In the rotten broken tripod, the thoroughly smashed Whisperer had become whole again. However, it had taken on a darker hue. Even the formerly transparent crystal face had become as dark as ink. One could faintly see a vortex on the watch face. It gave one an impression of a mini black hole. The watch strap was different too. The black-and-white stripes had become striae-like patterns like those found in forged metal. They resembled a sea of clouds in a tempest, bizarre and unfathomable.

One could tell from its appearance that it was no ordinary watch!

Ning Tao picked up the Whisperer and wore it on his wrist. He injected a whiff of spiritual power into it and instantly managed to establish a strange yet wondrous connection with the watch. In that very instant, a marvelous yet bizarre scene occurred.

The vortex on the watch face slowly began to whirl. In the middle of the vortex appeared hovering spots, like stars in a night sky. At the same moment, Ning Tao could sense whiffs of the surrounding energy being pulled into the vortex. But they were slight and very weak.

Ning Tao was astonished. “To be able to pull in energy is the ability of the Soul-devouring Urn. Yet this ability has now also appeared in the Whisperer. The Soul-devouring Urn draws in spiritual energy from only living beings. So what is the Whisperer drawing in?”

He was alone here, so he was sure it was not drawing in the spiritual energy of another human being. If it was from living ent.i.ties, it must be those spiritual materials from the spiritual field. But he could sense it was not those materials, since he was very familiar with their spiritual energy. What the Whisperer was drawing in was some strange energy he had never encountered before.

Before Ning Tao could make heads or tails of his predicament, a voice suddenly resounded in his brain. “I have been a valiant presence in life. Must I die here?”

The voice sounded old and tired, giving one a feeling of utter despondency.

Ning Tao's heart quivered and his eyes s.h.i.+fted to a mound on the ground.

Below this earth mound was buried Xuan Tianzi's remains.

It was followed by even more voices resounding in his brain.

“Have the Manchus entered through the pa.s.s? None of my freaking business. Someone cultivating for immortality should not be bothered about such lay matters. Go away and stop begging me. It's no use begging me at all.”

“This is a nice place. I shall stay here and cultivate.”

These were all Xuan Tianzi's voices.

Amidst all these voices, the watch face projected a holographic image which was somewhat fuzzy. But one could still tell that it was a white-haired old man with a sagely demeanor. He was either pacing in this cave, cultivating cross-legged, or refining pills. He seemed like a living person.

Ning Tao finally understood.

The Whisperer had received sound waves of Xuan Tianzi from the past, as well as residual energy leaking out from his spirit in an earlier time zone.

In this universe, no life or object would truly disappear. Even at death, their physical being or energy would simply be transferred into something else, surviving in another form. A simple example was this: when a man chopped a tree, the tree died but it would continue to exist in the form of chopsticks, furniture or paper. When a man died, his body components would return to nature. The energy from his spirit would of course return to nature too, surviving in other forms.

Mankind has advanced so far in science and technology and yet cannot prove the existence of spirits. Neither can he capture energy from spirits. But the Whisperer could do that now!

After cutting off its spiritual power source, the watch face of the Whisperer resumed its former quiet. The fuzzy images of Xuan Tianzi disappeared. His voice, too, faded in Ning Tao's mind.

Ning Tao felt a tremor of agitation in his heart. He said to himself, “When the clinic moves, I must pay a visit to the Holy Mountain. With the allergic reactions of the residual Ancestor-seeking Elixir, and the new function of the Whisperer, I may be able to unravel the mystery behind Zhu Hongyu's death! And the mystery of that woman in red too!”

The Whisperer used to be only an elementary device that translated dog speech, and not worth much. But its improved functionality meant that it had advanced from an a.s.sault rifle into a tank gun. Its new functions meant that Ning Tao would not exchange it even for Tang Zixian's secret of her Yingu Soul-suppressing Talisman.

Following that, Ning Tao tested the watch again. He realized that the b.u.t.ton on the watch face could toggle between two functions. Its previous elementary function had not disappeared. Whether this functionality had improved remained to be seen. After all, there were no dogs around for testing.

“When I return, I must find a dog to test it,” Ning Tao said to himself.

One hour later.

Night had descended. A food alley in Guan City was teeming with customers. It was a bustling scene.

At a shop, Ning Tao was having the specialty dessert, Sweet Glutinous Rice b.a.l.l.s with Peanut Coating, with two pretty girls.

The two pretty girls were Qing Zhui and Bai Jing.

Qing Zhui had wanted to catch some fish in the river, but Ning Tao did not want more of that salty fish broth. So he suggested that they try some snacks in Guan City. Since the two snake demons were gluttons, they agreed at once.

After having a bowl of Sweet Glutinous Rice b.a.l.l.s with Peanut Coating, Ning Tao said, “My clinic is going to move in the coming month. There are still seven days more.”

“So soon?” Bai Jing reacted with some surprise.

Qing Zhui asked with concern, “Brother Ning, do you have enough rental fees?”

Ning Tao said, “Since we managed to kill Bai Sheng, we don't need to pay any rental fee for this month.”

Qing Zhui said happily, “Splendid. So Bai Sheng's death is worth something after all.”

Ning Tao cautioned them. “Lower your voice.”

Qing Zhui instantly understood him. She shut her mouth and gave Ning Tao an embarra.s.sed smile.

The outside world had not learned of Bai Sheng's death. Once the news spread, perhaps the whole world would start discussing his death. It would be a sensational headline.

As time pa.s.sed, someone would surely broach the subject of Bai Sheng's disappearance. The police would then intervene. But by then, who would link the disappearance or death of Bai Sheng with a clinic doctor?

“Do you still not know where to move your clinic?” Bai Jing asked.

Ning Tao shook his head and smiled. “I still don't know.”

Qing Zhui said, “No matter where you move to, my sister and I will support you as before.”

Ning Tao felt a warmth welling in his heart. Between the two, Qing Zhui was adorable, naive and merciless as well. She was willing to sacrifice her everything for him. Her elder sister was adept at stratagems. She was full of wily schemes and was as merciless as her sister. Two of them were indeed his able a.s.sistants.

Ning Tao said with a smile, “Sorry for all the hard work over the past days. Why don't I treat you to another bowl of Sweet Glutinous Rice b.a.l.l.s with Peanut Coating?”

Qing Zhui gave a smile. “Sure. You're so nice, Brother Ning.”

Bai Jing pouted and mumbled, “What a silly girl, easily satisfied with a bowl of glutinous rice b.a.l.l.s. Have some backbone, won't you?”

Qing Zhui glared at Bai Jing.

Bai Jing kicked Qing Zhui from under the table.

An auntie brought them three bowls of Sweet Glutinous Rice b.a.l.l.s with Peanut Coating. She placed a bowl before each of them.

Ning Tao suddenly caught a glimpse of tear stains on the auntie's face. He could not help but ask, “Auntie, what's wrong?”

“Nothing, nothing…” The auntie s.h.i.+ed away from Ning Tao's eyes. She turned her head but unconsciously raised her arm to wipe the corners of her eyes.

At this moment, two youths entered. They surveyed the shop and walked over.

One of them was in a leather jacket, studded with metallic ornaments. He had a crew cut. A few star spangles were tattooed on his neck. The other had his hair dyed blond. An ostentatious silver spherical earrings dangled on his left ear-lobe. The two of them were about the same age, in their 20s.

When the auntie selling the Sweet Glutinous Rice b.a.l.l.s with Peanut Coating saw the two men, she started to tense up.

The malevolent voice of the youth with his hair dyed blond rang out. “Zhou Shufen, I've told you yesterday. Our patience is limited. Where's your son? Get him out to pay!”

The auntie called Zhou Shufen stammered. “I… I… don't know…”

“Don't know? You can ignore everything if you don't know?” The youth with the crew cut kicked a stool. The stool crashed loudly against a table leg.

“Don't… don't act this way. I still have… customers with me.” Tears welled up in Zhou Shufen's eyes. Although she was angry, she did not dare utter a word of resistance.

The youth with the crew cut strode over and suddenly took out a folding knife. He unfolded it with a whoosh and stabbed it down forcefully on the table where Ning Tao and the girls were eating.

This stab made the three freshly served bowls trembled. Quite a bit of the syrup splashed out.

A green glimmer suddenly flashed across Qing Zhui's eyes. She was about to stand up.

Ning Tao stretched out his hand and held her hand down.

Qing Zhui calmed down.

“This shop is closing. Get out now!” The youth with blond dyed hair yelled fiercely.

The other customers in the shop were afraid of these two malicious young men and they all scrambled out.

“Hey, you haven't paid!” Zhou Shufen was frantic, almost rus.h.i.+ng out to get her payment.

The youth with blond dyed hair pushed a palm down on Zhou Shufen's shoulder. He said malevolently, “So you want payment too, do you? Your son owes us money and has run away. A mother should pay her son's debts. You have to pay us for him!”

Zhou Shufen could not control her emotions. She sobbed. “You're driving us to our deaths. My son Ah Hai says he only asked for a loan of 30,000. And you gave him 15,000. Why must you force him to pay 500,000… we don't have so much money!”

The youth with the crew cut snorted. “It's written in black and white on the IOU. If you can't pay, your shop will be taken over by our boss to cover your debt. If you won't pay, the interest will mount. I'm afraid by then, you can only pay with your life!”

When he heard this, Ning Tao realized what was happening.

Loan sharks.

Since ancient times, loan sharks had always been ruthless sc.u.ms!

“Hey, d.a.m.n you, are you deaf? I asked you lot to scram. All of you…” The youth in crew cut wanted to swear again, but his eyes suddenly landed on Bai Jing's face. He could no longer curse. Then, he cast his eyes on Qing Zhui and his eyes started to blaze. Since when had he ever seen such beauties as Qing Zhui and Bai Jing?

The youth with the blond dyed hair also discovered Qing Zhui and Bai Jing. They had a G.o.dlike deportment and were so pretty that they seemed like fairies. They instantly caught his attention and he forgot about exacting payment.

The youth with the crew cut snickered. “Haha, I didn't expect to find two great beauties sitting here. Babes, why don't we go for a drink?”

A murderous malice flitted across Qing Zhui's eyes.

Ning Tao replied with a smile. “How can you invite my two sisters and forget about me?”

The two youths exchanged glances. The youth with the blond dyed hair gave a grin, showing his yellowed teeth. “Sure. Let's have fun together.”

The youth with the crew cut cursed. “d.a.m.n old hag, we will come again tomorrow. If we don't have the money by then, you'd better prepare for your son's funeral when we locate him!”

The smile on Ning Tao's lips started to turn cold.

Business had come to his door.