When her father mentioned this matter, Li Biyun couldn’t help but furrow her brows:
"Dingjian said he should be back during the Qingming Festival."
"I called him before I went to the cemetery the day before yesterday to ask when he’d arrive in East Capital, but I couldn’t reach him."
As she spoke, she looked at Fang Cheng, her eyes carrying a hint of inquiry:
"Chengcheng, has your uncle contacted you?"
Fang Cheng shook his head, his expression unchanged:
"He called me a few days ago, but I was busy and couldn’t answer."
The atmosphere at the dining table, originally warm, grew quietly silent due to this topic.
Grandpa paused with his chopsticks holding some food, and Mother’s face was marked with a persistent shade of worry.
Fang Cheng saw this, thought for a moment, and spoke to comfort them:
"Grandpa, Mom, don’t worry. Uncle has many friends and wide connections outside; he might be in a place with a poor signal discussing business or inspecting something."
"I know some of his friends, so I’ll ask them later to see if they can reach him."
Despite these words, Fang Cheng knew the truth.
Before heading to the Ma Family for cultivation and visualization method, Uncle had mentioned to him about accompanying the "Professor" to Tian Nan Province for personal matters, which would take about a week.
Considering the time, he should indeed be back in East Capital these days.
While pondering, Fang Cheng’s chewing slowed down unconsciously.
It seems that he still needs to ask the other members of the Professor’s team.
Perhaps they know what Uncle went to do and where he is now.
After dinner, Fang Cheng routinely took charge of washing the dishes.
Then he accompanied Grandpa and Mother to watch TV in the living room, chatted about family matters, and finally returned to his room on the second floor.
Upon closing the door, the room was silent.
Fang Cheng took his phone from the bag on the bedside, lit up the screen, and directly went to the call history.
As his finger operated, a record of a missed call appeared before his eyes.
April 18th, 9:57 PM, the caller ID showed "Uncle."
At that time, he was in the Ma Family Water Prison, concentrating on cultivation, cut off from all external contact, inevitably missing that call.
Afterward, he tried calling back once but couldn’t get through.
Fang Cheng’s gaze sharpened as he continued scrolling.
He found that in the days before and after this missed call, Uncle hadn’t called again.
This was somewhat unusual.
Given Uncle’s character, if he really needed to reach him, he wouldn’t just call once and then disappear.
Could it be that he encountered an unexpected situation, temporarily unable to make contact?
Or perhaps... they’ve already delved into the border areas of Tian Nan Province?
Fang Cheng’s mind conjured the map of Tian Nan Province.
Located at the southern border of the country, it boasts vast stretches of undeveloped primary forest.
Also bordering Siam, Cambodia, and other countries with a convoluted border, the area is complex.
In such places, lacking cellphone signal is commonplace; missing one or two calls is quite normal too.
Yet, inexplicably, Fang Cheng felt a faint unease in his heart.
He pondered for a moment, finally focusing on a particular number.
The note was: Bai Ling.
Within the Professor’s secret team, Bai Ling seemed to have a pretty good relationship with Uncle, often joking with each other, fairly familiar.
During the "Demon Hunt Plan" against the Noah Organization, when he needed a Special Search Team officer identity as a disguise, Uncle introduced Bai Ling to help him mask as Zhou Liang.
Perhaps, she might know some inside information.
Fang Cheng pressed the dial button and made the call.
"Beep—beep—" The latest_epɪ_sodes are on_the NovelHub(.)net
The call only rang twice, nearly instantly answered.
"Hello, White Ghost boss?! Is it really you! I thought I was mistaken!"
An immediately lively, crisp female voice came through the receiver, chattering like a fledgling Bai Ling bird.
Bai Ling, just as her name suggests.
Fang Cheng replied calmly.
"Wow, boss, you finally remembered me!"
Bai Ling’s voice was full of unabashed joy and excitement:
"Let me think, we haven’t met for over a month, right?"
"Let me tell you, I’ve been feeling increasingly powerful lately. A few nights ago, I met some thugs on the way home who tried to take advantage of me; hehe, I knocked them all out with a few punches and kicks!"
"That feeling was just amazing! All thanks to you, boss!"
"If it weren’t for you shattering that darn bottle with a punch, we wouldn’t be this lucky."
Back at Mist Mountain, she and the team were trapped in the Lu Family’s Inner World creation, rescued by Fang Cheng who descended and shattered the Golden Benba Bottle which served as the Array Hub.
Many benefitted from the misfortune, getting bathed in the torrential Life Energy-infused Blood Rain, significantly enhancing their physical capabilities.
Thus Bai Ling’s emotions towards Fang Cheng held besides gratitude, an unmistakable touch of admiration.
She seemed to remember something else and asked:
"Last time when I helped disguise you with a fake identity, did things go smoothly? No mishaps, right?"
Fang Cheng patiently listened to her finish, a faint smile curling at the corner of his mouth, casually replied:
"Hmm, went smoothly, thanks."
"Oh, boss, no need to be polite with me!"
"I have something to ask."
Fang Cheng interrupted her continuous chatter and cut to the chase:
"Do you know where Crow and Professor have gone?"
Crow, is the codename for Uncle Li Dingjian within the team.
Bai Ling knows the codenames "White Ghost" and Crow know each other in reality, but not that they are blood-related.