The Tale Never Ends Chapter 149 Teacher

On a flashback on the second day after Zheng Shuang arrested our challenger, the fraudster, and the seven young thugs he enlisted for help, we decided to return to the abandoned warehouse to release the weasel demons. Despite their wrongdoings, it was only right to release them lest they starve to death.

As we forced through the rusted doors of the warehouse, we were aghast to discover everything in disarray inside. The evil spirits I had stationed at the entrance to seal the entrance were gone and the ground was strewn urine and feces as well as stubbles of fur from the weasels. The air was thick with an acrid stench of something being burnt, laced with the telltale aroma of wood chips. We covered our noses as we walked slowly deeper into the warehouse and examined the aftermath. Someone was here to help the weasels! My companions came back to me after clearing the rest of the warehouse, indicating that they have found nothing. But they stared at me wordlessly, as if hoping for an answer.

I sighed heavily. "Someone was here. That person had dispelled the evil spirits which were sustaining Ghost Barriers around the weasels' lair and released the vile beasts," I explained. "Huh?! Is this even possible!? Who could it be? Could it be true that the weasels really had somebody powerful to support them?" Lin Feng was the first to voice his shock, but he almost immediately realized something, his face shining with dawning comprehension, "I KNOW! Remember the pack of weasels who had almost killed you with an avalanche in Mongolia? The bunch of them refused to divulge the ident.i.ty of their benefactor even with the pain of death! Could it be that person?"

I nodded slowly at first as I pondered on what he said. But my head shook barely a second later. "Maybe, and maybe not. But we can be sure that this is hardly the end. I thought everything had reached its end with the arrest of the human who's been challenging us on their behalf to fight us. But clearly, I've been wrong."

Back at the Center, Chongxi could not sit well; he climbed up and down the stairs, much to Lin Feng's annoyance, with a distraught look on his face. The latter watched him pacing about with a similarly ugly expression on his face as he sipped on his cigarette. "Quit walking around now! I'm getting dizzy just watching you! Can't you sit!?" Lin Feng barked at last. Chongxi retorted, his nostrils flaring with anger, "I am bothered, just like you are! Our leads have all come to an end and we don't know what is going on with the weasels possibly plotting another go at us! Can you honestly ask me to sit well?"

I raised my hand, gesturing them to simmer down. "Relax. It's not the end of the world yet. Our leads will appear itself when the time comes. Trust me." Chongxi stood there, just staring at me, tacitly prodding me to elaborate. But I merely ignored him and waved at him, motioning him to go away.

At 2 in the afternoon, Zheng Shuang pushed through the doors of the Center, rushing in with heaving breaths. But I spoke before any word escaped his throat, "I've been waiting for you. Out with it!" He stood there, lost for words, with admiration in his gaze at me. I was indeed expecting him, or more precisely, the results of his interrogation. It was almost impossible that he had gleaned nothing from his questioning of the suspects, between the seven young thugs, the old fraudster, and most importantly, the young challenger who has pursued us tirelessly.

He rummaged a booklet from his bag and handed it to me, saying, "Have a look, Brother Shiyan. But I'm not sure, though. Something tells me that not everything can be trusted. The booklet contains the transcript of everything they said."

Chongxi traded a quick look at me. Finally, he understood that I was referring to Zheng Shuang when I told him that "the leads will appear itself". He patted on my shoulders gently as he walked past me and swiped the booklet I just received.

Chongxi pored over the report of the interrogation intently for a few minutes until he slammed the covers shut. "The thugs have revealed nothing of use. So did the old charlatan. But I did not expect that even the young fool was also nothing but a fake. He's not even one of the weasels or part of their group! According to what he said, he's merely instructed by them to do their bidding when they communicated to him via dreams. There's no way for us to ascertain if the weasels have formed a band or a following here of their own. So convenient of the fool to say that he's here in Wu Zhong County to help the weasels to scour for a suitable site to establish a stronghold."

I held up a hand to stop Chongxi immediately. "Impossible. As far as I know, there's no place in Wu Zhong County that is suitable for such a purpose. At least for these weasels. But we can be sure that the young fool is no part of the weasel's group. He's only a patsy. Followers of the Wudaxians of the frontiers do not reach these parts. Moreover, the Wudaxians would never suffer such misdemeanor by one of their members."

Zheng Shuang offered a suggestion suddenly. "How about you handle the questioning this time, Brother Shiyan? After all, you did help to question one of the perpetrators we'd arrested during the crisis of the Creed..." I pondered quietly, hesitant at first. But in the end, I relented, nodding wearily. We were severely lacking of information. Perhaps I might be able to wring something out of him this time.

We went to the station that afternoon and reached there at 10 minutes past 3 PM.

Most of the officers at the station were fairly young, being in their early twenties. Hence they have been close with us, especially after fighting together against the Creed and dealing with the Edelweiss' fiasco just not long ago. We walked into the station and were immediately greeted warmly by two young female officers. "Oh, my! What brings you here, Master Shiyan? You're involved with another case?" I chuckled at her and remarked lightly, "Nothing special. Just the bunch of thugs Captain Zheng arrested days ago. I'm just here to help out with some statement."

As we walked and talked, we found ourselves just before the door of Zheng Shuang's office. We said our farewells to the female officers and knocked, before letting ourselves in. Zheng Shuang was speaking into the receiver on his office line. He muttered a few instructions and returned the set to its cradle on the table. "So, Brother Shiyan. That fool has insisted that he knows nothing about magic. But should we not take some precautions, just in case?" "Nay," I countered, shaking my head, "He would not be in such a miserable position if he really commands magic." Satisfied, Zheng Shuang nodded.

Five minutes later, the phone on Zheng Shuang's table rang and he swiped at the receiver almost immediately. He listened to it closely and finally replied, "All right. We'll be there shortly." He placed down the phone and got up, motioning for us to follow. "Let's go. The interrogation room is ready."

We sat in the interrogation room with the weasels' young hireling opposite us with a table in between. He was sour as a lemon with cuffs on his hands, looking entirely different since we last saw him before he was arrested. The few days in jail have hardly been kind to him that he looked visibly disheveled and emaciated. Even the dark circles around his eyes seem particularly palpable despite being in a dimly-lighted room. At that exact moment, I was wondering if we might have been overly harsh to him.

Feeling sorry for the man, I looked at Zheng Shuang and said, "Uncuff him, please. We'll be fine with me here." With complete confidence in me, Zheng Shuang immediately relieved the man off his irons without any hesitation.

I offered the man a smoke. We waited until he took a drag before I began, "I've gone through your statement. I remember seeing something about you not being a native of Wu Zhong, is it not? You're here because you've been directed to seek out a suitable lair for the weasels?" The young man took another breath and croaked hoa.r.s.ely, "Yes. I've spoken truthfully. Just as I told them yesterday..." I nodded. "Of course, you have. But I also know that there is no suitable place here in Wu Zhong for minions of the Wudaxians. The environment here simply does not fit them. That is the main ambiguity of your statement which I find hard to believe." The young man could say nothing, merely looking at me with wide, perplexed eyes. For seconds, he looked dazed and stunned, until he finally uttered, "I-I... I don't know... It's just how I told you. My teacher had given these instructions to me in a dream one night, saying that a companion wishes to look for a lair in this area..."

"I see," I muttered, nodding my head absentmindedly, "What's your teacher's name?" This particular weasel must be a demon with certain powers and standing among the rest of its ilk, since it was able to harness magical powers and communicate with humans; it might even be their leader too. But the young man did not dare to divulge his name, merely trying his best to deflect my question by mumbling incoherently to himself.

But I knew better than to ask further. It was an unspoken rule in our line of business to refrain from divulging one's teacher's name as a show of respect, minions of the Wudaxians or not. More so, if this young hireling is part of an order or a sect which was based around here in the North-eastern parts of the country.

Still, despite my several seconds of s.p.a.cing-out, the young hireling showed no indication of answering. Thinking that it was best to switch gears, I asked another question, "I have been to the production s.p.a.ce of the warehouse this morning, you know. The weasels I have kept inside there have all escaped, presumably by the help of a third-party. Do you know anything about this?"

It was a long shot that I had never expected any probable outcome from. But to my surprise, the young man nodded intently!