CH 112

Huacheng University. Morning.

There was no class, but Professor Ma came early anyway. He made himself a cup of strong tea, read the latest journal articles, and waited for the son of his old friend to come.

Two days have passed, and he has also completed the re-engraving process. It is time for him to return the bamboo scrolls.

Professor Ma never goes back on his promises.

However, he waited for the entire day, and nobody came to his office.

Seeing that it was almost time for dinner, he got tired of waiting and picked up the phone by the table, scrolled to the contact information left by the young man, and called him.

Beep. Beep.

With each ring, his patient wore down. Just as he was about to slam the phone down on the table, somebody picked it up.

“Hello? Who is this?”

An unfamiliar voice spoke—a middle-aged man who seemed to be plagued by exhaustion and annoyance.

“H-hi. I’m Ma Zhen. I’m calling for the father of the owner of this number.”

“Oh, Professor Ma. I thought… Apologies. It’s good to hear from you again.”

Professor Ma was visibly annoyed at this point, but he swallowed his anger and continued, “And you are…?”

“Apologies, again. I’m the eldest son, and the person who went to see you is my younger brother. I know you made an appointment with my brother to meet today, but…”

The man, on the other hand, fell silent, and Professor Ma could vaguely hear muffled sobbing as if the man was trying to obscure his own crying. A feeling of unease crept into his heart.

After a long silence, the man returned, his voice a little hoarse. “You can keep the bamboo scrolls. It is my father’s gift to you, but my brother… he’s… gone mad. I’m sorry to keep you waiting.”

The professor frowned upon hearing this. Does this mean that the younger brother made his own decision to snatch the scrolls for himself?

“I will be hanging up. Our family is a mess right now, and I don’t want to waste your time.”

“Don’t hang up just yet. There are a few things I need to ask you,” Professor Ma insisted.

“Do tell. I’ll help you to the best of my abilities.”

Professor Ma felt that his lips were dry and took a sip of the weak tea, which tasted just like water.

“Your brother came to me a few days ago. He told me that your father asked me to return the scrolls. I agreed, out of respect for the dead, and…”

Before he could finish speaking, a cold snort came from the other end, and the man spoke, “Professor Ma, you are a man of education! How could you fall for that? Did he tell you that my father somehow came back to life too? Wouldn’t I know if he came back to life?”

After a short silence, the man continued, “He insisted that father came back to life and told me that he would see father running through a bamboo forest in his dreams. Sometimes he would be laughing alone in the corner of an old warehouse. Sometimes, in the cemetery of a mountain. I mean, isn’t this outrageous?”

“Indeed. I presume it is.”

Despite this, Professor Ma knew better, especially after seeing what had happened to Lu Xu the other day.

Somehow, he could see a thin and pale old man that haunted a bamboo forest in his mind. His heart shuddered.

“When he told me he was going to collect the bamboo scrolls today,” the man interrupted his thoughts. “I confiscated his phone and car keys, but…”

“Did something happen?”

“He disappeared,” the man breathed out. “With my father’s body. Couldn’t find either of them. I’m worried something bad might have happened to my brother.”

“I see. It’s… okay. Things will work out on their own.”

“I hope. I must get back to work, and you…” The man paused. “Keep yourself safe. I’m worried that my brother is looking for you.”

He hung up the phone with no further explanation.

“Ridiculous. I am a man of science. A man can’t just come back from the dead… hah!”

As he murmured to himself, he took out his phone and searched for Lu Yibei’s phone number.

Just as he found his number, the phone rang, and an unknown number was calling him.

“Hello? May I speak to Ma Zhen?”

“You are?”

“I’m a doctor from the hospital in Huacheng. During our rounds this morning, we found that Lu Xu has gone missing, and he has yet to return to his room.”

“Excuse me?”

“We don’t know what happened; even after checking the cameras, we couldn’t determine where he disappeared. He was supposed to be discharged today, but… anyway, he left your contact information with us, and we are calling to ask if you have seen him. He still needs to pay the hospital bill.”

“No, I have not seen him, but I will come and pay the bill for him later.”

Putting down the phone, Professor Ma sat on the chair and was lost in his own thoughts.

Two disappearances in a short timeframe…

And both of them came into close contact with the bamboo scrolls…

“That can’t be right; I was the closest to the scrolls, but I’m still here.”

However, a faint stench rushed into his nostrils, and the smell of rot plagued his office.

As soon as he realised it, he hurriedly took another whiff, only to find that it disappeared in an instant.

“I need to get that damn cleaner in my room already.”

As he spoke, he called Lu Yibei’s number.

Lu Yibei was sound asleep and reluctantly got up upon being awakened by his mobile phone ringing.

Rushed footsteps came from downstairs, and Jumeng barged into his room and leapt onto his bed, looking at him with expectant eyes.

He ignored her and accepted the call, putting the phone to his ears as Professor Ma’s voice flooded his ears.

“Yibei, something bad has happened. Lu Xu and my old friend disappeared, and I suspect something bad is happening. Come to my office as soon as possible.”

Yibei was visibly stunned, and he replied, “Okay, we’ll meet later.”

As soon as he hung up, Jumeng began to tease him, “Who was that? A girlfriend? A boyfriend? Or somebody boring from the Night Division?”

‘Aren’t you the god of reproduction and not the god of gossip? he asked, rolling his eyes. “My professor.”

“Agh, you’re a boring person, and your professor is a boring person too,” she spat. “People with titles are all very boring, like wives, teachers, and mothers…”

“Are you sure about that?” he smiled. Because, judging by his tone, we’ll be able to get you some juicy cores in no time!”