Tianjin, starting with unorthodox methods to achieve immortality

Chapter 269 Water Control Talent Plus Yellow Spring True Water

Outside the window, it was already bright daylight.

Chen Mo stretched his stiff neck, a hint of melancholy in his eyes.

Last night's grand plan for integration, unsurprisingly, failed.

So he spent the rest of the night diligently refining his evil energy, abandoning the Yellow Spring True Water.

That thing will probably only have a chance of successful fusion in the mid-to-late stages.

At noon, fishermen pulled several bodies from the Blackwater shore.

In no time, news of the Green Gang's annihilation spread throughout Linhe County.

The teahouses and taverns on the street were all talking about this.

Chen Mo mingled among the onlookers and slowly walked to the entrance of the Green Gang's headquarters.

The crowd was packed in layers, craning their necks to peer inside.

A simple cloth screen had been put up in the courtyard, obscuring the view inside.

Several patrol officers stood guard at the entrance, expressionless, ignoring the whispers of the onlookers.

Chen Mo stood at the back of the crowd for a few moments, then turned around and slowly walked back the way he came, just like the idle men on the street who had nothing better to do than eat and drink.

Just as I turned a corner, a woman with delicate features walked towards me.

She was dressed in a plain-colored school uniform, a pale white top and a navy blue skirt.

Her black hair was combed into a long braid that hung down in front of her chest, with a plain white ribbon tied at the end. She was as clean and serene as a pool of autumn water.

He had a dark blue canvas shoulder bag slung over his arm, bulging and full, its contents unknown.

Chen Mo paused slightly. Why was it her?

The woman saw him too. "Chen Mo."

"Xu Wanqing".

When did you return to Linhe County?

She tilted her head, her gaze sweeping over Chen Mo's face before quickly shifting away, her ear tips slightly reddening.

"I just got back yesterday."

"oh.

Xin Xu Wanqing responded with a sound of agreement, her fingers unconsciously fiddling with the brass clasp of her handbag, revealing a hint of nervousness.

"By the way, I heard you're working at the inspection bureau now?"

Chen Mo was slightly taken aback. "Who told you that?"

"Wenhui."

Xu Wanqing's lips curled up slightly. "She said you work at the Jinshi Inspection Bureau, and that you're quite capable."

Chen Mo hummed in response, without saying anything more.

Xu Wanqing didn't seem to mind his taciturn nature. She glanced at him again, her gaze filled with curiosity.

"The people from the inspection bureau..."

""

She murmured and repeated a sentence, her tone both wistful and proud of him, "Back in school, you never said you wanted to join the Bureau of Investigation."

"I didn't know at the time."

Chen Mo shrugged; the original owner's memories of the past were already somewhat hazy.

Xu Wanqing chuckled softly at his answer, covering her mouth with her hand and her eyes curving into two crescent moons.

"You're still the same as before, not very talkative."

She paused, then added, "But it looks much better than before."

"hehe."

Chen Mo gave an awkward laugh, unsure how to respond.

You can't exactly say you have good taste, can you?

"Where do you live in Jinshi?" she asked, looking up and trying to sound calm.

"No. 198, Liuye Lane, at the intersection of Dongjie Street." Chen Mo thought for a moment and gave her his address.

Xu Wanqing lowered her head and wrote carefully in the notebook, her handwriting delicate and neat, each stroke precise and orderly.

After finishing writing, she tore off another piece of paper from the notebook, scribbled a few lines, and handed it over.

"This is my address in Jinshi."

She stuffed the paper into Chen Mo's hand, her fingertips accidentally touching his palm, and quickly withdrew them. "British Concession, No. 31 Borough Road."

"I studied there, at Nankai Girls' High School."

Chen Mo took the note, glanced at it, folded it, and put it into his sleeve.

"it is good."

Seeing that he accepted the note, Xu Wanqing's smile deepened, and she tightened her grip on her handbag slightly.

"Then...see you another day?" She looked up at Chen Mo, her eyes bright.

"Yeah, let's have dinner together sometime."

Xu Wanqing turned around, her dark blue skirt swaying slightly.

After walking five or six steps, she suddenly looked back and saw that Chen Mo was still standing there. Her face turned red, and she quickly turned her head away, walking much faster than before.

Chen Mo stood there, watching her figure disappear into the alleyway, then looked down at the note in his sleeve.

Number 31 Borough Road.

Why does it feel like this woman has designs on me?

In the afternoon, at the intersection of Dongjie Street in Jinshi, No. 198 Liuye Lane.

As Chen Mo walked to the alley entrance, he saw that the iron fence gate of his yard was half open, and a girl with pigtails was bending over and sweeping the ground.

"Zhou Nian, didn't you go back to your hometown?" Chen Mo pushed open the wrought iron gate, his voice tinged with surprise.

The girl turned her head and saw him, grinned, revealing a row of neat white teeth.

"Brother Mo is back?"

She leaned the broom against the wall, dusted off her hands, and said, "I've finished taking care of things back home. I arrived in Jinshi last night, and since no one has cleaned your place for several days, I figured it must be covered in dust, so I came over myself."

Chen Mo walked into the courtyard and glanced around.

Sure enough, the yard was clean and tidy, with fallen leaves and dust swept up and piled in the corner.

The asparagus ferns on the windowsill had been watered, and their leaves were now upright. Even the wrought iron railing had been wiped clean with a cloth, and the black paint was gleaming faintly.

"Alright."

Chen Mo took out ten silver dollars from his sleeve and handed them over, "Here's your wages for this month."

Zhou Nian took the money, counted it carefully, and then happily stuffed it into the purse at her waist.

"Thank you, Brother Mo."

Just then, a voice came from the alley entrance.

Chen Mo turned his head and saw three foreigners dressed in black robes standing at the alley entrance, holding several thick books and talking to an old man passing by.

The old man was clearly in a hurry to leave. He frowned, waved his hand, and walked away with an impatient look on his face.

Undeterred, the three missionaries turned to another passing woman.

"The foreign monks are here again." Zhou Nian straightened up, craned his neck to look at the alley entrance, and pursed his lips. "How many times has this happened? They just grab people on the street and start talking to them, but nobody pays any attention to them."

Chen Mo didn't speak, his gaze fixed on the three missionaries.

The leader was a middle-aged white man in his forties with a light brown beard, a high nose, and blue eyes that shone with enthusiasm.

He was very patient; he didn't get angry when rejected, and just smiled as he went to find the next target.

Upon seeing these missionaries, Chen Mo's eyes narrowed, and he suddenly remembered the giant spider at the Xikai Church.

It seems I forgot to settle some accounts.

In the evening, a rickshaw jingled as it passed through the intersection and stopped on the east side of the roadside.

Chen Mo stepped down, tossed the copper coin into the coachman's palm, and turned to stand on the street corner opposite the Xikai Church.

As the sun sets, the cross on the church bell tower is bathed in the red glow of the evening sky, giving it a solemn and dignified air.

Several men in suits emerged from a small door next to the church, briefcases tucked under their arms, talking in English as they walked.

This area was jointly administered by Chinese and French authorities, but it had actually been occupied by foreigners.

Unlike small places like Linhe County, this place is filled with Western-style buildings and wide roads.

Even the streetlights are Western style.

Ladies in cheongsams walked arm in arm with men in Western suits across the boardwalk in high heels, their heels making a series of crisp sounds.

The Indian police officer from the police station, wearing a red headscarf and leaning on a baton, stood at the intersection.

As you pass by them, you can smell the strong curry odor emanating from them.

Chen Mo stood on the street corner for a while, then his gaze returned to the church door.

Joseph.

That damned foreigner chased him for miles back then; if he hadn't been fast enough, his grave would probably be overgrown with weeds by now.

Chen Moke has always remembered this debt.

I was just too busy with other things before and didn't have time to settle accounts with the other party. Then I was busy breaking through to the Qi Condensation stage, so it was delayed until now.

Now that the evil spirits have been formed, it's time to settle the scores.

Chen Mo straightened his collar, stepped across the road, and walked towards the main entrance of the church.

Before he could even step onto the steps, the church doors were pushed open from the inside.

A tall figure walked out.

He looked to be in his forties, wearing a dark robe, with a pale face and his brown hair neatly combed back.

It was Joseph.

He was accompanied by a woman.

The woman was half a head shorter than him, wearing a black nun's robe, her head covering her hair completely, revealing a face that was almost transparently white.

Her facial features were quite delicate, but there was an inexplicable sense of disharmony between her eyebrows and eyes.

It's so cold, it's not the temperature a living person should feel.

The two walked out of the church one after the other, talking in hushed tones.

"Hey, big spider, fuck squid!"

Chen Mo stopped, grinned, and waved his middle finger at him.

Then he turned around and left.

The movements were executed in one smooth motion, without the slightest hesitation.

Joseph didn't react at first, but when he saw the face clearly, his pupils shrank.

"It's him!"

Instead of getting angry, he laughed.

"Follow them."

He whispered something to the woman beside him, then flicked his robe and strode after her.

The woman didn't say anything, but simply nodded slightly and quietly followed behind Joseph.

The three of them, one in front and two behind, crossed several roads and turned into a quiet alley.

Chen Mo did not run; his pace was neither fast nor slow, and he maintained a distance of about twenty feet from those behind him.

Once you exit the alley, you'll find a dirt road leading to the sea.

On both sides of the road were barren salt flats overgrown with weeds, and in the distance, the sea surface shimmered with the red glow of the sunset.

The further you go, the fewer people there are, and the air becomes filled with a salty, fishy smell of the sea.

After walking for about half an incense stick's time, the view suddenly opened up before me.

A wasteland stretches to the sea.

Beneath our feet lay gravel and cracked earth, and a few clumps of withered yellow grass trembled in the wind.

A few dozen feet further on, there was a rocky coastline, where gray-blue waves crashed against the rocks, splashing up white foam.

There was no one around, only the sound of the wind and the waves.

Chen Mo stopped and turned around.

Joseph stopped ten feet away, the woman half a step behind him, the two of them on the left and right, seemingly about to encircle him.

"You've got some nerve."

Joseph spoke Chinese, with clear and distinct pronunciation, and perhaps because he had been there for a long time, he even had a slight Tianjin accent.

"They dared to come alone, and even dared to lead us to a place like this."

Chen Mo shrugged. "If I didn't come here, would I have messed with you in front of the church? I don't want to be chased all over the streets by the police."

"You think you can beat me once you get here?"

Joseph's smile deepened, but there was no amusement in his brown eyes. "I was wondering how to find you again after you got away last time, but you've delivered yourself right to my doorstep."

He glanced at the woman beside him. "This is Margaret, my comrade. Her strength is even greater than mine."

""

Margaret glanced coldly at Chen Mo without saying a word.

"We were going to go to the Chinese-controlled area to find you in a few days, but since you're here today, it saves us the trouble of making that trip."

"That's perfect, that's what I thought too."

Chen Mo grinned, his gaze sweeping over the two of them. "I've heard that Western priests all have that kind of dirty stuff implanted inside them?"

"Dirty stuff?"

Joseph laughed and said, "That is a gift from God. You people without faith will never understand."

"I forgot to tell you, our god has already descended."

He spread his arms, looked up at the sky, and said with fervent devotion, "Soon, the whole world will be at your feet."

"You infidels from the East, either convert or die."

Chen Mo's lips twitched as he looked at him.

"It's just an evil god, why are you talking about it like the sky is falling?"

Joseph's eyes flashed with anger, "You dare to blaspheme against the gods..."

""

"What's wrong with blasphemy?" Chen Mo interrupted him. "You have evil gods where you are, but we don't?"

The other party was stunned.

"Alright, have you finished saying your last words?"

Chen Mo didn't give him another chance to speak, and loosely clenched his right hand.

The originally turbulent waves suddenly burst open, and two columns of water shot into the sky from the sea, drawing two arcs in the twilight, and crashed down on Joseph and Margaret with tremendous force.

Joseph's fanaticism froze instantly. With a wave of his right hand, a dark red light shield burst forth from his palm, barely blocking the water jet that was about to hit him.

Water splashed everywhere, and the red light collided with the waves, producing a piercing hissing sound.

The second, third, and fourth routes followed one after another.

Under Chen Mo's mental guidance, the seawater spun wildly, forming two intertwined waterspouts around Joseph and Margaret.

The water walls were several meters thick, and when they rotated at high speed, they emitted a deafening roar.

"What is this...?"

"7

Joseph's expression changed completely.

What alarmed him even more was that after the water jets hit his body, they left a thin layer of black water film on the surface of the red light.

The water film was icy cold and was eroding his defenses at a visible speed, causing the red light to dim rapidly.

Margaret's situation wasn't much better.

The shield around him began to crack under the impact of the first water jet, and the second water jet tore a hole in the shield.

The seawater splashed against her, making a piercing hissing sound.

Just like acid corroding metal.

No, this is not ordinary seawater.

Margaret frowned, horrified to discover that a wisp of extremely cold black water, upon touching her skin, seeped in as if it were alive, frantically eroding her flesh.

At this moment, Joseph also noticed the unusual activity in the water.

What enveloped them was not ordinary seawater at all.

"Transform quickly!"

He yelled at Margaret, his voice filled with barely suppressed panic, "Otherwise it'll be too late!"

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