Chapter 67

Féilún and Sòng Kuí were chatting when the forensic expert Huò Shī arrived.

"Inspector Sòng, Inspector Féi, you're both here, which is good. I have something to inform you," Huò Shī said with an unusually serious expression. "Based on the evidence collected from the scene, there are signs of strong acid corrosion in the sink of the restaurant near yesterday's gunfight. After testing, it was confirmed to be fluoroantimonic acid!"

"What?!" Féilún was slightly taken aback. "Can you confirm if the fluoroantimonic acid found this time is the same as in the Mid-Hill case?"

Huò Shī smiled. "Ah, Inspector Féi, I knew you would ask that. From a compositional standpoint, because fluoroantimonic acid has an extremely intense contact chemical reaction, we can't directly determine if the fluoroantimonic acid from the two cases is from the same source. However, from the trace ratios, it appears to be the work of the same person."

Féilún understood Huò Shī's meaning and nodded slightly. At least now he confirmed that his intuition was correct, and the armed group was indeed related to the Mid-Hill murder case.

Sòng Kuí, however, asked, "What is fluoroantimonic acid?"

Huò Shī gave a brief explanation and concluded, "For more details, ask Inspector Féi. He knows more about it. I have something to do, so I'll leave first." With that, he left.

Sòng Kuí turned his head blankly and said, "Alén, what Huò Shī said isn't true, right?"

Féilún shrugged. "Who said it wasn't true? Have you forgotten his nickname?"

"Trouble..."

Shortly after, Xiè Yìxīn arrived. She had received the plan for the next few days until the end of the jewelry exhibition from Wáng Yīpéng. In the briefing room, she detailed the tasks the Serious Crime Unit and the Special Task Force would be responsible for, assigning specific duties to everyone.

However, the search for the armed group continued, but after two days, there was no progress. Féilún was not surprised by this result. The gun case at Chéntán was an isolated incident, and they had not yet figured out the group's patterns, so finding them through a search was like a dreamer's fantasy.

Fortunately, after a few days of coordination, everyone was familiar with their roles and tasks. Even in the event of an emergency, they could respond promptly without panicking and risking their lives, which was the most important thing.

Before they knew it, it was Friday, and the armed group was still nowhere to be found. Just after 4 PM, Chief Inspector Chén Zékūn announced that those assigned to the jewelry exhibition the next day could leave early. Those with personal matters could go home to handle them, but they had to be at the designated location by 7 AM the next morning.

Féilún politely declined the invitation to dinner from Xiè Bào and others, and as in the past two days, he dragged Sòng Kuí back to his home in Shallow Water Bay early.

Sitting on the crocodile leather sofa, eating the small snacks served by Yīngzǐ and sipping the red wine brought by Xìngzǐ, Sòng Kuí felt extremely comfortable.

Féilún, however, didn't enjoy it as much. After eating a little cake, he got up and went upstairs. Sòng Kuí, who had stayed at No. 86 for two days, was already familiar with Féilún's habits and didn't call out to him. After finishing his meal and drink, he also went to the gym to exercise.

Dinner was around 8 PM. Yīngzǐ made Kobe beef steaks, accompanied by French black truffles and Iranian caviar, which Sòng Kuí enjoyed immensely. As for Féilún, he didn't come downstairs for dinner. At 8:30 PM, Xìngzǐ began to clear the table as usual.

Seeing that Xìngzǐ was about to take away the untouched steak, Sòng Kuí, who was still a bit hungry, asked, "Miss Xìngzǐ, can I eat Alén's steak?"

Xìngzǐ smiled. "Of course, no problem!" She then pushed Féilún's steak in front of him.

Sòng Kuí, who had already finished one steak, didn't start with the steak this time. Instead, he picked up a small spoon and scooped up the white, plump, and lustrous caviar to eat. "The caviar here is different from others. It's not only smooth and elegant in texture, but its color is like pearls."

"Mr. Sòng, this is Almas caviar, which is not comparable to ordinary sturgeon caviar," Xìngzǐ replied with a slight bow.

"Almas? I've never heard of this brand of caviar," Sòng Kuí was surprised.

Xìngzǐ smiled. "That's not surprising. The annual production of Almas is less than 15 kilograms, and even if you have money, you might not be able to buy it."

Sòng Kuí was even more astonished. "Then... how much does this caviar cost per kilogram?"

Xìngzǐ covered her mouth and giggled. "Mr. Sòng, Almas is not sold by the kilogram but by the ounce (28.35 grams), and each ounce costs about 730 US dollars!"

Sòng Kuí's eyes widened because he was quite accurate in estimating weight. The caviar on this plate of steak was roughly one ounce, meaning that the caviar on two plates of steak alone cost over 1,400 US dollars.

"The master said that when a person is about to starve to death, even a dry and stale bun is as valuable as gold," Xìngzǐ said with a smile. "So, Mr. Sòng, you don't need to worry about the ICAC because the value of what you eat cannot be estimated."

Sòng Kuí thought about it and realized it was indeed true. Besides, he had already eaten once, so he didn't mind doing it again. He quickly finished Féilún's steak.

At this moment, Féilún was in the training room upstairs, at a critical point in his cultivation of the Xuanjin Gong.

To be honest, despite cultivating for a long time, Féilún's mental power had not made significant progress, and he could not control the true qi to refine it and unblock the blocked meridians in his body.

Féilún understood that this was likely due to the limitations of the Main God, but he was not willing to give up. He came up with a risky plan to unblock the meridians without enhancing his mental power. The method was simple: cultivate another type of true qi that does not have the strong penetration of Xuanjin true qi, run it through the meridians, and forcibly unblock them, or rather, use the true qi to squeeze out the impurities in the meridians. However, this was very dangerous, and a slight mistake could lead to a minor case of qi deviation or a major case of broken meridians.

But Féilún was Féilún. He was both adventurous and cautious. He had anticipated this situation when he made his final exchange and had exchanged three life-saving light balls. These three light balls were like the full restoration potions in Diablo 2, which could restore a person to full health and status before they died. Therefore, Féilún would release one light ball each time he cultivated to prepare for any emergencies.

Fortunately, the Wusha true qi that Féilún had been cultivating had not caused any problems until today, so he had not used any of the three life-saving light balls.

Wusha true qi is one of the foundational true qi in the cultivation of the demonic path. Its function is to unblock meridians and connect with the demonic qi of heaven and earth. Féilún chose it over Xuanjin Gong because of its rapid increase in true qi and its ability to easily unblock meridians. As for connecting with the demonic qi of heaven and earth, Féilún believed it would never happen in the real world.

Because Wusha true qi cultivated quickly, Féilún had overlooked the changes in the celestial and terrestrial stars. Tonight was the last full moon of the millennium. When Féilún began his cultivation, he didn't feel anything unusual, but when the moon rose, he noticed that the Wusha true qi in his meridians was much more violent and had a greater impact on the blockages.

Since it was the first time Féilún was cultivating Wusha true qi according to his memory of the "Wusha Zhenjing," and Wusha true qi was generally more violent, he didn't delve into the changes. Instead, he saw this as an opportunity and gathered the Wusha true qi to forcefully impact a particular blockage in his meridians.

The impact was not a problem, but when he did, Féilún immediately realized that the strength of his meridians was weaker than the stubborn blockages, though not by much. If he continued to force it, he might burst his meridians. Fortunately, Féilún had a lot of cultivation experience and immediately thought of a method to reinforce his meridians: using Xuanjin true qi to form a protective layer around the meridians.

It's important to note that Wusha true qi has the characteristic of repelling foreign elements, and any true qi it cannot conquer or that is not of the same origin will be repelled. Xuanjin true qi, on the other hand, has extremely strong penetration. The two true qi running inside and outside the meridians could form a balance, similar to boiling water in a paper pot.

Féilún's method was ingenious. After practicing for two to three hours, everything was going well. The two true qi coexisted peacefully inside and outside the meridians, and the Wusha true qi had successfully unblocked several fine meridians. However, as the full moon rose higher, the Wusha true qi became increasingly violent, and Féilún had to increase the protective layer of Xuanjin true qi. A moment of inattention led to a mistake.

Féilún's mental power was not yet advanced enough to control two types of true qi simultaneously. Over time, he became a bit distracted. When he increased the Xuanjin true qi outside the meridians, he accidentally added too much. A small part of the Xuanjin true qi immediately seeped into the meridians, causing the Wusha true qi to become chaotic.

Féilún felt as if his meridians were under heavy pressure, with intense pain and itching, as if he had been hit by a life-and-death curse. The fine meridians began to stretch and tear, and the two true qi intertwined, colliding and fighting, refusing to yield. They easily unblocked several blockages.

Féilún was now unable to control the situation. The two powerful and dominant true qi continued to force their way through all the blockages in the eight extraordinary meridians, then turned and entered the twelve main meridians, causing more chaos.

Féilún was suffering. Even if he had been hit by a life-and-death curse, the duration would not have been this long. He felt that the walls of his meridians were beginning to tear, and the impact of the true qi was increasing. If he didn't stop, he would die from the internal pressure.

(①: Fluoroantimonic acid is actually a mixed acid, the product of a one-to-one reaction between hydrofluoric acid and antimony pentafluoride. The chemical ratio is difficult to control, even with a balance, as it is a human-made tool and can have errors.)

(PS: The third rule of the Cycle Gate has been slightly modified. See Chapter 063.)

(PS: This chapter was edited and deleted multiple times, almost exhausting me.)

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