a few glances, not many. Their attire and makeup were quite exquisite, they must be professionals.
"I'm not sure, friends of friends." Song Jixing didn't dare make it sound too absolute.
How could friends of friends be lying in Song Jixing's arms? Even if Xu Kai was curious, he knew when to stop prying.
"Come with me to the hotel to meet Older Mr. Zhang tomorrow, okay? Don't forget!" Xu Kai reminded repeatedly.
Song Jixing nodded in agreement.
-
When Song Jixing returned home, Bai Ling and disciple were still fast asleep, snoring away.
The floral scent of sake lingered on them, intoxicating indeed, making it difficult to wake up quickly.
Plus, no one dared call out to them, so master and disciple were left to continue sleeping.
Flower Sen Leaf was a sake unintentionally brewed by the previous Sect Leader. It was mildly famous in the cultivation world for its rich mellowness and leaving behind a lingering fragrant breath after drinking.
Although the sake was good, one of the ingredients was extremely rare. Added to the fact that it took ten years to brew, it was also very scarce.
The sect would only take out a jar or two to entertain distinguished guests occasionally, to demonstrate Qingyun Sect's sincerity.
That day, when celebrating the opening of the treasure vault, several true disciples and elders from other sects came as guests. The odd-job disciples brought out many jars of wine, one of which was Flower Sen Leaf.
Song Jixing overheard one elder mentioning it was some rare wine, but she didn't take particular note.
She usually didn't drink much, only taking a small sip.
That one sip entered her stomach and turned into warm spiritual power, spreading through her limbs and body. Everywhere her gaze landed seemed to become warm and fuzzy, light and drifting.
Song Jixing quickly circulated some spiritual power to sober up, immediately regaining her clarity.
She knew the potency of Flower Sen Leaf, but whether it could intoxicate depended on the drinker.
Song Jixing: "Will you be able to wake up tomorrow?"
Qi Yun pondered: "Not necessarily! I heard Elder Bai often doesn't wake for over half a year after getting drunk."
Hearing the term 'half a year', Song Jixing seemed to think of something. "You'll probably wake up when hungry tomorrow!"
Everyone in the room glanced around and nodded in agreement to this point.
So they didn't worry too much about the master and disciple, and continued chatting about other things.
At 4am, Song Jixing's phone on the bedside table lit up.
Song Jixing opened her eyes to see it was a message from Senior Brother.
Opening the chat, she saw Senior Brother had sent over many screenshots. Flipping to the last one, the huge font read "Jiyu Ancient Town Abnormal Creature Investigation Report".
Below were several ID photos of the rat, as well as body examination reports.
The reports also listed the rat's mutations, with cognitive and speech pattern advancement in front. Question marks were placed for tooth enhancement.
Perhaps because the rat's missing teeth hadn't been found.
After the others left yesterday, Song Jixing had cleaned up the scene, taking everything that belonged to her family away.
As for the rat's teeth, she really hadn't paid attention.
Such tiny things could have fallen anywhere in the grass.
Song Jixing continued reading and was shocked to find an unknown woman's name listed under related persons.
The rat must have called her out, saying there was someone else present at the time.
But Song Jixing wasn't worried.
She had stood in the shadows without revealing herself. The town's cameras didn't capture her.
Even if the rat was before her, it may not be able to recognize her.
After reading the file, Song Jixing replied with a "Thank you, Senior Brother."
Shen Feixian: "You're welcome."
Song Jixing thought for a moment: "Senior Brother, are there other similar files?"
Shen Feixian: "There are, not many though. Let me look for you."
Song Jixing received the other files sent by Shen Feixian after about three minutes.
There were already more than ten other files, with mutations not just in animals but plants too.
Song Jixing tallied the time and location in the files and summarized some patterns.
Among the dozen files, five were from Y City. The rest were all not far from Y City, radiating outwards. Areas further out had significantly fewer cases, with several peripheral provinces having none.
Was it because none were discovered, or no one bothered to investigate?
Song Jixing looked at the later dates, all occurring after she transmigrated back. There were no files from before the transmigration.
Right, the culprit was clear - the shard in her palm.
-
Some unknown underground laboratory.
A group of researchers surrounded a rat scurrying about in a vivarium, eyes filled with shock, but hands still steadily operating various instruments.
The rat's every sentence was broadcasted live to the monitoring room, playing on the big screen. The smaller screens repeatedly replayed clips.
This wasn't Animal World or Ratatouille. This was the first evolved/mutated creature they had caught.
Although similar creatures had appeared before, regrettably the majority died directly during missions, or during transportation back to the lab.
As for why this rat survived, the researchers came up with several conclusions:
1. The tools and methods used by the Daoists during capture.
2. The animal's survival instincts.
3. The cautious, afraid-to-die personality of the evolved rat.
4. The mysterious unknown person.
...
Aside from the talking rat, the mysterious figure who remained unseen from start to finish was also a hot topic.
According to the rat, it was a huge female shadow with cruel means and extremely fast speed.
Combined with the rat's severed limbs found at the scene and its own damaged tail, this claim had some credibility.
Since the person never appeared, they may have used a fake voice, crossdressing, or an altered woman's voice.
The researchers ultimately put a question mark for the woman gender, indicating uncertainty.
The only definite point was the tampering of the surveillance.
From 12am to 5am that night, all the town's cameras were down.
The intentional sabotage of the surveillance lent credence to the rat's words.
But they still couldn't find other evidence.
The talking rat caused many to lose sleep that late night.
Early next morning, Shen Feixian received an email from Tang Jun.
"Teacher, can you repair videos?"
"What video?" Shen Feixian typed in reply.
"A task assigned from above I can't complete, so I thought of you. Name your price!" Tang Jun said excitedly to the screen.
Shen Feixian looked at the file and smiled - easy money!
