160: Chapter 158 What exactly is the destiny of immortality?

Su City, Municipal Building.

The setting sun on the horizon was like blood.

Wearing his winter work uniform, Ye Ming walked down the corridor.

"Group Leader Ye."

"Mm."

"Group Leader Ye."

"Mm."

Newcomers walking toward him greeted him with smiles; Ye Ming smiled back, nodding to each one in response.

Watching the young men and women of a similar age to himself pass by, he felt a sense of relief that the Special Investigation Bureau finally had some fresh blood.

Before these newcomers arrived, the vast temporary outpost of the Special Investigation Bureau had only three formal members besides himself and Lin Miao: the Director, Zhao Qi, and Yue Ruo.

He had heard there was also a Chief Group Leader, but for some reason, he had never seen the person.

Having known them for several months, Ye Ming had become quite familiar with them through Zhao Qi, who loved to chatter about anything and everything.

Zhao Qi told him that despite the Director's pot-bellied appearance, he had been a special forces soldier in a certain military region in his youth and had carried out several secret missions abroad.

Later, he retired due to an injury and spent his days idle at home with nothing to do.

It just so happened that the higher-ups intended to form a department to dispel feudal superstitions, so he became the leader of the Special Investigation Bureau.

Then there was Yue Ruo.

She had joined at the same time as Zhao Qi and was a graduate of a well-known domestic university.

Her major just hadn't been very practical, so she couldn't find a job. After receiving the recruitment letter from the Special Investigation Bureau, she agreed without much thought.

When talking about Yue Ruo, Zhao Qi even complained to Ye Ming that she was a woman in her thirties who didn't think about finding a good husband.

Now that the Special Investigation Bureau had real work to do, she would have even less time to worry about her life's major events.

After hearing this, Ye Ming's mouth twitched. Are you really that dense, or are you playing dumb with me?

Of course, he didn't say those words out loud.

After all, it was their own business, and Ye Ming felt it wasn't right for him to butt in.

Moreover, although these two were a bit eccentric during daily work, they actually had a line they wouldn't cross in their hearts.

The Director would occasionally chat with him about the two of them, holding a teacup and saying with a chuckle that at its peak, the Special Investigation Bureau had around a hundred employees.

Everyone usually worked diligently and responsibly, and they didn't have many complaints about the bleak future of the Special Investigation Bureau; only those two were always loudly shouting about resigning.

But ten years had passed.

Those 'loyal and dedicated' people had all left, and only these two, who shouted the loudest, had wasted their youth until they were on the verge of middle age, yet they had never stepped into the office to submit a resignation.

Then they talked about interesting stories among the three of them.

Every time Zhao Qi and Yue Ruo worried about what they would do if the Special Investigation Bureau was abolished, the Director would joke about taking them to set up a street stall, saying they wouldn't starve as long as he was around.

Seeing the Director's slightly moist eyes at that moment, Ye Ming knew those words weren't a joke.

The Director, perhaps feeling it was embarrassing to cry like a sentimental woman in front of his juniors when he was nearly sixty, quickly changed the subject and spoke about his Old Leader.

Speaking of the Old Leader, Ye Ming felt this person was truly interesting.

Although he wasn't young, he had always kept up with trends and fashion.

The internet, which young people frequented and were familiar with, was not at all foreign to the Old Leader; he would log into various short video apps and portal websites whenever he had time.

According to the Director, the platform the Old Leader visited most often was Bilibili.

What he loved watching most were the creative 'zheng huo' videos made by UP masters in the Kuso Section.

Once, he saw an edited video of 'Drawing Sword'.

An UP master had photoshopped all the horses of our army's charging cavalry into tanks.

It made the Old Leader laugh hysterically, but as he laughed, he started to cry.

He slapped his thigh hard, wailing that it would have been so good if they really had tanks back then.

"Group Leader Ye." The greeting woke Ye Ming up, and he nodded with a smile, "Mm."

After the person passed him and walked away, he turned left and looked up at the sign hanging on the door in front of him—Director's Office.

*Knock knock—*

"Come in."

Pushing the door open, Ye Ming walked quickly to the wooden chair in front of the desk and sat down. The Director immediately asked, "Did you see the video?"

"What video?"

The Director turned his phone screen toward him: "Immortal Xu has appeared in the outskirts."

Hearing it was Immortal Xu, who hadn't been heard from for a long time, Ye Ming quickly took the phone, dragged the progress bar back to the start, and watched the video without saying a word.

After watching, he furrowed his brows tightly: "This girl... why does she look a bit familiar?"

"She's that little girl who had a chance encounter with Immortal Xu."

"The one from 'Loushiming'?"

"Yes."

"I see." Ye Ming handed the phone back. "What should we do?"

Placing the phone on the desk, the Director rubbed his hairline, which had receded slightly further: "I've sent Zhao Qi and Yue Ruo to pick up the little girl. As for the rest, I'm asking you. The Special Investigation Bureau doesn't have Immortal Xu's contact information. Our only clue to him is you, isn't it?"

Ye Ming knew the Director was referring to his status as an 'Immortal Fate Holder'.

But he had conducted many experiments in private; his body hadn't changed, his spirit was the same as usual, and no abnormal events had occurred around him.

After a moment of silence, he said, "Perhaps the time hasn't come yet. Immortal Xu said it himself: wait quietly."

"Just waiting isn't an option. The matter of Cultivators is becoming impossible to hide."

Probably due to anxiety, the Director rubbed his head too hard and accidentally pulled out a few strands of hair.

Work wasn't going smoothly, and a few more of his precious hairs had fallen out; the sorrow on his face deepened by a few degrees.

Seeing the Director carefully put the hair strands into a drawer one by one, Ye Ming suppressed a smile and comforted him: "Immortal Xu should have his own plans. In any case, we have no other way. We should just make the preliminary preparations for public appeasement and then wait."

"That's all we can do." The Director pushed the drawer shut, looked at him, and asked curiously, "Tell me, what exactly is immortal fate? Immortal Xu is being so mysterious and won't reveal a thing."

"Uh, maybe... it's something like Dharma treasures or immortal elixirs?"

"It's definitely more than that!"

The Director said with certainty, "That little girl, who originally had no connection with Immortal Xu, was taken in as a disciple and even given the moon bright sword and Crystal Jade. You are an Immortal Fate Holder whom Immortal Xu paid special attention to, even visiting in person. It's not that simple."

"Then, I'm not too sure."

Stroking his chin in thought, Ye Ming guessed, "Something higher than being taken as a disciple or receiving apprenticeship gifts... it couldn't be going to a sect, could it?"

After saying it, he himself was stunned for a moment, and locking eyes with the Director, who was also dazed for a second, they said simultaneously, "It's not impossible?"

"But I remember... Immortal Xu said we can't go there now. Sigh... I want to ask but can't find him. How about giving him a mobile phone next time we meet?"

Hearing the Director's muttering, Ye Ming consoled him, "The girl who was taken as a disciple has been picked up. She might be able to... with Immortal Xu..."

"Not really. You saw the video too. The little girl was left directly on the mountaintop, crying and screaming for a long time without seeing Immortal Xu return."

After hearing this, Ye Ming felt the matter was becoming somewhat tricky.

The intention of the Director's Old Leader was to establish a connection with Immortal Xu to stabilize the domestic situation. Even if they didn't have deep mutual cooperation, they at least needed to maintain long-term contact.

Only then could they gradually disclose information to the public.

With the person being unreachable like this, if any trouble or unrest occurred among the people, it would be very complicated to handle.

Even a single oversight could potentially lead to major chaos.

Both were lost in their own thoughts about what to do next, and the room fell silent for a while.

*Knock knock—*

The startled Director looked toward the door in confusion: "It's mealtime. Who's knocking at this hour?"

The person outside seemed to have heard his self-muttering, and their voice drifted through the door into the office: "You two, how have you been lately?"