Old Four Bugs had been having some stomach issues lately because the parasites inside him were a bit too active with their morning exercises. Even after coming to this little golden room, he couldn’t hold it in and had to make a trip to the bathroom.
Secretary Jia wasn’t happy about this at all. After all, if a capable assistant was constantly running to the toilet, he couldn’t be trusted with important tasks. It reminded me of the story of Lian Po, the old general who could supposedly eat a bushel of rice and ten pounds of meat in one sitting. But his enemy, Guo Kai, spread rumors that while the general could still eat a lot, his health wasn’t great—he had to use the bathroom three times in less than half an hour.
I chuckled, “Old Four, didn’t expect to see you here.”
Secretary Jia said, “Mr. Bugs here has some reputation, so I invited him over to take a look. You two had some past disagreements, but let’s put that behind you now.”
Secretary Jia was good at wrapping things up diplomatically. Since he said so, I had no objections.
Old Four Bugs extended his hand for a handshake, and I met it.
The moment our hands touched, a cold sensation crept into my palm. Clearly, Old Four hadn’t let go of his grudge from last time when he lost inexplicably. Now, he was trying to reclaim his pride through this handshake.
Old Four’s parasite techniques were much weaker compared to Old Five’s. Back in the police station, I’d nearly been devoured alive after drinking a single glass of water—Old Five’s methods weren’t just vicious, but also undetectable, pushing victims to the brink of death without them even realizing it.
Old Four, on the other hand? Trying to infect me through a handshake was downright amateurish. It wasn’t that Old Four was better than Old Five. It was just that back then, I had no idea what parasite techniques were and hadn’t consumed something as sinister as the Blood Spider, so I fell for it.
But the me facing Old Four now was, in essence, a Five-Element Parasite Master. The five supreme parasite treasures I’d ingested had already taken effect, heightening my senses. I wasn’t that naive, ignorant kid anymore. With time, I’d progressed too.
So, what Old Four thought was a clever move was, in my eyes, child’s play.
The parasite on my hand—probably a nematode—tried to burrow into my flesh. I mentally scoffed, *Little bastard, if you try to enter my body, you’re dead. Go bite Old Four instead.* The nematode hesitated—after all, its orders came from Old Four.
Old Four held my hand, and I held his.
Both of us knew what was happening, but neither let go.
Finally, with a mental command from me, the nematode burrowed into Old Four’s own body. Even though it was his own parasite, he couldn’t afford to be careless.
Old Four yanked his hand away, clutching his stomach. “Damn, stomachache again!” He bolted back to the bathroom, this time to expel his own parasite.
In my memory, Old Five had once used a particularly vicious parasite—the Brain Eater.
True to its name, it devoured human brains. Back then, it had completely consumed Bai Xuan’s brain matter. Honestly, I was terrified of that thing.
It was ruthless. Brutal.
If the Brain Eater was Old Five’s ultimate move, then what was Old Four’s?
It couldn’t be too far behind. Clearly, Old Four was still just testing me.
This whole “playing weak to ambush the strong” tactic showed that Old Four was actually more dangerous than Old Five.
As Old Four rushed into the bathroom to expel the parasite, two loud, constipated-sounding grunts echoed from inside. Secretary Jia frowned in displeasure, shaking his head.
I laughed. “Older folks usually don’t have the best digestion.”
Secretary Jia looked puzzled. “Older? He looks like he’s in his forties. How is that old?”
I shook my head. “That’s just an illusion. Old Four is definitely at least fifty-five, maybe even older.”
There’s a new beauty treatment where eels are used to bite off the outer layer of aging skin, stimulating regeneration and making people look years younger. Of course, it’s risky—recently, there was a news report about someone who accidentally let an eel slip into a *critical* area and had to be rushed to the hospital in agony.
Old Four, being a parasite master, had techniques far more advanced than eel treatments. His real age was much older than he looked.
If this technology were used in cosmetics, he could make a fortune.
Old Four emerged, his face even paler.
Secretary Jia asked, “So, have you two finished inspecting? Anything unusual?”
Old Four nodded. “No parasites, no signs of parasite breeding. Not even eggs.”
I pondered for a moment. “From a feng shui perspective, the layout is reasonable. The chances of small-scale negative energy shifts are practically zero. But I can only assess the feng shui—things like hidden cameras are beyond my scope.”
Secretary Jia said firmly, “Don’t worry about that. Fu Dong is an expert—he’s already confirmed there’s no surveillance. Tiny spy cameras are child’s play for him.”
*Damn,* I thought. *Being an official these days is tough. Feels like being a spy—gotta have eight eyes and twenty ears, or you’ll get blindsided and screwed over without even knowing.*
Secretary Jia’s phone rang. Someone on the other end called him “Godfather,” and he replied irritably, “When are you coming back?”
The rest was too private to hear.
On the way out, I learned that the girl living in the complex was named Pan Shuya. She’d gone home for the New Year but would return to Jiangnan soon.
Secretary Jia handed me a photo of Pan Shuya and told me to study it carefully. Another photo showed a side profile of an unidentified person—probably the elusive Taoist he’d mentioned.
*Another Taoist?* I wondered. *What’s going on with society these days? Taoists are everywhere.*
Before leaving, Secretary Jia said, “You two work together on this. The reward won’t disappoint you.”
He had another meeting to attend—something about implementing investment policies.
Just then, Feng Wushuang called me. “Cousin, you *have* to help Secretary Jia. In Jiangnan City, we’re trying to secure land for a factory. The river transport and rail connections here are great, and the land is cheap.”
With the recent economic downturn, many companies were moving inland to cut costs—even Foxconn had relocated some operations.
I paused. “Did your dad put you up to this?” Feng Wushuang didn’t deny it.
I could’ve refused, but the truth is, there’s no such thing as a free lunch.
Secretary Jia had helped me deal with Zhe Dabiao and his gang, so now I owed him a favor. The world runs on transactions—I didn’t have a choice.
I tucked away Pan Shuya’s photo and left with Old Four. His place was a rented room in the suburbs. Feng Shiqiao was aligned with Secretary Jia’s faction, but there were others tied to Mayor Wu’s side.
The whole situation reeked of shady backroom deals.
Old Four’s place was on the outskirts—300 yuan a month. The landlord was a local who made a living renting out rooms. The surrounding area was a messy sprawl of buildings, likely slated for demolition.
Old Four pointed ahead. “This whole area’s getting torn down.”
I didn’t have strong feelings about demolition. Cities needed to grow, and governments made big money selling land to developers while offering minimal compensation to residents.
At the end of the day, the government profited the most. But every country goes through this—taxpayers are just sheep, and wool comes from sheep.
Old Four said, “Secretary Jia suspects that girl. He might take drastic measures.” I believed him—Sun Junliu had once held damning evidence and got hit by a dump truck. She survived, but then robbers came after her.
I asked, “So what do you want to do?”
Old Four replied, “If we can help her, we should. She’s only twenty-one or twenty-two—a bright young girl with her whole life ahead of her.”
His words made me see him in a new light. At least his morals were several tiers above Old Five’s.
As soon as Old Four went upstairs, the burly landlady blocked his path. She had a bag slung over her shoulder, and under the bright sun, her mahjong buddies shouted, “Hurry up! We’re waiting for you to win back your losses!”
The landlady had been on a losing streak—five big hands without a win, even feeding two winning tiles to others. “Mr. Bugs,” she said, “I know it’s the third day of the New Year and bad luck to ask for money, but you’re two weeks late on rent. What’s the deal?”
Old Four forced a smile. “Happy New Year, Landlady! May you strike it rich! Let me ask my friend here.” He turned to me. “Got 300 yuan to spare?”
I eyed the landlady—her arms thicker than mine, her waist layered with fat—and swallowed hard. *So this is why Old Four brought me here. To foot the bill.*
I handed over the 300 yuan.
Old Four looked like he might cry from gratitude. The landlady took the cash, and we finally made it to his tiny fifth-floor room.
The moment the door opened, the stench of instant noodles and dirty socks hit me. I sneezed repeatedly, covering my nose as I stepped inside.
Old Four cleared the table. “If you don’t mind, you can sit on the bed.”
I glanced at the yellowed blanket, inside which were bundled a pair of underwear and two dingy socks.
I shook my head. “I’ll stand. Sitting too long gives me neck problems.”
Old Four straightened the blanket, quickly tucking the underwear out of sight. Then his expression shifted. “Alright, let’s begin.”
A drop of sweat rolled down my forehead as I stared at the stains—probably soup—on the bedsheet. “We’re starting now? *Here?*”
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