“Old Zhang? Who’s he? Can you take me to see him?”
Xu Fei asked, and Auntie Li immediately smiled, “Of course! No time like the present, let’s go!”
She led the way, guiding Xu Fei deeper into the village.
On the way, Auntie Li filled him in about Old Zhang.
Old Zhang was the village’s eldest and most seasoned hunter. In his youth, he’d made a living hunting.
Now, though well into his years, he still ventured into the mountains occasionally when not tending his fields.
Back in the days when news traveled slowly, Old Zhang was the village’s go-to man, calling the shots with real authority.
Normally a quiet sort, he’d suddenly turned chatty a while back, muttering about the skies changing or some such.
Auntie Li and the other villagers figured he’d seen something odd on his last mountain trip, which left him like this.
So, Auntie Li had passed on the bits and pieces she’d heard to Duanmu Yun, which led to the intel Xu Fei got.
“Here we are, Dr. Mu. Huh? That’s odd. It’s dark out, where’s Old Zhang?”
Auntie Li brought Xu Fei to a small farmhouse courtyard, but though the lights were on, no one was home.
“What’s up, Auntie Li? Would Grandpa Zhang really be out this late?”
This was a rural area with little nightlife, making Old Zhang’s absence peculiar.
Auntie Li suddenly slapped her forehead, “Oh, right! I forgot, Old Zhang’s got this habit. Every time he goes hunting, he leaves all the lights blazing, says it’s a guiding lamp for his way back.”
“Looks like the old man probably headed into the mountains this morning, and who knows when he’ll be back!”
Xu Fei grew anxious and said, “Then I’ll go into the mountains to find him.”
But before he could finish, Auntie Li stopped him.
“No, no, no, Dr. Mu! It’s not that I’m trying to hold you back, but our mountains are high and treacherous, and that forest’s massive. Once Old Zhang is in there, no one’s finding him.”
“Unless you’ve got some network to call in a ton of people, going in alone at night’s a fool’s errand!”
Auntie Li’s blunt words hit the mark.
Her mention of a network sparked a thought in Xu Fei, and he nodded, pulling out his phone to call Bai Zhan.
“Hey, Bai Zhan, I need you to send people into the mountains to search for an old man. The faster, the better. Any issues?”
“No problem with that, Young Marshal, but there’s an issue with something else…”
Xu Fei’s brow furrowed as Bai Zhan explained over the phone.
“Something weird at Boss Wang’s construction site? Why’s that my problem?”
Xu Fei sighed, a bit exasperated, but Bai Zhan quickly replied, “Sorry, Young Marshal. Boss Wang’s family owes you one from before, so he probably sees you as some all-powerful savior. Maybe you should swing by!”
When Bai Zhan put it like that, Xu Fei knew he’d have to make the trip. He nodded, “Alright, I’ll head over.”
