Chapter 216 Peng ZhenNi

The handwriting was not only scrawled but covered the entire wall, like a child’s messy doodles.

But Jiang Chaosheng could feel the terror of the person who had written them.

Jiang Chaosheng’s brows furrowed slightly.

‘They?’

‘What does “they” mean?’

“I’m so sorry. I don’t know where Grandpa hid the mirror. I initially thought it was in the safe. You may have to wait a little while.”

The young mixed-race woman appeared behind Jiang Chaosheng, her tone humble.

“Please, have a seat and wait.”

Jiang Chaosheng stared at the words.

“This… did Peng Guanhai write this?”

The young woman gave an awkward laugh.

“Don’t mind it. Grandpa wrote all this after he got… confused.”

Jiang Chaosheng turned to look at the young woman, who was half a head shorter than him, and asked skeptically:

“Confused?”

The young woman nodded and sighed.

“Ever since my mom and dad passed away in an accident, Grandpa has been paranoid about everything.”

Jiang Chaosheng pondered for a moment.

“I’m very sorry for your loss.”

“You mentioned earlier that you left Meiqi Country and came to Jiangchuan because of a sad event.”

“Were you referring to your parents’ passing?”

“Could you tell me more about it?”

The young woman pursed her lips.

“It’s not really a secret. If you’re interested…”

…

In Meiqi Country, high-level detectives took on difficult cases, and naturally, the rewards were substantial.

Sometimes, even the Sheriff’s Department would rely on a detective’s skills.

Those detectives also had another title—bounty hunter.

Peng Guanhai was twenty-five when he took his daughter to Meiqi Country.

He had a mediocre career in the bounty hunting business, but thankfully, he earned enough to support his daughter.

When he was thirty, Peng Guanhai took a trip to the Xia Kingdom. Upon returning to Meiqi Country, he transformed into the famous detective known as ‘White Cat’.

His daughter married a Sheriff in Meiqi Country, and not long after, his granddaughter was born.

This young woman was named Peng ZhenNi, and she was nineteen this year.

Peng ZhenNi remembered it clearly. When she was twelve, the Sheriff’s Department hired her grandfather to investigate a missing person case.

In the end, the Sheriff’s Department found the missing person, but they were already dead.

For a detective, it was a very ordinary case, but for some reason…

Her grandfather became very excited!

From then on, her grandfather was busy with something unknown every day, leaving early and coming home late.

When he got home, he would lock himself in his room. Peng ZhenNi even had to bring him his meals.

He muttered to himself constantly, his temper grew increasingly strange, and he never went to work again.

Her mother’s health was poor back then, and she still had to go to school. The whole family depended on her father, the Sheriff, and they struggled financially.

As Peng ZhenNi spoke, a clear look of resentment appeared in her eyes as she complained:

“Sometimes Dad would ask Grandpa to help find someone, but Grandpa would just refuse coldly.”

“Not only that, he would ask Dad for money and then be gone for months at a time.”

“Over two years, he traveled nearly all of Blue Star. No one knew what he was doing on his trips around the world.”

“Sometimes, when Dad wouldn’t give him money, Grandpa would go borrow it.”

Then, Peng ZhenNi’s expression turned sorrowful.

“Later…”

When Peng ZhenNi was fourteen, a terrible tragedy struck her family.

Her mother’s health suddenly worsened. On the way to the hospital, her father, who was driving, got into a car accident.

Just like that, Peng ZhenNi lost both her parents.

Peng ZhenNi remembered it vividly. When her grandfather saw her parents’ bodies, his eyes went wide. Beyond the grief, there was also a profound sense of terror.

Her grandfather always said, “This wasn’t an accident. It’s them, warning me.”

After that, her grandfather became even crazier.

…

Peng ZhenNi looked at Jiang Chaosheng.

“Grandpa said that to escape ‘them,’ we had to return to the Xia Kingdom. Only the Xia Kingdom was safe.”

“But… even now, I still don’t understand what ‘they’ are.”

“Everyone says Grandpa’s crazy. I think so, too.”

Jiang Chaosheng frowned in thought.

‘They… what could they be?’

‘Peng Guanhai can’t be crazy.’

‘He possesses the Homing Mirror; he knows that Supernatural Power exists in this world.’

‘So, what did he discover that led to the pain of losing his daughter and forced him to flee back to the Xia Kingdom to escape being hunted?’

He slid his hand into his pocket and felt the Destiny Coin.

‘The Destiny Coin told me to come to Jiangchuan and find Peng Guanhai first. There must be a reason for it.’

Jiang Chaosheng asked:

“How is he now?”

Peng ZhenNi sighed, her voice tinged with sadness.

“Grandpa’s health is getting worse by the day, and he’s getting crazier by the day, too.”

“He’s in a sanatorium now, muttering ‘they’re coming’ all day long.”

‘Even if she held some resentment toward her grandfather, it was only resentment, not hatred.’

‘Her grandfather was the only family she had left in the world.’

Jiang Chaosheng said thoughtfully:

“I’d like to go visit him.”

Peng ZhenNi lowered her head in thought for a moment.

“Alright. You’re the descendant of his friend; he should be happy to see you.”

“Just wait here a moment. I’ll find that mirror for you first.”

Saying this, Peng ZhenNi turned to resume her search for the mirror.

“No need to go to all that trouble.”

Jiang Chaosheng pointed to the bookshelf.

“It’s there.”

Peng ZhenNi froze. ‘The bookshelf?’

‘How does he know?’

Skeptically, Peng ZhenNi walked over to the bookshelf and searched for a while, but she found nothing.

She turned back, blinking.

“It’s not here. Grandpa wouldn’t put something so important in such an obvious place.”

Jiang Chaosheng walked over to the bookshelf, felt around inside for a moment, found a hidden compartment, and opened it.

Peng ZhenNi stared at Jiang Chaosheng in disbelief.

“This…”

‘This was clearly Jiang Chaosheng’s first time here, so how did he spot the hidden compartment at a glance?’

‘She hadn’t even known it existed!’

From the compartment, Jiang Chaosheng took out an ancient mirror inlaid with beautiful, emerald-green jade.

He brushed his hand over the mirror’s surface and could sense the energy fluctuations of the Profound Mysteries within it.

‘So this was the Homing Mirror.’

Peng ZhenNi slowly began to understand, and her eyes started to sparkle.

“You’re amazing! Are you a detective, too?”

‘Her grandfather was a famous detective. Could his friend’s descendant be one as well?’

‘That made Jiang Chaosheng’s identity very interesting.’

‘A fabulously wealthy scion of a great family, yet interested in the detective business.’

‘Not only was he rich, but he had also inherited his family elder’s detective skills.’

‘He was the kind of person you only saw in movies, right?’

Jiang Chaosheng smiled faintly.

“Unlike your grandfather, who’s good at finding people, I’m better at finding things.”

Jiang Chaosheng could sense the location of Taboo Items.

Unless the Taboo Item had been concealed by Niu Lang with shielding Magic.

Jiang Chaosheng placed the mirror into the leather bag he carried and said:

“Take me to see your grandfather.”

Peng ZhenNi said:

“Okay, my car is downstairs.”

…

「Jiangchuan City. White Cloud Sanatorium.」

On a clean hospital bed, an old man, so thin he was nothing but skin and bones, lay quietly.

The old man was Peng Guanhai. His chest rose and fell slightly; he seemed to be asleep.

A young nurse walked in, glanced at Peng Guanhai on the bed, and murmured:

“He’s kicked off his blanket again.”

‘For a seriously ill person of his age, even a small cold could be agonizing.’

The young nurse pulled the blanket back over Peng Guanhai.

Peng Guanhai’s hand shot out and clamped over his waist.

It was as if he were instinctively protecting something precious there, even in his sleep.

He stared out with wide, terrified old eyes.

His eye sockets were deeply sunken, a clear sign that he was terminally ill.

“Get out! Get out!”

…

PS: In memory of Teacher Zhang, the most reliable battle partner.

PS: The author is being delicate and has fallen ill again.

Everyone, please don’t stay up too late or drink too much.