Chapter  6 – Black Panther

TL Note: 

Just noticed my inconsistency with the “Lee Family” and “Li Hao”. I am changing “Li Hao” to “Lee Hao” moving forward. I will also try to amend the previous chapters accordingly.

Also, my sincere apologies for the late update. The chapters are getting longer, and I happened to be busier at work too. I’ll try my best to release at least one chapter a week. 

Stay safe & thank you for staying with me! 

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“I’ve been marked!”

Lee Hao stopped his bike at the district’s entrance and pushed it slowly.

“Xiao Hao is back.”

“Inspector Lee, are you free for a drink at my place tonight?”

“…”

The residents of the district who were chilling and gossiping greeted him enthusiastically.

Although a 3rd Grade Inspection Officer is just a novice in the Inspection Division, in this district, even though Lee Hao looks gentle and frail-looking, and somehow lacks the dignified feel too, it is enough to give others the sense of security.

“Nn, I’m back.”

Lee Hao responded with a smile.

Qiming District is a small and long-standing district. It is a little dilapidated. Lee Hao has been living here ever since he is conscious of his surroundings. Qiming District is also the place that the Lee Family settled in.

The district isn’t huge, with only six buildings in total. Lee Hao is staying in Block 6, 302, the innermost building.

On his way back, Lee Hao did not ride his bike, but was pushing his bike around the tattered pathways. The pathways in the district haven’t gone through any repair works for a long time. It has long been dilapidated. It feels bumpy too if you ride on the pathways.

Behind him, discussions could be heard faintly.

“That kid Xiao Hao is actually rather good, it’s just that he didn’t have any adults to look out for him. Look at how he had finally managed to get into the Silver City Ancient College, but decided to quit all of a sudden to become an Investigation Officer. It’s such a pity!”

“You can’t say that. Being an Investigation Officer is pretty good, it is a stable job.”

“It’s true that it is a stable job. But if he managed to graduate from the Ancient College, other than the ability to earn more, he will also have a better future than being an Investigation officer.”

“…”

The voices of the discussion aren’t soft, and discussions like this have been repeated multiple times.

In the past year, Lee Hao has been hearing discussions like this frequently.

Lee Hao doesn’t care, and did not give any explanation. There isn’t a need for that.

He is still pondering about the matter from earlier, thinking how he could deal with it moving forward.  

Although the gun in his chest managed to bring him a sense of security, it isn’t that safe either.

“I still lack the knowledge of that mysterious power. Furthermore, I have limitations with my combat skills too. Without this gun, I’m just an ordinary person.

Lee Hao had learnt some grappling skills in the past. Not only is this a requirement in the Investigation Division, he had also learnt it for two years when he was still with the Silver City Ancient College.

His mentor, Professor Yuan, isn’t just a scholar, he’s also a grappling master. Naturally, Professor Yuan didn’t learn this to fight, but to train his body to be adaptable in different environments.

According to what his mentor said, at least, one should be able to run faster when in danger.

Whenever Professors from the Ancient College go on an expedition, there’s a possibility that they’ll run into danger.

Therefore, Lee Hao knows how, but isn’t proficient in it. All in all, he has only been learning it for three years. In general, he’s able to handle hooligans, but when being compared with the other veterans, he is nothing.  

“The identity of an Investigation Officer isn’t as powerful as it seems, I wonder how long I can keep it under wraps.”

While in thoughts, a shadow flashed past below his feet at a lightning speed.

Lee Hao unconsciously raised his leg.

In front of him is a small black puppy that had stopped on its track. It isn’t barking. It is just looking at Lee Hao as if expecting something.

Lee Hao smiled, and parked his bicycle.

“Black Panther, your speed seems to have increased.”

The name Black Panther doesn’t seem to match this skinny little puppy, but Lee Hao went ahead and gave this name to it because it sounds domineering.

The puppy doesn’t belong to Lee Hao. It is a stray that came wandering into this district.

Previously, Lee Hao had been feeding this puppy with his leftovers as he was living alone, thinking that it’s wasteful to throw them away. A few months down the road, the puppy has recognised Lee Hao and stopped wandering, it will wait for Lee Hao at the stairway of Block 6 to return from work.

Other residents at Block 6 know that this puppy is being fed by Lee Hao. Even though there are some who are afraid of dogs, nobody dares to chase it away as it is a dog that’s being fed by a 3rd Grade Inspection Officer.

As Black Panther usually doesn’t cause any disturbance, the neighbours have gradually gotten used to it.

Lee Hao squatted down and caressed the little puppy’s head.

After living alone for a long time, it is rather lonely. Besides, there are matters that he kept to himself, so, it’s actually not bad to have a dog as companion.

But it’s a pity that Lee Hao is too busy to look after it. The most he can do is to give the puppy some food when he gets home at night. If he remembers, he’ll leave some dog food around during the day, and when he forgets, Black Panther will have to source its own food.

“Woof!”

The little black puppy barked softly.

“I’ll give you food in a while.”

Lee Hao smiled. It is a very warm and truthful smile when compared to the one when he was at the Investigation Division.

He stood up and walked up the stairs.

It’s a dilapidated small building with run down stairs, and even the handrails are rusty.

There’s a total of 6 floors in this small building. As of to-date, half of the residents have moved out.

Currently, only those elderly who’ve retired are still here. Lee Hao didn’t move, and didn’t have the money to move to a new district. What’s more, this is the place that he has been staying. Ever since his parents passed away, he has never even considered moving before too.

Black Panther enthusiastically followed Lee Hao up the stairs.

302.

The door opened, the house is rather dark with the blinds on.

The place isn’t huge – about 60sqm.

Lee Hao pushed open the door, but Black Panther didn’t enter. It lies outside the entrance, waiting for Lee Hao to feed it.

Lee Hao today isn’t in the mood to make dinner.

After he found some dog food which he wasn’t sure if they had expired, he transferred them into Black Panther’s plate. After which, he took the plate and placed it outside of his entrance.

“Woof!”

Black Panther wagged his tail, lifted his head and looked at Lee Hao, as if it’s saying something.

“Make do with this, I didn’t buy any groceries today.”

Lee Hao gave a simple explanation. Although he doesn’t understand what Black Panther was trying to get across, it doesn’t matter. Most likely, this dog is unsatisfied with the dog food that’s about to expire.

“Being able to have food is already not that bad. Don’t be picky. You might not even have food in a few days’ time. At that time, you will need to go and find your own food.”

Lee Hao squatted down and smiled when he saw Black Panther eating it unwillingly.

He took out the 3rd generation revolver at his chest. After pondering, he took down the jade sword that’s hanging around his neck too.

After playing with the jade sword for some time, Lee Hao started to lose in his thoughts.

Is this jade sword related to the mysterious power?

The eight families in the lyrics, are they also related to that mysterious power?

But he didn’t notice anything special about this jade sword all these years. With regards to declaring the ownership of it by dripping blood on it, Lee Hao was hurt numerous times in the past too. In the past, his blood was smeared on the jade sword, but he didn’t witness any reaction to it.

“Sword of Starry Sky!”

Lee Hao groaned. Could this be the red shadow’s real target?

“Woof!”

At this moment, Black Panther who had been eating suddenly stopped its activity, and barked at the jade sword once.

Lee Hao tilted his head and glanced at Black Panther.

As for Black Panther, it kept wagging its tail at the jade sword. Black Panther wanted to go near it, but seems to be weary of it at the same time. It kept staring at the jade sword with a short distance in-between them.

Lee Hao raised his brows slightly.

He grabbed the jade sword and stabbed towards Black Panther’s direction on a whim, but Black Panther moved swiftly and jumped away in an instant.

Lee Hao was a little surprised.

Instead of fleeing, it looked rather aggrieved and barked at Lee Hao once again.

“Hmm?”

Lee Hao raised his brows, Black Panther is slightly afraid of this thing?

This is interesting.

According to folklore, white cats and black dogs are able to see what humans aren’t able to see at times. Could it be that this black dog saw something on this jade sword?

Lee Hao knows that Black Panther is very smart.

Generally, dogs are rather smart.

If it isn’t smart, it won’t be staying around knowing that there’s food here.

“Black Panther, come over here!”

Lee Hao beckoned, Black Panther was a little scared and hesitated, but continued to move towards the jade sword slowly without having its eyes away from it.

“Woof!”

“Black Panther was a little scared initially, but with Lee Hao around, it wasn’t that afraid anymore as time went by.”

Lee Hao frowned as he carefully monitored its reaction.

According to his observation, this jade sword is definitely special.

As he was still in thoughts, he couldn’t see clearly nor react to what happened next. His hand felt empty. When he got a good look, Black Panther had already eaten the jade sword.  

“Dang it!”

“Spit it out!”, Lee Hao was stunned, but shortly after, he grabbed Black Panther’s head and scolded it.

Damn it!

What’s with Black Panther today?

He has never snatched the food when I fed it in the past.

The main point is that the dog is being a bitch today. 

It looks scared of the jade sword initially. But when Lee Hao wasn’t paying attention, it ate it. What’s the meaning of this?

A feign?

To lower down his vigilance?

Are dogs that cunning nowadays?

“Uuuuu Uuuuu!”

Black Panther tightly kept its mouth shut, refusing to open it.

Lee Hao was a little furious. He pinched its mouth and grabbed its tail, not wanting to give it any chance of escaping nor biting him. “You ungrateful bastard, I shouldn’t have fed you! This is an heirloom and you ate it!”, Lee Hao reproached.

“Spit it out!”

Lee Hao released its tail and grabbed its neck while his other hand started to pry open the dog’s mouth.

“Uuuuuu Uuuuuu!”

Black Panther refused to open its mouth. But Lee Hao is kind of strong, not long after, the dog’s mouth was pried open by Lee Hao.  

The jade sword is in Black Panther’s mouth.

Lee Hao was speechless. No matter how unwillingly he is, he has to retrieve the Sword of Starry Sky no matter how dirty it is as it is an important item. Feeling irritated, he put on some strength and slapped Black Panther’s head.

“To think that I’ve been feeding you all these while for you to refuse to listen to me during a crucial moment.”

“Ungrateful dog!”

Lee Hao reprimanded it for some time. Usually, this dog is quite honest, it didn’t occur to him that he’ll be played by the dog. He can only blame himself for lowering his guard against it that allows his thing to be snatched away from him.

“It’s said that dogs that don’t bark, bite. It depicts you perfectly!”

Lee Hao continued cursing while looking at the gooey jade sword with disgust and helplessness.

It’s disgusting!

“Woof woof!”

Black Panther had stopped struggling, but he still had his eyes on the jade sword. It looked a little reluctant to part with it. The fear that he had previously displayed was long gone.

It stuck out its tongue, wanting to lick the jade sword.

But Lee Hao felt disgusted by it and slapped its head, which caused it to abruptly retract its tongue.

“Woof woof!”

Black Panther knows who the boss is. It tried to flatter and plead with Lee Hao, as if hoping to get to lick the jade sword again.

Lee Hao was totally disgusted by it, but that feeling turned into a frown.

He took a glance at Black Panther. Usually, Black Panther is very obedient, otherwise, Lee Hao wouldn’t have fed it.

At times when Lee Hao brought food with him, if Lee Hao doesn’t give any food to Black Panther even if it’s eyeing on it, Black Panther would never snatch it from Lee Hao.

“Do you want to eat this?”

Lee Hao raises the jade sword and Black Panther quickly has its attention on it, yearning, but looks a little troubled too, as if it is analysing something. Soon after, the dog shakes its head.

“Hmm?”

Lee Hao was dumbfounded. Did the dog understand what he just asked?

Dogs understand human nature. Thus, it’s pretty normal if it understands him.

The point here is what does it mean when it shakes its head? It does not want to eat it?

If it doesn’t want to eat it, why does it keep eyeing the jade sword?

It even snatched it away a moment ago.

“Weird.”

Lee Hao murmured. The Sword of Starry Sky definitely has something special. It had occurred to him when he heard the song. But over the years, Lee Hao did not notice anything suspicious.

Today, he took it out, wanting to take a closer look on a whim, but Black Panther snatched it away instead.

If it wasn’t for the song he heard that piques his curiosity, Lee Hao might continue to wear it without taking it down to have a closer look.

Naturally, situations like the jade sword being snatched away by Black Panther will not happen too.

“Black Panther wants it so badly. Could it be that the jade sword is alluring to Black Panther, or maybe towards all dogs?”

“What’s so special about the Sword of Starry Sky?”

Lee Hao’s area of thought expanded again.  

Black Panther did not try to snatch it away from him again when he was lost in his thoughts this time round. However, it stuck its tongue out and licked the jade sword, which resulted in Lee Hao’s palm to be full of its saliva.

Lee Hao was disgusted by it, and he slapped the dog’s head once more, then wiped his hand on the dog’s fur while feeling annoyed.

“If you snatch it again, don’t ever think of getting any food from me again!”

“Woof woof!”

Black Panther shakes its head again while swinging its tail crazily, as if telling him that it didn’t snatch, it’s just a lick.

However, Lee Hao sensed that something didn’t feel right.

He glanced a Black Panther, then followed by the jade sword again. In any case, it was already soiled and needed to be cleaned with boiling water.

“Do you want to lick it again?”, Lee Hao raised the jade sword again after pondering.

Black Panther nodded its head!

“Enlightened?”

Lee Hao’s eyes wavered. He couldn’t believe what he saw. Black Panther was intelligent in the past, but it is different today. It reacts according to what he said, as if it fully understood him.

After thinking about it, Lee Hao presented the jade sword again. Black Panther stuck out its tongue towards the jade sword and started licking while observing Lee Hao wearily. Its eyes are full of satisfaction, the kind of satisfaction that it shows whenever it finishes its meal.

“Why is Black Panther interested in licking this?”

“Is it tasty?”

Of course not!

When Lee Hao was young, he had licked this numerous times too. Come to think of it, it hasn’t been washed when his dad gave it to him, right?

“To think that I’ve licked it so many times!”

While it was still in his dad’s custody, or during the years of passing it down, has it been licked by other dogs too?

“If it has been licked before… Even if it didn’t, it’s still very dirty. It’s unknown how many people have touched it before, I’ve even sucked it in my mouth when I was still a kid.”

“Don’t think about it, it’s disgusting!”

Lee Hao shook his head. It’s better not to think about these things. It’s rather disgusting when you think about the things you’ve eaten. It’s always better to be ignorant.

“Black Panther is a little abnormal today, but it also proves that there’s definitely something special about the jade sword.”  

Lee Hao was making guesses in his heart with the different possibilities.

He stood up with the jade sword full of Black Panther’s saliva on his hand, and decided to wash it first.

……

After getting back into the house, he walked into the kitchen and washed his hands. After that, he poured himself a cup of water that’s piping hot and dropped the jade sword into it to disinfect.

He’s preparing to pop over to Zhang Yuan’s house later on, and wants to bring the jade sword with him.

He’s afraid that it will be stolen if he doesn’t bring it with him. Naturally, he had his suspicion that the jade sword can be used as a talisman too. The jade sword might come in handy if he bumped into the red shadow. This is something that Lee Hao does not dare to leave behind at home. 

When Zhang Yuan died, the red shadow didn’t attack him. Did the jade sword take effect? Lee Hao does not have the answer at the moment.

After soaking it in the hot water for some time, Lee Hao extracted the jade sword from it and rinsed it in cold water.

Just when he was about to pour the hot water away, there’s some moment at his feet.

“Woof woof!”

Black Panther came into his house!

As Lee Hao is afraid of Black Panther’s shedding, and he’s also too lazy to clean it up, he usually doesn’t allow Black Panther to enter the house. Black Panther is obedient too, it usually stays out there, but now, it has actually walked right into Lee Hao’s kitchen!

Lee Hao looked down and saw Black Panther looking full of anticipation. However, its eyes were on the bowl that’s in his hand.

What’s in the bowl, was the water that he used to wash the jade sword earlier.

Lee Hao placed the bowl down on the ground. Black Panther stuck out its tongue and started licking the water, not giving a damn that the water is still piping hot.

It was so hot that it kept moaning, but it didn’t give up.

“Hmm?”

“The water…. The water that was used to wash the jade sword?”

Lee Hao looked on silently, trying to guess, after soaking the jade sword in it, what special uses does the water have?

“It doesn’t make sense. I always licked it when I was a kid, but I didn’t notice anything special.”

Naturally, after he grows up, he no longer does something like this.

At this moment, his surprise intensified.  

That’s because he noticed something unusual. The fur of Black Panther, who is still drinking the water, seems to be smoother compared to its original state – dry and messy.

And Black Panther is wagging its tail much happier than earlier on.  

“Water, the water that the jade sword was soaked in!”

“Mysterious power?”

“This is weird… Could it be that this is the correct way of using the jade sword, to soak it in the water and drink it?”

Lee Hao bent down and touched the fur of Black Panther again. The feeling is definitely different!

It really feels different, it is smoother, and it no longer feels cluttered like before.

Lee Hao glanced at the jade sword on his hand. Perhaps… the water that had the jade sword soaked in it before contains some kind of mysterious power?

The thing that he has been looking for, the mysterious power that he desperately wants to get near, perhaps… it is in this bowl of water?

“This… if this is true, I had actually depended on a dog to discover the usage of the heirloom?”

The problem is, this sword has been licked by the dog earlier.

Although it has been soaked in the water that’s piping hot, Lee Hao is still disgusted by it. Obviously, if it’s really effective, even if it had been licked by a dog… anyway, even if it’s even more disgusting than this, he wouldn’t mind too.

“Perhaps the Sword of the Starry Sky is imbued with mysterious power? We might be unable to absorb the power by normal means, but could it be possible after dissolving in the water after soaking?”

Lee Hao’s mind started to analyse the situation quickly. The fur of Black Panther turning smoother is not something that can be achieved by ordinary means.

It is possible if it’s via that mysterious power.

Lee Hao is feeling conflicted. Did he get enlightened with regards to the usage of the Sword of Starry Sky by a dog?

He was still dumbstruck, and glanced at Black Panther.

Black Panther has drunk up all the water and is looking satisfied. When it noticed Lee Hao was looking at itself, it started to wag its tail happily. Its gaze seems intelligent, unlike in the past.

“This dog… seems like it really does understand humans now!”

Lee Hao is thrilled. Is the outcome really that effective?

He looked at the jade sword and thought, since Black Panther received benefits from drinking the water, what about me? Can I drink it too?

After drinking, can I become someone like an invincible dragon with mysterious power?

He is currently surrounded by unknown threats.

If Lee Hao is able to acquire this mysterious power at this point of time, it will be like a ray of hope to him.

“I won’t die from drinking it right?”

Shouldn’t be. I’ve licked that countless times when I was a kid, and Black Panther is just an ordinary dog. It has licked and drank it, and is still alive.

Since it didn’t poison Black Panther to death, the probability of me dying from poisoning is low.  

“I might as well try it out…”

As soon as this thought started budding, Lee Hao could no longer suppress it.

His desire to have power!

From the death of Zhang Yuan and the others, to being tailed, red shadow, Night Watcher…

All these names that’s reflecting in his mind urged Lee Hao to desire for power. He racked his brain to join the Investigation Division with the agenda of connecting with the Night Watchers. With that, he’ll be able to peek into the world of mysterious power.

The opportunity is in front of him right now! How could he let go of this opportunity?!

“I want to try, even if something happens to me, it’s just death. The red shadow is approaching, and the Night Watchers might not be reliable, furthermore, there are moles in the Investigation Division. I have no reliable people with me… I have nothing to fear or worry about, right?”

“Let’s do this!”

Lee Hao swiftly made a decision

He slapped Black Panther’s head vigorously, resulting Black Panther feeling a little giddy.

“If it’s really effective, you’ll reap benefits in the future too. If you follow me, whatever you want to eat isn’t an issue.”, Lee Hao braced himself and said in a low voice.

“Woof!”

Black Panther barked once. Its eyes are full of anticipation as if it really understands humans. It seems to be looking forward to the blissful life that Lee Hao mentioned.