As spiritual energy revived, I, having acquired certain attributes, gradually ascended to immortalit

Shen Qing thought of Zhou Ming's last words.

I don't know why he said that to them. Maybe he had no other choice, or maybe he realized that their identities were unusual.

"After the counselor died, there was no one to support him. The elderly man was also ill, but in this situation, he could apply for the Five Guarantees household."

Chen Chen stood to the side, her expression equally complex.

He finally realized that this so-called extraordinary world was not what he had imagined.

After a few seconds of silence, Xie Chong suddenly spoke up, "What, are you going to take a look?"

……

Zhou Ming's hometown is a rural area near Binhai City.

Xie Chong drove, and the three of them arrived at the village an hour later. They asked around in the village for a while before finally finding the place.

At the end of an alley.

It's neither broken nor good; it's just a normal rural layout.

In the small courtyard, there is a single-story house about three meters high with three rooms, and a few chickens in the yard.

A thin old man was feeding chickens in a peeling iron basin filled with bran flour mixed with various vegetable scraps.

"Are you Grandma Chen?"

Hearing the noise at the door, the old man straightened up and looked at the three people with suspicion. "...Who are you?"

"Hello, Grandma, we are Professor Zhou Ming's students."

Shen Qing remained calm and said, "I just happened to be passing by and thought I'd come and see you."

The old man was taken aback, seemingly completely surprised that his son's student would come to his door. "Mingming's student?"

She hurriedly invited Shen Qing and the other two into the house, moving very slowly as it was indeed inconvenient for them to move around.

The room was small; the entrance led directly into the kitchen/living room, where there was a stove with the burner blackened by soot.

Inside was a bedroom that also served as a living room. Instead of a bed, there was a traditional earthen platform. The furniture was all old and covered with plastic sheeting. Even the television was one of those old-fashioned clunky models.

But the room was very clean.

"Sit down, sit down, I'll go get you some water," the old man said, turning and walking towards the stove.

"No need, Grandma, we can do it ourselves."

Shen Qing quickly stopped the old woman and, following her instructions, took out three patterned porcelain bowls from the kitchen cabinet.

It's clear that no one usually comes to this old man's place.

Since there were no disposable paper cups, they had to use bowls. Shen Qing and Chen Chen accepted this easily, but Xie Chong looked on with curiosity, as it was the first time he had ever drunk water from a bowl.

"Grandma, is this your cup?"

Looking at the teacup on the windowsill with its paint chipped off, and seeing the old man nod, Shen Qing poured a cup of water and carefully handed it over.

The group sat on the kang (a heated brick bed) in silence for a few seconds before the old man spoke first.

"I didn't expect Mingming to have students coming. With his temper... I bet many of your students don't like him very much, right?"

"The counselor's personality is indeed a bit..."

Chen Chen scratched his head, unsure how to put it. He couldn't very well just call him mercenary.

The old man smiled and didn't mind.

"You don't need to cover for him. He's always been like that since he was a child. He can't stand being taken advantage of and always dreams of getting ahead overnight. I'm worried that he might go astray one day."

She looked down at the teacup in her hand, the steam blurring her vision.

"The last time he came back, was it because there were some problems at school? We had a fight, and he slammed the door and left..."

As the old man spoke, his hands, which were holding the teacup, clenched unconsciously. "I've called several times, but no one has answered... Has something happened?"

Shen Qing forced a smile.

"Grandma, this is our graduating class. Teacher Zhou is in charge of our materials, there are several hundred of us."

So I've been quite busy lately, so I probably haven't seen it.

He simply couldn't bring himself to say that the other person wasn't there.

"……Yeah."

The old man was silent for a moment, then sighed, "He always feels like he's not doing well outside, so he doesn't like to come home or answer the phone..."

The three remained silent, only drinking water continuously.

For half an hour, the old man recounted many things about Zhou Ming's childhood, and the three listened quietly.

Before they left, the old man insisted on seeing them off, and standing at the entrance of the alley, his figure appeared even smaller.

"Goodbye, Grandma. You can go back now. You don't need to see us off."

The car started and drove further and further away, but the old man remained standing in the alley, watching Shen Qing and the others completely disappear at the end of the street.

Her eyes gradually welled up with tears.

……

The atmosphere in the car was somewhat somber. As we drove towards the village entrance, the view opened up, with only occasional abandoned houses flashing by.

"I need to catch my breath," Shen Qing suddenly said.

Xie Chong parked his car on the side of the road and searched all his pockets. "Damn, if I don't smoke, I don't even have a lighter when I want one."

"Um."

In the back seat, Chen Chen pulled a few pieces of milk candy from his pocket. "Grandma just gave me these milk candies, but they seem to have been sitting there for a long time."

He was chewing on one piece when he handed over the remaining two.

After the two took the car, Shen Qing got out and looked at the empty fields, still feeling a tightness in her chest.

To be honest, given Zhou Ming's usual demeanor, he had considered what the old man might be like.

If she were as domineering and mean as his sister-in-law's mother, he wouldn't have any objections, and might even feel at ease.

Unlike Zhou Ming's shrewdness, the old man was even quite kind.

He suddenly closed his eyes, then opened them again, and threw a punch, causing the earthen wall of the ruins next to him to collapse.

Sleeping Corpse Path, damn it.

Even if Zhou Ming had problems, that was the police department's business, not something that should have caused him to be tortured to death and even his death without peace.

……

Back at base.

For some unknown reason, Fang Shu was already waiting for them in the training room.

"I heard about today's mission. Did it not go well?"

The three of them remained silent.

"Don't even mention these things. In the cases handled by the Public Security Bureau in the early years, there were many situations that were more serious than this."

You must learn to accept this, but don't let your growing strength lead to indifference.

Fang Shu shook his head. "Think about it carefully. Also, Shen Qing, the director asked me to remind you to get a new leave slip."

Shen Qing frowned and nodded.

I just felt a bit annoyed, and now I had to go and get a sick leave slip.

After filling out the forms and signing them in the office, I listened to the director's routine instructions.

"Okay, remember to come and submit the leave slip as soon as possible next time."

"And your leaving the jurisdiction this afternoon will be counted as part of the mission, not considered leaving early, but don't let it happen again."

Support staff have already gone to the elderly person's side.

After leaving the office, Shen Qing felt a little better. She patted her cheeks, knowing that she would probably have to face her older brother and sister-in-law's "interrogation" when she got back, and she couldn't let them worry about her anymore.

I checked the time and clocked out.

An hour later, standing at her front door, Shen Qing took a deep breath, turned the knob, and opened the door.

Sure enough, the living room light was on, and his older brother was sitting on the sofa, but... where was his sister-in-law?

Shen Qing scanned the living room but didn't see anyone.

In the kitchen, Shen Qingtang suddenly poked her head out, holding a spatula in her hand. "You're back."

Then, his sister-in-law also came out of the kitchen and her eyes fell on him.

With just one glance, Shen Qing couldn't help but shiver. How long had her older brother and sister-in-law been here?

What did they ask the female knight? Has she already given herself away?