Chapter 68: Urban Legend
After Chen Chuan left the invitation-only class, he attended a public lecture before returning to the dormitory. The moment he stepped into the hall, the dormitory supervisor called out to him. “Chen Chuan, a lecturer from the Operations Department is calling for you.”
Chen Chuan looked over and saw a young lecturer walking toward him. He showed his business card before saying politely, “Hello, Chen Chuan, I’m He Mei of the Operations Department. You can call me Mr. He. I have something to discuss with you. Can we talk in your dorm room?”
“Of course,” Chen Chuan answered.
They rode the elevator upstairs. Once Chen Chuan brought He Mei into his dorm room, he asked him to take a seat and poured a glass of water for him.
“You don’t have to, Chen Chuan. Come, take a seat so we can talk,” He Mei said.
Once Chen Chuan sat down, he said, “I’m here to talk about Qiu Xin. We’ve investigated it thoroughly, and the fault lies entirely with him.”
“Was it because of Zhong Wu?” Chen Chuan asked.
“Yes. Qiu Xin was really close with Zhong Wu, the student who tested you during your follow-up exam. After learning about what happened to him, he resigned from his job and returned to the university to be an assistant for the invitation-only classes.
“He’s usually quiet and does whatever is asked of him without any complaint, so the lecturers didn’t mind him.
“He has now admitted that he came back to attack you. Because no matter what, you’d attend an invitation-only class sooner or later. He said that even if he had to wait for three years, it didn’t matter. That’s why this event was likely to happen at some point.”
Chen Chuan was quite impressed by Qiu Xin’s resolve and determination. “Qiu Xin didn’t hold back when he attacked me. If I hadn’t been on guard and was actually injured on stage, he wouldn’t have gotten away by simply calling it a mistake, considering what he did. He would have been held accountable for it.”
“That’s true, and he knew it. He said that he asked around for help, but no one was willing to stand up for Zhong Wu, so he had to do it himself. With that being the case, he didn’t care about the consequences. He said it was a pity he didn’t get his wish, even though he had to pay for his actions.
“His injury report shows that he overburdened his organs and might be bedridden for life. Considering his relationship with Zhong Wu, we decided to place their beds together as a show of kindness to them.”
“Is that so? Thanks for telling me, Mr. He,” Chen Chuan remarked.
“It’s nothing. It’s what we should do. Alright, I’ll be leaving now,” He Mei said with a smile and stood up.
Chen Chuan stood up as well.
“Chen Chuan, if you shine too brightly, you’ll attract trouble. Be careful. But getting targeted means that you’re outstanding. I look forward to seeing your achievements.” He Mei shook his hand and left.
Chen Chuan thanked him again and sent him off before returning to the training room to begin his daily training.
When the sun was about to set, Cheng Zitong dropped by. “I heard about what happened during the afternoon. Are you okay?”
“Don’t worry, Mr. Cheng. Since I went there, of course I was prepared,” Chen Chuan reassured him.
“I’m not worried about you in that regard. You have a good head on your shoulders. Besides, you’ve mastered the basics of your refined force. If you don’t feel strong enough, you should hold back and lay low, but if you are strong enough, you should deal with the problems that come knocking on your door. There’s no reason to let them stay as a thorn in your side,” Cheng Zitong said.
“That’s what I think, too,” Chen Chuan agreed.
Cheng Zitong hummed. “I’ve submitted your application for the weapons permit test. Once you get registered for the test, you will get issued a mission. There’s no way to know what the test mission is going to be yet, but based on past examples, it might be more than just one, and they can send you out of the city too. That’s why you have to be prepared at all times. Use this month to strengthen your foundation.”
“I know. After all, the weapons permit is really important,” Chen Chuan said with a nod.
“I’m glad you understand. You should get it as soon as possible,” Cheng Zitong said. “By the way, I have something to discuss with you. You will need to participate in more real fights and use a lot more medicine, so the money from your previous missions might not be enough. I have some missions here with me that I’d like you to do to gain experience doing solo missions. Would you like to do them?”
“I’d love to,” Chen Chuan answered.
Cheng Zitong immediately looked much more energetic. “Let me tell you about them, then. You need to consider a lot of factors when picking missions. If it’s not a high-level mission, you won’t get much money from them. Even if you get outstanding evaluations, the clients will still look down on you.
“There’s already quite a number of students who have the weapons permit, so they’ll definitely fight for the high-level missions with high rewards. You will need to compete with them using your connections and your supporters’ strength. But it’s not worth it to fight them nor waste your time on these missions. We shouldn’t lump ourselves together with them, but take another route.”
“What’s your plan, Mr. Cheng?”
“Have you heard about the urban legends?” Cheng Zitong asked while looking him straight in the eye.
Chen Chuan was taken aback slightly before giving an affirmative answer. “I have. My uncle is a constable and said that humans are behind most of them.”
Cheng Zitong nodded. “Your uncle is right. Humans are indeed behind most of the urban legends, but there are exceptions. The mission I’m going to give you concerns an urban legend. Don’t worry, I’ve been researching it for a long time, so I won’t do you dirty. Just do as I say, and you’ll be fine.”
“I trust you,” Chen Chuan said.
Cheng Zitong was delighted and said, “Hang on.”
He took out a stack of papers from his briefcase and pushed them to Chen Chuan. “I’ve prepared these for you. This is the information for the mission. Take a look. I’ll talk to the client for you. You just have to focus on the mission.”
Chen Chuan took the papers and flipped through them. A memory surfaced. “The child in the well? I think I heard about this urban legend when I was a kid...”
Honestly, every Yangzhi City local had heard about the legend of the child in the well while growing up.
The legend stated that if you pour half a bowl of soybeans and half a bowl of black beans into a well after 9 p.m. between October and November, a beautiful child will peek out of the well, and the water will turn to wine.
Adults felt nothing after drinking the wine, but if children drank it, they would fall unconscious for an entire day. Children loved this, because it let them skip class for an entire day. However, most children lost their memories of the past day or two upon waking up. Sometimes, they even lost their minds.
Many people tried to crack this case, but they never succeeded. In the end, the adults could only stop their children from attempting it, though every year there would be rumours about such a thing happening.
The old Chen Chuan had tried this with a group of friends, but aside from wasting half a bowl of soybeans and black beans, they saw nothing.
As Chen Chuan flipped through the papers and examined the detailed records, he discovered that what the old Chen Chuan did was actually pointless.
The child in the well only appeared around the old City God Temple in the northern suburbs. There was also a pattern to its appearance.
The child started showing up in October in wells that were more than thirty years old in the north of the city based on a certain pattern. A hand-drawn layout of the wells was on one of the papers.
Based on the child’s activity curve, they were moving along with groundwater. So, if the well was not positioned along the child’s path, people would not run into them. After all, they would not be feeding the child.
There was a passage written in red near the end of the stack of papers. It stated that if they figured out which well the child would show up in next, then a few minutes before 9 p.m., they had to draw a pail of water from the well, then pour half a bowl of soybeans and half a bowl of black beans inside. The child in the well would then climb out of the well and run into the pail. After that, they should send the child to the designated area.
A map with the locations of all the old wells along with the dates when the child should show up in them was on the last page.
It was a few years old, but things became much simpler with it. Once Chen Chuan determined an approximate well in which the child appeared last this year, he could start eliminating the wrong guesses. Then, he could find the perfect location to spring his trap.
Chen Chuan looked up and asked, “Did you compile this, Mr. Cheng?”
“Yeah. I’ve always loved looking into these sorts of things, even if the old man says that I’m just messing around. Anyway, what do you think about it?”
Chen Chuan thought about it and answered seriously, “I think it’s pretty good. These mysterious things are filled with the unknown, and exploring the unknown in search of answers is a wonderful feeling.”