Evening, the old city district, in front of an ancient small courtyard.
Pei Laoliu was leaning against the small wooden gate, his face weary as he fumbled for the keys in his pocket, intending to unlock the door.
After the Cultivation Exchange Conference two days ago, he should have been able to return home last night, but unexpectedly, right after he got off the train, a few police officers invited him for a "chat," which lasted all night and well into the next day.
Actually, Master Liu had been mentally prepared for this situation, since the incidents at the conference were truly horrifying and bound to attract the attention of the police.
However, what he hadn’t expected was that the government’s reaction to the matter was much greater than he had imagined.
Master Liu had thought it would just be a questioning session to grasp the details of the event followed by some registration, perhaps accompanied by a lecture—after all, hadn’t it always been before?
But in reality, the treatment Pei Laoliu received inside was worlds apart from when he used to be caught for fortune-telling.
From joint interrogations to individual questioning, from good cop-bad cop to psychological tactics, Master Liu felt he had received the treatment reserved for a major suspect. The question they asked was simple—whether he recognized the mysterious figure shrouded in black shadows at the scene.
Upon hearing this, Pei Laoliu immediately denied it strongly. With so many people at the scene, why must it be he who knew the person?
However, the other party was patient too, not only detaining him overnight but also continuing to question him indirectly the whole next day. He felt that if Zhang Xiaoman wasn’t his grandson, he might have divulged the person’s identity long ago.
At one point, under their pressure, Master Liu couldn’t help but think, "If it really comes to it, I might just reveal it."
Of course, this thought had barely surfaced when he immediately squashed it without hesitation. But in that brief moment, Master Liu broke out in a cold sweat on his back.
The reason was nothing less than a sense of impending death.
Pei Laoliu asked himself, having roamed the Martial World for so many years, he usually had a sense when facing dangers. In his early years, he always believed it was a kind of magical Sixth Sense, only to realize later that he had been overthinking.
Yet that terrifying feeling had resurfaced that morning. Although he was certain he would never betray his own grandson, it’s hard for a person to control their thoughts, always unconsciously assuming certain scenarios. It was during such a subconscious assumption that he experienced that chilling sense of horror.
Pei Laoliu even felt that, had he really prepared to tell the truth at that moment, he might have been unable to speak for some terrifying reason...
"This damn kid! What on earth is he up to! Today, I must really question him!"
Pei Laoliu was genuinely frightened, which left him feeling weak all day, compounded by a poor night’s sleep, so now he was very tired, utterly exhausted in body and mind.
Fortunately, the police didn’t seem to be intent on pursuing him, just as Master Liu had said, with so many people at the scene, they couldn’t possibly have singled him out immediately. The questioning he underwent was actually something everyone who had been at the scene had experienced.
Pei Laoliu finally made it home. He fumbled for the keys in his pocket, grumbling fiercely, "Xiao Man, this damn boy, keeping such a big incident from me, Master Liu, and even causing me to be detained for so long. No, no, this can’t be settled without twenty old geese."
Master Liu’s hands still fumbled, and recalling his grandson’s act of slaying demons with Sword Control at the scene made his heart race, causing his hands to tremble more as he searched for the keys.
Ten minutes later, Pei Laoliu still couldn’t find his keys. Doubting his luck, he rummaged through his suitcase for a long while, but they were still nowhere to be found.
"Damn it! How unlucky can I be, could I have left my keys at the hotel!?"
Pei Laoliu was utterly frustrated. Not only had he gained no benefits from the cultivation exchange conference, but he had also endured a load of frustration, got detained for a night upon returning, and now even his keys were lost. He felt he definitely should have checked the almanac before leaving home, so as to avoid this misfortune.
After fishing out a small piece of wire from his suitcase, Master Liu bent it and then inserted it into the door lock, crouching down to pick the lock.
Kidding me, just a little door lock? As a charlatan, opening locks was Master Liu’s professional skill.
Just then, a sturdy young man dressed like a student happened to pass by and saw Pei Laoliu in his sneaky lock-picking act. Instantly feeling a surge of justice, he yelled, "Catch the thief!" and rushed forward to grapple him.
Pei Laoliu was nearly knocked breathless by the tackle and cursed furiously, "Are you blind! It’s Master Liu returning to his own home! I just forgot my keys! Have you ever seen a thief with a suitcase stealing stuff! Let go of me now!"
The student-looking young man paused thoughtfully for a moment after hearing this, then suddenly declared, "That’s it, this must be the stuff you’ve stolen from other houses! It’s all evidence! Should preserve it well!"
"Preserve your uncle! Let go of me right now..."
Master Liu was midway through his shouting when suddenly, around seven or eight teenagers happened to pass by. They had been laughing and chatting, but stopped in their tracks upon seeing the scene, crowding around to see what was happening.
"Guys, guys, good timing! I just caught a thief trying to pick locks and steal! Look, the suitcase on the ground is the evidence! You guys should help me take him to the police station!"
The group promptly stepped forward to help, all the while chattering among themselves.
"Can’t believe he’s still stealing at his age, such a hardened criminal!"
"Yeah, yeah, showing no respect for his age! Can’t believe we’d encounter this during our holiday break..."
"Come on, everybody help! I’ve seen a young good-looking guy living in this house before! He must be a thief!"
As they all babbled on, they surrounded Master Liu in the center and escorted him towards the nearby police station.
"That man is my grandson!" Pei Laoliu yelled in anguish.
"He’s even cursing! He’s even cursing! Today’s thieves are getting bolder! Hurry up, we must get him arrested today!" someone shouted.
A few passing neighbors who could only vaguely see a shabby figure being surrounded by a group of tall students, also heard shouts about catching a thief. They immediately gave the students enthusiastic thumbs-ups, boosting their sense of justice even further. Some passionate youths even resolved quietly to become brave police officers in the future!
Thus, amidst the ranting and swearing of Pei Laoliu, a group marched him triumphantly into the police station.
PS: A correction from earlier, I made a mistake calculating the energy values; the consumption for Violent Spirit Technique should be 40 points. It has been corrected now and does not affect the reading.