CH 76

Edited by yuki

Everyone knew that Bai Yuehu’s act was up – except himself.

Bai Yuehu, who was still stubbornly attached to his own lie, made Lu Qingjiu fall silent. Similarly the boy held by Bai Yuehu too stayed silent.

After receiving a fright from Bai Yuehu, the boy laughed strangely and his body disintegrated into countless bees, escaping through Bai Yuehu’s fingers. Watching the strange creature in his hands escape, Bai Yuehu remained calm. He showed no intentions of chasing the creature, instead turning to look at the room full of kids.

The children were all frightened by the dense cloud of insects surrounding the only adult had fallen to the ground. Bai Yuehu walked towards the adult shrouded by the bees and waved a hand to make the bees scatter. This revealed a face that caused Lu Qingjiu to gasp in horror. Every inch of exposed skin was covered in red welts, with multiple bee stingers still left poking out of the person’s skin. It looked extremely painful.

Although being stung by a few bees wasn’t too deadly, the effect of being stung by a huge swarm like this would definitely be fatal. Added to the fact that they were already unconscious, things did not look optimistic.

Watching the bees gradually disperse, Lu Qingjiu fished out his phone and hurriedly dialled 110 and 120. After making the call, he circled the classroom once more, wanting to check if any child had been hurt by the bees. Unexpectedly, none of them had been stung. Although some were hurt, it was due to them falling down while rushing around in a panic, growing bumps on their heads. At this time, they were all crying from shock.

Lu Qingjiu hurriedly picked up a crying child and consoled him. As the ambulance arrived, the child stopped crying, revealing an adorable and healthy looking boy with big, teary eyes. He reached out to grab Lu Qingjiu’s sleeves, refusing to let go, seemingly still in shock.

“It’s okay. It’s okay now.” Lu Qingjiu touched his head.

The ambulance pulled up downstairs and the paramedics rushed to the fourth floor. They saw the teacher passed out on the ground and conducted a quick check, discovering that they were just in time. He had already gone into anaphylactic shock and if they had arrived any later, he would even have died. The adults who had followed them in were also shocked by the news. Seeing that more people were gathering, Lu Qingjiu put down the boy and prepared to quietly slip away with Bai Yuehu. They had snuck in so the suspicion would fall on them if they were discovered by the police.

Thankfully, the kindergarten was in an uproar so no one noticed them leaving. However, as they were leaving, Lu Qingjiu noticed that apart from the male teacher who had been continuously stung by the bees, some other adults had also been stung but none of the children had been injured.

The bees were obviously targeting a certain type of people.

After leaving the kindergarten, Lu Qingjiu watched the ambulance whizz by carrying the injured. He didn’t know how severe their injuries were, nor did he know if any were life threatening conditions..

“How strange. What does he want?” Lu Qingjiu muttered, “From the looks of it, it doesn’t seem like he’s attacking indiscriminately.”

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Bai Yuehu answered, “Yes, that’s him.”

Stingers referred to insects with a poisonous stinger and the one who commanded them was more widely known as the Jiaochong. In literature, he was described as having a child-like appearance and looked similar to other humans. The only difference was that he had two heads.

The Jiaochong controlled all of the Hymenoptera species, not simply the bees. There were even more poisonous species of wasps. Offending him was equivalent to offending all the bees in the world.

After knowing this, he was secretly glad that the Qin Yuan in their home wasn’t related to those bees.

Although Jiaochong sounded like a spirit, it was actually a rarely seen mountain god with comparable strength. But Lu Qingjiu didn’t know why such a mountain god would target a kindergarten. Even if he hadn’t hurt the children, he had frightened them. Perhaps the people in the kindergarten had done something to provoke him? Lu Qingjiu felt that this was the only possibility.

Just as they were embroiled in the discussion, Hu Shu suddenly called Lu Qingjiu. He picked up and heard Hu Shu frantically ask if they had gone to the kindergarten today.

“We went.” Lu Qingjiu said. “We just left.”

“You really went?” Hu Shu asked. “Then, did Brother Lu see those bees?”

Lu Qingjiu: “Saw.”

Hu Shu asked, “Are you hurt?”

Lu Qingjiu: “I’m fine. What’s wrong?”

Hu Shu: “Two people have fallen unconscious. They’re both teachers and are currently in a critical condition. No one knows if they’ll survive.”

Lu Qingjiu asked, “No children were hurt right?”

Hu Shu laughed bitterly. “This is probably our only comfort. For now, none of the children are hurt…”

Lu Qingjiu thought for a moment. “Officer Hu, are you hiding anything from us?”

There was silence from the other end.

Lu Qingjiu: “There should be some casualties after the bees have come so many times. Why didn’t you inform us? Or do these casualties have a special background? You can’t reveal anything?”

Hu Shu was quiet for a while before he let out a long sigh. “You’re right. There have been casualties from the start but the injured party was a very famous upper-class lady. This matter was suppressed so no one knew about it.”

Lu Qingjiu frowned. “The casualty was an upper-class lady? What did she do?”

“We’re not sure what she did.” Hu Shu said. “But she’s in a coma now. She’s one of those who were severely attacked by the bees and no one knows if they’ll wake up.”

Lu Qingjiu: “Such a serious matter happened but you’re still not shutting the kindergarten?” And even opening it back up after just a few days?

Hu Shu said, “This was the upper management’s decision. They said they wanted to find the culprit and refused to listen to our objection.” According to Hu Shu, kindergarten principal believed it was a person who was behind this which was why he wanted to uncover the rat and get revenge for the lady. Lu Qingjiu heard this and frowned even deeper. This principal was too irresponsible. For the sake of capturing the culprit, he actually put so many children in danger. If something really happened to them, it would be too late.

But Hu Shu’s next words solved some of Lu Qingjiu’s suspicions.

The principal wasn’t actually an investor of the kindergarten, but just recruited to be the principal of this kindergarten. The true identity of the investor was very special. According to rumours, he was some financial bigshot who had over 100 million in properties. According to Hu Shu’s sources, this upper-class lady had some under table dealings with the investor and the two were lovers. After seeing his lover hurt, the investor grew angry and was convinced someone was out to hurt him.

Lu Qingjiu: “What do you plan to do now?” Two more people were hurt and although the children were fine, this matter had blown out of proportion. The more pressing issue was the culprit hadn’t yet been found.

“I don’t know.” Hu Shu laughed bitterly. “There’s already pressure from the top and now, things are getting more troublesome… ah, brother Lu. Do you have any suggestions?”

“Not for now.” Lu Qingjiu didn’t divulge anything else. He felt that matters weren’t as simple.

Realising that he could not obtain any information he needed, Hu Shu reluctantly hung up.

After putting down the phone, Lu Qingjiu looked at Bai Yuehu. “Yuehu, what should we do next? Do we go find the Jiaochong?”

Bai Yuehu nodded and pulled out something from his pocket. Upon closer inspection, Lu Qingjiu found that it was actually a live bee. Black mist lingered on its body – it looks like Bai Yuehu had deliberately left it on.

Bai Yuehu opened his hand and the bee flew off. Lu Qingjiu immediately understood what Bai Yuehu was doing. “Do we follow it?”

Bai Yuehu: “En.” With that, he smoothly hooked an arm around Lu Qingjiu’s waist as black mist engulfed them. First, Lu Qingjiu’s vision went dark followed by a sense of weightlessness. Just like this, Bai Yuehu brought them into the sky.

The bee didn’t seem to fly far before coming to a stop. Bai Yuehu put Lu Qingjiu down onto the ground and dispersed the black fog. Lu Qingjiu had a look at his surroundings. They had left the kindergarten and arrived at a nearby park where children often came to play. Many moms brought their children to play in the sandbox, which had a variety of playground equipments in it.

Bai Yuehu and Lu Qingjiu stood in a copse of trees so no one saw them.

“Why are we here?” Lu Qingjiu was surprised.

Bai Yuehu: “He didn’t go far.” Sniffing the air, he seemed to have found the Jiaochong’s scent. “He’s nearby.”

Lu Qingjiu: “Nearby? Is he planning to do something else? Can we find him?”

Bai Yuehu shook his head. “We can only search in the vicinity. After transforming, he’s become smaller so his scent has also weakened.”

“Let’s wait here then.” Lu Qingjiu felt there must be a reason the Jiaochong chose to come to this park. As for the reason, he could not think of any.

They found a stone bench to rest on as they observed the situation.

After an entire afternoon, nothing strange was discovered. The park was bustling with crowds entering and leaving the place. It was no different from usual.

Lu Qingjiu waited till his stomach growled, so he went to the park’s entrance to purchase a bag of snacks and several hotdogs to share with Bai Yuehu.

The hotdog was salty and sweet, and had some crunchy cartilage in it, with a good mouth feel. He could tell Bai Yuehu really liked it from how he swallowed three hotdogs but still had an insatiable expression. Lu Qingjiu simply went to buy a big bag of it. Their family was rich, these small things weren’t a big deal.

Today’s weather was pretty good, the warm sun rays shone down on the earth. Lu Qingjiu nearly fell asleep while sitting on the stone bench but still there were no unusual movements. However, Bai Yuehu said the Jiaochong’s scent was still here without change.

Since this was the case, he’d continue to wait. There was nothing else to do even if they went home. Lu Qingjiu picked up a drink and a bag of melon seeds. He began to chew slowly like he was here for a picnic.

The duo waited for a long time at the park, until 5 pm. After eating his fill, Lu Qingjiu laid sprawled on the stone table, taking a nap. There was no sign of the Jiaochong. Just as Lu Qingjiu thought there wouldn’t be any results, an unexpected figure appeared in the park – the little boy who had been crying after falling down and hitting his head, that Lu Qingjiu spent quite a lot of time consoling.

By this time, there weren’t many people left in the park. The sunset afterglow spilled over the empty playground equipment, shrouding it in a desolate atmosphere.

The boy carried his school bag and walked slowly towards the swings. He sat down on one of them. His injury had already been tended to and bandaged. However, he was holding a full and bulging backpack that no one knew what it contained.

He sat on the swing for a while, scanning his surroundings as if searching for something. Seeing the five year old boy without an adult about him made Lu Qingjiu worry. Just as he wanted to go forward, Bai Yuehu stopped him.

“What?” Lu Qingjiu asked.

Bai Yuehu shook his head. “Look.”

Lu Qingjiu saw his heavy expression and stopped his actions. He continued to observe with Bai Yuehu.

The boy played on the swings for a while and after ensuring no one was about, he picked up his bag and headed into a thicket. Lu Qingjiu and Bai Yuehu followed behind him. Bai Yuehu summoned the black fog to conceal their aura and prevent it from leaking, ensuring their footsteps were silent and undetectable.

Lu Qingjiu had thought the boy came to the park to play but quickly realised that was not true; he had come to search for something. His strides were purposeful, and at all times, he was constantly looking into the grass and at his surroundings.

They followed behind him silently.

After five minutes, the boy suddenly stopped in front of a large tree. Looking up, he seemed to have noticed something. Gazing at it for a moment, he suddenly called out, “Xiao Jiao, Xiao Jiao!”

Xiao Jiao? Secretly watching from behind, Lu Qingjiu immediately thought of the Jiaochong.

“Xiao Jiao, I’m here.” The boy rubbed the tree trunk. “Are you here?”

After calling out a few more times, a person jumped down from that tree. This person was clearly the Jiaochong who had escaped from Bai Yuehu’s hands earlier today. But now, he appeared no different from a human, in that he didn’t have two heads. He looked at the child appearing disinterested. “Why did you come? Didn’t I tell you to stop coming?” Although his tone seemed to hold disdain, the evident joy flickered through his eyes.

“I brought you food.” The boy smiled happily. “They’re all in the hospital.”.

“Hmph. They deserve it.” The Jiaochong said. “I told you to stop bringing me things, but you refuse to listen. I don’t care for your food.”

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“Are you really not going to eat with me?” Receiving the bottle of honey, the Jiaochong asked uneasily.

“No need.” The boy said, “I’ve already eaten at home.” He sniffed but his voice strangely grew lower. “Although mom is yet again not home…”

The Jiaochong looked at his expression and harrumphed. “Those people deserve to die. Once they’re dead, no one can hurt you.”

The boy grew excited after hearing this.

Picking up the honey, the Jiaochong began to eat with relish while the boy watched him obediently. The atmosphere between the two children was very harmonious, making it hard for Lu Qingjiu to break up this friendly atmosphere.

However, Bai Yuehu clearly didn’t have the same compassion as Lu Qingjiu. He simply appeared from the underbush. The black fog dispersed and reshaped into a thick blanket, enveloping them all.

The Jiaochong had been eating the honey but after seeing this situation, his expression changed. He transformed into a bee, wanting to escape like he did earlier but saw the boy staring blankly.

“Xiao Jiao, what’s this?” The boy was frightened.

Gritting his teeth, the Jiaochong directly stood between his friend and Bai Yuehu. He fumed, “Why are you following me?! I’m a mountain god. You’ll be punished if you eat me.”

Bai Yuehu replied, “I won’t be if I ate  a mountain god who’s a murderer.”

The Jiaochong paled.

The little boy listened to their conversation in confusion. Although he didn’t understand the implication behind those words, he could understand what Bai Yuehu was saying. He rushed up to the Jiaochong and cried, “You can’t eat Xiao Jiao! He’s a good insect!”

Just like this, Lu Qingjiu had the feeling that Bai Yuehu and he had become heartless criminals. He was helpless. “Don’t worry, we’re only here to understand the situation.” He turned to the Jiaochong. “Why did you release those bees to hurt the humans? They’re almost dead.”

The Jiaochong said coldly, “Naturally because they’re nothing good.”

“What exactly happened?” Lu Qingjiu felt that this matter couldn’t be separate from the little boy.

“Wuu… Wuu…” The boy began to cry miserably. Tears fell from his large eyes and his face practically became a bun; extremely cute. “They stung me…”

“Stung you?” Lu Qingjiu was a little bewildered, “Who stung you?”

The boy said, “They’re bad guys.” As if afraid Lu Qingjiu wouldn’t believe him, he pulled up his clothes and revealed his back. “Le Le hurts.” Hearing him call himself, Le Le should be the little boy’s name.

With a glance, Lu Qingjiu was shocked by the large scar on his back. On his back, near his shoulder blade, there were more than 10 dark-coloured holes. These holes had mostly scabbed over but because they were small, it wasn’t easy to detect. Lu Qingjiu was an adult so he immediately understood after seeing these holes. The boy had been stabbed by needles.

“Who did this?” His temper flared in an instant. Even Lu Qingjiu with his good temper couldn’t resist cursing. “Who did this to a child? Those people are beasts!”

Le Le was frightened by Lu Qingjiu’s expression and shrunk behind the Jiaochong.

“Can you speak properly? Don’t scare Le Le!” The Jiaochong fumed.

Lu Qingjiu: “Sorry-” He immediately thought of those people who’d been stung by the bees. “Is it those people the bees stung?”

JiaoChong: “What do you think? I’m a mountain god. I won’t kill humans for no reason.” He puffed his chest proudly but the honey on his chin diminished his loftiness, making him appear cute instead. He glanced at Bai Yuehu, mumbling indignantly, “I’m different from some… who eat indiscriminately.”

Bai Yuehu gave him a smile, revealing two rows of white teeth. “Is that so?”

The Jiaochong dared not make a sound.

Lu Qingjiu walked beside Le Le under the Jiaochong’s cautious gaze and helped him to rearrange his clothes before speaking in a warm tone. “Le Le, how long has this been happening? Why didn’t you tell your mom and dad?”

“Mummy is always busy.” Le Le lowered his head. “Le Le hasn’t seen daddy for a long time.”

Watching the boy’s sorrowful expression, Lu Qingjiu touched his head. “When did you meet Xiao Jiao?”

The little boy was silent so the Jiaochong spoke instead. “I’ve known him for a long time. He would come to the park after school everyday and chatter to the beehive.”

The boy: “Wa! So Xiao Jiao was inside the hive. Didn’t you tell me you were hiding in the tree?”

The Jiaochong muttered, “Isn’t it because I was afraid you’d be scared of bees?”

The boy laughed, “I’m not scared. I like Xiao Jiao the most.” He scooted over and kissed the Jiaochong’s face.

The Jiaochong’s face reddened but he still feigned anger and berated the child. “Who told you to randomly kiss others? I’ll ignore you if you do this again.”

Hearing this, Le Le was sure the Jiaochong wouldn’t get angry and laughed foolishly.

Lu Qingjiu: “Was this your reason for setting free the bees in the kindergarten? But you’re too crude. So many bees will easily cause panic. Look, Le Le’s head was even hurt from falling down after being frightened.”

Hearing this, the Jiaochong grew furious. “Didn’t you say you weren’t scared of bees?!”

The boy was innocent and explained softly, “I’m not. But I thought that Xiao Jiao had been eaten by the bees, so I panicked…”

Jiaochong: “You dummy!”

These two’s conversation sounded like children bickering. The Jiaochong also did not have much experience in society – he looked even more childish than Le Le. No wonder he would cause just a big ruckus. Lu Qingjiu finally understood the situation and glanced at Bai Yuehu in silent inquiry of what they should do next.

Bai Yuehu was clearly still nursing a grudge. He frowned, “Just eat them all and be done with it.”

Before Lu Qingjiu could reply, Le Le started crying. In a fit of anger, the Jiaochong almost attacked Bai Yuehu out of frustration. Lu Qingjiu finally realised that there weren’t two children, but three. The fox in his house wasn’t any more mature.