Chapter 25: The Deserted Village

Taking the train is basically a lot of fun for me. I don’t have to do morning exercises, I don’t have to do any homework, I can sleep whenever I want, I can eat whenever I want. It’s not enough to describe it as fun, it should be heaven.

At the moment, I was lying on the soft sleeper, tossing peanuts and catching them with my mouth. Yang Qinhuai was so impressed that he followed suit, and then the whole soft sleeper compartment was filled with flying peanuts and peanut shells. Finally, Yang Qinhuai missed and a peanut hit my master’s head.

鈥楶op鈥� 鈥楶op鈥�, Yang Qinhuai and I each got hit by a peanut, and finally quieted down. My master is too insidious. God knows how he can use his hand to flick a peanut and make it so powerful, causing me to still feel a burning pain on my body.

“Yang Qinhuai, if it weren’t for your grandfather’s face, I would never have agreed to let you come to Sichuan with me. I don’t know what your grandfather was thinking, letting you come along on a confidential mission like this.” Before Qinhuai and I could even speak, my master had already spoken coldly. He was very unhappy about Yang Qinhuai coming along, and thought it was simply nonsense.

Yang Qinhuai scratched his head and said, “Master Jiang, please don’t say that. I’m going to work in the same department as you in the future, so what secrets can there be? Besides, I’m already Chen Chengyi’s man in life and Chen Chengyi’s ghost in death. Master Jiang, you can’t break us up.”

I had several peanuts in my mouth and chewing, and when I heard this, I couldn’t help but spit a face of peanut foam on Yang Qinhuai. This kid has been to college for a few years, and although he is not as able to make trouble and fight as he was in the past, and he messes around with me, his mouth is getting more and more nonsense.

When my master heard this, he raised his eyebrows and said, “What bad things has Chengyi done to you? I will take care of it for you! However, I think that Chengyi will eventually find a beautiful young girl to marry, and you can be his second wife.”

Yang Qinhuai was speechless. He didn’t know that my master was better at talking nonsense than anyone else. He wiped off the peanut dregs, looked at me with a “melancholy” look, then looked at my master with a “melancholy” look, and then said, “Two common people, don’t know what friendship is forever.”

When he said this, the three of us rolled our eyes at the same time. Yang Qinhuai stood up with a “whoosh” and said, “I can’t do it anymore, brother. I have to go throw up.”

After this little scene, the atmosphere was relaxed. When it was time to eat, Yang Qinhuai took out two bottles of good wine, some preserved food, and some dry food, and placed them in front of my master, saying politely, “Master Jiang, you eat. I will have to work in this department in the future, so you have to take care of me.”

While talking, he also filled a glass of wine for my master. My master snorted, but his face finally eased up a lot. He took the wine and asked, “What did your grandfather think, putting you in this department? Is it fun? This time you even got to work on a mission!”

“Hey, Master Jiang, you know, I’ve never been a model student since I was a kid, and I’ve been doing my studies half-heartedly. I’m a buddy of Chengyi, and besides, I’m really interested in this department, and I’m enthusiastic about my work. And I’m not fighting on the front line, so what danger could there be? There are also many ordinary people in your department, involved in investigations, sorting out data, and so on. I can do all of that too.” Yang Qinhuai said enthusiastically.

Yang Qinhuai’s grandfather was a very important official. The existence of this department was a secret to many people, but not to Qinhuai’s grandfather. In fact, Yang Qinhuai was telling the truth. Apart from the people on the front line, there were indeed many ordinary people in this department. After all, many things had to be investigated beforehand, and data had to be organized. The people involved in management were also ordinary people.

After all, from a strategic point of view, people who engage in metaphysics do not understand strategic planning, and they certainly do not understand what it means to eliminate public opinion after the fact. These are the needs of professionals!

However, there are always idle positions in any department, and my master’s department is no exception. With the energy of Yang Qinhuai’s grandfather, it is normal to get him in. The allowance for this department is quite high, and the treatment after retirement is also excellent. I guess this is the reason why Yang Qinhuai’s grandfather agreed.

Of course, all of this is just my speculation. After all, why would he want to follow me on missions? I can’t figure it out. Which of the things we do isn’t dangerous? However, Yang Qinhuai’s grandfather and my master have reached a consensus. He can only stay in the headquarters, and he can’t even think about going anywhere else.

Seeing Qinhuai’s attentive appearance, I suddenly remembered someone: Su Rou!

Qin Huai’s smooth and charming demeanor quickly won over my master, and he was completely obedient. This is very similar to Su Rou. If he and Su Rou could meet, they would definitely become best friends, right?

I suddenly realized that I really missed Su Rou. It was only the first day on the train, and I still had to wait. I was waiting to see the familiar scenery of Sichuan, to feel the familiar wind of Sichuan, the familiar dampness and warmth…

Just as I was daydreaming, a chicken leg was shoved into my mouth. It was Yang Qinhuai. He said, “I said Chen Chengyi, what are you brooding about alone? Could it be that you are heartbroken over the abandonment of your deeply affectionate schoolmate?”

“Get out of my way, who has time to think about that? I’m just… thinking about what our mission is in Sichuan this time. Master, we’re already on the train, so tell me.” I took a bite of the chicken leg, and my greasy hand wiped directly on Yang Qinhuai.

Yang Qinhuai looked at me again with a “melancholy” expression and said, “Chen Chengyi, I won’t let you play like this!”

“Shut up when you think of the story, or my master will stop talking. Besides, I’m making out with you.” I knew Yang Qinhuai’s personality, and he would definitely retaliate. Maybe he would throw some braised pork at me. I quickly used something else to shut him up.

Sure enough, Yang Qinhuai stopped talking. He knew from his own sources of information that my master and I were going on a mission, and he begged to tag along, but he didn’t know what the mission was. He had known since he was a child what my master did, and he was very interested, but he knew very little. When it came to the mission, the kid was really honest.

When my master heard us ask about this, he glanced at the two of us and then took a sip of wine. Yang Qinhuai quickly refilled the glass.

Master looked at me and I quickly put a piece of braised beef in my mouth and said, “Master, open your mouth…”

The master proudly ate the beef, then casually wiped his hands on his clothes, then took out a map from his bag and spread it on the table, saying, “The country has begun to plan a nationwide road repair and construction project. Do you know about it?”

I was confused, but Yang Qinhuai nodded eagerly. This kid is in the system, so he has good information.

Then the master pointed to a place in Sichuan and said, “Roads are going to be built here.”

I looked at it and saw that this place was in Nanchong City, Sichuan, which was our destination. I glanced at Yang Qinhuai, and then Yang Qinhuai couldn’t help but say, “Master Jiang, this isn’t funny. Is it true that my first mission is to repair roads? This is too serious a cross-departmental issue, isn’t it?”

I wanted to ask that too. Are we going to inspect the road construction situation? This is not fun! I vaguely heard my master say that this mission would not be easy. Before we left, he taught me a simplified version of the spirit summoning technique, so that I could familiarize myself with the incantations and hand gestures.

“I don’t know anything about road construction, but I know that this road will pass through this area,” said the master, pointing to a place on the map. Then he took another drink and said without changing his expression, “This place is the target of our operation.”

“What can there be in this place?” I looked at the map and didn’t see anything special. I didn’t understand what there could be in this place.

“This place, to be exact, has nothing, because this place is a deserted village, and there are four deserted villages in a row,” the master said slowly.

“Deserted village?” Yang Qinhuai’s face changed. This kid has a rich imagination. The deserted village gave him a hint of horror.

“It wasn’t like that before, but it has been for the past 50 years. However, the people in that area have also received an explanation from above. There have been plagues in these places, which has caused this situation.” The master explained.

“Then, are we going to check if there is still a plague there?” I asked.

Yang Qinhuai looked at me like I was an idiot and said, “Buddy, are you stupid? You can take the words of the government seriously? You’re still Jiang’s apprentice!”