Chapter 126 Divine Transformation
The next day, at the Li family's west courtyard.
Chen Mo lay on the bed, his once jet-black hair now streaked with white, which was particularly noticeable.
"Thank you for your concern, leaders. I'm feeling much better these past few days."
He made a move to get up, but Shen Dajiang pressed him back down onto the pillow.
"Lie down, don't move." Shen Dajiang pulled over a stool next to the bed and sat down, then turned around and waved to the people behind him, "Sit down, don't stand."
Three people were following behind Shen Dajiang.
The man in front of them was a middle-aged man in his forties, with a middle-part hairstyle, wearing silver-rimmed glasses, and a dark Zhongshan suit that was neatly ironed, though it was somewhat different from the style of later generations.
The two behind were younger, wearing police uniforms and carrying snacks and fruit.
"This is the newly transferred deputy director, Zhou Peiwen." Shen Dajiang pointed to the man wearing glasses. "From now on, your third team will be under his supervision."
Zhou Peiwen walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed. His gaze lingered on Chen Mo's face for a moment, especially on his gray hair.
"Brother Chen Mo, you've suffered."
He gently squeezed Chen Mo's hand, which was resting outside the blanket. "I heard about what happened that day. It's not easy to survive under those circumstances."
"Director Zhou, you're too kind. I was just lucky."
"Luck is also part of skill." Zhou Peiwen released Chen Mo's hand and comforted him, "Take good care of your injury. If you have any difficulties, tell the bureau. We will do our best to help you solve them."
He spoke in a very ordinary tone, his gaze lingering on Chen Mo's face for a moment.
Chen Mo lowered his eyes and coughed twice.
Shen Dajiang sat down on the edge of the bed, lit a cigarette, and after taking a puff, he remembered something and stubbed it out in the lid of the teacup on the bedside table.
"Have you heard about what happened with Lao Ge and the other two?"
Chen Mo raised his head, his expression pausing for a moment.
"Old Ge? What happened to them?"
Shen Dajiang stared at him for a moment, then slowly uttered two words, "Dead."
Chen Mo froze, his lips trembling, somewhat incredulous.
"How...when did he die?"
"About last night."
Shen Dajiang's expression was indifferent, revealing no emotion. "All three of them died at Lao Ge's house. The autopsy results are not yet available."
Chen Mo's expression changed. "Have you found out who did it?"
"We're investigating." Shen Dajiang stood up and walked to the window. "The rain was so heavy last night that many traces at the scene have been erased."
He turned around and stared at Chen Mo, "Don't leave the Li family until your injuries have healed."
"The contaminant incident might be related to the Xikai Church. I suspect it was those foreigners who were behind it."
The room was quiet for a while.
The two young men at the door exchanged a glance, but neither of them said a word.
Zhou Peiwen patted Chen Mo's hand: "Take good care of yourself. The third team has lost three people at once, and we'll have to rely on you old folks to keep things going from now on."
Chen Mo looked up, his eyes red-rimmed, and a forced smile appeared on his lips:
"Don't worry, Director Zhou, I'll go back as soon as I've recovered. I have to see Lao Ge and the others off."
Zhou Peiwen nodded and turned to walk out.
When Shen Dajiang reached the door, he suddenly stopped.
"Chen Mo, the Zhenyi Division is asking you how you killed that corrupted entity."
Chen Mo's expression remained unchanged. "It was a family secret technique; I only managed to kill him by burning my lifespan."
"Okay, that's my reply to them."
The footsteps faded into the distance, and the west courtyard fell silent again.
Once the fat man and the others left, he peeked out furtively from the doorway and plopped down on the stool beside the bed. Crossing your legs.
"Tsk tsk tsk," he clicked his tongue and gestured with his chin toward the two bags of snacks and fruit on the table, "Your leader is quite humane, huh? He knows to come and comfort you, an injured soldier."
Chen Mo glanced at him. "Why aren't you at work?"
After he moved in with the fat guy, he never actually saw the guy work more than a few days; he just wandered around in his work clothes all day.
"Going to work? I can go if I want, and I can skip it if I don't."
The fat man chuckled and shrugged. "My job is covered by someone else. If I go there, I'll just find a place to sleep and maybe have lunch at the canteen."
"Then why are you still wearing your uniform?"
"Doesn't this seem too formal?"
He tugged at his uniform, "Wearing this, I can get a two-cent discount on roast chicken when I go out."
"Most importantly, my dad has been scolding me much less lately."
Chen Mo's lips twitched, but he didn't laugh.
------
Across the street from the Li family's house, the rain had just stopped, and puddles of water still lingered on the bluestone pavement.
The streetlights cast a dim yellow glow on the wet street surface. Occasionally, a rickshaw would carry a passenger past, its rubber wheels splashing through the puddles.
Two men in black trench coats stood in the shade of a plane tree on the street corner.
Both men were wearing top hats with the brims pulled low, obscuring their faces and revealing only their pale chins.
One was younger, in his early twenties, with blond hair and blue eyes; the other was in his forties, with a neatly trimmed short beard.
They watched the black police car drive away from the Li family's house, turn the corner, and disappear into the night.
"They're gone."
The young man spoke broken Chinese, sounding like he had just arrived in Tianjin and was still not fluent in the language.
The middle-aged man didn't say anything, but simply raised his head and glanced at the two tightly closed doors of the Li family's house.
"The priest said that the whereabouts of the divine transformation are in this area."
"Inside?" the young man asked again.
"The priest said that the whereabouts of the divine transformation are in this area."
"Inside?" the young man asked again.
"Hmm." The middle-aged man nodded, took out a silver cigarette case from his pocket, snapped it open, and pulled out a cigarette.
He struck the match, the flame flickered in the night wind, then cupped his hand around it and lit a cigarette.
Take a deep breath, and the smoke will exhale from your nostrils and slowly dissipate in the air.
The young man's eyes lit up for a moment, then he looked towards the Li family's location: "Then let's..."
"No rush," the middle-aged man interrupted him. "First, find out how that parasite died."
The middle-aged man spoke much more fluent Chinese, but his accent was slightly foreign at the end of his sentences.
He took a folded piece of paper from his pocket and unfolded it.
By the dim light of the streetlamp, one could see a human figure drawn on the paper, with several lines of writing in pen next to it, all in foreign languages.
"The investigation bureau's report says the killer is this person." The middle-aged man pointed to the name on the paper, "Chen Mo."
The young man frowned upon seeing the youthful face in the photo: "My God, how old is he? How could he possibly kill the parasite of the Divine Transformation?"
"It has passed its infancy and entered its growth stage. Even the holy silver bullets blessed by the Church of the Sun are useless against it."
The middle-aged man didn't reply; he just put the cigarette in his mouth.
After a moment of silence, he threw the cigarette butt on the ground and stubbed it out with his leather shoe.
"No matter who it is, if they can kill the parasite and take the divine molt, it means that the other party is definitely not simple."
He turned around, took two steps into the shadows across the street, and then stopped. "But the priest said the séance must be brought back to the church."
The young man followed, lowering his voice, "So what do we do now? Go in and just rob it?"
"Are you out of your mind?" The middle-aged man turned around and glared at him. "This is Chinese territory. Do you know how powerful the Li family is?"
"Will you take responsibility if you cause a disturbance?"
"Keep an eye on it, it'll come out eventually, and then..."