Heavenly King - Chapter 26
Uncle Ma nodded, said nothing more, and puffed on his pipe.
Ma Xiaoniu turned to look at the big tree beside him. This tree had been there for many years; in fact, it had been there since Ma Xiaoniu could remember. Moreover, in Ma Xiaoniu's memory, the tree seemed to have remained unchanged.
"Uncle, do you know who planted this tree?"
"You mean this tree?" Uncle Ma looked at the big tree beside him and shook his head. "I don't know either. This tree is quite old. It was like this when I was a child, and it hasn't changed much since."
"Hmm, so this tree is at least a hundred years old!"
"A hundred years old? More than that, at least several hundred years old," Uncle Ma tapped his pipe on the ground.
"So long? But you can't tell from its appearance at all. It looks like a tree that's been there for decades," Ma Xiaoniu said in surprise.
"Not only is this tree old, it's also quite mysterious," Uncle Ma said, gazing into the distance as he recalled some events.
"Oh? I've never heard of this before. Can you tell me about it?" Ma Xiaoniu asked curiously.
"Actually, I've heard my grandfather mention the origin of this tree. When my grandfather was very young, there was a thunderstorm. He was young and playful, so he secretly ran out to play in the rain. While he was playing, a bolt of lightning struck, and my grandfather was startled. Then he saw a tree where the lightning struck. At that time, the tree wasn't like this; its branches and leaves were scorched and it was on the verge of death. But later, the tree slowly recovered and became what we see today." Uncle Ma raised his hand and stroked the bark, his rough hand just like the rough bark.
"I never imagined this tree had such a history." Ma Xiaoniu had no doubt about the truth of the legend. After all, he had already encountered the most unbelievable things, so encountering a few more wouldn't be a big deal.
"It's all just legend, don't believe it!" Uncle Ma shook his head with a smile and continued to puff on his pipe.
Ma Xiaoniu smiled, bid farewell to Uncle Ma, and returned home. Sitting in the living room, Ma Xiaoniu fell into deep thought. In the past, he would have scoffed at such legends. But now, he was the biggest mystery of all; what other mystery couldn't he believe?
After drinking some tea, I checked my watch and it was already 3:30 in the afternoon. I figured the captain must have already gotten home by now.
Donning the demon mask, Ma Xiaoniu vanished in an instant.
...
Fugui Manyuan Residential Community, FF District, City X.
Wearing the demon mask, Ma Xiaoniu stared blankly at the security guard in front of him, and was also stunned... Damn it, where did I teleport to? Could it be the security room?
He teleported behind the security guard and delivered an elbow strike to the back of the guard's head, sending the guard sprawling to the ground without a sound. Looking at the fallen guard, Ma Xiaoniu was annoyed. "Damn it," he thought, "it seems I'll have to be more careful with teleportation in the future. While it's true that you can teleport anywhere you want to go, there are obviously exceptions. This is really unreliable teleportation!"
Glancing at the security camera in the guard room, Ma Xiaoniu rolled his eyes. No choice, he'd smash it! After a series of crashes and bangs, the camera went from round to flat, the camera control unit became a pile of scrap metal, and the hard drive was riddled with holes. He clapped his hands, searched the area again to make sure nothing was missing, and then Ma Xiaoniu vanished in an instant. When he reappeared, he was on the balcony of apartment 1002 in building three.
There was no one on the balcony; it would have been better if someone were there, since Ma Xiaoniu was there to kill someone anyway. He quietly entered the house; the sound of running water came from the bathroom, indicating someone was taking a shower. Since he had nothing else to do, Ma Xiaoniu simply sat down on the living room sofa and turned on the TV.
The television turned on, and the sound of water in the bathroom suddenly stopped. A man's voice rang out: "Who's in the living room?" Before the voice faded, the bathroom door opened, and a tall man in a bathrobe stepped out. The man was startled to see a man wearing a demon mask sitting on the living room sofa, then his expression suddenly changed drastically. He remembered—there seemed to be a demon forum that had been particularly popular recently, and he had even visited it. Then, he unconsciously recalled the bad things he had done over the years, and a chill ran down his spine. This demon had come to kill him!
"Evil, evil, a demon?" The tall man's eyes widened in terror. Without waiting for an answer, he turned and ran towards the door. But he couldn't escape. Ma Xiaoniu teleported in front of the tall man and kicked him in the stomach. The tall man fell two meters away with a thud, then clutched his stomach and screamed in pain.
"Wang Tianshuai?" Ma Xiaoniu's cold voice rang out.
Wang Tianshuai was stunned for a moment, then suddenly shook his head: "I, I, I am not Wang Tianshuai. You, who are you?"
"No?" Ma Xiaoniu suddenly laughed, but his eyes grew colder and colder. "That's perfect, since you've already seen me anyway, you're going to die sooner or later...hehehehehehehehe."
The laughter, like countless venomous snakes, burrowed into Wang Tianshuai's soul. Cold sweat poured down Wang Tianshuai's back, and his eyes were filled with fear: "Good, good man, I, I really am not Wang Tianshuai! You, you can't kill an innocent man!"
"Oh? Still won't admit it? Hehehehehehe, it's okay, you'll admit it eventually. Great job, you'll regret it!"
Wang Tianshuai was dumbfounded. He could understand everything before, but what was this last sentence? Was there something wrong with his ears? Or was the other person just a lunatic?
While his thoughts were in disarray, Wang Tianshuai suddenly thought of many bad things he had done in the past, and then a wave of regret rose from his heart. This regret grew bigger and stronger, gradually filling his chest, and he felt he had to get it off his chest.
"Waaah, I deserve to die!" Wang Tianshuai suddenly knelt down and wailed, "I deserve to die! I shouldn't have done so many bad things! I raped more than a dozen good girls! I'm a beast! I'm not human!" Wang Tianshuai suddenly raised his hands and started hitting himself with both hands. In just a short while, he beat himself into a pig's head.
"I'm so angry, I'm so miserable!" Wang Tianshuai cried bitterly, beating his chest and stamping his feet. His swollen face had a puddle of snot on the left and a puddle of saliva on the right. His hands were almost bleeding from clenching them too tightly.
"Ahhhhh~ Waaaaa~ I'm dying~ Waaaaa~ I'm dying!" Wang Tianshuai cried and cried more and more, and cried more and more when he was in pain. Finally, his eyes rolled back and he fainted.
Ma Xiaoniu rubbed his temples. Damn, he finally fainted. It was too damn noisy!
Reaching Wang Tianshuai, Ma Xiaoniu flicked out his dagger, a flash of cold light, and Wang Tianshuai's head rolled to the side. Ma Xiaoniu merely watched coldly, but suddenly a thought flashed through his mind: was he being too ruthless? Shaking his head, he skillfully took out the Demon Seal and stamped it on Wang Tianshuai's face, then took a picture of the scene before teleporting back home.
He removed the demon mask and tossed it aside, opened his laptop, logged into the demon forum, posted a new thread, and then shared photos of the scene from the Wang Tianshuai case. He then closed the laptop and sat there blankly.
...
At the entrance of Fengxian County Public Security Bureau, Director Liu Feixing, Criminal Investigation Captain Sun Weiran, and a group of police officers stood in a line.
Xiao Jin leaned closer to Sun Weiran and asked, "Boss Sun, it's almost five o'clock. When will the reconnaissance team sent by the higher-ups arrive?"
Sun Weiran remained calm: "How would I know? They just said they'd be here this afternoon." Then she turned to the criminal investigation team and said, "Everyone, please be patient. It's already five o'clock; they should be here soon." Sun Weiran felt very uncomfortable. This investigation team was naturally here to investigate the Demon Case, meaning her own team would only be able to assist the Demon. But there was nothing she could do; her own team had been unable to solve the case, while the Demon's crimes seemed to be piling up one after another.
"They're here, they're here, line up!" said Chief Liu Feixing at the front. The police officers quickly lined up, smiles spreading across their faces.
Two police cars drove up from the end of the street and quickly stopped in front of the crowd. The doors opened, and five people stepped out. The first man had a square face, large ears, a buzz cut, and wore glasses; he was about 1.8 meters tall and had a robust build. Another man had fair skin, but a small black mustache below his nose, and his eyes were bright and alert. Of the other three, one was a woman, tall and slender, with red lips and white teeth, and dimples when she smiled. The other two were men in their twenties, both also smiling.
Director Liu Feixing strode forward, grasped Fang Da'er's hands with both, and laughed heartily, "Welcome, Captain Guo, to Feng County! You must have had a long journey!"
Captain Guo's real name is Guo Han, the captain of the Criminal Investigation Brigade in X City. In terms of rank, he's on par with Liu Feixing, the county bureau chief, but Guo Han is younger, only in his thirties. Most importantly, since becoming a criminal investigator, Guo Han has solved many major cases, making him a very promising individual. Guo Han smiled upon hearing this, "No trouble at all, no trouble at all. I might be bothering Director Liu for a while! I hope Director Liu will give me your guidance!" He then turned and pointed to the black-bearded man beside him, "Director Liu, let me introduce you. This is Bai Xian, the deputy captain of our Criminal Investigation Brigade."
Blackbeard Bai Xian quickly stepped forward to shake hands with Liu Feixing. Liu Feixing looked him up and down and said, "You are the legendary strategist Bai Xian! I've heard so much about you!"
Bai Xian smiled slightly: "I dare not accept such praise, it's all the industry's way of flattering me."
Guo Han then introduced the other three people in turn. The woman was named Han Yun, who was very skilled. The other two were named Liu Mingtian and Wang Kun, both of whom were experienced criminal police officers.
After Guo Han finished his introduction, Liu Feixing introduced the members of the Fengxian Criminal Investigation Brigade one by one, and then the group went to the conference room of the Fengxian Criminal Investigation Brigade.
They took their seats in order. Sun Weiran, as the captain of the criminal investigation team, was responsible for explaining the case. (Recently, there has been severe encoding issues, which motivates us to update faster. Please take a moment to exit reading mode. Thank you.)
===Chapter Twenty-Six===