Chapter 154: Searching
Wang Zijin called Wang Kui Shan’s phone right there on the scene to prove she was telling the truth, but the result was that Wang Kui Shan had already turned off his mobile phone communications, proving he had completely lost contact with the outside world.
It was regrettable that they couldn’t learn Wang Kui Shan’s current whereabouts from his daughter, but out of the good intentions that both Li Duojin and Chen Xiaolin had promised to help her find her father, Wang Zijin also told the two her understanding of her father, hoping they could quickly find her father from the clues she provided.
“My father is not an enthusiastic person. Although he is honest and kind, he is indeed very reclusive, with a small social circle. He basically has no friends in this Magic City. He doesn’t have many interests. I only know that he really likes climbing high places, saying it’s the heartbeat feeling of enjoying standing high up and overlooking everything…”
In the car, Chen Xiaolin and Li Duojin recalled what Wang Zijin had said. When they heard that Wang Kui Shan liked standing high up and enjoying the thrill of overlooking from high altitude, they almost simultaneously began guessing where Wang Kui Shan might go.
Would he be on a mountain, or on the top of some skyscraper in this city?
Considering Wang Kui Shan’s current situation, the other party probably wouldn’t consider hiding in the city cluster. The highly modernized Magic City has the world’s leading Sky Eye system, and almost no one can escape the capture of surveillance in this city. If he were still walking in the city, the Mysterious Group that had already issued an internal warrant for him couldn’t possibly fail to find him.
Chen Xiaolin’s heart stirred, and she directly opened the car’s navigation system, saying, “Xiao Qiu, what is the nearest mountain to JOJO Amusement Park?”
“Dear car owner, Navigation Elf Xiao Qiu answers you: the nearest mountain to JOJO Amusement Park is Jinma Mountain.” The car navigation system emitted a lively girl’s voice.
“Help me locate and navigate. I’m going to Jinma Mountain.” Chen Xiaolin said.
“Yes! Xiao Qiu will start navigation for you!” The car navigation system responded loudly.
Glancing at the electronic screen of the car system, Chen Xiaolin got a sense of the driving route. Suddenly, she saw Li Duojin leaning in with a face full of surprise to examine the animated little figure on the electronic screen. She couldn’t help but chuckle, “I say, Master Li, you’re not really someone who grew up in your temple since childhood and has hardly been to the city, are you? This is just a car system; it’s very common now.”
“Technology development is so advanced now.” Li Duojin sighed.
“Antique? This is really the first time I’ve heard someone describe themselves that way.” Chen Xiaolin shook her head. She always felt that Li Duojin had a strange temperament.
From his skin, Li Duojin actually looked a bit younger than her. It was just that his demeanor and bearing were somewhat unusually mature beyond normal, so people naturally assumed he was already at a mature age.
Li Duojin chuckled lightly and said something that left Chen Xiaolin a bit puzzled, “Don’t judge by appearances. Not long ago, I really was an antique. There are still many things I need to learn now.”
Through the rearview mirror in the car, Chen Xiaolin glanced at his smiling eyes and thought he was just as she said: grown up in the mountains since childhood, a bit like a reclusive Taoist who had always followed his master in devoted cultivation, hardly exposed to modern civilization, so he felt that surprised when facing her and the basic artificial intelligence’s conversation.
Arriving at an entrance of Jinma Mountain, Chen Xiaolin got out of the car and looked back at the high mountain in front of her. Her whole body felt a strong sense of discomfort.
It wasn’t because she sensed any unusual aura, but because she hadn’t exercised for too long. Looking at the vast mountain ahead, she didn’t know how long she would have to rely on her vulnerable legs to walk next. The more she thought about it, the more fatigued and nauseous she felt.
Li Duojin noticed Chen Xiaolin’s discomfort. He lightly patted her back with a smile and encouraged, “Believe in yourself. Maybe we’ll get lucky and find him soon?”
“I hope so.” Chen Xiaolin managed a dry laugh and followed Li Duojin’s pace.
The first half of the road up Jinma Mountain had been artificially built, but only the second half preserved the natural ecology in its original flavor, with no further man-made road construction. People could only climb the mountain using relatively primitive methods.
On the way climbing the stairs and ramp, Chen Xiaolin couldn’t help but ask Li Duojin, “Didn’t you say you can see things others can’t? What can you see now that can help us find Wang Kui Shan?”
“I haven’t encountered what you think that thing is right now.” Li Duojin walked with hands behind his back, appreciating the natural scenery around him, seemingly in a good mood. “But here, I can indeed see some special auras.”
“Auras? See?”
“To be precise, it should be gases similar to black smoke.” Li Duojin felt that Chen Xiaolin, this little reporter, always liked to pick on errors in people’s words and was very sensitive to those errors.
Chen Xiaolin wanted to shift her cognition that “climbing the mountain now is exercise” and adjust her mindset. She pressed Li Duojin, “Do you have Yin-Yang Eyes like Zheng Xiaopeng, able to see ghosts and such beings?”
“I don’t have Yin-Yang Eyes.” Li Duojin shook his head and corrected, “I just received a bounty. The Venerable allowed me to see things hidden beneath the true appearance of the surface. Conceptually, I can see more than what ordinary Yin-Yang Eyes can.”
“That sounds pretty mystical. So in your eyes, things in the real world aren’t necessarily what we normal… um, ordinary people see?”
“Most are different, but a small portion of things, if they are pure enough, I can see what everyone else sees.” Li Duojin said with a smile, “Just like watching television and movies and such; they are just projections of a recording.”
Chen Xiaolin thought thoughtfully, then quickly stepped in front of Li Duojin and asked with a charming smile, “Then what do I look like in your eyes?”
Li Duojin paused his steps and looked at the girl who, in the eyes of passersby, was smiling charmingly. In his eyes, however, she was wrapped full of black gas, blood-red chains like shackles almost entwining her entire body, and a frost-frozen pale woman was continuously floating around her, glaring at her deadly.
“Very beautiful.” Li Duojin slowly lifted the corner of his mouth. His tone was as calm as ever, but his eyes carried a trace of pity and sigh, as if he had already seen through and foreseen Chen Xiaolin’s fate.
Chen Xiaolin didn’t immediately see the clue from Li Duojin’s face. Instead, she felt a bit happy when he complimented her.
Since the topic had come up, Li Duojin also had a question he wanted to ask Chen Xiaolin: “Regarding Zheng Yu’s deceased wife, do you know anything about her?”
“Zheng Yu’s wife was a very good person, but unfortunately had bad luck and got cancer at a young age.” Chen Xiaolin sighed.
“Hmm… Do you know how she died?” Li Duojin casually glanced at Chen Xiaolin’s back.
