Chapter 620: A Victory for the Power of the People!

9:57 p.m., at an intersection roughly three kilometers from Yuhua Road.

A taxi slowly approached and pulled over.

An unremarkably dressed man wearing a mask opened the door and stepped out. Judging from his brow, he was probably in his forties or fifties. He looked around, fixed his gaze in one direction, and hurried away.

Inside the taxi, the driver quietly observed his every move. Once the man had gone some distance, the driver took out his phone, opened a Certain Penguin Chat App, and entered a group called 【Temporary Shizhou City Haunting Chat Group】.

Lu Yibei had spent heavily to have the Online Old Pervert establish this chat group specifically for Lin Nian to communicate with her informants.

Old Ma the Taxi Driver: “@Shizhou City’s Know-It-All, I may have found the person you’re looking for. He was originally heading to the auto-repair district on Yuhua Road, but for some reason he got out halfway there.”

…

Meanwhile, elsewhere.

At Lin Nian’s home near Sleepless Street.

She fed her grandfather a late-night meal and settled him into bed. Then she returned to the living room, picked up her phone, and went out.

Walking along the dim streets of the old residential complex, Lin Nian felt her phone vibrate. She checked it and quickly replied.

Shizhou City’s Know-It-All: “Oh? Old Ma, please follow him and report his position in the group once every minute. [Red Packet: Exclusively for Old Ma the Taxi Driver]”

【Old Ma the Taxi Driver has claimed your red packet.】

Old Ma the Taxi Driver: “Leave it to me! People like them—pedophiles who hurt others and murder for profit—even without the red packet, I’d still help!”

After spreading and snowballing all day, word of Hu Chuan’s and Elder Wang’s inhuman crimes had circulated throughout Shizhou City’s psychic community, inflaming public outrage. As the stories spread, they even accumulated wild embellishments with no basis in fact.

By now, even if the two men had done nothing at all, the charges forced upon them would still be enough to earn them an honored place on the Midnight Watchers Society’s Wanted List.

Shizhou City’s Know-It-All: “Thank you, Old Ma. You can stop after ten minutes! @Everyone, keep an eye on the location updates Old Ma posts. [Lucky Red Packet]”

According to the plan “Gu Qianqian” had given her, Hu Chuan and Elder Wang were exceptionally cunning and dangerous. After discovering their whereabouts, only a randomized relay of many different trackers could ensure that they were not detected and that the trackers remained safe.

They could have asked the Online Old Pervert to access Shizhou City’s surveillance network for a similar result, but cameras were objects too. Hu Chuan might be able to control them.

More than ninety percent of the temporary group’s members were Class D or even Non-graded psychics. They had jobs and lives they loved. To put it harshly, they were a group of old, weak, sick, or disabled psychics living happy and fulfilling lives.

Such people were not the Esoteric Society’s preferred recruits. The Society favored people like Elder Wang: neither powerful nor weak, but thoroughly dissatisfied with their current lives.

Using this group for surveillance greatly reduced the chance of alerting their quarry.

Moreover, although these psychics were not particularly strong, they had lived in Shizhou City for many years and possessed terrifying networks of contacts. If psychics outside the group discovered Hu Chuan’s or Elder Wang’s whereabouts, the information would quickly reach their ears.

In that respect, they were the psychic version of the famous “Chaoyang Masses”!

This was a victory for the power of the people!

…

Old Ma’s live updates on Elder Wang’s position continued scrolling through the chat group.

Ten minutes later.

Lin Nian studied his final message for two seconds, typed, and sent another.

Shizhou City’s Know-It-All: “@King of Beef, Master He, that fellow is passing beneath your building now. Please see which direction he takes.”

King of Beef: “He’s heading east, toward Jinmen Road.”

“Toward Jinmen Road?” Lin Nian frowned slightly and recalled the surrounding terrain. After waiting a dozen seconds, she sent another message.

Shizhou City’s Know-It-All: “@Quack Doctor with Strong Medicine, Doctor Li, he’ll pass your clinic soon. Please check which direction he goes.”

Quack Doctor with Strong Medicine: “I see him. He’s heading toward Chunfeng Road.”

Shizhou City’s Know-It-All: “…”

————

10:04 p.m., Yuhua Road.

This aging street lay at the edge of the urban district, yet unlike other old streets, it had not gradually fallen into abandonment as night deepened.

As one of Shizhou City’s major transportation arteries, it connected to highways leading toward the city’s subordinate districts and counties and served as an entrance to the airport expressway. It also had a passenger transport center, so crowds flowed through it every day.

Alongside those crowds came auto-parts shops of every size, inexpensive restaurants serving enormous portions, and the largest auto-repair district in Shizhou City.

Many stores on both sides of Yuhua Road remained open after dark. It could not compare to the nightly revelry of Sleepless Street, but it was far livelier than roads where not a single person appeared after sunset.

It was hardly strange that Hu Chuan chose this area for Elder Wang’s transaction with Yang Yichen.

The large crowds, convenient transportation, and surrounding maze of old, poorly planned buildings would all make escape easier if something unexpected happened.

However…

The agreed transaction time had passed, yet Elder Wang still had not appeared.

Inside a McDico‑K fast-food restaurant diagonally opposite the gas station on Yuhua Road.

Lu Yibei watched the station through the window for a while. Then she looked at the time on her phone, sighed soundlessly, and turned to Huá Sāng. “Let’s go. Elder Wang probably isn’t coming.”

“Hmm?” Huá Sāng tilted her head. “Shouldn’t we wait a little longer? It has been less than five minutes…”

“Five minutes is already far too long.” Lu Yibei shook her head. “Given their current situation, they’ll avoid staying in one place for any length of time.”

“Under normal circumstances, Elder Wang would arrive neither early nor late. He would appear exactly at the agreed time, complete the transaction with Yang Yichen as quickly as possible, and leave.”

“Since he hasn’t appeared, either trouble delayed him or Hu Chuan discovered our operation. We haven’t received any news from Senior Qingxiazi, and nothing has happened on Lin Nian’s side, so it’s probably the latter.”

I never expected this one clue alone to uncover both of them anyway…

Lin Nian should have news soon, Lu Yibei thought.

“Also…” She lowered her gaze and lightly patted the Shuishu Shou (Water Savage Beast), which was reaching a paw toward the egg tart in front of Huá Sāng. “Big Cousin, don’t steal Huá Sāng’s food. If you want something, eat mine!”

Huá Sāng pushed the egg tart toward the Shuishu Shou and looked at Lu Yibei. “Still, if your deduction is correct, this trip wasn’t entirely fruitless.”

“At least we’ve eliminated one wrong possibility.”

“Exactly.” Lu Yibei nodded.

When she first assumed Hu Chuan was hiding in Shizhou City, Lu Yibei judged that the small-goods wholesale market, the auto-repair district, and the home-furnishings market in the old city were the three most likely places.

Now that he had chosen a transaction point near the auto-repair district, the likelihood that he was hiding there had fallen considerably.

If Elder Wang were captured, the Great Pure Palace would certainly investigate every nearby source of psychic energy fluctuations.

Only by remaining far enough from Elder Wang could Hu Chuan have sufficient time and space to respond if the elder was caught.

Trying to hide in plain sight at a time like this was far too risky!

Lu Yibei did not know whether Hu Chuan would dare take that risk. She certainly would not.

After thinking briefly, she said to Huá Sāng, “The question now is whether he’s hiding near the small-goods wholesale market or the home-furnishings market.”

The instant she finished, her phone vibrated. She took it out, unlocked the screen, and read Lin Nian’s message. One eyebrow rose, and she held the phone before Huá Sāng.

Huá Sāng frowned after reading it. “Someone suspected to be Elder Wang is heading toward the home-furnishings market? In other words…”

“Hu Chuan and Elder Wang are hiding near the home-furnishings market!” Lu Yibei declared decisively.

According to what she just said, shouldn’t Hu Chuan be hiding at the small-goods wholesale market? Huá Sāng thought briefly, then asked, “You mean Elder Wang is returning to warn Hu Chuan?”

“Exactly!” Lu Yibei nodded. “Now you can find Senior Qingxiazi, take people there, and place the area around the home-furnishings market under surveillance.”

Huá Sāng frowned. “You want me to find my master and bring people over? What about you?”

“Me?” Lu Yibei rolled her eyes. “I’m going to pay everyone! Did you think this many people would help track them without receiving anything in return?”

If I hadn’t gotten all that free gold with the Oujin Rod last time, I would have gone bankrupt today. Du Sixian already thinks I’ve picked up some terrible vice… Lu Yibei added inwardly.

“Besides, once you find those two men, a fight will definitely break out. Why would I go near something so dangerous?”

Huá Sāng stared into Lu Yibei’s eyes for several seconds, then took a deep breath and said solemnly, “Don’t worry. I will recover the ferule for you.”

“I know, I know! You’ve said that seven or eight times already…” Lu Yibei waved impatiently. “Hurry up. If Wang escapes, you won’t be able to recover it.”

“Let’s go.” Lu Yibei stroked the Shuishu Shou’s head. “Big Cousin, we’ll take her there.”

Huá Sāng looked at Lu Yibei, wanting to say something, but finally nodded.

————

10:15 p.m.

Near the devastated residential buildings by Sleepless Street.

Two Great Pure Palace disciples responsible for clearing residual psychic energy fluctuations sat on a stone bench during a break after their second round of work, chatting idly.

“Did you hear? The fellow disciples stationed at the mountain gate said Senior Sister Fu did something earth-shattering again today!”

“Oh? What did Senior Sister Fu do this time?” the other disciple asked.

“She rode the Mountain-Guarding Divine Beast away and still hasn’t returned!”

The other disciple frowned and thought for several seconds. “Could she have secretly ridden it down the mountain to pursue those two men?”

“Who knows?”

As they spoke, the moisture in the air suddenly thickened, and faint white mist began to drift around them. Tiny arcs of lightning flickered across the walls of the narrow alley entrance. Weak thunder sounded, and a majestic, powerful figure flashed past.

The two disciples froze, then slowly turned toward each other. Each saw profound shock in the other’s eyes.

“Did you see that?”

“I did. It must have been the divine beast…”

“Hiss—!”

Footsteps came from the alley. Following the sound, they saw Huá Sāng hurry past toward Qingxiazi’s location.

After hesitating, the disciples finally summoned their courage. “Senior Sister Huá Sāng, wait! May we ask you something?”

“Hmm?” Huá Sāng turned and tilted her head. “Go ahead.”

“That figure just now—was it…?”

“The Mountain-Guarding Divine Beast,” Huá Sāng replied flatly.

“And the person who brought you here…?”

“Fu Xinyi.” Huá Sāng nodded openly. “Anything else? If not, I need to see my master. I have an important report.”

“Nothing else. Go ahead!” both disciples answered together.

————

Meanwhile, on the rooftop of a distant high-rise.

Lu Yibei sat upright on the Shuishu Shou’s back and looked down at Huá Sāng, now only a speck on the ground. She gently patted the divine beast’s neck, leaned toward its ear, and said softly, “Let’s go, Big Cousin. We’re heading to the small-goods wholesale market.”

“If Hu Chuan is hiding nearby, he’ll give himself away soon.”

Pfft! The Shuishu Shou snorted softly, stamped its iron hooves, and leaped. As it fell, its figure vanished into the brilliant moonlight.

When Lin Nian sent word that Elder Wang was approaching the home-furnishings market, Lu Yibei had become even more convinced that Hu Chuan was hiding at the small-goods wholesale market.

But a new problem immediately arose: how could she approach without Hu Chuan noticing and capture him before he fled again?

If every Great Pure Palace disciple involved in the pursuit converged on the wholesale market, Hu Chuan would certainly receive advance warning and escape.

So she needed to put on a play for him—a horror show!

She would let him believe the Great Pure Palace had made the wrong judgment, then appear before him without warning.

To avoid spoiling the performance, Lu Yibei had not even told Huá Sāng her idea.

“…”

It’s just a diversion. As if I don’t know how to pull one off!

Even if I guess wrong, he still can’t escape Shizhou City for the time being. But if I guess right…

I have help and room for error. He has neither!

Lu Yibei narrowed her eyes in the wind, a cold light flashing within them.