After a few more days, it was Middendorffi's turn to get a phone call.
It was Adonis calling with two main reports. The first was that Mike was dead.
He didn't die in Adonis' casino, because he'd been thrown out a long time ago, and his remains were eventually found in a homeless colony. He was said to have died looking shrivelled up, worse than when he'd just been drawn and quartered. If it weren't for his ID, the staff collecting the body wouldn't have known who he was or cared. After all, in Las Vegas, displaced gamblers die silently every hour of every day.
Middendorffi asked, 'Did he pay off everything he owed you?'
Adonis replies back, 'Nope. I don't expect him to pay it back though, after losing those two games of poker, he's doomed to owe until he dies.'
Middendorffi said, 'I've heard that there is a way to finally squeeze the last value out of a human body.'
'Ha, Mr Bear is joking, we are legal citizens.' Adonis returned, 'Besides, there's not much value in his old bones and broken body ...'
Middendorffi didn't delve into the end of Mike and asked again, 'What's the other thing, what is it?'
'Ohhhh, yes, my friend has bought a mansion and wants to ask a teacher to look at it before he starts work.' Adonis replied back, 'He also wants to ask you two to go for a walk after he heard about the great work that Bear-sensei and Jones-sensei have done with me, I was wondering if you two would be free to do me the honour?'
Middendorffi hears this, says 'Hold on', and hangs up to talk to Eli about it.
'To see the mansion?' Eli doesn't rush to say yes or no, but just asks Middendorffi rhetorically, 'Do you want to go see it?'
'I can only sense the presence of any anomalies, I don't understand all the geomancy they talk about and such.' Middendorffi said, 'If it's just me, I'm not going.'
'I don't really understand what the world says either.' Eli said, 'But I can read some "fields" and I can read pulses. If you want to go, you can tell him that we can only look at the earth's chakra and qi, unlike other geomancy masters who will give specific points for modification. If it's acceptable, we'll go.'
'Good.' Middendorffi held the phone open again in person and relayed Eli's words word for word. Adonis thinks about it and smacks his lips, 'Mr Bear, so you guys should be pretty good at looking at shady houses? Would you guys be willing to look at shady houses?'
This time it's the amplifier, and Middendorffi looks at Eli, who nods.
Middendorffi then returns, 'Yes.'
'Okay, then I'll talk to my friend about the mansion viewing and bother you both again if I confirm.' Adonis said, 'But even if you don't have work, you two are always welcome to come and play ...'
After a few more casual pleasantries, the call was hung up.
Eli then asked, 'What, you want to go do something to make money? I thought you only liked eating things with energy, money doesn't matter.'
'I want to see the lives of different people, I want to see the variety of human interactions in life.' Middendorffi said, 'That Sally's house last time, it was hilarious.'
'You're a ...' Eli says with a soft chuckle, 'You like to see that kind of hilarity, you're not going to end up being an evil god, are you?'
Middendorffi wondered, 'An evil god?'
'That is ... 'Eli subconsciously want to explain, but on second thought, and feel that there is no need to say too fine, 'Nothing, I have been watching you, nothing will happen.'
Middendorffi said, 'Becoming an evil god, is it bad?'
'There's nothing bad about it for you per se. What's not to eat anyway?' Eli replied, 'It's that if you become on the evil side, it's easy to attract those so-called righteous people; and there are also certain worlds where the so-called "Heaven's Way" will be bad for you. So if it's not necessary, it's better not to lean in the direction of the evil gods.'
Middendorffi thought for a moment, 'Then should I do good?'
'Not yet, just be yourself. And a lot of what you're doing right now is considered doing good, so you don't have to think about it intentionally, just go with the flow.' Eli said, 'Besides, you're far, far away from being an evil god. You can't even figure out this emotion thing, and it's a long way to go to the point where you can discern evil thoughts.'
Middendorffi was silent for a couple of seconds, then suddenly popped up, 'It's like you're calling me stupid.'
--You're not stupid.
Eli thought to himself, but the word 'stupid' was not in the negative sense of 'stupid', it was just that there was no emotional consideration. In the words of this world, it's 'emotional intelligence' is relatively low, but also relatively direct.
There is nothing wrong with this kind of 'stupidity'. In Eli's opinion, this 'stupidity' is also an advantage, Middendorffi is clear, sincere, his way of dealing with people, for Eli the most comfortable way to get along with.
But to explain to Middendorffi 'positive "stupid"' is too troublesome, Eli said: 'Not that you're stupid, just that I think I'm worrying too far, not necessary. Anyway, if you want to go and watch, we'll go. There's nothing in the world, nothing in the mortal world, that we can't see.'
Middendorffi said, 'Is that so? But you didn't seem to like hanging out with ordinary people much before, and said they were quite boring. If you feel reluctant ...'
'It is boring, but it's not bad with you.' Eli laughed, 'You don't even know geomancy, what would you do without me? How do you go about bluffing?'
Middendorffi said, 'For geomancy, memorise all those books on the subject and then say ... accordingly eh?'
Eli noticed his state suddenly tighten up, and paused in mid-sentence, and instantly followed with wariness, 'What?'
'That 'energy gate' ...' Middendorffi organised his wording, 'Someone is probing my black mist. '
'Now?' Eli glanced at the time on his phone, 'It's almost eleven, no one should be sleeping at night by that lake right now, someone made a point of being there?'
Middendorffi nodded.
'It could be the Cloud Hidden Gate.' Eli narrowed his eyes, 'What are they doing? Tell me everything, and I'll help you judge.'
'Good.' Middendorffi carefully sensed the black mist in the distance, describing the scene as if he had been there himself.
***
The wild lake in the mountains at night did welcome two members from the Green Mountain Cloud Hidden Sect.
One of them was Zhang Dao, the 'Eye of Truth', and the other one was his real father, who was also his master.
Zhang Dao actually did not want to come, after all, he communicated with Eli and felt that Eli was not too happy about the Cloud Hidden Sect's interference in this matter. However, the Cloud Hidden Sect believed that the Spirit Vein appearing in the world was a rare opportunity that could not be missed. So no matter what, at least take a look at the scene.
As for the surveillance and notice boards at the scene, they all knew of its existence and ignored them. These two directly crossed the cordon and stood at the edge of the lake.
'Right there.' Zhang Dao pointed at the centre of the lake, 'In the middle, two metres below the surface, there's something.'
'I perceived it.' Father Zhang said, 'But spirit veins are supposed to be rich in energy, and the "Collector's" report also mentioned that the energy in this place is churning, so how come I didn't feel it? What exactly is under the bottom of the lake?'
Zhang Dao did not dare to tell the truth.
In his opinion, the shadow ... coiled at the bottom of the lake was very similar to what was in Middendorffi s shell.
However, Eli had previously warned against spreading the Middendorffi situation. Zhang Dao was already self-conscious about coming behind Eli's back today, and now if he shook out Middendorffi again, he would probably be finished if Eli knew about it.
So Zhang Dao hesitated for two seconds and only said, 'It's ... there's something covering the energy exit.'
'What?' Zhang father frowned, 'It can't be that white mist coming back to monopolise the spirit vein again, right?'
Zhang Dao felt that it shouldn't be, but he didn't dare to pack his bags, 'It's hard to say. But if there really is some kind of shortcut, we'd better not act rashly, right?'
'Mr Jones didn't also strangle the white mist that took the lead, what's so scary about that.' Father Zhang said, 'And even if we don't make a move, we should at least understand what it is that has occupied the spirit vein and what it is capable of. You're so forward-looking, be careful of missing out on a great opportunity!'
'I'm not afraid of offending Mr Jones ....'
'He hasn't even declared ownership of this Spirit Vein, why are you worrying blindly. With this refusal to respond right now, he probably just doesn't want to get involved in too much karma, otherwise how would he stay away from the Spirit Vein and let it develop?' Father Zhang said, 'That's fine, I'll try to test that thing. You be careful, if that thing fights back.'
Zhang Dao felt that he could not be persuaded, so he could only say, 'Alright, you be careful too.'
With a nod of his head, Father Zhang immediately formed a seal and started his art, rushing towards the strange being at the bottom of the lake!
This jutsu was not very offensive and carried a tentative nature, yet it was not painless. But it was such a jutsu that plunged headlong into the thing at the bottom of the lake but silently. The gaping hole and counterattack that Father Zhang had expected to see did not appear at all. It was as if a punch had hit cotton, instantly dissolving without a ripple.
'How could this happen? What the hell was that?' Father Zhang frowned, pulling out the talisman and holding it between his fingertips, reciting a great incantation. Zhang Dao was shocked to see him move, intent on stopping, 'Father, don ... t!'
Zhang father recited the incantation extremely fast, before Zhang Dao could finish persuading him, he only saw a flash of strong light on the surface of the lake, and a lightning bolt thicker than a man struck the surface of the lake directly! In the blink of an eye, the lightning drilled into the water, and Zhang Dao saw with his own eyes that the thing masked on the spiritual vein seemed to have been split open by a large gap-
Energy then tumbled out of that gaping hole!
'It's done!' Naturally, Father Zhang also sensed the change and was beaming with joy, but then he immediately looked flabbergasted, 'It's going to run away!'
Before the words fell, Zhang Dao saw the thing at the bottom of the lake scurrying out of the lake, instantly disappearing into the mountains and forests, and in the blink of an eye, it had disappeared. Zhang Dao subconsciously chased after it for two steps, but his sight could no longer keep up with the speed of that thing. He had no time to think more, and then heard Zhang father behind him exclaim in surprise: 'How is it possible?!'
'How?' Zhang Dao immediately turned his head to return to the lake, and with just one glance, he was also confused along with it.
'How can ...' he stared wide-eyed and couldn't help but look around to confirm it again. But after turning round, he had to admit a fact.
'Spirit veins, disappeared?!'
As of this moment, the strange magnetic field in the magnetic field detection instrument room also disappeared.