He Zheng"s tongue circled around Li Zong"s lips and he tasted chili. With that, he knitted his brows and released his grip on Li Zong"s collar.

A surprised look flashed across the depths of Li Zong"s eyes. He waited for He Zheng to say something only to find that He Zheng didn"t even have the intention to raise his head. He put another sweet dumpling into his mouth but secretly came to a conclusion.

"It seems that I can kiss this man on any occasion without having any unpleasant feeling."

Shu Laibao had some time ago heard about this "wife" that Li Zong had recently got himself. Everybody knew that Supt. Li married the good-for-nothing of He family, and a lot of people didn"t believe it. They thought that it was an arranged marriage for the sake of family interests. Unexpectedly, this newlywed couple were kissing each other in a place of barely any privacy. Shu Laibao, who had just got some big news, impa.s.sively put down the plate of stir-fried liver flavored with vinegar and informed Li Zong, "Supt. Li, I got something."

He flicked a glance at He Zheng, a somewhat hesitant look on his face.

"It"s okay. Go ahead."

Shu Laibao gave a bob of his head, wiped his hands on his ap.r.o.n again and then said, "That entertainer attended the birthday party of Master He. There was but one particular person who made contact with him, whom that young white-collar worker was also in touch with."

"He Jin." Li Zong uttered the answer, a bland expression on his face.

Shu Laibao was greatly surprised and then his face fell depressed. "You"ve already known? I thought I rendered meritorious service."

"What you just did for me will not go unrewarded. You have my word." Li Zong seemed to be pondering over something. Back then when he was in the dining room of He family, he had caught sight of a faint puff of black gas in the enchantment of He Jin and thought that it was a mere hallucination. Now it seemed that there was indeed something wrong with He Jin.

Shu Laibao gave a squeak and answered, "I see."

He Zheng knitted his brows and asked Li Zong, "How did it come to involve He Jin?"

As if determined not to utter a single word about it, Li Zong softly cast a glance at him. "Well, this is a matter of confidentiality that only in-staff personnel are privy to."

He Zheng rolled his eyes. "Suit yourself."

But since Li Zong was taking this so seriously, He Zheng believed that no good would come out of it, that He Jin probably had offended someone. He Zheng counted himself pretty lucky. He was just thinking about how to teach He Jin a lesson when He Jin, as if on cue, messed with Li Zong, who had started investigating him.

He Zheng left this matter aside and resumed enjoying the food.

On their way back, He Zheng asked, "Tell me about the recruitment of SMB."

Actually, it was He Yu"s remarks that had reminded him. SMB was going to recruit staff members. If he managed to get into SMB, it would be a positive proof of his strength. In that case, who would dare to say he was a good-for-nothing?

"SMB recruits staff members every three years." Li Zong, who was typing away at his cellphone, answered He Zheng"s question without raising his head.

He Zheng was rather surprised to see that Li Zong knew how to use a smart phone. He had thought that Li Zong was only capable of using old school cellphones that only senior citizens would use these days.

"You want to give it a shot?" Li Zong typed a text message and clicked on the "send" icon. After doing this, he raised his head and asked He Zheng this.

In his voice, there was an inexplicable tone which annoyed He Zheng. He Zheng provocatively looked at Li Zong. "You think I"m unqualified?"

Li Zong secretly heaved a sigh in his mind, amazed that He Zheng dared to ask this question after being a cultivator for only a couple of days. It was not about qualification. Li Zong believed that He Zheng shouldn"t even think about it.

In order not to offend Childe He, Supt. Li, who had always been righteous, told a white lie for the first time. "It"s hard to say. I"ll test your current power after we return."

Then he added, "The mental cultivation method of He family is supposed to be beneficial to your cultivation, because you"re a descendant of He family. But ever since you broke that jade pendant and undid the magical seal on you, you haven"t made any progress, not that I can tell. Given your talent and endowments, this shouldn"t have happened. An educated guess of mine is that the jade pendant had been constraining you for too long, and it would take you some more time to rid yourself of its aftereffect. You have to find a better way. Otherwise, even if I help you get into SMB by the back door, you would probably end up being killed."

After hearing this, He Zheng had a sulky look on his face, his cheeks bulging like those of a hamster.

Li Zong couldn"t help but reach out his hand and pinch He Zheng"s cheek, craning over to him. There was a pleasant smell of ginseng about Li Zong, and it didn"t make He Zheng feel uncomfortable even though they were very close.

Ever since He Zheng put on the ring, there had occasionally been some intimate contact between the two of them, but as Li Zong"s face approached, He Zheng"s throat felt somewhat dry.

Before he could give any reaction, Li Zong observed, "It"s not that easy to get in by the back door, kiddo."