Chapter Ninety-Two: Let Go of That Girl

The good and evil in a person’s heart are not accumulated in a day. Take Langlihua, for example—now fantasizing about tormenting the two young women in his car—once, he was an honest student of exemplary conduct. Yet years of humiliation and bullying by classmates gradually pushed this studious, rule-abiding youth to resolve that he would become a villain, and not just any villain, but one rotten to the very bone.

But this world cares little for how good you once were; it only judges what you do now. However law-abiding you used to be, if you now descend into crime and shameful deeds, sooner or later you are destined to be caught! Heaven’s justice turns in cycles; whom has it ever spared?

Hua Feng and Yun Meng quietly followed Langlihua out of the city. Fortunately, Hua Feng’s cultivation had recently broken through again; he had finally reached the early stage of Emperor Yuan level 63. Without that, he wasn’t sure he could avoid detection during the pursuit, for the target was a formidable Emperor Yuan practitioner himself. The gap between levels at the Emperor Yuan stage was immense. Some could compress enough Yuan energy to fill a small lake into a golden core at level 61, but by level 63, it was as if two more lakes’ worth had been squeezed into their inner core. Hua Feng’s dual-core constitution was even rarer.

Langlihua drove into a deserted forest on Mount Qingcheng. The terrified cries of the two women only fueled his urge for wickedness. He meticulously checked his surroundings, deliberately heading to the rear mountain to avoid being followed. Years ago, Langlihua had chanced upon a secret manual, and through diligent cultivation, he finally broke into the Emperor Yuan stage at fifty. After embracing his villainy, he had already spent several years in prison for sexual assault on a university peer, but even after release, his depraved desires remained. By now, his time behind bars totaled more than fifteen years.

Since ascending to Emperor Yuan, these two girls would be his 1008th and 1009th victims. On several occasions, joint operations by the police and the arcane sects had nearly caught him, but he always slipped through. He believed fortune smiled upon him, and with his Emperor Yuan prowess, he acted ever more recklessly.

In the car, Hua Feng had Yun Meng keep watch as he researched Chengdu, perplexed as to why such a city would harbor an Emperor Yuan-class sexual predator. Langlihua was only a thousand meters away. If they wished, they could close the distance in moments.

The data showed: Chengdu could be divided by landform into plains, hills, and mountains; by soil type, into eleven categories including paddy soil, alluvial soil, purple earth, yellow earth, and yellow-brown earth; by current land use, into eight categories such as arable land, gardens, and pasture. The plains dominated, covering 4,971.4 square kilometers, 40.1% of the city’s total area—far above the national average of 12% and Sichuan’s 2.54%. Hills comprised 27.6%, mountains 32.3%. The land cultivation index was high, with up to 94.2% available for use and an average cultivation index of 38.22%, reaching over 60% in the plains—again, far above national and provincial averages.

Climate: Chengdu lies at the intersection where the northwestern plateau of Sichuan transitions into the basin, possessing unique climatic resources. Firstly, the east and west have distinct climates. The sharp elevation difference means heat diminishes rapidly with altitude, creating a coexistence of warm eastern and cool western types. In the western mountainous rim, temperatures can differ by several degrees between the summit and base at the same time, presenting warm temperate, temperate, cold temperate, subarctic, and arctic types in vertical succession. This thermal gradient provides excellent conditions for agriculture, especially diversified operations.

Secondly, winters are damp and cold, springs come early, the frost-free period is long, seasons are distinct, and heat is abundant. The annual average temperature is around 16°C, with an annual activity temperature sum (≥10°C) of 4,700–5,300°C. The frost-free period lasts 278 days; first frost typically arrives at the end of November, last frost in late February. The coldest month, January, averages 5°C; subzero days mostly occur in mid-late December and early January, occasionally in late January. Chengdu’s average temperature is 1–2°C higher than other regions of the same latitude along the middle and lower Yangtze, and spring arrives half a month earlier.

Thirdly, winter and spring are dry, summer and autumn rainy, with annual precipitation of 900–1,300 mm and relatively little variation year to year—the wettest year is only twice as wet as the driest. Fourth, sunlight, heat, and water coincide in season, creating a favorable climate for biological reproduction. Fifth, wind speeds are low; plains and hills average 1–1.5 meters per second; sunny days are few, with a sunshine rate between 24–32%, annual sunshine hours 1,042–1,412, and total solar radiation 83.0–94.9 km/cm².

Chengdu’s record low temperature is -5.9°C, mostly occurring in December, sometimes January. It belongs to the humid subtropical monsoon climate zone, with calm winds predominant year-round; secondary winds: north in June–August, northeast-north in other months.

Land resources: Chengdu’s land types are diverse—plains, hills, mountains; eleven soil types including paddy, alluvial, purple, yellow, yellow-brown earth; eight land use categories including arable land, gardens, pasture. Plains cover 4,971.4 square kilometers, 40.1% of the city, far above national and provincial averages; hills 27.6%, mountains 32.3%; the land cultivation index is high. The soil is fertile, deep, the climate gentle, irrigation convenient, with 94.2% of the land usable, an average cultivation index of 38.22%, plains at over 60%, again far above national (10.4%) and provincial (11.5%) numbers.

Water resources: Chengdu is blessed with abundant rainfall, yielding an annual average of 30.472 billion cubic meters of water, including 3.158 billion cubic meters of groundwater and 18.417 billion cubic meters of transit water—enough to meet residents’ needs for daily life and production. Main features: First, a dense river network. Chengdu has twelve main rivers—Min River, Tuo River, and others—plus dozens of tributaries, crisscrossed with ditches, with a river network density of 1.22 kilometers per square kilometer. With the world-famous Dujiangyan irrigation works, reservoirs, ponds, dams, and channels are scattered everywhere. In 2004, the effective irrigated area reached 345,000 hectares; the city’s theoretical hydropower potential totals 1.615 million kilowatts.

Second, water quality is excellent. Located in the middle reaches of the Min River basin, Chengdu’s rivers are fed mainly by precipitation, underground streams, and snowmelt. Before entering the Chengdu plain, they flow through high mountain canyons, suffering little human pollution, thus the water quality is superb, with most indicators meeting the national grade II surface water standard.

Biological resources: Chengdu lies in the humid subtropical zone, with complex terrain and diverse natural ecosystems, making its biological resources remarkably rich. Preliminary statistics list 11 classes, 200 families, 764 genera, and over 3,000 species of animals and plants. Among them, 2,682 are seed plants, with unique and rare species like ginkgo, dove tree, yellow-heart tree, and fragrant fruit tree. Major vertebrates number 237, including rare and protected species such as the giant panda, red panda, golden monkey, and goral. There are over 860 medicinal herbs, such as Szechuan lovage, Szechuan turmeric, black plum, and coptis, renowned at home and abroad.

Mineral resources: Chengdu’s mineral resources are abundant, with many types and relatively concentrated distribution, often found in association. Proven deposits include iron, titanium, vanadium, copper, lead, zinc, aluminum, gold, silver, strontium, rare earths, and more than 60 non-metals such as mirabilite, serpentine, gypsum, calcite, limestone, marble, coal, and natural gas. Over 400 mining sites dot the city, most with concentrated resources. Coal reserves are 146 million tons, mainly in the western fringe districts of Pengzhou, Dujiangyan, Chongzhou, and Dayi. Proven natural gas reserves total 1.677 billion cubic meters, with prospective reserves of 4.221 billion cubic meters, chiefly in Pujiang, Qionglai, Dayi, Dujiangyan, and Jintang. Mirabilite reserves lead the nation at 986.2 million tons, mainly in Xinjin and Shuangliu; various metals are concentrated in Pengzhou.

…What on earth is all this? Hua Feng closed his microcomputer.

Meanwhile, Langlihua had already stripped one girl of her coat. The two young women realized escape was impossible; if they provoked this villain, who seemed to possess some cultivation, their lives might be in danger. All they could do was grit their teeth and endure.

Just as Langlihua was about to proceed, a voice shouted loudly, “Let go of that girl!”

“What the hell! Who the fuck are you?” Langlihua was startled, his heart blazing with fury. “Dare to meddle in my business? You must have a death wish!”