Chapter Thirty-Five: Keeping the Appointment

I took out my phone, and a notification appeared on the screen.

“You have an unread message.”

Strangely enough, there was no sender's number displayed for this message.

Though I found it suspicious, I still pressed the confirm button.

Immediately, a brief sentence appeared before my eyes.

“At the hour of Yin on a cloudy day, Baishi Bridge in the eastern suburbs.”

Staring at this mysterious text, I wondered who could be inviting me out. And the chosen place—Baishi Bridge—was infamous in this city as a cemetery.

Could this be some kind of prank message?

Just as this thought crossed my mind, another text arrived.

This one, like the last, showed no sender.

But the content was different. It read:

“No waiting if you're late!”

“Who the hell do you think you are?” I snapped at the message on my phone.

Then I typed, “Who is this?” and hit send.

But to my surprise, it said, “Failed to send!”

How could it fail? Did the other party block me? Or did my phone catch a virus?

These questions left me frustrated and restless, tossing and turning until dawn.

Early the next morning, with dark circles under my eyes, I left my room.

Lin Weiyan, just like yesterday, was busy in the kitchen preparing breakfast.

She noticed my weary state and put down her ladle.

“Brother Chuyun, what’s wrong? Didn’t sleep well?”

“Yes,” I replied, then told her about the two mysterious messages.

Lin Weiyan didn’t seem particularly surprised and said, “Maybe it’s just a prank. Why don’t we check it out tonight and see?”

Her suggestion actually made sense, though I didn’t think it was necessary.

“We’ll see when the time comes,” I said.

Suddenly, I realized Feng Zimo and Xiaoling were gone again.

Could they have gone to the zoo once more?

“Where are Brother Feng and Xiaoling?” I asked Lin Weiyan.

She called back from the kitchen, “They went for a run.”

Early in the morning, out for a run again? Or did they really go to the zoo? If this keeps up, something’s bound to happen. They might not care—if anything goes wrong, they’ll just disappear. But I’m not like them; my record is in the system, and one check would be enough to get me caught.

God, please don’t let them get into any trouble.

I paced anxiously in the living room. Lin Weiyan noticed and gave me a gentle smile.

“Brother Chuyun, don’t worry about them. Let’s eat first.”

She was right. Worrying wouldn’t help—might as well eat something.

Halfway through breakfast, Feng Zimo and Xiaoling came back.

Feng Zimo was leading a peacock, and Xiaoling was hugging a panda cub.

At this sight, I nearly fainted.

These two were unbelievable. Pandas were protected at the national level.

Clearly, the legal advice I’d given Feng Zimo yesterday had gone in one ear and out the other.

Xiaoling, beaming, held up the panda cub and said to me, “Big brother, look how cute this little bear is. Can it be my pet?”

Feng Zimo, meanwhile, tied the peacock securely and tossed it on the floor.

“We’ll have this for dinner tonight. I bet it tastes great.”

I was speechless with exasperation. After struggling to contain my anger, I said, “Brother Feng, did you forget what I told you yesterday? And Xiaoling, you can’t keep a panda as a pet. If anyone finds out, you’ll go to jail.”

Xiaoling looked confused and asked, “Big brother, what does ‘go to jail’ mean?”

Honestly, that question nearly broke me.

Taking a deep breath, I said, “Brother Feng, Xiaoling, you need to take them back right away, or you’ll get into serious trouble.”

Feng Zimo, seeing how upset I was, seemed to realize the gravity of the situation and nodded helplessly. “Alright then.”

But Xiaoling pouted in protest, “I don’t want to give the little bear back. I want to keep it as my pet.”

Seeing how adamant she was, I turned to Lin Weiyan, hoping she would persuade Xiaoling.

Lin Weiyan understood immediately and said, “Xiaoling, be good and take the bear back. Otherwise, I’ll be upset.”

Xiaoling looked devastated, torn between her love for the panda and her desire not to upset Weiyan.

“But I really like the little bear. I don’t want to send it back, but I don’t want you to be angry either,” she said, bursting into tears.

Lin Weiyan walked over and gently wiped her tears.

“Don’t cry, Xiaoling. Be good and take the bear back. I’ll take you to visit it every day, how about that?”

“Yes, and I’ll go with you too. We’ll bring lots of treats for the little bear,” I chimed in.

Xiaoling, still just a child, finally nodded in agreement under our persuasion.

After returning the panda cub and the peacock, I finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Around noon, my cousin called, asking where I was—she couldn’t find me at my place.

I made up a story, telling her I was out with friends. She told me she’d found a new job and asked if I wanted to join her.

She also mentioned that Sun Wenwen hadn’t died, but had returned to her hometown.

We chatted a bit more about family matters before ending the call.

After hanging up, I locked myself in my room to cultivate.

During my practice, Lin Weiyan came by to ask what I wanted for dinner.

I told her anything was fine—I’m not picky.

The afternoon passed quickly, and my cultivation made significant progress.

My hearing and vision had both improved markedly, and my spellwork had gotten better too.

After dinner, I sat on the sofa in the living room, debating whether or not to go to Baishi Bridge.

Lin Weiyan sat beside me and asked, “Still hesitating?”

I nodded. “Do you think I should go or not?”

She said, “It’s all up to you, Brother Chuyun.”

“True, it’s just a matter of choice. But honestly, I am curious—who could this mysterious person be?”

With that, I returned to my room to change and then called Lin Weiyan to head out with me.

Before leaving, I asked Feng Zimo to look after the house and take care of Xiaoling.

As we walked toward Baishi Bridge, I couldn’t tell if it was the aftermath of last night’s rain or the onset of cooler weather, but there was a constant chill at my back.

Arriving at Baishi Bridge as agreed, the sight of densely packed gravestones made my heart pound.

I knew it was just nerves. Even if ghosts appeared, with my current abilities, I could handle them.

After only a few minutes, a figure dressed head to toe in black, wrapped up tightly and leaning on a cane, approached us.