First-Year Internship—And You Went to Site 749 to Contain Monsters?!
Chapter 140: Tianli Cult Appears Again—Tell Lan Mingli to Hurry Up, I’m on a Tight Schedule

......

Quan Qing led the way inside.

Lu Ding and Bai Hemen followed.

Someone hurried past nearby, carrying a familiar scent with them.

Lu Ding’s nose twitched—he’d smelled this before on Liu Xingchuan, the Tianli Cult branch leader in Jing City.

His gaze followed.

“Tianli Cult.......”

He didn’t lower his voice. The man heard those three words, turned back in panic, and locked eyes with Lu Ding.

The moment he got a good look—

“Lu........”

He only got the “Lu” out before Lu Ding blinked forward, grabbed the man midair—

and just as he was about to slam him into the ground,

he paused.

The floor might break!

So he lifted him up and instead—

smashed a punch straight into his face.

Knocked out seven or eight molars on the spot, blood flying everywhere.

The Tianli Cult man instantly blacked out. Lu Ding dragged him into the bathroom and tossed him onto a toilet.

Bai Hemen reached out and slapped him.

Smack!

“Wake up!!”

The man opened his eyes with a jolt, flinched with a knife-hand reflex, throwing an arm up to block his face.

“Aaagh........”

Lu Ding bent over, pointing to his own face, “You recognize me?”

“N-no.....” he tried to deny it.

Bai Hemen raised his hand and gave him another slap, knocking out a few front teeth this time.

“Think again.”

Normally, based on Lu Ding’s personality, he wouldn’t waste breath on a Tianli Cult member.

He’d just snap their neck.

Tianli Cult was an evil cult—749 investigators had a standing order to act on sight.

Plus, he had personal beef with them.

One of their branch leaders died at Lu Ding’s hands.

That was no small grudge.

So when enemies met, yeah—it was on sight.

But!!!

As far as Lu Ding knew, there was no Tianli Cult branch in Jinshan.

And this guy knew who he was.

Best case scenario, it was a coincidence—maybe the guy was just visiting and happened to recognize him.

Worst case? This b*****d came here for him.

And not many people knew Lu Ding was here today.

If the Tianli Cult really came targeting him, that meant—

there was a mole in 749.

Having a mole that close? No way he could sleep soundly.

It had to be flushed out and crushed.

Under all these conditions, this guy would get to live a little longer.

The man nodded.

“Y-yeah... I’ve heard of you before.”

“So there’s no Tianli Cult branch in Jinshan. What are you doing here? You here for me?”

“Think carefully—you only get one chance to answer. Since you know who I am, you should’ve heard of what I do.”

The man’s face turned white from fear.

His lips trembled, “I... I don’t know. Orders came from above, told members near Jinshan to gather.”

“Th-then I just came.”

Doesn’t know, huh...

Judging by his level and nerve, he was probably a low-ranking grunt.

“So there are others from your group in this restaurant?”

The man nodded, pointing upstairs, “Private room, upstairs. People from all over. My superior’s there.”

“Who’s your superior?”

“Tianli Cult—Slayer of Life, Savior of Death—Ding Buxiu.”

“Alright. That’s the answer I wanted.”

The grunt might not know anything,

but the named guy upstairs surely would.

Lu Ding stood up straight.

The toilet under the man rippled into darkness.

A massive serpent head burst from the bowl and chomped down,

dragging the man into the shadows.

This was another use of the Serpent Devour Great Maw—for corpse disposal.

Bai Hemen typed on his phone nearby.

“Jinshan 749 just said, Lan Mingli’s at their gate right now.”

Lu Ding clicked his tongue. “Tell them I’m at...”

He opened the bathroom door, poked his head out, and asked Quan Qing,

“What’s this place called again?”

“Lord Lu Taishui, this place is called Yipinxian,” Quan Qing said flatteringly from the door.

“Yipinxian. Tell him to hurry over. I’m on a tight schedule. Gotta wrap this up quick. Also tell Li Kai to send a cleanup team.”

“Just say Tianli Cult operatives slipped in. Might get messy.”

As Lu Ding spoke, Bai Hemen typed away.

Elsewhere.

At the gate of Jinshan 749, Li Kai read the message aloud from his phone.

“The guy you’re looking for is at Yipinxian. He wants you to hurry up—he’s in a rush. I’m heading over now. Wanna come with me?”

Lan Mingli looked confused.

What the hell kind of situation was this?

He’d come to cause trouble for the guy—

and the guy was telling him to hurry up?

Did he even take him seriously?!

Lan Mingli pressed his lips together. “So, Captain Li, did you tell him who I am?”

“Doesn’t matter who you are. You coming or not? If not, I’m going myself. Hurry up.”

Li Kai texted his staff while jogging off to get the car.

That feeling of being dismissed—no, disregarded—

made Lan Mingli clench his fists.

What did he mean by “Doesn’t. Matter. Who. You. Are!?”

Hot breath hissed from his nostrils.

Back in Yunmeng, he’d never been treated like this.

Anywhere in the Cultivator circles—

he always attracted attention and respect,

always heard people whispering behind his back:

“See that? That’s Lan Mingli, ranked ninth on the Talented Youth List. Folks call him Yunmeng’s Blue Flute.”

And now, here in this dump of a town, you're telling me everyone’s the same?!

Lan Mingli clenched his jaw.

“I have my own car!!”

“Then keep up. I’m in a hurry.”

Vroom!!!

Li Kai floored the accelerator and sped off.

Although Lu Ding was always clean and efficient at handling problems, somehow, trouble just followed wherever he went.

Jinshan had never seen any Tianli Cult freaks before this.

Not that he was complaining—just grumbling.

He had to hurry, before things turned into something they couldn’t clean up.

....

At Yipinxian restaurant.

Inside the “Four Seas” private room.

Four men and one woman were chatting happily.

Ding Buxiu, a man in his early forties, clapped a young man beside him on the shoulder.

“Baoxiang, you really hit the jackpot this time. First mission after joining the Tianli Cult and it’s already a big one.”

“Do well—don’t drag down the reputation of your uncle, Cripple Li.”

Hearing Ding Buxiu say that,

the only woman in the group leaned on the table, chin in hand, batting her eyes at Li Baoxiang.

“Little Bao~ how come you joined the Tianli Cult instead of going into treasure hunting with your uncle? Didn’t he recently start looking into the Golden Toad over at Ba’er Mountain?”

It would’ve been better not to mention his uncle. The moment she did, the name “Cripple Li” triggered him.

Li Baoxiang picked up the wine vessel in front of him, downed a shot of baijiu in one go, and slammed it onto the table.

“With him?”

He stopped there, let out a few cold chuckles, then couldn’t help going on.

“Every day it’s mountain to forest, forest to mountain. Sleeping rough, eating cold, wasting cultivation time—and he barely shared anything with me.”

“Dude was famous for years, and what did it get him? Got his Zhima Beasts snatched by Cao Ying, lost face. Now none of the old treasure hunters even respect him anymore.”

“There’s no future sticking with him.”

“As for the Golden Toad at Ba’er Mountain? He couldn’t handle it. Went north to find a Goat Herder, planning to partner up.”

Turns out, this Li Baoxiang was none other than the direct nephew of Cripple Li.