Chapter 558: 558

Tongshi Town.

Food Street.

Youlong Restaurant – Flagship Store.

Xia Tianhuo is currently hosting Zhao Feng and Wang De’an in the usual “VIP” booth reserved for Xiang Kun, Tang Baona, and Chu Xiuwen.

Zhao and Wang had originally made an appointment with Xia Tianhuo in June to come back to Tongshi Town for a “follow-up interview”.

However, they later learned that Ye Zijun, a Chinese tourist who had previously experienced a large-scale group illusion event in Myitkyina, had returned to China and begun to contact other Chinese tourists who had seen the “Eight-armed, Eight-eyed Giant Illusion” in Myitkyina like she had. She planned to interview them, and make her own documentary. She had already completed interviews with several witnesses.

Zhao Feng and Wang De’an intuitively believed that Ye Zijun’s interviews could help them obtain information that they could not glean from their own interviews. After all, like other Chinese tourists, she was also a witness and a survivor of that terrifying disturbance and peculiar night.

As a result, they approached Ye Zijun as journalists from a certain media outlet, expressed their intention to shadow her documentary making and interview process, and offered to provide some assistances, along with professional advice and equipment.

At first, Ye Zijun was quite excited and welcomed their cooperation. Upon returning home and taking a period of rest, she decided to resign from her job to launch her own media company – she had received quite a good number of views and accrued a substantial fan base from several videos about the “Eight-armed, Eight-eyed Giant of Myitkyina” that she had posted on various platforms.

With an attractive appearance, fluent expression and logical reasoning abilities, and having gained substantial attention due to her status as a survivor of the Myitkyina incident, Ye Zijun flourished as a digital content creator.

Her self-produced documentary, “The Night of Myitkyina “, garnered massive attention immediately upon its announcement. Even daily filming easter eggs and on-the-road VLOGs secured a high view count.

However, after traveling to several cities with Ye Zijun and interviewing several survivors of the Myitkyina illusion event, they got a sense of her comfort in their presence. She had had some dealings with media personnel before and knew their operational styles. With Zhao and Wang, she could sense something was off with their approach – it was unlike that of typical media professionals.

She then discreetly looked up their information and found that while the media outlet they claimed to work for did have information on them and had verified their identities via phone and email, she couldn’t find a single piece of work, such as an article or report, produced by them on the outlet’s platforms.

Ye Zijun grew suspicious, and began paying closer attention to their actions. The more she observed, the stranger things seemed.

Being former police officers, Zhao Feng and Wang De’an were adept at perceiving changes in others’ attitudes. They sensed her suspicions growing, and before she could voice her concerns, they proactively stated they had other interviews to conduct and said their goodbyes. They arranged for someone from their company to follow up with her as an indication of their wishes to sponsor her. They expressed a desire for their company to be featured in some form of subtle product placement once the documentary was released – of course, the advertisement fees would be settled separately.

After saying goodbye to Ye Zijun, Zhao and Wang initially intended to proceed to Tongshi Town. However, they heard that Old Man Du, who they had presumed was on his death bed after two admissions to the ICU, was miraculously improving day by day and could now even manage a slow walk in the hospital ward using a mobility aid.

As a result, they rushed to the hospital where Old Man Du was residing and met a fully rejuvenated man, a stark contrast to his condition when they had last met.

They were thoroughly confused, wondering how it was possible that Old Man Du, who was on the brink of death and had even been admitted to the ICU, with death notices sent, could be up and about after such a short period of time.

No matter how much they tried to engage Old Man Du in conversation this time, he simply ignored them. He only gave them a look and then produced a “mysterious” smile.

They asked the doctor who also expressed confusion over the matter. The doctor’s prognosis after their previous visit was that Old Man Du wouldn’t survive, or if he did, he wouldn’t last long. They had done all they could — given that the medical expenses were covered, they had provided the best possible treatment.

But to their surprise, despite enduring several near-death experiences, Old Man Du’s condition unexpectedly took a turn for the better. His health was rapidly improving.

According to the doctor, Old Man Du’s ailment was still present. His body was fundamentally feeble, akin to a car’s engine, gears and suspension all having serious issues and theoretically primed to break down at any moment. Yet, inexplicably, his body continued to function like a car that kept running and refused to stop.

Old Man Du seemed to have achieved a curious balance. While it seemed completely rational that he could pass away at any moment, he appeared as healthy as an average person, able to eat, drink, sleep, and even walk.

The doctor was equally curious about the exact reason behind this phenomenon. In fact, they even assembled a team of specialists to investigate the matter. This was not requested by Old Man Du’s godson, but initiated by the primary doctor consulting with his professor, which eventually involved various other experts from the hospital.

However, the results of the investigation wouldn’t be released for some time. Old Man Du, whether he had lost his mind or was doing it intentionally, simply wouldn’t communicate much with anyone — whether it was Zhao Feng, Wang De’an, or the doctors and nurses at the hospital. He cooperated with the treatment and took his medicine but refused to say anything, only occasionally offering a cryptic smile. To anyone unaware of his situation, he almost seemed to carry an air of mystical wisdom.

Leaving the hospital with many unanswered questions, Zhao Feng and Wang De’an proceeded toward Tongshi Town.

When they arrived at Tongshi Town in the late afternoon, Xia Tianhuo scheduled their meeting at the Youlong Restaurant, inviting the two to try the currently-popular, representative “viral dish” of Tongshi.

“This restaurant seems quite well-known, doesn’t it? I’ve been seeing its name on various social media platforms recently. They must have invested a hefty amount in marketing…” Wang De’an examined the queue forming outside the restaurant under the window, commenting with a grin. Those in line didn’t seem too flustered, many were taking selfies or streaming, making it look like a hotspot for social media influencers.

Zhao Feng echoed in surprise, “I’ve been to Tongshi Town before, but I didn’t hear about any ‘famous Tongshi cuisine’ or ‘time-honored flavor’. Is this supposed ‘Tongshi rabbit meat’ a product of their marketing?”

Xia Tianhuo shook his head with a smile, “You’ll find out after you eat. If it weren’t for my two sisters, I wouldn’t have been able to secure this booth.”

Zhao Feng changed the topic, “Mr. Xia, you mentioned before that you came to Tongshi Town to lie low. We thought you’d just stay for ten days to half a month and then leave. We didn’t expect you to stay until now.”

Xia Tianhuo said, “I am now planning to settle in Tongshi Town for the long term. I’ve partnered with several local friends to open some restaurants. I own a milk tea shop on the pedestrian street here. After dinner, I’ll take you there to taste the milk tea and let me know what you think.”

Wang De’an curiously asked, “Mr. Xia, is the business of your family’s company… because of what happened in Burma?”

Xia Tianhuo shook his head, “Not entirely, the main reason is that living here is very comfortable. The food, climate, and friends, haha, it’s joyful to stay here. You guys should stay longer, and then you’ll understand.”

Wang De’an and Zhao Feng exchanged a look, both somewhat puzzled.

Xia Tianhuo noted their expressions, maintained his composure, and naturally began to talk about his kidnapping in Burma, their subsequent interviewing of the sole remaining kidnapper in Burma, and the mass hallucination event in Myitkyina.

Zhao and Wang readily admitted that they suspected a connection between the “sea monster” seen by the kidnapper and the “eight-armed, eight-eyed giant illusion” that appeared in Myitkyina. This was information they had willingly shared when they had contacted Xia Tianhuo previously.

They also shared some of the information they had gathered during their interview in Myitkyina and used that as a lead-in to further question Xia Tianhuo, specifically about his emotional changes while he was in the cabin of the ship.

While their questions seemed natural, Xia Tianhuo immediately realized that these two people must know something on a deeper level. At the very least, they were very aware that the core and crucial impact of the eight-eyed, eight-armed illusion was. These two were not simply looking for a news story.

When Xia Tianhuo used to do business, he was accustomed to judging a customer’s level of expertise, their understanding of the industry, and their sincerity based on the questions they asked and how they asked them.

This method could be used in the current situation to get a rough idea of what Zhao and Wang’s intentions were, and the information they had.

In fact, when he was previously interviewed in Burma, Xia Tianhuo had suspected that these two were not genuine journalists or media persons, but more like people working for the government.

The reason he agreed to be interviewed again in Tongshi Town was, in fact, to gather information from them.

Looking at it now, his previous judgement was correct, and these two people did have some information.

So, he remained calm and began to carefully recall and describe his kidnapping experience, his time in the ship’s cabin, and the changes in his emotions.

Of course, at this time he didn’t share all the information as candidly as he did with Old Xia, Yang Lao San, and Xiang Kun. Instead, he chose a portion of it, purposely describing it in a way that emphasized fear, then observed the expressions of the two.

Zhao Feng and Wang De’an had extensive experience in interrogating criminals, outsmarting them, and uncovering their lies. Hence, they quickly perceived that Xia Tianhuo’s narration seemed to have some issues. His attitude was odd– seemingly cooperative, but maintaining subtlety in his responses.

Luckily the food arrived at this point, which allowed Zhao and Wang to reassess their current situation over the meal.

“Huh? This taste… it’s really good!” Zhao Feng exclaimed in surprise after tasting a piece of braised rabbit meat. His reaction was genuinely surprised and not an act.

After tasting the dish, Wang De’an was also surprised and could now understand why this restaurant was so popular. The taste was indeed good.

“I told you, right? Have it a few more times and I guarantee you’ll eat more and love it more. Here, try this meat soup, it’s really tasty too. How’s the spiciness? If it’s not spicy enough, I can ask them to adjust it. The spicy flavor here is mainly to suit our local taste in Tongshi.” Xia Tianhuo said with a hospitable demeanor.

Zhao Feng laughed, “Mr. Xia, you sure consider yourself a Tongshi local now.”

“Haha, if you stayed for a while, you would also want to consider yourself as a Tongshi local.” Xia Tianhuo responded with laughter.

Thus, with delectable food to divert the topic, they both adjusted their strategies and went back to the previous conversation.

“By the way, I noticed a few trending news items on Burma’s social media today. They were related to the ‘eight-eyed, eight-armed deity’ illusion. Now, some Burmese people are referring to it as the ‘eight-eyed, eight-armed deity’, saying it’s a divine being in charge of fear and life and death. They believe its manifestation is to punish evil. Apparently, this ‘eight-eyed, eight-armed deity’ appeared on the southern sea coast of Burma two nights ago and directly ‘punished’ a smuggling ring, including high-ranking officials who harbored them, drastically disrupting the operation.” Zhao Feng mentioned, pulling out his phone to show the news to Xia Tianhuo.

“Really? Could people just be using this as clickbait?” Xia Tianhuo offhandedly commented.

“It is said that the ‘eight-eyed, eight-armed deity’ first sent its vanguard ‘Sea God’ to investigate. After gathering numerous grievances and uncovering numerous evils, the deity descended personally, invoking deep fear within the hearts of the criminals, leading them to slaughter each other in a bid for self-penance. Two of the officials who were sheltering the criminal gang were ‘publicly executed’ by younger members of the gang, and one who was of the highest rank was so terrified that he turned himself in to the state district. It also tells of the Sea King who disguised himself as a human to test the criminals and offer them a chance for repentance. But they not only failed to repent, they killed him. So he was reborn in the sea and came back for revenge.” Zhao Feng laughed while detailing one of the widely propagated theories, observing Xia Tianhuo’s reactions, and asked, “Mr. Xia, don’t you think this whole deity, Sea King theory is as absurd as the sea monster one?”

Xia Tianhuo squinted his eyes, thought about it for a moment, and responded seriously, “Hard to say.”

“So, does that mean Mr. Xia believes in such theories?”

“One must not subscribe to superstitious beliefs…”

“Haha, Mr. Xia, you do have a good sense of humor. Do you believe that the kidnappers were out of control on the ship and began to kill each other, or as the kidnapper mentioned, was there a sea monster involved?”

Xia Tianhuo responded, “Even if there was a sea monster, they still killed each other. The evidence on the ship explains everything, doesn’t it? No one else was involved, apart from the people on the ship.”

“What if it wasn’t a ‘person’? What if the way they were involved… wasn’t physical?” Wang De’an immediately asked.