Chapter 105: The Crimson Thread Brainworm

A thousand miles away, at the “Chu Tianfeng Residence.”

Chu Tianfeng had stayed at “home” for a whole week, exhausting all his spirit stones.

Yet once again, he had underestimated the Five Elements Technique and his need for spirit stones.

Over ninety spirit stones had been reduced to powder, and despite his efforts, he was still just short of reaching the eighth layer of Qi Refining.

With all resources spent, staying cooped up at “home” no longer held much meaning.

Besides, this cultivation was a spur-of-the-moment decision, without much preparation.

Moreover, as winter approached, wild game in the mountains became scarce, and sometimes he couldn’t find anything to eat for a day or two, leaving him famished.

On this day, Chu Tianfeng tidied himself up, changed into fresh clothes, and descended the mountain.

He first went to a supermarket, bought several large boxes, packed all ten million yuan in cash into them, then specially arranged for a van to transport the money to a bank in downtown Luo City.

Over ten million! Stacked on the floor, it was an enormous pile!

The branch manager personally greeted him and arranged for four or five people to count the cash.

Chu Tianfeng, meanwhile, nonchalantly sat in the VIP room, crossing his legs and sipping chrysanthemum tea brewed by the manager himself—real chrysanthemum tea!

Half an hour later, Chu Tianfeng finally completed all the procedures and deposited ten million yuan into his own account.

Fortunately, the special operations team had not frozen his account; or rather, they had deliberately left it active, aiming to track his movements.

Chu Tianfeng was unfazed—he understood well that the special operations team acted on solid evidence and wouldn’t take action against him without it.

Carrying a few boxes of tea leaves gifted by the manager, Chu Tianfeng cheerfully left the VIP room.

Unexpectedly, just as he reached the door, a figure rushed toward him and collided directly into him.

Chu Tianfeng’s body swayed slightly as a surge of true energy burst forth, propelling the man two meters away, nearly causing him to fall.

“You…” the man looked at Chu Tianfeng with utter surprise.

He appeared to be in his forties, with a square face and crew-cut hair, radiating an air of efficiency.

From his movements, it was clear he was an ordinary person, likely also there on some business.

Nonetheless, Chu Tianfeng remained cautious and habitually swept his divine sense over the man.

Sure enough, the square-faced middle-aged man had no aura whatsoever; his dantian was completely empty.

However, when Chu Tianfeng inadvertently scanned his brain, he froze.

A parasitic insect! This man had a parasitic insect in his brain!

Such creatures were typically found only in the cultivation world. Chu Tianfeng had encountered them in his previous life and was quite knowledgeable.

The square-faced man’s brain harbored a red thread brainworm, which fed exclusively on brain marrow.

Currently, the worm was still a larva, harmless for now, but once mature, it could devour the host’s entire brain marrow in just a few days!

To think that someone on Earth was raising these parasites—Chu Tianfeng’s interest was piqued.

“Have you lately been suffering from frequent headaches, sometimes ringing in the ears, dizziness, or blurred vision?” Chu Tianfeng smiled at the man.

“How do you know?” The man’s eyes widened in disbelief.

The branch manager also looked at Chu Tianfeng suspiciously.

“If I told you there was something unhealthy inside you, would you believe me?” Chu Tianfeng probed.

They were strangers, and he expected at best skepticism, perhaps even accusations of madness.

Unexpectedly, the square-faced man nodded eagerly, saying, “I believe you, I believe you.”

“Good. Take care of your business first; we’ll talk later,” Chu Tianfeng said, turning without another word and sitting down in a corner of the lobby.

A few minutes later, the man exited the VIP room and hurried over to Chu Tianfeng.

“Let’s find another place,” Chu Tianfeng said, then walked straight out of the bank.

The man showed no suspicion and beckoned to someone inside the lobby before briskly following Chu Tianfeng.

About fifteen minutes later, Chu Tianfeng led them into a nearby teahouse and rented a private room.

The square-faced man followed, accompanied by a young man who seemed to be a bodyguard.

Chu Tianfeng’s divine sense briefly scanned the young man, detecting only early-stage Ming energy cultivation, so he dismissed him.

“My name is Xiao Xinghua, and this is my colleague, Xiao Xu. May I ask your name?” The square-faced man immediately handed over a business card upon sitting.

“Liu Feng,” Chu Tianfeng casually invented a name.

“Pleasure to meet you, Brother Liu,” Xiao Xinghua leaned forward slightly. “Those symptoms you mentioned—I do have them. How did you know?”

Chu Tianfeng scanned Xiao Xinghua’s mind again and said, “Not only can I see your ailment, but I can also tell you won’t live past six months.”

After confirmation, the larva in Xiao Xinghua’s brain was nearly mature, likely to fully develop in a few months.

“Brother Liu, you have a way to deal with this, right?” Xiao Xinghua, still somewhat doubtful but shaken by the precise description, felt a flicker of fear.

Besides, his tinnitus had worsened, and headaches had become more frequent.

Xiao Xu beside him seemed unconvinced, even smirking disdainfully.

“To be honest, you have a parasitic insect in your brain. I can help you remove it, but…” Chu Tianfeng paused slightly.

Xiao Xinghua misinterpreted the silence as waiting for his response and quickly assured him, “Don’t worry, Brother Liu. As long as you heal me, I won’t let you down.”

Chu Tianfeng rolled his eyes inwardly. “Money’s not an issue. I’m more interested in the person who put the parasite in you.”

Previously, he would have led with money.

But now was different. Having recently robbed the Tomb Robbers Sect, his net worth had soared into eight figures—no longer a penniless youth.

“Oh, sorry,” Xiao Xinghua looked a bit embarrassed.

Xiao Xu still doubted but said nothing, only staring intently at Chu Tianfeng.

Chu Tianfeng waved his hand and continued, “Can you think carefully about who might have done this to you? Especially in the week before your first headache—who were the suspicious people you interacted with?”

Xiao Xinghua lowered his head to think, then suddenly slapped his thigh. “It might have been six months ago at an auction in Ruimei City, Yun Province. We won the bid for a piece of land, but a real estate company threatened me to hand it over. Since then, I’ve had frequent headaches.”

“Mr. Xiao, you mean our Ruimei Plaza project?” Xiao Xu, who had been silent, interjected.

“Yes, that’s the project. Recently, the company’s Mr. Yang contacted me again, asking if I would transfer the land,” Xiao Xinghua nodded.

“Here’s what we’ll do: I’ll remove the parasite first, then you can take me there,” Chu Tianfeng stood and approached Xiao Xinghua. “You might feel some discomfort during the procedure—please try to endure it.”

Without hesitation, Xiao Xinghua said, “Brother Liu, go ahead. I can endure it.”

Chu Tianfeng wasted no time, placing his right palm over Xiao Xinghua’s upper dantian, releasing his divine sense to guide true energy into his brain.

Xiao Xinghua felt a warm current rush into his head, swirling and circulating inside. His brain tingled slightly and felt a bit dizzy, but otherwise, no pain.

The warm current circled once more inside his brain, returning to his forehead, then flowed down to his nostrils.

He felt an itch in his nose and nearly sneezed. Fortunately, Chu Tianfeng quickly produced a porcelain bottle and held it near his nostrils. A gentle breeze blew out, drawing a red thread-like parasite into the bottle.

“All done.” Chu Tianfeng capped the bottle and tossed it to Xiao Xinghua. “When do you plan to go to Ruimei?”

Seeing the writhing red thread in the bottle, Xiao Xinghua felt a chill run down his spine. Now fully trusting Chu Tianfeng, he thought a moment and said, “How about tomorrow morning? I have some business in Luo City this afternoon.”

Chu Tianfeng shrugged, indicating agreement.

Dressed as a young man, he no longer worried about recognition. A day’s difference made no real difference to him.

That evening, Xiao Xinghua hosted a warm banquet for Chu Tianfeng and even insisted on giving him a bank card.

No one ever objects to more money. Chu Tianfeng politely delayed, then pocketed the card without asking about its balance.

The next morning, at Chu Tianfeng’s insistence, they set off by car for Ruimei.

Xiao Xinghua was curious about the reason, and Chu Tianfeng claimed he had lost his ID card. Xiao Xinghua immediately promised to help him get a new one.

After nearly thirty hours of bumpy travel over one day and night, they finally arrived in Ruimei around noon the next day.

Ruimei City was a small border town in Yun Province, China, situated at the frontier between China and Myanmar, renowned domestically and internationally for its jade and jewelry trade.

The Ruimei Plaza project Xiao Xinghua invested in was a large mixed-use complex centered on jade and jewelry trading, including a large mall, small commercial streets, and supporting facilities like hotels, supermarkets, cinemas, and office buildings, totaling 210,000 square meters.

The project was located in the city center with a prime location, no wonder other real estate firms were paying close attention.

Xiao Xinghua took Chu Tianfeng on an extensive tour around the project, chatting nonstop about the development.

He boasted it was a key government-supported project, with conceptual design already approved by local authorities, and the planning design just completed and awaiting review.

Later, Xiao Xinghua consulted Chu Tianfeng on feng shui matters, saying they planned to start construction on the sixteenth day of the first lunar month next year and asked if that was auspicious.

Chu Tianfeng felt a headache coming on; knowing little about feng shui, he brushed the question aside casually.

That night, Chu Tianfeng summoned Xiya Zi; together, the man and the ghost used their divine senses to scan the entire city of Ruimei.

They left no building or corner unchecked, focusing especially on hotels and clubs.

However, they worked until the early hours of the next morning, exhausted and yielding no results.

The next day, Chu Tianfeng honestly shared everything with Xiao Xinghua.

Xiao Xinghua seemed unconcerned and even comforted Chu Tianfeng, eventually revealing he was from the prominent Xiao family in the capital and inviting Chu Tianfeng to accompany him back there.

Chu Tianfeng couldn’t care less about the Xiao family or their influence and had no desire for such connections. He declined with an excuse of having urgent matters and firmly refused.

Xiao Xinghua didn’t press further but gave Chu Tianfeng another bank card, agreeing to meet again when the project broke ground next year.