Chapter Seventeen: Old Meng Exposed

“Xiaofan, come with me for a moment!” Yue Huyang’s expression was somewhat grim.

“What’s wrong, Master?” Meng Fan jumped down from the bed, his curiosity piqued.

“It seems there’s trouble with your father!”

“What?!” Meng Fan was taken aback and immediately asked, “How could something happen to my dad?”

He then calmed himself, frowning thoughtfully. “Logically speaking, given my father’s honest and straightforward nature, he shouldn’t be involved in any trouble!”

“Could it be some kind of misunderstanding?”

Yue Huyang shook his head. “I don’t know the exact details, but your father has now arrived in Chang’an, right at the Northwest Division headquarters of Nadoutong.”

“By the way, Nadoutong is the department related to our kind.”

“Your senior brother, Song Yulin, works there and can watch over things to some extent. I’ll take you there to find out what’s going on.”

Meng Fan nodded, too anxious even to pack anything, and followed his master by taxi toward Nadoutong.

On the way, Meng Fan’s heart was heavy with worry.

Since childhood, Old Meng had been like a father to him, more caring than even his biological father. Meng Fan had enjoyed a kind of familial affection he never had in his previous life and truly regarded Old Meng as his dad.

Now that Old Meng was in trouble, Meng Fan’s anxiety deepened.

Yue Huyang seemed to sense Meng Fan’s distress and reassured him, “It’s okay, Xiaofan. Even Nadoutong wouldn’t just arrest someone without reason.”

“Your father, Xiao Meng, is like family to me, and I’ve been in this business for decades—I have some connections.”

Meng Fan nodded lightly, though his mind was elsewhere. According to the original storyline, Old Meng was destined to join Nadoutong and have dealings with the company.

Could it be that this was the moment Old Meng officially came into contact with the company?

If so, had his biological expertise been exposed, resulting in Old Meng being brought under the company’s control?

Still, with Liao Zhong acting as a guarantor, nothing serious should happen to Old Meng.

For a moment, Meng Fan’s thoughts swirled, and unable to make sense of it, he stopped dwelling on it.

More than half an hour later, Meng Fan and Yue Huyang arrived at the Northwest Division headquarters of Nadoutong.

Though Nadoutong was nominally a courier company, from both inside and out, it hardly resembled a typical delivery service.

Song Yulin came out to greet them and led them to the reception room.

Yue Huyang asked, “What exactly happened?”

Song Yulin explained, “This morning, a body was found at the zoo where your junior brother’s father works. It’s not a supernatural being, but an ordinary person.”

He emphasized this point, which made Yue Huyang realize the gravity of the situation—matters involving supernatural beings were usually dealt with within their own circles, without involving ordinary people.

No wonder Nadoutong had mobilized so much.

Yue Huyang furrowed his brow and glanced at Song Yulin. “Go on.”

“The corpse was in a strange state—swollen, red, and unrecognizable.”

“After analysis by Nadoutong’s experts, it was concluded that the person died from multiple bacterial infections within a short time, accompanied by numerous complications.”

“Normally, it’s impossible for one person to be infected by multiple bacteria simultaneously—unless some supernatural method was involved.”

Song Yulin paused there.

At that moment, Meng Fan was sure of it: Old Meng had acted, using the technique he had kept hidden for years. But Old Meng would never act without reason; something must have happened.

Meng Fan raised a hand. “Senior brother, may I ask—does the deceased have any special identity?”

Song Yulin shook his head. “The identity is still being investigated, as the face is blurred beyond recognition. But judging by the items found on him, he seemed to be a poacher.”

“A poacher? At a zoo?”

Meng Fan was speechless. The world was indeed full of strange things—someone actually thought to poach in a zoo. That was a rare kind of talent.

Song Yulin nodded and said to Meng Fan, “We found homemade shotguns and capture nets on him, but those items have been handed over to the local authorities.”

“Our jurisdiction only allows us to bring back the body.”

“According to our investigation, among the registered supernatural beings in the nearby area, your father is the only one, so we brought people to investigate.”

Hearing this, Meng Fan let out a long breath. So Old Meng was not yet suspected—just undergoing a routine inquiry. But his heart tightened again.

Given Old Meng’s honest nature, he probably spilled everything when Nadoutong’s people confronted him, right?

It was quite possible!

Meng Fan rubbed his forehead. Old Meng must be panicking now; if they started asking questions, he would definitely reveal everything.

Tentatively, Meng Fan asked Song Yulin, “Senior brother, even if that person is dead, it doesn’t necessarily mean my father did it, right? Maybe it was some passing supernatural being?”

Song Yulin nodded. “We’ve sent people to investigate all supernatural beings who may have entered or left your city during this period.”

Meng Fan’s mouth twitched in despair. “You’ve really covered all bases!”

Song Yulin laughed heartily. “Of course, we wouldn’t want to wrong an innocent person.”

Meng Fan felt like dying inside. Could they please not investigate so thoroughly?

Meng Fan and Yue Huyang waited from evening until late at night.

When Song Yulin appeared again, his face was grave. He glanced at Meng Fan, seemed about to say something, but sighed instead.

Meng Fan saw this reaction and knew—Old Meng had probably confessed everything.

Yue Huyang furrowed his brow more deeply and began making calls, even reaching out to Hua Feng, the head of the Northwest Division.

But Hua Feng was tight-lipped, only saying, “Old Yue, it’s not that I don’t want to help, but I have no say in this matter. It must be decided by Nadoutong’s board.”

Just as Meng Fan was growing anxious, a man in his early thirties hurriedly stepped out of a car at Nadoutong’s gate and rushed inside.

Passing the reception room, Meng Fan’s sharp eyes caught sight of him.

The man was burly and intimidating, with a brown slicked-back hairstyle, two stitched scars across his nose, and a scar over his right eye.

Two golden front teeth stood out prominently. He had a scruffy beard, wore a grayish-green shirt beneath a Nadoutong uniform.

Seeing this figure, Meng Fan’s eyes lit up as he called out, “Uncle Liao!”

Liao Zhong glanced back, nodded reassuringly, then left without a word.

Yue Huyang stayed with Meng Fan until morning.