Wei Zongting did not stay long.
After the meal, he stood before the office building, shaking hands with everyone who had come to see him off. Just before getting into the car, he pulled Yang Qi aside.
"Our teacher asked me to give you a message."
He lowered his voice, his expression growing more serious. "She said: The matter of Cangshan isn’t over. You need to be prepared. Also—"
He paused, then spoke again. "Protecting yourself is more important than solving ten cases."
Yang Qi was silent for a moment before nodding.
"I’ll keep that in mind."
Wei Zongting looked over, a sudden smile on his face. He reached out and patted Yang Qi’s arm, like an older brother advising his younger sibling before a long journey.
"If anything comes up, call me directly. You might be too scared to call our teacher, but you’re not scared to call me, are you?"
"...Thank you, Senior Brother," Yang Qi said sincerely.
"Alright, head on back."
The car door closed, and the black sedan slowly drove away.
Yang Qi stood rooted to the spot, watching the taillights disappear down the road.
Behind him, Huang Zhongmu, Jiang Kai, and the others were still watching the car leave. A few officials from the district’s Forestry Bureau broke off into small groups, murmuring among themselves. Snippets of their conversation drifted over: "Never expected..." "Elder Song’s prized disciple..." "Director Wei came in person..."
Yang Qi turned and said a few words to Huang Zhongmu, Jiang Kai, and the others.
Then, he headed back to the enclosure area to get back to work.
He was still on his way when his phone suddenly vibrated in his pocket.
He pulled it out and saw that his WeChat had blown up with messages.
[Chen Ze: Holy crap! Brother Qi, the Deputy Director of the provincial bureau is your Senior Brother?!]
[Chen Ze: The office building is going crazy with the news! They’re saying Director Wei clapped you on the shoulder and called you ’Little Junior Brother’!]
[Chen Ze: Brother Qi, it turns out you’re the one with the real connections!]
[Chen Ze: That kind of background is just insane!]
[Hu Haodong: Brother Qi, is it too late to ride your coattails? /joking emoji]
[Technician Xiaoli: Brother Qi, you’re the man!]
...
There were a few other messages from colleagues, all saying more or less the same thing.
Yang Qi tapped on Chen Ze’s chat and typed a reply.
[I just found out today, too.]
A few seconds later, Chen Ze replied with a string of ellipses.
That was followed by a sticker that basically said, "Yeah, right."
Yang Qi smiled and didn’t reply.
He knew Chen Ze didn’t believe him, but whether he did or not wasn’t really important.
What was important was that after today’s events, many things would become much simpler for him at the park, and even within the forestry and animal protection circles of Donghua City.
...
In the following days, life returned to a peaceful routine.
During the day, he took care of the animals—feeding, cleaning, observing, and recording. He would check on Big Flower and the little Leopard, and in the evening, he would take the giant panda, Tuantuan, out for a walk.
At night, he cultivated the Great Derivation Spirit-Controlling Technique, circulating energy through his meridians as his Cultivation rose steadily and in an orderly fashion.
In his spare time, he completed the homework assigned by Song Chunfang, read literature, wrote notes, and pondered the questions his teacher had left him.
The system’s lottery draws were mostly routine rewards: Low-Grade Qi Condensing Pills, Low-Grade Spirit Rice, Strengthening Pills, or various Five Elements Low-grade Spirit Stones.
When his luck was good, he could get a Beast Spirit Pill, or things like Vitality Nutrient Cream, calming powder, and so on.
「One day, just after ten in the morning.」
Yang Qi had just finished cleaning the Gray Wolf enclosure and was hosing down the ground when the phone in the pocket of his work pants suddenly started to vibrate.
He turned off the water valve and took off his gloves.
Taking out his phone, he saw it was a call from Chen Ze.
"Hello, Brother Chen?" Yang Qi answered.
"Brother Qi, are you busy? If not, come over to Bear Mountain."
Chen Ze’s voice came through the receiver. The background was noisy, filled with the faint roars of a bear and human shouts.
"There’s a problem with the black bear. Something’s not right. You should come take a look."