[Reverend Insanity] A Private Eye And The Clan Killer

Business wasn't doing well; I only had about fifteen customers every year, but hey, last year I even helped a Venerable, Paradise Earth Immortal Venerable; all he wanted was a few locations where he could find some mystical rank 6 flowers. Later I learned it was simply because he wanted to see what they tasted like in tea, but still, it worked for a venerable. It only took about three weeks to find the locations and map them, and he paid really well. Sadly, I had run through all of it really quick; I probably should have thought through my purchases more since I was back to cheap ground-up beef and minced pork over rice. At least it tasted good. My classic black leather-covered conical douli, along with a simple black wool and silk magua, was what I wore out today.As I stepped out of my small cabin in the woods, the cold bit at my cheeks, turning them an almost rosy pale color. The worst was how bright the snow was; the top of it had melted in yesterday's sun and frozen overnight, and now the light would bounce off it and directly into my eyes. I brought my hand up to cover my eyes from this light as I began my walk into town. It was only a few kilometers, so I got there quickly enough and began setting up shop. My sign had fallen off during the night, so I put it back up and walked in, taking a seat behind my desk filled with papers about different parts of the world, one stack for each continent. The mutt I had came running out from the back to come sit down next to me. My hand idly scratching the top of its head for a time. Waiting for a customer to come in. It works; it takes no more than 30 minutes for one to enter, and when they did, my eyes nearly popped out of my head. It seems my mutt had the same reaction to this person, the most wanted man on the southern border, Ming You. News had only reached my ears a few days ago that this kid had killed his whole sect or something like that; the news wasn't very clear. Now here he was, standing in the lobby, staring at me and my mutt. Now I could jump up and at him to try and claim the bounty, where I'd promptly be turned into ground beef most likely; I doubt I could get my GU restricting cuffs onto him in time. Or, I can try and see what he wants. "Good morning, what can I do for you?" My voice was calm and gruff, even though I was nervous. Soon he'd speak, "I've heard you find anything for a price. Is it true that you mean any and all things?" His voice was shockingly calm and meek; even hard to hear would not be an inaccurate description, to say the least. "Yes, that is true. I pride myself on being able to find anything or anyone in the world. Now, if you'd like my services, I'll give you a form to fill out with all the details of who or what you'd like to find." I spoke directly to him, pretending I didn't know what he had done; that would probably increase my odds of not being turned into a finely minced pork dish. He spoke up again, sooner than last time. "It's a person in the central continent; I believe he's hiding in the Hidden Dragon Cave," he said calmly. I stood up quickly and walked to the back, fumbling around in the dusty and cold room. Inside was what I was after: a central continent forum with a map included. I turned around to walk back out, shutting the door behind me. As I approached my desk once more, I had a forty-page forum and a few legal papers, about seven, with me. "Now if you could follow me back into my office, we can begin sorting everything out." I waved my hand for him to follow me. And so he did. I'm somewhat shocked he didn't stab me in the back, maybe because he felt he needed me for something; that was probably it actually. I opened the door for him to walk in before me.I guess I was expecting him to smell like blood and copper or something, but no, just basic animal fat soap. I took my seat as he took his. I placed the forms in front of him and began to talk. "First and foremost, can I get your name? And some form of identity verification so I know who to contact if you do not wish to come with me on the job." I slid my fountain pen across to him and waited for him to sign. "What's the difference if I follow you or don't follow you?" The question was the one I got pretty much every single time I did these pre-investigation interviews. "Well, it's quite simple: if you choose not to go with me on this or you're too busy, I will simply come to you after the investigations with your provided information for payment and to give you the location and status of whatever you're looking for. If you choose to come with me, you pay in advance but don't need to provide any extra information that's not required." I took a breath after I finished speaking as I watched him write at a fast pace. The name written was "Fen Yen," a very obvious fake name, but I'll pretend I don't see it. It would take him only 25 minutes to get to the last page, which held a world map filled with named locations."Now on this page, you have to outline what important locations you think are important to go to gather information, Mr. Ye— "I was cut off by the sound of my mutt barking as loudly as it possibly could for what I could only assume was being upset it wasn't let into my office. I don't know why it's upset; I've never let it in here once. "I'm so sorry, Mr. Yen; I'll go sort him out while you deal with this." I stood up and walked past him, but as I opened the door, I was reminded of why I hated this dog and why I kept him around instead of selling him to get a new mutt. It was far too curious and untrained. It barreled past me and right to Ming You. My breath hitched as my mutt sat down next to Ming You and began sniffing at him, though that left me with a sigh of relief as his hand reached down and patted my mutt on the head. "That's good that you like it; if you choose to come with him, he will be joining us as he helps carry stuff and follow scents." It took Ming You a minute to respond. "Since it will save time, we'll go together. May I take this map to go? I need time to plan out the route. "The question was quite normal; the average time on this step was about two to three weeks to sort out the route and compile all the needed information." Of course, Mr. Yen, take your time; my hours are from an hour before noon till dusk every day of the week. Make sure you write down on the back any supplies you'll need. I'll be bringing a winter buffalo-drawn wagon with three hundred kilograms of salt and herbs, one hundred kilograms of sugar, one hundred kilograms of flour, fishing rods, hooks, bait, three hundred kilograms of beef, blankets, and tents." I could see him look somewhat confused. Ahh, right, he's probably never seen a winter buffalo and is wondering how it's even being pulled, let alone fitting into a wagon. He didn't ask, just nodded and scooped the papers on the desk up, and walking out of my office, a second later I heard the front door open and close as well. I sunk down in my chair, wondering to myself if the money was truly worth it, if I'd just get killed in the most torturous of ways by this kid, or if maybe this would be the same as every other one. I reached down, my hand hitting air a few times before I felt my mutt's fur. It was only two years old, yet it had helped me so very much, and it was pretty big as well; if I had to guess, about 30 kilograms. I stood up, knowing I need to actually go feed the winter buffalo. I walked out the front, seeing the footprints left by Ming You in a bright blue light. Sometimes my path was annoying; sure, I made it myself, optimized fully for sneaking around and investigating. I smacked the side of my head like you'd smack a small drum; the light footsteps faded away and into how they'd look for everyone else. I shook my head a bit and walked along the side of my building.Finding Bessy, the winter buffalo, in her glory. People say they were bred by Duke Long himself for size, stamina, and strength. Now did I believe this? Kinda, it would explain why Bessy is 10 meters tall and 7 meters thick and 15 meters long. I was barely up to her knees. These giants were the main food source and main way to travel out here. I gave her a once-over before grabbing a handful of her hair and using it like a ladder rung and climbing up. I walked up her back and checked to see if her harness was on correctly, seeing if the thick leather had been bothering her. Looks like the answer was no, and just like that I hopped down off her, rolling as I landed so I didn't damage my ankles. Sometimes I wish I actually did cultivate properly, but then again, every day spent cultivating was another day I couldn't work, chop firewood, feed my mutt, or hunt. After I hopped off Bessy, I made my way to the general store, buying up the hooks and fishing rods. We'd need a lot for this investigation. I brought it back to my building, throwing it into the back of a large wagon, before I'd grab heavy metal wire ropes to tie to the harness on Bessy and the wagon. By the time it was done, it was long past dusk, so walking back into my building, I grabbed my mutt. Its name was Crash, mainly because whenever I'd try to hopelessly tire it out, it would crash headfirst into a wall or my legs. Sometimes it would tackle me to the ground or kick me off my own bed. Putting on his harness and leash, I would start the few-kilometer-long walk home to sleep and prepare for a while longer. Soon I'd open my door and just toss myself into bed and under the pelts of my hay bed.