The incident in the Tianshan Mountains had finally come to a close. Gao Liang left the members of Departments Two and Five behind in the Tomb of a Transcendent Beast to handle the aftermath, under the leadership of Xiao Heshang. The rest of us were split into two groups and sent to the Yining Airport, where we boarded the Bureau of Paranormal Investigation's private jet back to the capital.
Upon arrival at the capital airport, Gao Liang personally escorted Huang Ran, Po Jun, and Zhang Zhiyan to the hospital. Thanks to Lin Feng's treatment during the flight, Po Jun and Zhang Zhiyan had regained consciousness, but their physical injuries were severe. The doctors estimated they'd need to remain in bed for at least a month before they could even make it to the bathroom on their own. As for Huang Ran, after stabilizing his fractures and stitching up the wound on his chest, along with a set of IV fluids and oral medications, he was taken directly back to the Bureau by Gao Liang.
To be honest, Huang Ran's injuries were no less serious than the other two. But Director Gao didn't dare take the risk of leaving him in the hospital. Instead, he had a private room arranged for him on the third basement level of the Bureau, a restricted area reserved for department heads. Exceptionally, Yang Jun and Yang Xiao were assigned to guard the door in rotating shifts. Sun Fatty and I weren't authorized to go down there, so we had no idea how Huang Ran was doing. But word was, Wang Lu—Director Gao's secretary, known affectionately as Sister Lu and formerly a nurse—had gone down herself to tend to his injuries. Director Gao, on the other hand, hadn't gone down even once, as if he had completely forgotten about Huang Ran.
Meng Qiqi, meanwhile, was barely restricted at all. She was free to roam anywhere in the main building, except the basement. But it seemed that the young Miss Meng was only interested in Wu Rendi. Unfortunately, although Director Wu had an office in the main building, he was almost never seen there. Meng Qiqi waited outside the Sixth Department's office for days without catching even a glimpse of him.
According to Bureau custom, Sun Fatty and I were supposed to get a two-week vacation, but with manpower stretched thin, we didn't get the time off. Po Jun was still recovering in the hospital, and Director Hao was as elusive as ever. The work of the First Department fell to Sun Fatty and me for the time being. Thankfully, there were no major incidents during this period. We enjoyed a rare stretch of peace—working nine to five, day in and day out. But with the cleanup team from the Tianshan Mountains starting to return, that peaceful routine wasn't going to last much longer.
One morning, as Sun Fatty and I were heading out of the dorms for work, we noticed a large crowd—dozens of people—gathered around the front gate. I was still wondering what was going on when I caught sight of something through a gap in the crowd: a gray-furred wolf… or was it a dog?
Sun Fatty saw it too. His eyes widened, and he turned to me. "Lazi… is that it?"I wasn't sure, so I quickened my pace. As we reached the edge of the crowd, Sun Fatty suddenly shouted, "Make way! You wanna get fur all over you?"Reflexively, the crowd parted, and that's when I finally got a clear look. Lying there was the very creature Wu Rendi had brought back from the Tomb of a Transcendent Beast—Yin Bai.
Its neck was loosely tied with the same rope, the other end looped around the handle of the side gate. The white wolf was baring its teeth at everyone in sight.
"Lazi, Dasheng, just the two I was waiting for. Come take a look—this dog, is it Yin Bai or not?" said Xiong Wanyi from Department Two. He was the closest one to the white wolf.I pointed at it, astonished. "What's it doing here? Where's Director Wu?"Xiong Wanyi replied, "It was already tied up here this morning. None of us got a good look at it back at the tomb, so we weren't sure if this was Yin Bai. But Lazi, you'd know. This is definitely it, right?"
At the moment, the wolf was giving off no Aura of the Arcanobeast at all. Even those of us with the Heavenly Eye couldn't distinguish it from a normal wolfdog.
"Xiong Wanyi, back up! Don't get yourself bitten," Sun Fatty warned. "Unless you've got Wu Rendi's skills, don't try anything with it."That made Xiong Wanyi jump back a few steps. "So it really is Yin Bai, huh? Told you guys!" he called out to the other investigators behind him.
Once they realized this was the infamous Yin Bai, everyone instinctively backed away, leaving the white wolf a wide berth."We can't just leave it tied here like this. Someone's going to get spooked," I said. I stepped forward to untie the rope from the side gate handle, but just as I took a step, the wolf let out a low growl. Its gray fur even seemed to shift toward pure white for a second.
Startled, I froze in place.
"Lazi, you sure know how to pick your words," Sun Fatty chuckled, watching me. "When have you ever seen this place bustling with people? It's just us. People coming and going? Try ghosts drifting in and out. Just let it be."
He had a point. With the Two Yangs in the basement and only Director Wu capable of handling Yin Bai, there wasn't much we could do. Besides, the wolf was tied to the side gate, not blocking our way through the main entrance.Fine, let it stay there then.
That morning, things were quiet. Hao Wenming had disappeared again to who-knows-where for another of his leisure outings. With nothing better to do, Sun Fatty and I spent the morning chatting idly until around eleven, when we cleaned up a bit and headed to the cafeteria.
The cafeteria was located on the third floor—a bit of a specialty in the Bureau of Paranormal Investigation. Director Gao had no hobbies to speak of except good food. Years ago, he'd gone through great lengths to poach a head chef from a top restaurant. Ever since, our daily meals could only be described as a veritable feast. Aside from luxuries like shark fin, everything else—pork, beef, lamb, fish, shrimp, chicken—was always available without fail.
When we arrived, Xiong Wanyi and a few others had already gotten there. Seeing us walk in, Xiong Wanyi waved and called out, "Lazi, Dasheng, come grab a bite!"
Sun Fatty and I grabbed our trays and picked a few dishes to our liking. We joined their table, exchanged a few jokes, and were just about to eat when someone muttered under their breath, "Director Wu is here…"
That single sentence instantly shifted every pair of eyes toward the entrance.
Sure enough, Wu Rendi walked in with his usual expressionless face and a head of stark white hair.
I'd heard from Po Jun that ever since Wu Rendi joined the Bureau, no one had ever seen him eat in the cafeteria. The moment word spread of his arrival, even the head chef came running from the kitchen. He'd been at the Bureau long enough to know a thing or two about its inner workings and had certainly heard his share of stories about Wu Rendi.
It was the first time the head chef had seen the legendary Director Wu at such close range, and he was visibly unsure how to react.
Wu Rendi took a tray and made a round around the counter before stopping directly in front of the chef. "What dishes taste good?" he asked.
Maybe Wu Rendi's aura was just too intimidating, but the chef clearly misunderstood the question. Thinking Director Wu was asking about vegetables specifically, he pointed at a row of leafy dishes and said, "Stir-Fried Spinach with Pickled Tofu, Garlic Pea Shoots, Four-Veggie Stir-Fry, Baby Cabbage in Broth, and Dry-Fried Green Beans—those are all pretty good."
Wu Rendi stared silently at the dishes for a long while, saying nothing.
Assuming he'd picked the wrong options—that perhaps this legendary figure preferred something more refined or spiritual—the chef hastily added, "We've got some fresh wild bracken in the back. I can stir-fry it for you—or serve it raw as a salad, no oil if you prefer something lighter. I guarantee it'll be refreshing."
Sun Fatty muttered with a smirk, "Just hearing those recipes lowered my cholesterol."
Still, Wu Rendi remained silent.
The chef, forcing a smile, was about to go on listing more rabbit-food-like options when Wu Rendi suddenly handed him the tray and said, "Everything you just mentioned—excluding the wild greens. One portion each."
The chef rushed to heap Wu Rendi's tray full of the vegetable dishes. Wu Rendi accepted the meal, nodded, and without another word, turned and left the cafeteria.
The young chef in charge of collecting meal payments watched Wu Rendi walk out and whispered to the head chef, "I think Director Wu forgot to pay…"The head chef shot him a deadly glare. "It's on me!"
As we watched Wu Rendi leave with his tray of greens, the whole cafeteria was abuzz. Then someone blurted out, "Is he going to feed Yin Bai with that stuff?"
That remark set off a chain reaction. Suddenly no one cared about eating anymore. Everyone rushed to the windows to get a look. Even the kitchen staff—cleavers in hand and burners still on—ran over to see what was happening.
The cafeteria windows faced the main entrance below. Soon enough, we saw Wu Rendi really was heading straight for the white wolf, tray in hand.
At first, the wolf looked nervous. It tucked its tail between its legs and backed behind the gate.
Wu Rendi approached and placed the tray full of vegetables in front of it. The white wolf sniffed cautiously, curious but unimpressed. After a quick whiff, it turned its head away, clearly disinterested.
Everyone saw Wu Rendi move his lips—he was clearly saying something to the wolf. But with the windows shut and the distance between us, we couldn't make out a single word. No one dared open a window for fear of drawing his attention.
Just as I was about to give up and head back to my food, Xiong Wanyi suddenly shouted, "Your turn, Mr. Big Shot!"
Right on cue, Ximen Lian stepped forward. He had been silently watching Director Wu this entire time. Now, he narrowed his eyes and murmured, "I brought this for you, and you're not going to eat it?"
He seemed to be dubbing Wu Rendi's lines like an old film voiceover. Seeing our puzzled expressions, Xiong Wanyi explained, "Don't be so shocked—Big Shot can read lips."
With Ximen Lian providing translation, the "conversation" between Wu Rendi and Yin Bai suddenly came alive.
After Wu Rendi's line, the wolf looked conflicted. It raised its head, looking pitifully at Wu Rendi, even wagging its tail a little. But that clearly had no effect on him. Wu Rendi didn't say another word—he just stared coldly at the creature.
The standoff lasted a while. Eventually, unable to withstand the pressure, the wolf let out a low growl and reluctantly began to chew on the vegetables.
It clearly found the food unbearable. Rather than chew, it seemed to just toss the leafy greens into its mouth, swallow them in long gulps, and then force down another bite.
Wu Rendi seemed satisfied. Watching the wolf's mouth stuffed full of greens, he said, "That's more like it. You'll get used to these things over time." (Translated by Ximen Lian.)
The moment he said that, the wolf couldn't take it anymore.
It suddenly opened its mouth and vomited up everything it had swallowed—what was still in its mouth and what had already reached its stomach. It retched over and over, spewing a pool of green mess. Honestly, even back in the Tomb of a Transcendent Beast, when it vomited up the bronze box holding the Dragonborn Divination Shell, it hadn't looked this miserable.
Wu Rendi took a step back, calm as ever, just enough to avoid the splash of bile.
He seemed about to say something else when Director Hugo from Section Three passed by. Apparently, he had something urgent to discuss. Of the few people in the Bureau who could actually talk to Wu Rendi, Hugo was one of them. After whispering a few words to him (they had their backs to us now—even Ximen Lian's lip-reading was useless), Wu Rendi followed Hugo away in a hurry, leaving behind only the white wolf still dry-heaving at the gate.
Watching the mess at the front door, Sun Fatty narrowed his eyes like he'd just thought of something. He shouted toward the kitchen, "Old Jin! Pack me up—no, make that three roast chickens!"